Hi Friends —
This Sunday I begin a four-part series based on the book The Anatomy of Peace—Resolving the Heart of Conflict. It was a little over a year ago, when I first wrote about the book and the work of the Arbinger Institute. Here is that post.
I won’t elaborate on the this week’s session, except to quote a passage from a companion book by Arbinger, entitled The Outward Mindset:
“The biggest lever for change is not a change in self-belief but a fundamental change in the way we see and regard our connections with and obligations to others. This book is about the difference between a self-focused inward mindset and an others-inclusive outward mindset.”
If you think about it, that statement can be a radical statement in Fillmore circles. The Fillmore teachings have always held that change begins “within”—that it “begins with me.” That’s certainly true. But what is radical is that the change within is not about me, but rather about others.
This passage is, I believe, an invitation for students of the Fillmore teachings to shift from an inward focus to an outward focus, not for pushing life around, but rather to allow God to reach our heart through relationships.
We started giving away copies last week at our Burning Bowl service. We ran out, so this week we got another box full to give away. The scripture will be Jesus’ call in Matthew 5:43-48 to love and pray for our enemies. I hope you will buy a copy and listen to the talks as they become digitized and posted here.
Sunday lesson given at Unity Center of Christianity in Baltimore, Maryland, January 5, 2020.
Download a PDF copy of this page: The Anatomy of Peace 1.pdf
Download MP3 of this talk: How To Love Your Enemies