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[Reverend Howard Caesar] Are you currently church shopping, looking for that right church for you or your family?
Perhaps you've been looking, and you've been turned off by organized religion.
It happens. Let me suggest you try Unity Church.
We're a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity.
Many who have found us have said, "I didn't know there was a church that taught what I always believed."
Let's be honest—people shop for clothes, good restaurants, and the right church that feeds them spiritually.
If you are seeking a spiritual truth beyond tradition, try Unity Church. Come join us.
From Unity Church of Christianity in Houston, Texas,
this is The Awakened Life with Reverend Howard Caesar.
Unity is a non-denominational Christian church
providing a positive, practical, and progressive approach to Christianity.
Let's join the service in progress with the Reverend Howard Caesar.
[Reverend Howard Caesar] I think it's fair to say that all of us want to know God.
Do we not? We all want to know God.
And actually my hope is that all of us have it to where we can describe it as a hunger and a thirst
because with the degree of intensity that you want to know God, then you act on that.
And you go deeper with it.
There is, what we call, an all-knowing mind of God.
This all-knowing mind of God is accessible to us at all times.
The Bible speaks of it as the secret place of the most high—secret place of the most high.
And if God is this all-knowing mind and we are made in the image and
after the likeness of God, then we basically have, within us, a dimension that carries
a connectedness to this all-knowing mind of God.
That at a deep soul level, at the core of our being, is this all-knowing mind.
And we should be able to access it.
We're all evolving; we are all in the process of awakening spiritually
and bringing into conscious awareness the expression of that which we
are held to be in the mind of God—the true reality of the idea.
We are an idea in the mind of God, and we are seeking to fully express it.
And, of course, we say that Jesus Christ was the model of that.
He was the great example. He was the great way shower of that idea
that you and I as beings are meant to be and express as—
as loving, light-filled beings.
And so the purpose for us being here on this Earth is to grow into that—
to grow into an expression of that, and that's what we're always being called toward.
Sometimes we think it's all outer stuff that we have to do that we're being called to
to be somebody in the world, but the truth is that we're being called at another level internally
to be what we were created to be in the mind of God.
And to be that—to be entered into the dynamic of growing requires a level of knowing—knowing.
And that knowing comes with a relationship with God.
It has been said that all of us are geniuses and that we all have the genius of God within us.
Now, we may not be expressing it fully and maybe a potential that's what life is about is growing into that.
There's a story that I found that is interesting—it was about a teacher in New York.
And she was a very good teacher; this was some years ago.
And she had chosen to retire, and the superintendent of schools asked her if she
would please consider staying on another year.
He had, kind of, a difficult assignment that he wanted to give her
which was in a school system and a particular class that was made up of a lot of individuals
that were troublesome children and youth.
They brought guns and knives to school, and many of them ran in groups and gangs.
And it was just a difficult group, and the superintendent said I'll provide for you an officer
or a security person in the classroom if you need, but I need somebody who is equipped
and a great teacher that could handle this.
She thought about it, prayed about it, researched it a little bit, and finally made a decision.
She would stay on another year, and she said, "But I don't want an officer. I don't want a security person in the class."
And so instead, when she walked into the classroom that first day
what she said to all those students—she said,
"I know that we have some discipline problems here.
But you kids are geniuses.
And in this class, you are going to perform like that.
And we're going to ask you to perform at that level.
And they actually did—at the end of the year they had achieved in their scores
the highest grades of that grade-level.
And, as a result, this lady was called to receive an award,
and when she was going to receive the reward, one of the people there said—
you know that was involved in that school—said,
"You know, how in the world did you bring those kids to that level of achievement?"
And she said, "Well, I was given a list of all the children's names and their IQs on that list.
And I knew that everyone was a genius in the class, so all I had to do was teach them
like the geniuses that they were."
And that person happened to know what that list was about, and said,
"Ma'am, those numbers you were given were their locker numbers." [laughter]
And so the beauty of all that was that they performed at the level of expectation
that she held for them—the level of knowing.
There was something that she knew about those kids that they didn't yet know and grasp about themselves.
And there was a transfer of something—of a knowingness that she had
that they were able to pick up and reach for that level.
It's a beautiful thing to know that when you know that you know that you know,
there is an actual transfer. When you know something about another person, you're a tremendous blessing.
When you know there is good in a person that may be having difficulty or challenge
and just keep knowing that—there's something beautiful that is transferred and conveys.
So, never, never forget that.
Back in the early 1900s there was a Marilyn vos Savant—did I say the 1900s?
I think the 1990s was what I meant, and actually she was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as
having had the highest IQ.
I don't know that that is the case anymore, but she was a columnist for Parade magazine,
and I am told that she still is writing a bit somewhere—that that name is familiar to people.
And, anyway, a reader sent into Marilyn a question to her as a columnist.
And the question that was put to her was, "If you were allowed to make
only 1 statement which your children would follow throughout their lives,
what would it be? 1 statement that you were able to make to your children that they would follow throughout their lives.
What would it be?" And her answer was rather eloquent.
She said, "The length of your education is less than its breadth or less important that it's breadth.
And the length of your life is less important than its depth."
Very, very powerful. Let me say that again.
She said, "The length of your education is less important than this breadth,"
meaning experience all of life.
"And the length of your life is less important than it's depth."
However long you live make sure you do it with a depth—
a depth of knowing who you are, a depth of knowing your God, a depth of knowing that you
are here to be a loving being. Do it with depth.
She's talking being able to live in a broad, expansive way.
It's not necessarily diminishing education because she was saying
your education is about the breadth of education meaning the experience of life.
There are many whose lives have been short but very meaningful
and carried a lot of depth, and certainly one of them was Jesus Christ.
He didn't have a long life, but it had a lot of depth.
And that depth has carried over to so many, many people.
And there's a passage in actually the Gospel of John Chapter 7 in which Jesus
is in Galilee, and he's attending this feast, and there were a lot of people there.
And he's there, and in the middle of the feast he decides to leave and go to the temple and teach.
And when he goes to the temple, it says in the passage, that the Jews marveled at him and what he was saying.
And some of them said, "How is it that this man has learning
when he has never studied?"
And Jesus's answer for them was, "My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
If any man's will is to do His will, he shall know whether the teaching is from God
or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory.
But he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true."
In other words, all of us have been sent here really, and there's a river of
knowing that lives in us; there's a depth of knowing that we need to be able to seek out
and search out and begin to live from.
And that's so important and so sacred and so holy in terms of our trip through this experience of life.
It doesn't matter how long it is, but by gosh, by golly let it have depth the way that Jesus is talking.
You know, we get to—and Jesus was saying he wasn't so much a product of book learning.
He was a product of the conditioning of oneness with the Divine.
He was able to say, "What I'm saying is something coming through me."
And he was able to say, "I and the Father are one."
And so for the person whose will is to do the will of God,
who really makes that their genuine, authentic desires to do the will of God, the higher dimensions of life,
he will know if the teaching is from God or not.
The person will come to know internally whether what they're doing is aligned with
that higher dimension of themselves.
And so there is a sense of greater clarity—there is a sense of greater depth that evolves in a person
with that intention and with that sincere desire.
Jean Houston was a person that is a wonderful speaker and author
and educator and a wonderful person.
And I've met her and heard her a number of times.
And she states this—she says, "It is no longer possible for us to live
as pale and diminished versions of ourselves.
For a new world, in a new millennium, we need a new mind with expanded
senses and a deepened spirit."
What she's saying is for these times or any time really, we need to go deeper.
These are often referred to as difficult times, critical times, scary times—
whatever the times you want to label them, it calls us deeper.
It calls for us to come from a deeper sense of knowing.
Whatever is going on and the circumstances or in the outer appearances of the world
that may be frightening and upsetting, it calls us more than ever
to a deep sense of inner knowing.
What is the truth? What are we knowing in that moment of time around that?
As opposed to being called to—being something different
based on what is happening externally.
There is the psalmist in Psalm 46—that wonderful passage that some of you,
I'm sure, are familiar, and the words are powerful because it talks about
all the things that could be going on outside, but there is something inside of you that you must not forget.
The psalmist wrote this, "God is our refuge and strength—a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, therefore, we will not fear though the Earth should change.
Though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with it's tumult
there is a river whose streams made glad the city of God.
The Holy habitation of the most high.
God is in the midst of her.
She shall not be moved.
That's the passage, and really what it's talking about is that we should never
forget that there is a river that runs through us—if you will.
And it is of God.
And is the Holy habitation of the most high.
And it is that place that can never be moved out of view.
It lives in you. It is a river of truth.
It is what Jesus referred to as when he was leaving—he said the Holy Spirit will come with the whole truth
and keep reminding you of what this whole truth is.
There will always be that voice that is there
that you should look for and listen for.
And so this verse also—this passage—Psalm 46—a couple verses after
that has reference to a beautiful line that many have quoted
that has to do with the idea of knowing as well.
And that verse says simply this,
"Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am God."
In the midst of whatever is happening out there in your world,
whatever you're faced with, whatever the difficulty, just go get still
and hear the voice that says, "Be still and know that I am God.
And therefore, I am with you. I am with you. And know the truth with me."
And in that stillness comes that knowingness.
If you don't know, you don't grow.
And so it's about coming to a depth of knowing in this life.
And if you use what you know then more will be given—
more life, more joy, more love, more opportunity to grow.
So the question becomes, you know, how do you come to know?
Well, a passage that was given to me when I was confirmed from the Lutheran church as a young man
was my affirmation or verse for life, and I've always carried it with me.
And it is a powerful verse, and I feel like it was ordained by God that it be given.
And that verse was, "Ask and it shall be given. Seek and ye shall find.
Knock and the door will be opened unto you."
Wouldn't you love to have that as your verse for life?
That somehow every kid was given a verse, and that was mine.
It's now yours. Okay? "Ask and it shall be given unto you.
Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened unto you."
You know, many people are too busy and preoccupied in their life to stop and to know God.
To ask, to seek, to knock—that's something that we're called upon to do
if we're going to go to a level of depth.
Jesus explained a bit about this matter of those who come to know
and those who do not come to know, and the way that came about
was he was talking from a boat.
And this is in Matthew—Gospel of Matthew 13 where he was speaking from the boat
beside the sea, and there was a large crowd that had formed there.
And he began to speak in parables, and his first parable that he spoke
was the parable of the sower, and you are familiar with that,
but that really is telling about those who know and those who don't know,
those who have depth and those who don't have depth
because they are the seeds of life, the seeds of truth that are always there—always falling in our path—you see?
And some fell along the path and birds ate them.
Others fell on rocky ground, and there wasn't much depth of soil.
So they sprang up real fast, a lot of excitement, and enthusiasm, but when the sun came out they withered quickly.
They didn't have depth. Others fell along rocks.
And so—or thorns—I'm sorry.
And they were choked out by the thorns, and then finally the others
fell among good soil and brought forth grain, 100-fold, 60-fold, 30-fold.
And the point is that where are you in that?
Where are you? Do you have an ability to be still and know?
And in the knowing to take it to a depth of your being, so that you actually
have a production—a harvest of the grain—100-fold, 60-fold, 30-fold—
depending on where you are in your unfoldment.
And then the disciples they ask, "Well, why do you speak to them in parables?"
And Jesus was saying basically that there are those who are able to learn
and really want to learn and have ears to hear and eyes to see
that are willing to take it to a depth and others who are not.
And if they are not it's going to go right over their heads
because there isn't a sincerity and a genuine authentic wanting to know.
There isn't a hunger and a thirsting.
And he said, "To you it has been given to know—to know the secrets
because you guys hunger; you're around me. You're following this.
But for him who has will more be given," and he—I'm sorry—
"To you it has been to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven,
but to them it has not been given."
He said, "For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance.
But from him who has not even that which he has will be taken away."
And then he went on and spoke about this, and he quoted from Isaiah
and what Isaiah had said around this—the prophet.
And he quotes he saying, "You shall indeed hear but never understand.
And you shall indeed see, but never perceive.
For this people's heart has grown dull.
And their ears are heavy of hearing.
And their eyes they have closed.
Unless—unless" and here's your opening, "unless they should perceive with their eyes
and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn for me to heal them."
In other words there is an ability to see, not just with your eyes, but to actually perceive with your heart,
to not just hear with your ears, but to hear with your heart, to connect with life at
another depth of being, and it's really what Gary Zukav has talked about in one of his books.
He calls it multi-sensory. He's saying some of us live at that surface sense of the five senses.
And then others of us, as the parable of the five lamps
and five maids having oil and five not.
Some of us don't have oil in our lamps.
The oil, if you have the oil, you have the oil of the Divine.
It's lighting—it's lit—it has depth ability.
So one of the keys seems to be this genuine desire to know God's will for us
and to really want to know God's will for us and to listen to this voice—this inner voice—
that is always there within us and then to follow it.
And for those who do they will have eyes to see and ears to hear
and more shall be given—your next step in your unfoldment.
You know, my mother was a person who regularly prayed.
And she would spend time, and she would go into her bedroom in the mornings
for a period of about 30 minutes or somewhere in and around that time, and she had her quiet time.
And here about 10 years ago when she was 80 years old,
she was living alone, and she had been living alone for about 7 years in the house that I grew up in.
She had been living there for 50 years.
And it had gotten to the time where she had had a hip surgery, and her mobility was in question.
And it was tentative whether she really should be living there alone.
My sister and brother were there some and looking after her, but we were really kind of
edging her up to thinking about that. She was a bit resistant.
But, anyway, 1 day she was out in the yard, and she could move around, but she was shaky.
And, anyway, she bent down to pull a weed, and she she bent down she fell over.
And when she was at the point where if she fell over, she couldn't get up.
The only way was if she found a tree or something to cling to and pull herself up.
But there wasn't anything nearby, so there she was laying.
And she began to drag herself to the neighbor.
And here's my mom, 80 years old, dragging herself to the neighbor.
And in that moment she got hit with a deep knowing.
And the knowing was—it's time. It's time.
It's time to go ahead and go to a place where I can have some care or some help around me and so forth.
And so there was a person that stopped in traffic and came from the street and helped her,
and she shared with us that it was time.
And she really moved on that knowing, and so in a matter of a short time we had her in a one-bedroom
apartment for seniors, or she was in the process of really moving.
And she called me on the day that she was moving,
and she called me from the house, and the movers were there, and my sister was there helping.
And she asked me, "Did you read the 'Daily Word' today?"
And the "Daily Word" is a devotional; it has a little message for each day.
And she had read the "Daily Word," and I said, "No, Mom, I haven't read it yet this morning."
And she started to tell me that it is just perfect, exactly, written for her
as to what was happening in her life.
And she began to read it to me, and she broke down crying 2 or 3 times.
And she said, "I don't know why I'm so emotional about it."
But the truth is, I knew why she was emotional about it because she had made a decision,
and it had come from a deep knowing—it was as if God spoke to her, "It's time. It's time to move on."
And she had acted on it, and now it was as though God was confirming this was the right move.
And it just felt like such a connection for her to the one spirit that spoke inside of her.
And this is how it read—this was the message that day.
And it could relate to a lot of us, but it certainly did to her.
"I have the spiritual resources to meet change with success.
I am ready to move on to new places; perhaps a new home or job is on my horizon.
Or my new place may be that next plateau of my spiritual growth
or a greater level of responsibility in my career.
I thank God for creating this new start for me.
As I move forward I use this opportunity to leave behind the old habits, the old ways of thinking,
and even old belongings that no longer serve me.
I have everything I need to adapt to the changes in my life
because I bring with me all the spiritual resources I have acquired through the years.
Faith, optimism, inner strength, and an awareness that God is with me at all times and in all places."
Isn't that beautiful? I mean, it was like boom, and she just—it was great. [applause]
Inside of all of us—inside of all of us is a voice, and it is the voice of the Christ,
the voice of the Holy Spirit, the voice of the whole truth.
It is what Jesus recalled the Good Shepard.
And he said that, "You will recognize that voice the same way that sheep know
when it is their Shepard or a stranger."
It is familiar—they know—they know that they know.
When you have a Shepard that is speaking—that is a voice inside of you
as you get to know it at depths.
You know, Jesus even says truly, truly, I say unto you I am the door of the sheep.
The Christ in you—this voice—is the door that you are to move through.
And so there is a—we are to create a path, really, in us to this river of knowing.
You know, one day there were 4 employees standing around a copy machine,
and they were from different departments in their place of work.
And the first person was from accounts payable, and she said,
"We have to get our bills paid, so I should go first with the copier."
And then the person who was the accounts receivables said,
"You know, if I don't get our receivables collected you won't have the money to pay the bills."
Then the project manager wanted on the copier, and he said,
"No, no, no. Unless I sell something there won't be any receivables to collect to pay the bills,
so I should go first." Well then the last person was standing there around the copy machine.
She was from payroll—everyone swiftly cleared the path.
Payroll—let the lady through.
Well, we need to create that kind of a path inside of us where the Christ within
or this Holy Spirit or the spirit of truth is able to speak
and the door is swung wide open into the depths of knowing the truth of who you are
and you are to be.
You know, there are many distractions that we face that are going on
at the same time that we're trying to do this in life.
And it is kind of like the mechanic—I've heard the story the mechanic named Jones
was scheduled to have a heart transplant from the famous Dr. DeBakey.
And Jones was a mechanic, and he said,
"You know, I'm a mechanic. I also take valves out. I grind them and put in new parts.
And when I finish this baby it purrs like a kitten.
And so how come you get the big bucks and we do basically the same thing—same kind of work?"
And DeBakey said, "Try doing your work with the engine running." [laughter]
There are lots of things going on around us in this world all the time—busy, busy, busy.
And so we have to, in the midst of outer things that are running and going on,
we have to do whatever it takes to go to the heart of life—to the depth of life.
There is a quote from Paul D'Arcy from "Red Fire."
It's a book that she wrote, and it speaks about what we're talking about.
Just listen to this—it speaks to me.
It goes, "There is a plane of existence that to us is very real.
Within this reality we raise our families, publish newspapers, shop for food and clothing,
marvel at the world's artistry, form governments, and create laws for the common good.
Moving inside of these agreements we work together with purpose and possibility—
never questioning the appearance of things.
Yet within this experience, even as we live it, there is something else which knows us
and which is calling us to its self.
In the midst of full and complicated lives, it is there.
But while many things in life clamor for our attention,
this presence will not force itself to be heard above the competing sounds of our coveted routines.
It waits, shimmering at the edge of our imagination; only the opening of the heart calls it forward.
And only the spirit within is able to know it.
Everything else is an echo.
As we experience the moments we call our lifetime
there is always the dilemma between choosing to see only the lesser plane of existence or to awaken."
So the choice is yours. Today is a choice lay before you to awaken.
And to awaken means to go deeper—to listen to this voice, to touch the river of God,
the voice that wants to take you to the truth of who you are,
to get acquainted, to be intimate, to be genuine and authentic, to know that love is what you are.
That you are a spiritual being—an eternal being to know that you know that you know that this is the truth of who you are.
Get still—listen to the voice in you that says be still and know that I am God.
To know is to grow. God bless you all.
[Don't Miss These Coming Events] [Unity of Houston] [♪ music ♪]
[Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.] [Author of "The Five Levels of Attachment: Toltec Wisdom for a Modern World] [November 7th 7:30-9:30 pm]
[Unity of Houston] [For Tickets 713-782-4050] [www.UnityHouston.org]
[Male Speaker] Thank you for joining us for today's message.
We invite you to be with us again next Sunday.
At Unity, we believe that God's presence of love and goodness is everywhere
and that life is meant to be good.
You can find out more about Unity and our teachings at UnityHouston.org.
[Reverend Howard Caesar] Are you currently church shopping looking for that right church for you or your family?
Perhaps you've been looking and been turned off by organized religion.
It happens—let me suggest you try Unity Church.
We are a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity.
Many who have found us have said, "I didn't know there was a church that taught what I always believed."
Let's be honest—people shop for clothes, good restaurants, and the right church that feeds them spiritually.
If you're seeking a spiritual truth beyond tradition, try Unity Church. Come join us.