Change is inevitable. In truth, it is the only constant in the universe. Transformation, on the other hand, is optional, and not guaranteed. If we simply experience change for change’s sake, we may too easily find ourselves reduced to playing the part of a victim, feeling powerless in the face of change. For change to be truly transformative, we must assume responsibility for our experience. We must engage the changes, and commit to do the internal work necessary to be transformed. Achieving that end requires the courage to imagine new possibilities for our experience.
A Year of Change & Transformation
In 2017, the spiritual community at Unity Church Of The Hills experienced an inspiring year of change and transformation. We moved through the experience of change together, honoring our past together, acknowledging our fears and uncertainties together, co-creating and affirming our new vision together, and finally, committing ourselves to the transformative possibilities. By year’s end, the UCOH community had been transformed, in large part, because of a willingness to practice the creative and spiritual principles that Unity teaches.
In late June, we said good-bye to our beloved spiritual leader, and retiring senior minister, Rev. Steve Bolen, who took over the reins in 2007, from our founding co-ministers, Revs. Ron & Lenore Scott. For ten years, Rev. Steve led the UCOH community through a decade of stable, vital growth and spiritual expansion. Then in July, less than one month after his retirement, we welcomed Revs. Brian and Kristen Grandon into the UCOH family as our new Spiritual Leaders. Through Brian and Kristen’s loving, spirit-filled leadership, the UCOH community ended 2017 fully transformed, and ready for a new and exciting vision in 2018.
The Courage To Come From Within
UCOH’s experience is only a microcosm of the broader, paradigm shifting changes that 2017 brought to the world at large. For many, some of those changes are producing considerable turbulence, which manifests itself as resistance to the changes. As a matter of spiritual principle, that which we resist, persists. Resistance impedes our potential to experience individual and collective transformation. It is helpful for us all to remember that transformation first occurs internally, within our own consciousness, before it becomes manifest and apparent in our external reality.
When we are in the midst of changes in our personal experience, we must have the courage to go within, to connect with the deepest truth we can reach, and then allow the truth we know to inform our every thought, word and action. Given that we are in the midst of changes virtually every single day of our lives, cultivating the life skills necessary to go within, and come from within are vital to living an empowered, transformative experience.
The Courage To Imagine
Taking a cue from Unity Worldwide Ministries, UCOH’s master plan for growth and expansion in 2018 will emphasize two powerful creative energies, courage and imagination. Through Rev. Brian’s fall 2017 series highlighting the work of Dr. David Hawkins, we learned that courage is the threshold where we begin to access and express true creative power. Through the work of Unity co-founder, Charles Fillmore, we know that imagination is one of the twelve creative powers of humankind. By demonstrating the courage to imagine new possibilities for our experience, we marry these two creative energies together to produce a powerful synergy capable of transforming our experience beyond our previous limitations.
Revs. Brian and Kristen will be leading the UCOH community through this experience as the year unfolds. In the first quarter, they will be emphasizing “the courage to come from within” in their lessons. Among many other events planned for the year to support this intention, in early March, UCOH will be hosting Rev. Robert Brumet for a three-day meditation retreat. For those of you not familiar with Rev. Brumet, he has been one of the key faculty members at the Unity Institute responsible for training many of the current generation’s ministerial leaders throughout the Unity movement. Rev. Brumet is a treasured teacher and Unity leader. He facilitates a transformative experience designed to encourage a deeper, more connected relationship with our own indwelling divinity. Before our indwelling divinity can inform our experience, we must become adept at connecting with it. Doing so puts us in the best position for our lives to be transformed by change, rather than wrecked by change.
In future blogs throughout the year, we will explore other aspects of “The Courage to Imagine” experience. For now, just know that the place to begin is within. If you want to truly energize your experience for the year, then making a commitment to attend Rev. Brumet’s three-day meditation retreat is an excellent choice. Stay tuned for registration details to be announced very soon.
