How much energy are you devoting to "worshipping" the beast of negativity in your life? Do you pray, affirming good, affirming peace and Life and health and abundance, and then re-tell your tales of woe to anyone who will listen? Unity co-founder Myrtle Fillmore explicitly counsels us against this in her Healing Letters:

"We sometimes think that we pray when we read and declare certain statements of Truth. We have very little idea of the way in which the answers to those prayers are coming. And we do not prove that we expect them to be answered. For almost immediately after praying we go on doing the things we have been doing, which does not allow of any answers. And we think and say that which is not in accord with the prayers we have made. For example, we go into the silence and declare statements of prosperity. Then in writing a letter we speak of lack and failure and longing. Which proves that we have those thoughts and feelings of lack in our heart and that we are really dwelling on them more strongly than we do on the Truth that we have prayed." (pg. 33)

We must look at our actions and really, truly, completely understand that our thoughts and our actions are choices we make, and we create the experience of our lives through those thoughts and actions. Observe yourself for a day. Do you pray and/or meditate, and then go rant about "the President
or the Republicans or the right wing or the left wing or Big money or Big oil or Big pharma or..."? Watching the news, are you really becoming more wisely informed or just rehashing, over and over, examples and opportunities for pain, suffering, and conflict in our world? How much time do you spend on FaceBook? The first studies relating FB use to emotional well-being are in, and they aren't good. Do you claim release and forgiveness, and then continue to tell your stories of oh-poor-me? If we wish to see positive change, we must actually change our behaviors.

Consider: if you knew that a long-awaited and beloved houseguest was arriving soon, would you prepare space for them? You'd probably put fresh sheets on the guest bed, put out clean towels and plan a special meal. Yes, it is a lot of work, but you would do it with joy. Knowing this, would you go out, dig up mud and dirt and rocks and fling them all over everything? Of course not. That would be absolute lunacy. Especially knowing that you already had a certain amount of work to do preparing for your guest. Not to mention- we wouldn't do it under any circumstances!

You have within you the brilliant Light of the Christ. It is there. It is shining, and it is simply awaiting ever more complete expression in your life. Our work is to be the Christ in expression, bringing about the "Kingdom of Heaven on Earth" which we are assured is our birthright. Simply identifying and transforming the already-existent layers of mistaken beliefs and less-than-helpful habits (aka mud and dirt!) is already a lot of work. Investing time and energy "worshipping the beast" of negativity is just as ludicrous as spreading mud around our homes. It accomplishes nothing, it creates extra work for us, and the results degrade our human experience. It truly leaves us with no rest day or night. Why would we willingly indulge in those behaviors?