Saying "Yes" to Change -- Joan Borysenko Essay

Joan Borysenko's article entitled "Saying Yes to Change: The Anatomy of Spiritual Transformation" has been reprinted on Unity.org after having originally appeared in The Daily Word. She deals with change as being a fundamental constant in human life. The article addresses how accepting the reality of change and altering one's attitude toward the ever-evolving process of life's events is an essential part of spiritual growth. Borysenko also, in typical Unity fashion, produces a kind of practical methodology by which one may guage the process of transformation in this sea of life's changes.

Let me briefly outline her 3-step structure with some brief commentary:

1) Separation -- When the journey of transformation commences, a rift occurs between the present and the past, what is and what was, an experienced distance between an individual and who they felt they were. This is a result of a resistance to the change that is occurring in life -- fear is often the feeling that results.

2) Dwelling at the Threshold -- This is the situation of existing in between "no longer and not yet." It's the circumstance of being in a kind of limbo, standing at the doorway of future potential but not yet realized. The challenge is that, in order to walk through the threshold of personal transformation, one must be willing to let go of past beliefs and attitudes preventing the progression. And this may take time.

3) The Return -- This is the breakthrough point where one is able to totally let go of the past and problem beliefs and is reborn into a new outlook on life, a fresh and revitalized way of living in the world.

This is a wonderfully insightful, yet rather brief, look at the process of change and transformation from a Unity spiritual perspective.

Read Borysenko's essay at Unity.org.

Serenity and Solitude -- Susan Smith Jones Essay

Unity.org has put up a nice essay by Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D. called, "Serenity and Solitude: Essential Ingredients for Quality of Life," originally appearing in Unity's free booklet Living Your Purpose: Truth in Practice.

In this brief article Jones claims that in order for one to experience a higher quality of life one must inject a healthy dose of solitude and silence into one's daily life. I, for one, wholeheartedly agree. In our present society of hustle and bustle there's an awful lot of "noise" in our individual lives, which are hindrances or distractions preventing the cultivation of inner and outer peace. Now more than ever it seems necessary that we modern/post-modern, technologically-driven people must put aside some quietude for ourselves so as to become more receptive to our inner spirit or internal being. In Judeo-Christian scriptural language, the psalmist states, "Be still and know that I am God." (Ps. 46.10) -- an excellent testimony to divine character and effectiveness of peaceful solitude and silence in the life of the human being.

Using provocative imagery and personal narrative Jones presents an intriguing essay on the necessity of solitude and quietude in spiritual practice so as to experience greater life-quality.

Read Jones's essay here.

Webcast Seminar With Andrew Cohen and Ken Wilber

Living Evolutionary Spirituality and an Integral Life:

Tomorrow May 9, 2009 from noon to 5:00pm Eastern, Andrew Cohen and Ken Wilber, two defining voices in the field of spiritual and cultural transformation, will bring their unique combination of spiritual experience and theoretical knowledge to an exclusive live event on EnlightenNext Webcast: a four-hour virtual seminar that comprehensively examines what it means to live an integral, evolutionary life. In this unique forum, Cohen and Wilber will explore how each of us can become a fully awake, purposeful, and integral human being who demonstrates that a more enlightened future is possible, even in our uncertain times.

See the EnlightenNext event page to register for this important event.

(Photo from EnlightenNext.org)