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As I write, I gaze upon a bouquet of lilacs on a table and smell the beautiful aroma. Lilacs are a prelude to summer as is Memorial Day this upcoming weekend. Beginning in July, we will offer an 8:00 a.m. early service so you can get to the beach, lake, or golf course but still get a shot of spirituality to carry you through the week. Also, look for a midweek meditation class starting in July as well.
A shout out to Rev. LeRoy for a great talk and Matt Purinton for a great job platforming for me while I was away. I had a wonderful time in Vermont with eight of my first cousins having a girl's weekend. We shopped, we made jewelry, we took a glass blowing class, and we had lots of time for girl talk.
Rev. LeRoy continued with our cor e values...this week was soul-centric. To listen to the talk in its entirety please click here...
Here is what Rumi says about the soul:
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and right doing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about."
~ Rumi
Bill  Plotkin author of Soulcraft, Wild Mind, Nature and the Human Soul says: "To be soul-centric is to seek out the ways the soul attempts to guide our relationships and individual development. It is to envision the principal goal of maturation to be the conscious discovery and embodiment of our human soul - our unique place in the more-than human world of mountains, rivers, critters, farms, businesses and schools."
The definition Unity of Greater Portland uses is "Soul as an agent for Spirit, with a healthy ego, fulfills our life's purpose."
Unity's Revealing Word has this definition for Spirit: "God as the moving force in the universe; Principle as the breath of life in all creation; the principle of life; creative intelligence and life."
Plotkin's Definition of Spirit: Single, boundless, and eternal mystery that permeates and animates everything in the universe and yet transcends all."
Plato referred to it as the world-soul or the anima-mundi, that which gives a living unity to the entire universe. The idea of spirit points to what all people and all things have in common; our shared membership in a single cosmos, each of us a facet of the One Being that contains all.
Fillmore and Plotkin both teach that Spirit both transcends all things and is immanent in all things.
Plotkin's definition of Soul: "The vital, mysterious and wild core of our individual selves, an essence unique to each person, qualities found in layers of the self, much deeper than our personalities."
Unity's Revealing Word has this definition for Soul: "Man's consciousness; the underlying idea back of any expression. In man, the soul is the many accumulated ideas back of his present expression. In its original and true sense, the soul of man is the expressed idea of man in Divine Mind."
Individual behaviors for Soul-centric are:
- I make a commitment to a daily spiritual practice, including meditation, prayer and contemplation.
- I foster a healthy ego through introspection and personal exploration.
- I recognize my shadow, heal emotional wounds and BLOSSOM.
Community Behaviors
- We begin all our gatherings by centering.
- We teach spiritual principles and practices, such as meditation and prayer, to help adults and children cultivate communion with the Divine.
- We offer Spiritual Counseling and Spiritual Direction to support soul-centric growth.
Your homework is to practice the individual behaviors and become more aware of Soul and Spirit operating in your life.
This coming Sunday we will be having an intergenerational service. Our young people will be participating in the service. The talk topic is our core value "compassion."
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You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey
If you are having a birthday in June, I have a gift for you. It is meeting with me and completing an Annual Spiritual Checkup. This can be done in person, over the phone or via SKYPE. Let me know when your birthday is and that you would like to schedule a time to receive your gift. You can email me at revpatbessey@gmail.com or revpatb@roadrunner.com
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If you wish to send a tithe/donation to Unity of
Greater Portland, please click the PayPal button below.
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Hello all! As I am studying massage and polarity, I became interested this week in learning more about polarity therapy's Dr. Randolph Stone. From Wikipedia: Randolph Stone (February 26, 1890 - December 9, 1981) was the founder of polarity therapy, a complementary technique of holistic, spiritually based energy healing. He held doctorates in osteopathy, chiropractic, and naturopathy. He had an interest in philosophy and religions, and encountered Ayurvedic philosophy on a trip to India. His background in chiropractic was shaped by his studies of various Eastern concepts of energy medicine, including Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, yoga, and reflexology.
I have been fascinated to learn how much "new thought" is embedded in his philosophies, and was interested to learn that, based on all the studying and seeking he'd done, he had drawn the conclusion about a hundred years ago that vegetarianism was the optimal choice for physical and spiritual reasons -- much like the founders of Unity, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, had.
"Besides such physical reactions as the toxins produced in our body when we eat the flesh of slaughtered animals, fish and fowl, there is also the factor of karma - that we inevitably reap what we have sown. We are responsible for all our actions, past and present, and experience the consequences in our physical, mental and emotional state of health. Hence, we are well advised to eat for health, by sowing the seeds of life, rather than sowing the seeds of future suffering through heedlessly abusing life each day." Dr. Randolph Stone
This Weeks Featured Recipe: Creamy Potato Curry
I am making this one for a potluck this week - YUM!
If you have any questions or comments, or would like more information on vegetarian/vegan eating, email Steph Plourde, Certified Wellness Coach, at unitychurch@roadrunner.com.
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Sunday, June 5
12:15 pm
Come join us for our Unity of Greater Portland Community Meeting. What is working and what isn't will be part of the discussion. Come and share your thoughts and concerns.
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TWO SUNDAY SERVICES
Starting July 3
8:00 am 40-Minute Contemplative Service with Lesson/Talk (no Children's Church or coffee hour)
10:00 am Regular service with same Lesson/Talk with lunch following service. (Children's Church during service)
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Fight Back Festival 2016
You Are Invited to Participate
We have a FUN opportunity to join as a Unity community to support the Cancer Community Center by doing their FIGHT BACK FESTIVAL 5K Walk (approximately 3 miles) through Pinelands meadows and woods on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 at 10 AM (start of the 5K walk).
I know this is early but we want to plan ahead as a group and start raising money for this wonderful cause. Please see their website to read about their mission and the walk itself.
Unity has a TEAM: Unity of Greater Portland!!!
You are invited to join our team for a beautiful, fun walk for a great cause! It will be exciting to have a "PACK" of us getting exercise, connecting with each other, and connecting to our larger community!
Here's the link to join the team, to volunteer for CCC, or to donate!!!!
Link to Fight Back Festival hosted by Cancer Community Center
Choose UNITY OF GREATER PORTLAND Team
Enter your info to register or make a donation in Unity's name.
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Season for the Earth Events
LOVE OFFERING UNLESS OTHERWISE DESIGNATED
Sign-up on UGP Bulletin Board
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Beholding Nature:
Spiritual Ecology Through the Eyes of the Heart
Led by Jack Seery & Cynthia Froehlich
Mondays (May 9 - June 20) On-going, come join us!
6:30 - 8:00 pm
How beautiful the world is when one looks at it without searching, just looks, simply and innocently.
~ Hermann Hesse
In human relationships, the most honoring thing one person can do for another is to truly see them, to look deep beneath the surface and affirm the unique being within. This is how God sees.
In this class, we will work with a variety of practices to broaden and deepen our perceptions of the other-than-human world, practices that will open "the eyes of the heart" and help us to perceive Nature apart from our projections. We will do this in Unity's own backyard.
We will also be reading essays from Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth and exploring responses to the impacts of human doings on the earth. Through the 3 points of witnessing, tender-heartedness, and prayer, we will try to discover what action may be required of us without becoming overwhelmed. We want to engage with Earth as an infinitely creative, intelligent, and adaptive system-being, and step into the role of partner and servant rather than rescuer. Through deep-heart relatedness, we hope to craft brand-new strategies for thriving.
Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth required (available in bookstore)
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Will Tuttle Event Registration
To register for any of the following Will Tuttle events please go to the following website: |
 
Creating A Culture of Peace
The World Peace Diet - Immersive Training
Saturday, June 25
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
A day-long training exploring vegan living presented by Will Tuttle, Ph.D.
- Are you concerned about our culture's mistreatment of people, animals, and the Earth?
- Do you feel called to help create a positive future for our children and the world?
- Do you long to untangle and understand the hidden roots of the dilemmas we face as individuals & a society?
- Do you aspire to develop skills to embody, share, and teach healthy and compassionate living for service, fun, and/or your livelihood?
This World Peace Diet Training is created and offered by Dr. Tuttle to provide effective responses to these questions. This day-long workshop offers time for Q & A and discussion in a supportive and nurturing environment.
You will gain the tools to understand veganism as a spiritually, culturally, and physically transformational path of awakening, and learn how to effectively bring this understanding to your community, friends, and family.
Besides lecture presentations going more deeply into the vegan teachings in
The World Peace Diet, there will be role-playing exercises and guided meditations facilitated by Dr. Tuttle.
We will discuss the Five Levels of Health, the Seven Mentalities, and keys to spiritual and practical dimensions of vegan living.
Location: Unity of Greater Portland, 54 River Road, Windham, ME 04062
(If you pre-signup for the training, you'll receive a
complimentary copy of Conscious Eating, Dr. Tuttle's DVD).
Dr. Will Tuttle, author of the acclaimed best-seller, The World Peace Diet, and recipient of the Courage of Conscience Award, is also co-founder of Veganpalooza, the largest online vegan event. A vegan for 36 years and former Zen monk, his Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley focused on educating intuition. He has created eight CD albums of uplifting original piano music. With his spouse Madeleine, a Swiss visionary artist, he lectures extensively and internationally. See www.worldpeacediet.com for more information.
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Awakening Your Inner Genius 
Sunday Talk - June 26
10:00 am
Opening the Intuitive Gate:
The Keys to
Developing Your Intuition
Sunday Workshop - June 26
12:15 - 2:15 pm
An acclaimed pianist, composer, educator, and writer, Will Tuttle unites both eastern and western meditation traditions and is a Dharma Master in the Zen tradition.
Uplifting, philosophical, musical, inspiring, and both challenging and reassuring, this is a seminar that can change lives, as we invite spirit to work its wonders on the ultimate frontier: the human heart.
Dr. Tuttle's insights include:
- Discovering your unique ways of accessing your intuitive wisdom
- Effective inner & outer practices for developing joy and spiritual awareness
- Techniques using meditation, imagery, music, and art that inspire intuitive insights
- How to respond to the global "intuitive imperative" and meditate more effectively
- Ancient secrets for awakening the love, compassion, joy, and peace within.
Will Tuttle, Ph.D., has performed and lectured widely throughout the United States and Europe. His doctorate degree with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley, focused on educating intuition in adults, and he has taught college courses in creativity, humanities, mythology, and philosophy. He has a broad background in both Eastern and Western meditation traditions, and is a former Zen monk. Devoted to planetary awakening and to creating uplifting healing music, he has created 6 much-loved CD albums of original piano music. He currently travels with his spouse, Madeleine, a visionary artist from Switzerland, providing concerts, seminars, and exhibits, and their intuitively-inspired Personalized Music and Art Portraits for individuals and couples.
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Piano Passion ~ Concert for a New World 
Monday, June 27
7:00 pm
A master at recreating the deepest vibrations of the soul," Will Tuttle's uplifting original piano music evokes deep feelings and a sense of wonder, joy, and adventure.
An acclaimed pianist, composer and recording artist, as well as a Dharma Master in the Zen tradition, he has performed widely throughout North America and Europe for the past 15 years, and has created 6 beloved CD albums of all-original piano music.
This Piano Passion Concert is an affirmative musical prayer for world peace and for celebrating the beauty of the Earth and potential of our Spirit. Rooted in ancient sacred traditions that see music as a vehicle of consciousness, the concert generates a field of healing and insight. It includes visionary art by Will's spouse, Madeleine, who is a nature artist from Switzerland.
Come and expect to be transported, uplifted, and carried to new inner places!
This concert is offered for freedom, for Earth-healing, and for the happiness of every
being.
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Dr Will & Madeleine Tuttle
June 25-27
Individual Sessions
for Personal Music & Art Portraits
These sessions can be for either individuals or couples.
In your session, Will meditatively tunes into your unique essence and translates this into music. You will receive a private piano concert inspired by your spirit, and the music is recorded onto a 30-minute CD and a digital master.
Simultaneously, Madeleine creates a 9" x 12" watercolor painting also inspired by your essence, not a physical likeness but a unique artistic blend of evocative images.
Will and Madeleine have been creating individualized Music & Art Portraits over 10 years and are the only ones providing these unique, uplifting, healing, and evocative creations. People are consistently deeply touched by them.
Please see Will and Madeleine at their table for more details or to schedule an appointment! The suggested donation is $135 and the sessions last approximately 45 minutes.
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OTHER CLASSES & EVENTS
LOVE OFFERING UNLESS OTHERWISE DESIGNATED
Sign-up on UGP Bulletin Board
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Saturday, June 18, 2016
9:30 am to 3:00 pm
This is an invitation to join with other members of the Unity of Greater Portland community for a day of silence in community. It is an opportunity to withdraw from the constant noise and demands of our lives and listen to our inner voice, the inner voice of our authentic self, the inner voice of Spirit, however experienced. Being in community creates a supportive atmosphere that allows us to surrender into that silence. Being in silence creates a deeper sense of community and a deeper relationship with Spirit.
At Unity of Greater Portland
54 River Road
Windham, Maine
Lunch will be provided
Please sign up at Unity of Greater Portland
Or call the office - 893-1233
This will be offered on a love offering basis(Retreat and Lunch)
Biography:
 Jack Seery has been a member of Unity of Greater Portland for 11 years. He has been on the spiritual journey since 1957 and presently claims dual spiritual citizenship. He is guided by the prophetic way of Jesus and Christian mystical tradition and the wisdom of other traditions. Over the years, he has been a spiritual guide for many, a teacher of spirituality, active in feeding the homeless for 15 years and has engaged in various nonviolent actions including public fast, civil disobedience and a weekly public witness for peace. He lives with his partner, Brigit, in Waterboro, Maine.
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Sun
Morning Prayer Circle 9:15 a.m. in Unity Hall with Rev. Pat
Meditation 9:30-9:45 a.m. in Sanctuary
A Course in Miracles 12:30-2:00 p.m. Contact: Randall Sawyer 420-6145
Mon
Preble Street Soup Kitchen (2nd Mon) 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
AA Women's Step Meeting 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Tue
Men's Spiritual Progress Group (3rd Tue) 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Women Empowering Women (3rd Tue) 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Wed
* Florence House Sing (1st and 3rd Wed) 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Fri
* Logan Place Pizza Party/Sing-along (2nd Fri) 6:30 p.m.
Cancer Support Group (3rd Fri) 1:00-2:00 p.m.
Sat
Team Leader's Meeting (2nd Sat) 9:30-11:30 a.m. - closed group
* Unity Kindness Revolution Events- for information contact Rev Elizabeth at unitykindnessrev@gmail.com
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Online Church Directory
 Join our Online directory - It's simple. Just contact the office at unitychurch@roadrunner.com or call 893-1233 Tuesday, Thursday or Friday 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. and ask for Steph, or leave a message on box 1. We ask that you have been actively attending services and/or classes for at least 3 months and if you no longer are attending to please let us know that you no longer want to be on the directory. We do have to pay for the number of people who are on it and would prefer to pay for those who are actively using the directory. You are welcome to join our online directory to be able to connect with one another for social and outreach reasons - We ask you refrain from using it as a marketing tool. Your compliance if appreciated. If we receive a spamming complaint, you will be removed from access to database.
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God is our Source and provides us
with many
Some of those channels are the following:
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When ordering through Amazon, if you go through Amazon Smile (smileamazon.com) and designate Unity of Greater Portland as your chosen charity, .5% of your purchase will be donated to Unity of Greater Portland. It will show up as Unity Church of Truth, our official name, but it is us! This deal is not quite as beneficial as the old Amazon Associates Program but, if we use it, it will add up. This is a great way to still support UGP!
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Many members of our Unity family shop at Staples and collect a few "Staples Reward Points" each month. But if you're like me, they seldom amount to enough to really save me much money. Then I found out that I can use the Staples Rewards Number for Unity of Greater Portland. My points are added to those of many other members and help the church save money on much needed office supplies.
Staples Rewards Number for Unity Church
5000266261
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Unity Recycles Ink Cartridges and gets reward for that too!
Also, if you want to you can drop cartridges at Staples
and use our number and we get credit there as well.
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When you pick up a Clynk bag in our bookstore and recycle your bottles in it, Unity gets a check!
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Used Books and CD's/Tapes
Check out the gently used books
in the hall by the Office.
Leave a donation and enrich your library!
Thank you God for all the channels of supply you provide us with!
We are so Blessed!
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Unity of Greater Portland
Office and Bookstore are open from
10 AM to 3 PM on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
207-893-1233
Prayer Support
UGP Confidential Prayer request and Prayer Chaplain
Line: 893-1233, EXT. 3
Silent Unity Prayer Support
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