“Do not conform to the behaviors and patterns of this world. Instead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:2
Notes for Contemplation as You Use this Devotional:
- This passage is from The Letter of Paul to the Romans in the section sometimes titled, “Living Faithfully.”
- Living faithfully means being willing to examine all our beliefs. This requires reconsidering “always/never” and “should/shouldn’t” thinking. It also allows us to grow beyond mistakes and failures.
- Our spiritual evolution is a continual unfolding and expression of the Presence of God we are. As we evolve, we express more of our Christ consciousness (the mindset that Christ Jesus had), our true nature, or our divine essence, for example, call it what we will.
- We evolve as we let our minds expand beyond routine, every-day, linear thinking. What we need is already within us and within a loving Universe. So, as we evolve, we learn to tap into universal wisdom and move beyond fear, beyond the past, and beyond the conflicts and chaos of the outer world.
- Evolution of consciousness—a transformed mindset—begins individually. We must do our own personal work first, so we can express our true nature and serve others. This is how collective consciousness (the world mindset) evolves and how greater worldwide transformation occurs.
- Current events and seeming backslides or repeats of history remind us how disruptive fear can be. But the Christ mindset, our true nature, is more powerful. So spiritual masters embrace their evolution. They know that life flows forward and staying stagnant limits their abilities to serve the goodness of the world.
- Unity Metaphysics 1 (Blue Book, Chapter 12) teaches: “The processes that we engage in as we evolve spiritually enable us to overcome our immaturities, false beliefs, and earthly limitations. God gives all the opportunities we need to be cleansed and purified of all that is not for our highest good or representative of our true nature. Because the Christ mind” dwells within all of us, “we have an undeniable capacity to be transformed into consciously illumined beings.”
Contemplation Questions:
As you reflect on your life and circumstances, ask yourself:
- When I contemplate my mistakes and failures:
- What did I learn from them?
- What would I do / not do again?
- What wisdom have I gained?
- How am I evolving because of them?
- Without analysis, judgment, or self-recrimination, list, word map, or illustrate as much as you can for each question.
- What are my current beliefs about:
- Myself?
- My body?
- My possessions?
- My choices?
- My work or service to others?
- My loved ones and significant others in my life?
- Without analysis, judgment, or self-recrimination, list, word map, or illustrate as much as you can for each question.
- As I reflect on my beliefs, which:
- still serve me well?
- List, word map, or illustrate what these are.
- need to be released?
- List, word map, or illustrate what these are.
- need to be transformed?
- List, word map, or illustrate what these are.
- still serve me well?
- As I reflect on all my answers, what am I willing to do to transform myself and the world?
- List, word map, or illustrate everything you can imagine.
Be gentle with yourself and take your time with this devotional. Know that you didn’t do anything “wrong” before. You made the best choices you could at the time. Remember that evolution is a process, so it’s OK to outgrow some practices or beliefs which once worked. It’s also OK to have only a vague vision of what will occur next. Just stay open and willing to notice what is happening within you and around you. Trust your intuition and the synchronicities you experience so your evolution can lead you forward.
© 2022 – Rev. Jennifer L. Sacks – All rights reserved.
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