It is glorious, as I walk around our neighbourhood, to see the trees blossoming and hear the birds singing, calling to attract their mate – especially when the sun is shining as it is today.
 
The combination really lifts the heart – we are so connected to nature. Indeed, we are part of nature – it is not separate from us, as the same life force that flows through us, flows through all of life. Yet we can get so busy or distracted, we seem to lose touch with this. I see people walk around looking at their phones, oblivious to life around them; or with ear buds in, listening to something or someone that is elsewhere.
 
However, Spring demands our attention. There is a newness of life and energy. If we stop and be still, that energy fills us and lifts us. We really do feel part of something greater than ourselves – for we are part of something that is greater than ourselves.
 
I encourage all of us to go out into nature, or even into a local street, and appreciate the trees coming into bud or blossom. Listen for the birds. As you connect with life and nature, what is happening inside you? Do you get a sense of newness filling you? Perhaps you feel a nudge to start something new; get outside more; feel a pull in a new direction. Newness takes many forms – and they are good for us. We have taken time to rest in the darker months of winter – now we can spring forth, paraphrasing our co-founder Charles Fillmore, to do with enthusiasm and zeal, whatever is ours to do.
 
And if you think – I am too old for that – he was in his 90’s when he spoke it.
 
You may even feel inspired (I do hope so) to come and visit us when we bring Unity to you. We really want to meet as many people as we can in person and share the joy of affirmative prayer and Daily Word. These tools really can, and do, change lives.
 
So, this Spring, allow a sense of newness to fill you. Reconnect with life and see where it takes you. It could be wonderful and good. Then, please share with us how Spring is uplifting you.
 

​Today’s Daily Word reminds us about the power of letting go. Today also happens to be the date of the memorial service being held for Dorothy Kirkman, who was our musical director extraordinaire, at Unity Maidenhead.
 
Most of you will not know Dorothy, but everyone, I am sure, has experienced someone dear to them leaving this human experience and moving on to ‘the next room of life’ as described by Unity co-founder, Myrtle Fillmore.
 
To me, this is a beautiful way of describing the soul journey. At some point, we all leave our human bodies behind, which sets our soul free to continue its exploration and discovery of what it is true for them.
 
Yet letting someone go, who is ready to move on, can be so hard to do. We want them to remain with us – to regain their health and life, even if they do not want to. My dear Unity friend, Isabel Compton was one such example. She was ready to move on, before I was ready to let her go. But as soon as I did, with only love in my heart, she went. The same happened with my dad. The same night I said to mum, he wants to move on, we must let him go, he left us. It was still a huge shock. And grieving followed of course. But love will always encourage us to let people go.
 
It is not our right to hold on to someone. There is a saying I often recommend to others: I love you, I bless you and I let you go to your good. They either stay, or they go – but they chose.
 
Today, if you have let someone go, and you miss them, grieving is natural response – of course we miss them. But also know, you have given and received the greatest gift – love. Nothing can remove this – it is a constant that goes with us, beyond this life to the next experience. And if, like Isabel, my dad and me, you believe in the soul going on, then it makes the grieving easier. We miss them, but love is eternal. 
 
John 16:28 "I came from the father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the father."
 
Rev Kimerie Mapletoft
Director of Silent Unity and Daily Word UK

The conditioned mind.
 
As children we are like sponges, absorbing the words and feelings that we hear and receive from our families, teachers, and people we know are important in our lives – so that we can make them our own.
 
Many of these are, hopefully, beliefs and ideas that serve us and support us in living happy, fulfilling lives. Yet many times we take onboard ideas that limit and restrict us. So much so, that we do not even realise we have done this. Our minds are programmed, our responses fine-tuned, and our lives set.
 
Well, this is not for me! For some time now, I have known I do not want to be limited by old ideas that no longer serve me. Our Lenten booklet is taking us through such examples right now.
 
Yet, I also know, how hard it is to even recognise we have limiting beliefs and ideas, let alone change them! Our egoic mind - that in us that is formed to keep us safe in an unsafe world (it believes) - will do all it can to stop us from changing our minds! It makes us right and everyone else wrong.
 
Whenever I experience an inner painful kick-back response, triggered by something someone has said or done in this present time, I recognise this is in response to old conditioning and beliefs I still hold onto, for example, there is not enough time/money/support etc. And I am being called out of my conditioning to respond in a new way. I am being invited to grow, in other words.
 
One example for me is the thought – I can never do enough and whatever I do is not good enough. I recognise this comes from old school reports. Even though there were often positive statements, all I remember is – she could do better! Literally.
 
Sometimes I can hear myself repeating my mother’s thoughts and words. So, I have learned to say back (to me) that is not me it is my mother speaking. And this can now change.
 
Whenever I feel hurt by something someone says or does, I can now ask: do I want to respond through my pain and stay stuck, or do I want to experience this differently? Choosing to respond differently invites us to go beyond our conditioned mind. To experience ourselves more beautifully and fully; unlimited and open to new possibilities and adventures.
 
Next time you experience a hurtful feeling or idea, take a moment to get re-centred in God-awareness (The father and I are one). Breathe into and through whatever is happening and say to yourself: I choose to experience this differently. Be willing to let go of the conditioned mind and know, limitless possibilities await you. Then step back, and watch the changes unfold through you. A miracle awaits us today.
 
Rev Kimerie Mapletoft
Director of Silent Unity and Daily Word UK

Paul and I have just returned from a wonderful 3 weeks in beautiful Sedona, Arizona. It is a sacred place, valued by the Native Indians in America for hundreds of years before ‘the white man’ came. And it remains a place of beauty, upliftment and wonder to this day.
 
As I walked around, enjoying the energy of Sedona, I realised I wanted to share some of it with you on my return, along with the idea that this earth is sacred: how important it is to value, experience and give back to it.
 
There are very few places of sacred awe and wonder left which fill, uplift, inspire and reconnect us to the experience of being One with Life. Yet it is perhaps the easiest way to experience Oneness and feel part of something greater than us – something we speak about a lot in Unity.
 
Awe and wonder open our hearts and minds, so that we feel part of All That Is, experienced through our sacred earth and in ancient places of prayer.
 
I encourage all of us to take time to physically go and connect with places of beauty on this planet – places which inspire and uplift. With so much going on around us, it can be easy to slip into doubt and even despair. But connecting with our sacred earth and places of ancient prayer can reconnect us to the eternal life force that flows in and through all life.
 
Then we can share our energy in return and support these places – help keep them alive and accessible. The more that we all feel part of something greater than ourselves, which is good and true, the more we will come together and enable harmony and peace in the world.
 
What can you do to support and connect with, our sacred earth?
 
Rev Kimerie Mapletoft
Director of Silent Unity and Daily Word UK