Burning Bowl

Thoughts of Letting Go of Hurts: "Forgive The Hurts"

"Forgiveness will never fail to free you."
-- Jerrold Mundis

How do we forgive when we're angry and hurt?

As a first step, we can be willing to truly feel our anger and hurt.
Honoring our feelings by being fully present with them helps to release the
feelings themselves.

And it helps to remember that people only hurt others when they themselves
are in pain. When we can recognize the other person's suffering, our heart
can open in compassion. We can also remember that at some time or another,
we too have hurt someone through our own unskillful action.

Only love can heal the rifts caused by a hurtful deed. Forgiveness holds
immense power because it mends separation. It moves us towards the unity and
love that lie at the core of our being. It is a fundamental part of the
healing process.

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future."
-- Paul Boese

"God has a big eraser."
-- Billy Zeoli

BURNING BOWL SERVICE 1988
by Shay St John
This information brought to you by your Association of Unity Churches

This night we come before You, hearts open, minds receptive to the gifts of this New Year. We still our thoughts that we may hear Thy thoughts speaking to us and through us now.

Open us to the vision of Your divine Will at work in all we do. Let us perceive the potential of this day and every day to create for us the Goodness of Your Purposes.

Still the noise of our cluttered minds...as we rest into the depths of meditation and prayer...responsive to new understandings of Truth.

I believe in the beauty, the possibilities, the transformations and the promises of this New Year.

Within me is the assurance that seeds sleeping in the earth's cradle will awaken, break through into their divine fulfillment and become radiant expressions of Your Divine Plan for Beauty.

Yes, Lord, I know that trees now resting into the stillness of January's cold will burst forth in opulent splendor as the spring rains quicken their growth. Their treasures of shade and fruit and cooling, rustling leaves can even now be sensed in their naked garment of the New Year's beginning.

And, Yes, God, I understand that cycles will be fulfilled: caterpillars will be transformed into golden-winged butterflies dreams will manifest as I allow Your Will to flow through me; the healing rays of the sun will greet the morning; rains will bathe the earth in showers of love; mountains will stand before the winds in their overshadowing beauty; rainbows will reflect through the prism of my mind the promise of perfect transformation.

infilled with all the potentials for growth, perfection & transformation that the rainbow reveals.

Poems that are as yet unwritten will flow through me to touch the hearts of others. Books that are still embryos in my mind will mature into the inspiring revelation of Your Light in the months ahead.

the synergy of caring enfolds me in the willingness to REACH OUT and touch my fellow travelers along life's Pathway.

In this New Year, Dear Lord, I know that You are with me... empowering me to transform difficulties into steppingstones to mastery... Challenges are overcome in the victorious light of Your truth.

Truly this is the BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE...FOR IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF THE ETERNAL NOW. I MOVE FORWARD INTO EACH DAY OF THIS NEW YEAR...ALERT TO ITS GIFTS,

THANK YOU, GOD, THAT I AM FREE...AND UNLIMITED...IN THIS NEW YEAR- FOR SO IT IS.

Rest into the stillness for a time...connect with that power of God moving in and through you now.

Realize that before you now is the fabric of a New Year...ready for you to design in whatever way you choose.

How will you create this New Year? What are your goals...your dreams... your plans?

To know your fulfillment of these desires, what do you need to release? You are free...unlimited...infinitely endowed by your Creator... but our human self holds on to old ideas...habits...limitations.

As the music plays now...listen to the Voice of God within you... directing you onward, upward... guiding you in directions that enable you to KNOW YOUR FREEDOM.

and in the quiet of this time...use it to write your intentions in this new year. communicate your dreams in writing...look at them in the stillness of your own being...let them state your affirmative prayers for the New Year. To guide you in your creation, I share with you my letter to God:

SPACE AND TIME OF ORGAN MUSIC WHILE THEY WRITE... if you feel inspired to sing anything quiet...please do so. (In the Garden would be lovely)

Reread your letter now...reflect on Spirit's Truth revealed to you...and be at peace with it .

Fold your letter to God now and put it in your purse or pocket to take home with you. It is your private commitment to Spirit. Put it someplace that is your private place. And draw it forth whenever you feel a new commitment to your Self and God growing in this new year.

Know that as you have asked...so will it be given to you...and all the strength, power, love and wholeness you affirm is right now gathering within you to enable you to know the strength of your convictions.

(pause between each verse...let me lead them into a guided time of meditation while you play it through once...and then we will pick up the next verse.)

When we open ourselves to the infilling of Spirit, we need to create a space in which Spirit may work. And so it is that I invite you to consider what is now within your consciousness that you would like to release...place in the burning bowl and see transformed by the flame of Spirit.

As many things as you desire may be placed on your slip of paper...you may abbreviate or simply communicate your ideas through prayer to the clean, white paper you hold in your hand. God promises us He will do a New thing through us...when we give Him the opportunity to work with us. And so now we open the way for Spirit to work... releasing the old ideas and limitations of 1987 so that 1988 may gift us with its heaven!

One by one we will come forth...bring our slip of paper and hold it in the candle's flame...watch it as the Holy Spirit of Love consumes it in its purifying fire and drop in into the burning bowl.

Then it is that we can share a moment of personal prayer with one another... receiving a blessing from Spirit...before we return to our seats to meditate and bless those who will follow us.

SOLO: STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW as people begin to release - and then go into ALLELUIA or some other simple chant (Keep playing through this time of sharing. It may take awhile...depending on how many are here.)

Now we behold the power and the beauty of this time of sharing... looking around us into the radiant faces of our brothers and sisters.

In so many ways we have been gifted by this experience...and we now prepare to return to God a portion of the Good we have received... expressing our faith in the unlimited circulation of God Sub-stance in all we do. We take our gifts in our hands...imbuing them now with the quality of our spiritual commitment to Life in this New Year... and we affirm the Truth: I give as I receive: joyously, lovingly, aware of God as the Source of all my Good.

(WE'LL DO THREE VERSES...GOD IS SO GOOD...HE IS SO GOOD TO ME...GOD IS SO GOOD...SHE IS SO GOOD TO ME...I AM SO GOOD..I AM SO GOOD TO ME.

"There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."

Jesus answered and said unto him: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Jesus answered: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." (John 3:1-6)

In this scripture, Jesus explained to Nicodemus, that the new birth was one of the mind and heart. Nicodemus had intellectual but not spiritual understanding. Jesus said spiritual understanding requires two things to be born of water and the Spirit.

To be born of water is symbolic of cleansing and purifying...we cleanse our subconscious mind through denial of destructive thoughts and emotions.

To be born of Spirit is the realization of our spiritual identity .... we do this by affirming love, life, and peace. To be born of the Spirit is to remember that there is something in us that is divine, that assures us of reason for hope, for perfection, for divinity...that urges us to be noble and fine and true.

In a few moments we are going to move into a brief time of meditation and silence, after which we will invite you to write words of denial to the conditions from which you desire release.

And so now lets just relax, close our eyes, take several deep cleansing breaths, and internalize these words of truth concerning ourselves.

"I AM FREE FROM THE PAST AND THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST. I AM FREE TOO FROM THE RESULTS OF THESE ERRORS. I KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH MAKES ME FREE."

And now, as we gently bring our attention back to this present moment, allow any thoughts that you would like to release to come forth into your conscious mind.

Take a few moments now to write your words of denial on the slips of paper provided. >

When the usher directs you, please come forward, igniting your written denials and dropping them into the receptacle. Together let us know that this burning is merely symbolic of the fleeting quality of negative conditions and of our acceptance of the indwelling light of Christ.

As you consciously release your negative conditions and place them in the receptacle, repeat silently, yet firmly:

INVITATION TO CONGREGATION TO COME FORWARD AND BURN DENIALS (congregation comes forward one row at a time)

You have just released some of your past, some things, conditions, situations that you no longer need. -By doing so you have created a vacuum, a space for new ideas, new relationships, new conditions. In releasing, through denial, the energy invested in negative thoughts, you can now choose to re-invest your mind energy in the affirmative, positive and rewarding thoughts you desire to manifest in your life in the new year to come.

Take some time now to write any conditions that you wish to attract into your life.

It is releasing the old and accepting and giving thanks for the new that true freedom is ours. In the words of Jesus:

"Father, I thank thee that thou hearest me. And I know that thou hearest me always.

PLEASE RISE AND JOIN IN THE RESPONSIVE READING FOUND ON PAGE 521 OF WINGS OF SONG.

Following responsive reading join together in singing I AM FREE...I AM UNLIMITED (J.B.Manning) three times...

The Burning Bowl Service is a time to relinquish anything that burdens your mind and at the same time identify those things in your life that you wish to occur in the coming year.

In Matthew 7:7, we are told "Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened unto you."

The paper burning portion of the ceremony is a way of letting go of what no longer works for us. We will write on paper things that we want to release in the coming year. It may be old habits that no longer serve us. Maybe we have a physical or mental habit that we are tired of. Maybe it's a limiting thought of our own worth. Or a fear of poverty or even a fear of wealth. Maybe we need to forgive someone or forgive ourselves for something that happened in the past. Maybe we need to let go of a limiting relationship, or a way of doing things. Perhaps we would like to release a work situation.

In order to allow yourself full opportunity, you might wish to write down those things you wish to release from your life prior to coming to the service. It is not required by any means, but just a suggestion to allow yourself proper time for reflection.

What We Receive

The second part of the service allows us to ask for what we wish to bring into our life. We will be asked to write these things down as well. It might be a goal that has to do with our work, our relationships, our living arrangements, or a state of mind. Perhaps we want to set aside time to exercise and get healthy. Maybe we'd like to learn a language or play an instrument. Maybe we seek a new skill with our jobs or our personal relationships. Maybe we want to find a partner, a new home, a new job, time to meditate and pray. Whatever it is that is a deep desire, write it down. Give no thought to past times when you've maybe tried to do this in your life.

Burning Bowl Service

Sunday, January 8, 2006

Celebrate the New Year with an opportunity to transform your life.

Are you looking for something different to do this year? Would you like to give up patterns of thinking that no longer serve you? Would you like to demonstrate a healthier, happier, more prosperous, and vibrant life in 2006?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions then come and participate in the annual Unity of Kanawha Valley’s burning bowl service at 11 am on Sunday, January 8^th, 2006. During this hour-long thoughtful service you will have the opportunity to write down what you would like to release from your life and then release your list into a sacred flame. You will then have the opportunity to set your intentions with God for the coming year.

Last modified: 03/11/10