An Interview with Rev. Steve Bolen
This coming Sunday, September 25th, UCOH’s Reverend Steve Bolen will present the first in a 4-part series exploring “The Seven Pillars of Truth” as described in the book, This Life Is Joy by Dr. Roger Teel. Parallel to Rev. Steve’s Sunday series, UCOH’s “Spirit Groups” will also be exploring the “seven pillars” during their 5-week, in home experiences, which also begin this coming week. In anticipation of this exciting new series, Licensed Unity Teacher, Rick Busby sat down with Rev. Steve to talk about his experience with This Life Is Joy and to give a preview of what we can expect in the coming weeks. Below is a portion of their interview.
Rick: Good morning, Rev. Steve. Before we get into the book itself, for those who may not be familiar with his work, tell us a little about Dr. Roger Teel.
Rev. Steve: I consider Dr. Teel to be among the top five New Thought leaders and teachers in the world today. He is one of the central figures in the Association for Global New Thought, helping to found that organization a number of years ago. He has made a tremendous difference in the lives of not only the congregants at Mile Hi Church in Denver, but his influence goes well beyond that church and this book is one of the ways he extends his reach. Mile Hi Church itself is a beautiful model for New Thought ministry. Their primary approach is Religious Science, but you could sit in there on any given Sunday and not see much difference between their talks and a Unity talk, because they both focus on how to bring spiritual principles into our lives. Dr. Teel is a wonderful example of not only how to live these principles, but also in how to teach them, and I am very excited to be bringing his work to the UCOH community.
Rick: I have not yet read the book, but as I understand it, This Life Is Joy is broken down into three main parts. There is a brief fable that begins the book, which effectively serves as the first part. What can you tell us about the fable that opens the book without giving too much away?
Rev. Steve: The fable is a great launching pad for this work. It is essentially about a seeker who is looking outside of himself trying to find the answers. Without giving all of it away, he learns that the real heart of it all is to go inside to find the light, to see the darkness there as well, but ultimately learning to also find the light. That is what gives him his breakthrough.
Rick: So, in the 4-part series beginning Sunday, you are only going to unpack the second part of the book, which is “The Seven Pillars of Truth,” correct?
Rev. Steve: It’s a very rich series, Rick. There is so much in each page that we decided to do two series, instead of just one. This first one on “The Seven Pillars of Truth” coincides with our Season of Gratitude; and, the second series on “The Nine Portals of Transformation” will launch the New Year. The entire series will be a really good reminder for those of us who have been around Unity principles for a long time and will give us a lot of good tools to put those principles into use.
Rick: Which of the “seven pillars” in particular resonated with you personally?
Rev. Steve: One of the seven pillars is “This Life Is Joy,” which is also the title of the book, of course. He covers others like love, light and Oneness, but “This Life Is Joy” is a great reminder that we are really here to live joyful lives. It’s not about putting on a happy face in the midst of challenges, and pretending they are not there, but truly touching into the Spirit within that is always full of joy and seeing how we can bring that forth into our lives. All the other pieces really support that and you see the joy theme recurring in each one of the seven pillars of truth.
Rick: As I understand it, Dr. Teel presents these “seven pillars” as being the principles that he believes all of the major religions and spiritual traditions have in common. In this sense, the “seven pillars” are like spiritual principles that would apply universally. Would you say that is accurate?
Rev. Steve: I think it’s accurate in the mystical sense, and as you know, some of those traditions are more mystically oriented than others. But, I do think the “seven pillars” transcend the different forms of spirituality and their content is very much the same, whether it is joy, love, surrender, light or Oneness. They are all ideas of supply.
Dr. Teel, who is a deeply inspired individual, artfully uses stories to teach these principles, some are humorous and others full of pathos, but all very appropriate to the subject – the principle being taught. His stories help to “deliver the goods,” so to speak.
Rick: I understand Dr. Teel also provides suggestions at the end of each chapter as practical exercises to help the student further deepen their experience with the “seven pillars.” With respect to the lesson on “this life is joy,” which of the exercises made an impact on your experience and maybe helped you to get more joy?
Rev. Steve: He begins that particular chapter by writing, “Are you in touch with the fountain of joy within you? Can you sense this joy bubbling up everywhere, trying to proclaim itself once more to a weary world?”
He goes on to talk about the experience of that joy and the expression, which is much like our Principle #5 in Unity, “it’s not enough to know these things, we have to be willing to live them.”
For example, Dr. Teel advises, “When troubling or painful experiences come your way, honor your genuine feelings and emotional responses, and explore your capacity to summon a sense of the deep joy that abides within you no matter what’s going on.”
This really calls us to stand strong in that joy and to bring it into whatever’s going on in our lives. Not just to try and band-aid over it, or avoid it in some way, but rather to bring that joy forth to help deal with the challenge. Finally, he suggests to also schedule some specific and non-negotiable “willow time” into each week.
Rick: Willow time?
Rev. Steve: Willow time is a reminder that when the Jewish people were in captivity in Babylon, they would go down to the riverside and they would retrieve their harps and lyres hidden among the willows, allowing for themselves a period of joy, even in the midst of all the difficulties of the enslavement they were submitted to. The “willow time” is a great reminder to just take that time apart, regardless of what’s happening in our lives, to find those joyful moments – to recharge our lives.
Rick: Of course, making time for that celebration of joy resonates with Unity Principle #4, which is making time to go into the silence a priority in our lives.
Rev. Steve: Absolutely.
Rick: You used the word expression to symbolize the practical lessons. Would it be fair to say that he’s encouraging us to come from this place within, that we are not getting more joy or getting more peace, we are instead giving more of those qualities in our experience because we are coming from that place within, rather than trying to get to it?
Rev. Steve: Exactly! He reminds us that it lives within us and how to really honor that by cultivating ways to bring that forth more readily into our lives, particularly in those challenging times we all face.
Rick: Before we get out of here, any closing thoughts?
Rev. Steve: There is one idea I’d like to emphasize. This past Sunday, I spoke on the G.I.F.T., which comes from the chapter on “This Life Is Substance.” The G.I.F.T. is Dr. Teel’s 4-step prayer process, which is: God Is, I am, the Formulation of our Prayer and the final step of Thank You, and take over. The essentials of Unity Co-founder Charles Fillmore’s 7-step prayer process are encapsulated into the G.I.F.T. 4-step prayer process.
So, it goes, like this. God Is. I Am. Formulate clear ideas of our accepted Good. Speak “Thank You, and Take Over.” The “formulation” step is what it is that we are speaking into our prayer. The final step is expressing our gratitude and surrender. I see this prayer process being reinforced as the weeks go by during this series. It is a powerful process that allows us to get into the feeling nature of God, being fully present and then bringing that awareness into our prayers.
Rev. Steve’s 4-Part Series on “The Seven Pillars of Truth” runs parallel with the Spirit Groups beginning on Sunday, September 25 and running through Sunday, October 23. If you are not yet in a Spirit Group and wish to participate in “The Seven Pillars of Truth” small group discussions, please see the Spirit Groups table in the foyer to check on days, times and locations convenient to your schedule or find a group online.
