Once we have begun to “belong” to ourselves, standing alone or standing with others, we must use our authenticity and vulnerability to connect with other humans in ways that undo our conditioned responses to them—-those learned through our family culture, societal programming, and personal insecurities. Rather than rejecting those with whom we disagree, we move closer to begin to discover who they REALLY are. Rather than dismissing a casual offending comment, we summon our courage to speak truth to the situation. Rather than always seeing strangers as “other,” we move toward our commonalities and shared experiences so that we participate in those shining moments of observing the achingly beautiful Christ Spirit.

Maya Angelou said, “You are only free when you realize you belong no place---you belong every place---no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.” This may not seem logical, but it contains great truth. We spend a large part of our lives trying to FIT IN with life and with other people. The cost of this is postponing the ability to truly BELONG, not just to our “tribe,” but belonging to ourselves in the spiritual sense. We are comfortable and fulfilled in ourselves, no matter where we are or with whom we are traveling in any given moment. Spirit is our Source for this great and profound shift in Being.

Do you ever feel like you’re in the dark about your true gifts and talents? Or that you’re constantly playing hide-and-seek with your life’s purpose? Do you work hard at “being open to guidance” but still find yourself wishing Spirit would just put a billboard in your front yard and tell you what it is you’re here to do…and be? And what about summoning the courage to follow a life-calling – where does that come from? Let’s bring these questions (and more) out of the shadows.

This month has taken us through 30 days to fearless living. (If you’ve been in the Wednesday night class, this is familiar to you!) We celebrate our month-long journey this week through the writings of Daniel Nahmod (a musician whose music we often enjoy!), early Unity teacher Mary L. Kupferle, and a Daily Word reading from 1949, among other inspiration pieces.

It should be pretty obvious by now that we are in the midst of daily changes. Today we look at the difficult, challenging moments of change in our lives and learn how best to perceive them, shine Light upon them, use them to transmute us into the fullness of our magnificence. Would you like to manifest health, prosperity, and harmony? Stay tuned for some practical tips in this lesson from people like Joan Borysenko and Rev. Bob Barth