THE GREATEST DISCOVERY OF ALL-TIME – UCOH
Maya Angelou
Speaker, Poet
Maya Angelou delivered the eulogy at Eric Butterworth’s funeral and wrote the Foreword to the 40th Anniversary edition of Discover the Power Within You.
In the “Foreword to the 40th Anniversary Edition” of Eric Butterworth’s spiritual classic, Discover the Power Within You, the esteemed poet Maya Angelou acknowledges her affinity for the “compelling idea” at the very heart of Butterworth’s teachings. Namely, that “the power of God, the essential spirit, is within each of us.”
This idea is also at the heart of what Butterworth would call the “great discovery,” the most elemental truth about mankind that can be known. For Butterworth, Jesus was the historical figure who brought this quintessential truth to the planet. Early in Discover The Power Within You, as he is drawing distinctions between the “religion about Jesus” and the “religion of Jesus,” Butterworth identifies this “great discovery” when he writes:
“Jesus did not come to found a new religion….He formulated no creeds. He created no ritual, He developed no theology. The alpha and the omega of His teaching was the Divinity of Man.”
The principle of the “Divinity of Man” was the foundational teaching Jesus brought to the consciousness of mankind. For Butterworth, the “great discovery” of this truth by Jesus “may well be the greatest event in human history,” albeit perhaps also the most misunderstood.
Unity minister and metaphysical author, Eric Butterworth’s classic book, Discover the Power Within You, makes the point that “your thought is your life.”
Eric Butterworth’s classic book, Discover the Power Within You, makes the point that Jesus’ discovery of the “Divinity of Man” is the single greatest event in human history.
Eric Butterworth’s classic book, Discover the Power Within You, makes the point that Jesus’ discovery of the “Divinity of Man” is the single greatest event in human history.
In the religion about Jesus, the birth of Jesus is usually identified as the greatest event. However, Butterworth offers that it actually occurred in the moment that Jesus fully realized his own Divine Nature and inseparable connection to and with God, the Divine Creator of all that is and all that will ever be. That is the moment in time that human history began to change, the instant that the belief in separation from God first began to heal.
The “Divinity of Man” is the core idea at the foundation of Jesus’ own teachings and he made no claims of special endowment. He believed it for each and every person. In His own words, Jesus plainly stated: “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do.” [John 14:12]
The greatest frontier mankind can ever explore is the Divinity of Man, the “great within.” For each one of us as individuals, our most essential purpose is to connect with the realization of our own inner divinity. In making the connection, we also connect with the authentic power of our own Christ potential. This is the great “power within” available to each one of us at all times, in all circumstances. At the end of the day, living our live from this awareness is really all that is expected of us in return for the Gift of Life. Nothing more. But, also, nothing less.
Licensed Unity Teacher, Rick Busby will be leading a 5-week class based on Eric Butterworth’s Discover the Power Within You on Wednesdays from September 23 through October 21st at Unity Church of the Hills in Austin, Texas. The class is open to everyone and registration details for the class can be found here at the Unity Church of the Hills website. For Unity students pursuing the S.E.E. Personal Development curriculum, this class can be taken as an elective credit.
