I believe that when we encounter the Holy, we naturally feel awe; that awe matures into gratitude; and that gratitude is complete only in service to others.
   I believe that we are born to love unconditionally, but rewards and punishments place conditions on the Holy and distort us, dividing us within ourselves, from each other and from the world of nature.
   I believe such conditioning puts us in a secular trance, deepened by perverted desires for pleasure, status, power and wealth; and that as this fragmented trance obscures the Holy, we are numbed to the suffering of others, to our own inborn natures and to the environment.
   I believe that religions, through story, ritual and compassion, can restore us to the embrace of the Infinite, but that often religions have justified the trance with fear, greed and violence.
   I believe we may be emerging from this trance as the process of spiritual evolution unfolds in atom, cell, person and society; and that the universe, making many mistakes, may yet come to behold itself though us.
   I believe this process includes today's concourse of the world's religions and offers their mutual purification; that this free nation, where most of us are children of immigrants, is the best place for authenticity; and that honoring differences can extinguish the selfish, addictive trance, awaken us to the Holy and call us to service together.
   I believe there's a lot of work and play and loving to do.  Vern Barnet

If you don’t remember the name, you may have seen Michael Bernard Beckwith on “Oprah,” “Larry King Live” or “CBS News.”

Since he was featured as a teacher in The Secret, both the hugely successful DVD and book by Rhonda Byrne, Beckwith’s popularity has soared, even though for 30 years he has advocated universal truth teachings, many of which are in The Secret.

Most recently he appeared in “Living Luminaries on the Serious Business of Happiness,” a DVD that will be released in July.

Beckwith is speaking at 7 tonight in the Unity Village Activities Center on “Living Beyond the Secret.” The Secret teaches the law of attraction, which says one can have anything one desires through the power of one’s thoughts. Among other things, Beckwith will cover practical spiritual tools one can use to live a rich and meaningful life.

The following is taken from a phone interview last week with Beckwith.

Q. What is the most important thing people should know about their thoughts?

A. A thought is a unit of mental energy. A thought, because it is energy, cannot be created or destroyed, so it becomes our opinions, perceptions and beliefs, and those become our experiences. As individuals become aware of their thoughts and begin to become committed to real thinking, they can begin to change the course of their destiny. They can free themselves from victimhood.

Most people regurgitate the same thoughts every day. They are thinking the thoughts of someone else or rethinking their own thoughts. That is re-hashing. When a person is praying, meditating or engaging in some spiritual practice, new thoughts come forth. This is real thinking, and that would make you progress.

What is the key to happiness?

Happiness or joy is not based upon external conditions. They are based upon your inner joy and happiness. As an individual wakes up and feels a connection to joy and happiness as a way of life, conditions will shape themselves around what I call feeling tone. If you get around certain people, you can feel the tone of that person’s life. Events like the one at Unity I call tuning forks.

What is the main cause of unhappiness?

People are expecting something from the world, expecting people, places and things to bring them happiness. But you are here to bring your gifts to the world. … The problem with most people is they think the world will make them happy. The world is not set up for that. The best it can do is entertain.

You have everything within you — beauty, love, wisdom, transforming knowledge, intelligence, creativity, power, talents, gifts — all are within every individual. People think those things come from the world. But we are here to bring this to the world. Our happiness comes from us bringing these things to the world, not by trying to get them from the world.

How should people deal with situations that seemingly are beyond their control?

A problem represents thoughts or perceptions in people’s lives. So they have to go inside and see what that problem represents, then slowly shift their internal reference points to assist them in moving through that issue. There are different reasons for problems in people’s lives.

First, is what I call the Job factor. People are having a problem because they have a fear, which can be conscious or unconscious, and this becomes their experience. Second, some people are going through issues because it is a life issue that they have invoked for themselves. Some are setting up lessons for themselves that will help them grow necessary qualities. When we look back on hard times, we can see where we grew from those experiences. Therefore, you may be in a learning process.

Third, there are certain people on the planet who are going through things because they are assisting the planet to advance spiritually. Some come to help the planet grow in love and compassion. Fourth, as long as we as a society believe in scarcity, lack and disease, someone will experience that because that is the belief of the global society.

No one is a victim to circumstances. Everyone is a spiritual being and can find their way back to their divine origin and can live a life that is meaningful, authentic and powerful.

More about Michael Bernard Beckwith
Michael Bernard Beckwith attended a United Methodist Church and a Congregational Church as a boy, left organized religion at age 16, became an agnostic and then as a young man embarked on a spiritual quest of Eastern and Western mysticism. He landed in the United Church of Religious Science, becoming a minister and spiritual counselor.

In 1986 at age 30, he founded the 10,000-member, culturally diverse Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles, where he says he teaches the universal wisdom teachings of the ages.

He is co-founder of the Association for Global New Thought and tours the world bringing messages of peace and selfless service. He and his wife, Rickie Byars Beckwith, who also will be at Unity, have written lyrics and music performed by the Agape International Choir around the world.

Beckwith not only is a hot commodity on the media and speaking scenes, but women bloggers also find him hot. On one site, they ooh and ah, calling him “super sexy,” “hypnotically sexy,” “a beautiful man inside and out,” “smart, thoughtful and witty” and someone who “radiates pure, positive energy.”

To reach Helen Gray, religion editor, call 816-234-4446, or send e-mail to hgray@kcstar.com.
© 2007 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansascity.com
 

Michael Bernard Beckwith talks oin "Living Beyond the Secret" ay 7 tonight in the Unity Village Activities Center. His lecture is sold out.