​"Jesus said, 'I AM the bread of life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more - ever.'"  - John 6:35  

A book I read recently suggested that the journey of a loaf of bread from farm to table could be a metaphor for steps on the spiritual path. Let's explore this premise and imagine how we might use these stages in bringing about desired change in our lives.

a) Planting - we can plant positive seed ideas in our consciousness.

b) Nurturing - using the tools of prayer and meditation, we encourage the ideas to deepen and root into our consciousness, allowing them to grow healthy and strong.

c) Harvesting - when what we have planted appears and is strong, we can harvest it in confidence that we are bringing about our desired result.

d) Kneading - this action reminds us that we have to work - sometimes repeatedly - until we get the desired consistency of what we want to express.

e) Rising - we become aware our consciousness has changed, leading to tangible results in our inner experiences, manifesting in our outer world.

f) Sharing - by living from our changed consciousness we are sharing the results of our work with the world.

Trust the Love…Thoughts from a Silent Unity UK Prayer Line Volunteer
 
“Responding to the prayer line is being in a different space in my body/mind.  I am aware of a different level of reality:  a knowing that God’s love is all there is.

If, for an instant, I drop into thinking about a caller’s concern, I quickly remember to stop and let faith in God’s reality bring me back to my essence.  Effortlessly from this place within, I reflect the truth as I pray with the caller.  We both know it.  We share the peace and comfort of certainty that God’s love is ensuring the highest good for the caller.
 
What could be a mightier gift to a fellow human being?  And there is no greater proof to me that giving is receiving.”
​

1st -7th June is national volunteer week. In celebration and with deep love and gratitude we re-share this article from one of our previous long term volunteers. 
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First published in Daily Word (UK edition), May/June 2018 

​This week is volunteers week.  1-7 June
 
Today we would like to say thank you and celebrate all our wonderful volunteers who help support Unity UK.
 
In particular, we want to highlight and thank all those who volunteer on our telephone prayer line, Silent Unity.
 
If you have ever called our prayer line you will have spoken to one of our trained volunteers who answer the phones, listens to and prays with callers. Volunteers are trained in the Unity way of praying affirmatively and are supported with a book of prayers and affirmations for a range of circumstances.
 
A favourite prayer continues to be Unity’s Prayer for Protection and many callers like to end the call reciting this together.

We are so thankful for all our volunteers who serve on Silent Unity.
 
If you are a Unity student or have experienced Unity prayer and would like to explore becoming a volunteer, contact Rev. Kimerie Mapletoft for more information.
 
And remember the prayer line is open Monday to Friday 9.30am-4.30pm.
When the line is busy you can leave a message and when the line is closed you can listen to a recorded prayer, changed weekly, which is very popular with our night time callers.  
You can also email or write to Silent Unity. All emails and letters are read, all names are held in prayer for thirty days and you will receive a letter or email of support in return.
Contact Silent Unity Prayer Line ​

"Times of change are times of fearfulness and times of opportunity. Which they are to be for you depends on your attitude toward them."            —from The Great Physician by Ernest C. Wilson ​

How do you respond to our changing times?
Do you find it exciting and full of opportunity?
Or do you feel fearful, way out of your comfort zone and want to hide away?

​I will admit I have times when I experience both, depending on my energy levels and faith in that moment.

Sometimes we know something needs to change, yet we still feel nervous and unsure. Alternatively, it may feel like we are being forced to make a change and we experience inner resistance. We all have different ways we respond to change. Certainly, change is the one constant in our lives! 

My practice, which is ongoing, is to be as present as I can to any discomfort, while at the same time holding space to know God here as well. This supports me in moving through any resistance. I am then able to hear the universal call to awaken into my True Self, to remember who I am. I am learning to identify with my divinity, which I find in the midst of my humanity. Does this make sense to you? Get still for a moment and let your wise heart hear these words … I find my divinity in the midst of my humanity. 

My work is to be present to me as Kimerie, knowing God as Pure Spirit is here at the same time. If I cannot find God as good here in the midst, there is some work for me to do! But when I do, I experience the power of divine wisdom, love and order, (the unceasing flow of limitless good). This deepens my faith, enabling me to find the peace and stillness that Jesus knew on the boat when he calmed the waters of the storm around him. (Mark 4: 35-41)

In each moment, as we centre into Divine Presence, compassionately aware of our human limitations, yet not stuck in them, we find we are able to move through them to our deeper, true essence and being. Now we find every need is met and every answer given. (Mt. 7:7)

Let us move through change together, using the power of prayer and our Unity events. As we do, we will be open to discover the Divine Presence and Power within us that beautifully knows the answer to every situation we face and leads us through change to our greater good. Now we can get excited about the opportunities that change provides.

The Sufis say the heart is the bridge between Heaven and Earth. In each holy moment, when we are present to our humanity and the turbulence around us, with kindness, compassion and peace, without identifying with the turbulence or making it ours, we can connect into our divinity. We have made space to experience the perfect activity of God, as our love, life, wisdom, joy and peace. It is beautiful, freeing, healing and uplifting.

I suggest finding this centre point within us is one of the keys to living a happy and fulfilled life.
How do we do this? This is the big question …

Gary Simmons, in his book, The ‘I’ of the Storm, writes in his introduction – no one is against us. No one is against us. This statement can stop many of us in our tracks, as our experience often seems to suggest that the whole world is against us! However, take a few moments to reflect on this statement … No one is against us.  What arises in you when reading this? …

In Unity we talk about Oneness all the time – The Father and I are one; we are one with God, with nature and with each other. From this point of oneness, how can anyone be against us – there is only one energy here. Moreover, that energy is inviting us, in each holy moment, to awaken into our True Nature; to allow healing and integration of the wounds from our past, individually and collectively, so we can really experience this oneness we talk about all the time!

I believe we are all on this journey. I write and share about it often for I recognise this as my journey. Our divine inheritance, as Gary writes, is to realise and claim our divine nature as a beloved creation (expression) of God. I make this claim for me and for you, and invite you to claim this for yourself.

To support us on this journey, we are offering you the opportunity to join our next Unity online class, “The Peaceful Process” using Gary’s book as our guide. Together we will find peace in the midst of conflict, calmness in the midst of turbulence; and we will discover we are more than the result of our human experiences – we are spiritual beings awaking into our truth.

Walk this journey with us. It is a powerful one – it changes us and we will support each other throughout the process. As we say in Unity, when we change, our experience of the world changes too.  We find we are spiritual warriors, walking the path of peace.

When I first came to Unity in 2002, the language was, of course, very much of the previous century. God was still masculine, known as ‘father and He’, as seen in the original Unity texts and books. Our co-founder, Charles Fillmore, did in fact use the term Divine Mind instead of God to move away from the idea that God is a separate being. In Unity, we have always been encouraged to use our minds to connect with Divine Mind, to release the Christ energy within, that is here as our perfect potential.
 
If you take Daily Word today, or receive our modern publications, you may have noticed that the language is changing. It is now about Oneness. Instead of God as He or even Father/ Mother God, we use words like Spirit, Pure Being, All that is. What was once termed simply ‘Metaphysics’ is now ‘Heart-Centred Metaphysics’, thanks to the updated writings of Unity minister and author, Paul Hasselbeck.
 
Using my language today, I am taking the journey from my mind to my heart. In fact, according to HeartMath Institute experiments, when the mind and heart are connected to machines that measure their responses to computer-generated images, always the heart responds first, sometimes even before the image appears! The mind follows.
 
For all of us, recognising old thought patterns and beliefs is important. It is only when we recognise and then release the previously unconscious responses that we truly connect with life-affirming statements and God-inspired ideas. God as our good is here all along.
 
However, for me, it is our heart energy; our compassion; the opening and softening of our heart centres that enables deep, abiding change. Ideas open our minds, but it is the ‘whole’ experience of heart/mind/body that changes us.
Unity is so positive, uplifting, encouraging and restoring that for me it goes beyond language into a feeling experience. This is what changes us. It has changed me. Unity is very much of the heart.
 
When you find yourself caught up in negative thinking, or your mind distracted and engaged only by the things of the world, know that you are so more than your thoughts. Gently, compassionately, move your awareness from your mind to your heart. For me, it is the heart-energy that sets us free.
 
Rev Kimerie Mapletoft
Director of Silent Unity and Daily Word UK

The gift of being present. 
​
Unity practises and teaches that prayer and meditation are two of the most important spiritual activities we can do for ourselves. Why?

They connect us into the One Presence and One Power that is our awareness of God here, in our midst, just as Jesus taught. When we tune into this God-Presence, heart, mind and body, (all of us in other words) we become present to all that God is, and in my opinion there is nothing better than this.

When we pray and meditate to connect into our God-experience, we do so in each holy moment – we become present to Presence and the gifts overflow. Some examples for you …
When I was away for my month’s sabbatical in Devon, I was so grateful for the experience and time to be with me and God alone, that my heart sung, my spirits soared and the felt-experiences of my walks, quiet times, hobbies, were indelibly printed in my mind/body/heart. So much so that whenever I remember my sabbatical, I reconnect with the joy, gratitude and soaring of spirit, re-experiencing the energy here and now. This is because I was present in each moment to all that was there for me. It was profound and I remain deeply grateful for the opportunity and experience.

Back in 1989, I had six fabulous weeks in Australia and to this day, the memories and felt-experiences of my time there are indelibly printed in my whole self. It was as if I came alive in the sun and energy of that continent and I have never forgotten it. (I have forgotten many other things!) I absorbed all that was there for me by being present in every moment. Now whenever I remember that time, my whole being is once more imbued with the same energy and joy.
We can also be present to our moments of deep pain, sadness, anger or fear. Where most of us are taught to avoid, push away or control our uncomfortable feelings, I practice being present to them. I simply sit with the energy that is stored in my body, not engaging my mind and letting the energy move through me, as it needs to. My strong belief is that when I do this, I am making space for God-energy to flow, to heal that which seeks to know healing, and re-integrate any trapped energy previously held onto. Instead of feeling depleted, depressed and ill, I feel invigorated, loved, upheld and set free.

Being present to Presence, in each holy moment is such a gift, why would we not do this. Many of us have had profound moments of feeling connected into, one with, a love and wisdom that is so much more than we are – let us build on this and deepen our awareness of our oneness with God, whatever our human experience.
​
I invite you to take time, consciously, to be present to Presence. Let whatever arise, do so. It may be grief, fear, anger, joy, or deep abiding peace. Whatever it is, just be present. Engage the heart; disengage the mind. For there is real goodness love and freedom here. Share any examples with us on our blog page – we love to hear from you.

​We each in our own way, can take the path of service. We do not have to be a king or a queen or even a minister. We simply have, in our hearts, the deep desire to honour, support, respect and encourage those around us, so that each may know their inner light, worth and Truth. This happens successfully when we first honour, respect and support ourselves on our journey. As we believe in our self, our Divine Self, we can help others believe in themselves. This is the true path of service.
 
The other message to me was that this can be joyful. Yes there may be a sense of duty and responsibility. But as King Charles reflects, there is also deep joy, for when we give from our hearts, we receive love and joy in return.
 
So let us bless our King and Queen as they continue in their path of service. May humility, strength, compassion and respect continue to guide them, as they show the huge, life changing benefits that helping another brings.
 
And may we serve with the same humility, respect, strength and compassion, recognising the light within us all that is here to shine and radiate joy, love and peace.

Rev Kimerie Mapletoft
Director of Silent Unity and Daily Word UK

​Have you thought about what spiritual community means to you? I often write about its importance to me, as I have experienced and deeply appreciate the feeling of community I have, serving as a minister in Unity. For we teach what we need to learn, and that is certainly an ongoing experience! I also know it is in the giving that we receive, which for me is joyful.

Personally, I get a lot of joy and upliftment through sharing Unity principles and teachings, whether it is in a Sunday talk, an online workshop, teaching a class or leading a retreat.
When I was told about Unity and literally first showed up at Unity’s front door, I felt like I had come home. I soon realised it was a place I wanted to support because I felt supported, encouraged and invited to grow into my spiritual self. Unity has become my spiritual community.

What is spiritual community to you? Do you have a vision of how this looks and feels for you?

I invite you to take some quiet time this week or month, to reflect on your vision. Is Unity part of this? If so, do you have a picture of how this looks for you?

We would love to hear your ideas and vision. Please email to tell us, or comment  below

It will help us as we seek to serve and support in this 21st century.

Another thing I love about Unity is its practicality – how do we do this? How do we stay open to compassion and keep our focus on God, remembering God is love (1.John 4:8)? How do we remember that God is the One Presence expressing through and as all of life, in its myriad forms on this planet, when there seems to be a lot that contradicts this?

Perhaps this is the challenge of being alive – where do I put my focus? On the problem, or the solution? All successful people are solution-based. Yet the solution is not in the world – it is not of the world. The solution is staying God-centred: God is Spirit as us, our eternal Source and supply, in you and me, connecting us together as One.

Grand words – powerful maybe … what do they inspire in you? Do they speak to you and lift your soul? Perhaps you have another response. Everything is valid. The question is … does it lead you to greater compassion and peace? Because for me, if I do not have these qualities in my life, there is no joy, no fulfilment, no meaning.

Unity follows the teachings of Jesus, and a more compassionate person we will struggle to find. Despite knowing that it would probably backfire on him, Jesus healed on the Sabbath – he reached out to those whom the rest of society ignored – it takes a great soul to do this. Especially as at that time, the Romans ruled the Jews and their way of life was so restricted. What courage Jesus had.

Today, it still takes courage for us to face, and love, that in us which seems impure, unloving, hurting, wounded. Yet compassion calls us to respond to ourselves, and each other, this way. Further, we have to give compassion to ourselves before we can share it with others and respond with compassion to all we see around us.

This is something I continually find myself having to practice! Ildiko Kudlik, our newest Unity minister in training, will dive into this at our online workshop this month, inviting us to explore and experience compassion together. Paul Mapletoft will be exploring ‘the flow’, our inexhaustible supply, as described by Eric Butterworth, and Nancy Sandoval will invite us to celebrate ourselves and the goodness we are, as encouraged by Eric Butterworth, one of our best loved Unity authors. Beth O’Connell will invite us to use music and movement to support us, in honour of our lovely Unity teacher, Isabel Compton, who passed away last year. I will open the day and close with the invitation to honour our humanity, which frees us to experience our divinity – the wholeness of ourselves.

We all learn when we come together with compassion, understanding, and a desire to remember who we are – beloved of God. This is the power of Spiritual Community. Together we support each other, so we can go beyond our minds into the great Heart.

Join our online workshop and share in a day of compassion, upliftment, and practical ways we can know for ourselves, we are enough!

Rev. Kimerie Mapletoft