Infinite Spirit.
For a little Infinite Spirit music, check out this SPOTIFY PLAYLIST!
Rev. Warren Teachout talks about finding freedom in the Infinite Spirit.
Affirmation: Living as the divine being I am is the sweetest freedom.
SCRIPTURE INSPIRATION:
Galatians 5:1 ~ “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:13–15 ~ “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters;*
only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, * but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
GAINING WISDOM FROM POETRY:
Freedom by Unseeking Seeker
“We cannot be free, unless we’re aware of who we are and now weary for wear, our heart yearns with the universe to pair. To be by God’s grace blessed — sins exhumed, fears addressed, with no load on our chest — joy and freedom, soul’s quest. Simply shifting into silence tranquil,
thoughts rested and surrendering our will, the void of ignorance begins to fill. Clear light of truth shines bright — bestowed spherical sight,
we see we’re living light — pulsating day and night. Free at last, we flow with nary a care, bliss beats rise within, each life breath a crest, making easy our soul’s ascent uphill, as we so embark on a wingless flight.”
This poem is available at poetrysoup.com.
Here is the wisdom Rev. Warren pulled from this beautiful poem:
The poet’s experience of freedom came from being self-aware, merging or pairing his consciousness with that of the universe, and finding peace in silence. Through this process, he gradually came to the understanding that he is a being of Light, filled with joy. His experience of freedom enabled him to feel like he was flying through life without wings. I’ve heard that one of the deepest, if not often hidden, desires every human being has is the experience of peace.
This poem certainly touches on that — the peace found after shedding guilt from our past and letting go of all the unnecessary fears our minds make up.
Right along with that desire for peace, I think, is the desire to feel unburdened, to feel a lightness of being; in other words, freedom.
To truly feel and find that freedom, like the poem’s author, we must find it by contacting, communing with Infinite Spirit, and then pairing ourselves, merging ourselves with it. As I always say every single Sunday, this message could not possibly come at a more opportune time for myself. I bet you feel the same way.
THE OPPOSITE OF FREEDOM ~ BONDAGE:
When we are not free, we experience a bondage of some type. One definition of bondage found in Merriam-Webster: “servitude or subjugation to a controlling person or force”. When we are in bondage to someone or something, we are physically and/or mentally, emotionally confined,
restricted, and restrained from it.
BONDAGE CAN COME IN MANY FORMS:
We can be bound to chemical substances, habits, beliefs, money, sex, an image of how others see us, or even trying to live up to their expectations for us when those expectations are not our own. This bondage wreaks havoc in our lives, whether physical or mental/emotional, or both.
When we find ourselves in it, we yearn to be free, and wonder whether we’ll ever taste that freedom.
TYPES OF FREEDOM:
Like bondage, freedom comes in many forms.
- Freedom can be of a physical nature:
*Having our bodies be able to function without alcohol or drugs is an example.
*How well our bodies function, our health, is another measure of physical freedom.
*The ability to move our bodies through space is another.
2. Freedom can be of a mental nature:
*The thoughts we think again and again absolutely affect our personal experience of freedom.
*The most wonderful example I can think of is Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist who was a prisoner and survivor of four different Nazi concentration camps. He said, “Everything can be taken from a man but
one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Our ability to use our minds through the use of imagination to create dreams for our lives and then taking necessary actions to manifest those
dreams is an amazing freedom we have.
3. Freedom can be of an emotional/psychological nature:
*Freedom or relief from depression and other emotional disorders is an example.
*So is freedom from emotional codependency.
*The interesting thing about humanity is that we may be bound in one or more of those domains I just talked about.
*Where we find our ultimate freedom and where we are always free, whether we know it or not, is in the realm of Spirit.
FREEDOM FROM MOSAIC LAW:
Another passage from Galatians Rev. Warren touched on is chapter 5, verses 13–15: “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.”
For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The freedom Paul is talking about is freedom from Mosaic Law.
It’s interesting that here, he is letting the Galatians know that one form of bondage is absolutely acceptable. The bondage of loving one another will keep the Galatians from doing whatever they want — the self-indulgence.
Love becomes the pathway to freedom and fulfillment of the Law through it.
According to the Fillmore Study Bible, this passage has to do with discipline and holding our sense consciousness in check, in other words, our egos, through the practice of rites, ceremonies, and laws.
When we do find liberty in Christ, we think we no longer need to be bound to the observance of the ceremonies and rituals.
When we think that, we may likely go to the other extreme, and allow ego to guide instead of the wisdom of Christ within.
The last verse is an unvoiced comparison of Mosaic Law to the Law of Christ; whereas Mosaic Law is mostly negative in form, “thou shalt not”, Las of Christ is affirmative, “love thy neighbor”. W. Paul is restating the Golden Rule that Jesus gave, though in a slightly different form.
Rather than giving you my thoughts on this, as part of your homework for the week, I encourage you to meditate on how loving thy neighbor would result in freedom and remember that the word neighbor doesn’t
need to be taken literally here. It’s anyone with whom you come into contact.
FREEDOM OF SPIRIT ~ THE ULTIMATE FREEDOM
On July 4th here in the United States — we celebrate the various freedoms we enjoy by virtue of having the good fortune to be citizens of this country. Freedoms that include our ability to be here this morning in a Unity church, practicing our spirituality in a way that is true and meaningful for us, rather than being forced to believe or say we believe in a religion or faith that is not true and meaningful for us.
We are blessed.
However, our ultimate freedom is that of Spirit.
Today’s Daily Word reminds us to celebrate our spiritual freedom.
In that freedom, regardless of what has occurred in the past, we are free to co-create with God in the present moment. We let go of the thoughts, beliefs, habits, old ways of thinking, including seeking the approval or acceptance of others, that have bound us and held us back.
It is a new beginning. When we are centered in God, aware of our Oneness
with God, we can choose new thoughts, new ways of being.
Like Viktor Frankl, we know that we always get to choose our attitude.
That we always get to choose our own inner way.
TODAY’S MEDITATION:
Infinite Spirit, not only are we free in Spirit, our Spiritual nature,
our Divine nature is infinite, just as God is infinite.
We come to the awareness that we are fully human and
we are fully divine through the Christ within.
Jesus understood his Oneness with God, and prayed
that we may come to that same awareness as well.
That Oneness with God includes being One with each
other.
It is in the state of Oneness that we are Divine
As such, we may be in the world, but we are not of it.
We are free to express our Divinity here on this earth as
only we can; we are a unique expression/manifestation
of God.
With this awareness, we embrace new possibilities, new
ways of being. We go for our authentic dreams, knowing
we are worthy of them.
After all, we are a part of Infinite Spirit, God in action.
CONCLUSION
As you celebrate the 4th of July on Tuesday and
especially the freedoms we have, here’s your spiritual
homework for the week.
Just notice those areas in your life where you feel less
than free.
In prayer and meditation, centered in the Infinite Spirit
that is God, ask what is just one thing you can do to
begin to free yourself or shift your way of being so that
you have more freedom.
Listen for the answer and then find the will to act on
that guidance.
