January 2012 Theme – The Year of Enlightened Evolution

2012 is here!  What will this year bring? According to Deepak Chopra in the forward to Andrew Cohen’s new book, Evolutionary Enlightenment, “There has never been a better time to be enlightened.”  This month, we set the tone for the entire year as we become catalysts for the awakening of humanity through our own evolution in consciousness.  Now is the time, this is the place and we are the people -- so be sure to be with us each week as we delve deeply into what it means to evolve ourselves, as well as humanity, in an enlightened way!

January Talk 1 – “Laying the Groundwork”
Cohen writes, “The very desire to embark on a path of enlightenment is already the beginning of enlightenment because the path and the goal are one.” On this first day of 2012, we will shed light on the profound meaning of those words and then, with them as our basic premise, we will lay the groundwork for our evolution through clarity of intention.

January Talk 2 - “The Power to Choose is the Power to Evolve”
Deeply embedded in our ability to evolve is the requirement that we each realize the power in our choosing.  Deeply embedded in realizing the power in our choosing is the idea that we are responsible – personally responsible – for ourselves and our world.  No one else is.  It is up to us.  This second tenet in Cohen’s book connects the relationship between our power to choose with our ability to evolve.

January Talk 3 – “Engaging the Process”
Religious Science/New Thought leader Dr. Ernest Holmes once wrote that “our faith does not burst forth fully orbed.” Well, neither does our enlightenment.  In fact, it is a process. We engage the process when we accept it as such and open ourselves up to experience unobstructed awareness, which Cohen describes as “awareness that is free from the psychological self-protective habit of avoidance.”
 
January Talk 4 – “Being and Becoming – The Way of Cosmic Conscience”
Consistent with Religious Science /Unity foundational teachings, the Way of the Cosmic Conscience is the way in which we realize our true and profound relationship to the Whole. It is the way in which we realize the role that we play in the Whole, and in that awareness, it is the way in which we realize that we are both “being” and “becoming.” In today’s service, we will not only talk about these ways, but we will experience them.

January Talk 5 – “I Am The Catalyst for Change”**
As we conclude this powerful month of Enlightened Evolution, we take it up close and personal as we explore your individual experiences and questions about being a catalyst for change.  And we will bring this month to a close with a final visualization that can do nothing but propel us upward on the spiritual of evolution.  Be sure to be with us!

Monthly Affirmation:
Today I open my mind and my heart to be and to become the next level of the Divine to which my Spirit is being called.  As I express my next level of enlightened evolution, I am a catalyst for the evolution of humankind!

**IMPORTANT MINISTERS’ NOTE:  I have not provided a full “script” for the final talk, because it will depend upon your congregants’ experiences and questions.  So you will need to give it some thought.  I have provided a structure and the final visualization for you, so the rest should be pretty easy and very personal and powerful for your congregation.  If there is anything I can do to help you, however, just let me know.