Weekly Prayer Posts

Religious Symbols

2023 Weekly Prayers
2022 Weekly Prayers

04/20/2024

Dear Light Group,

United Research was founded on prayer for peace. In the late 1960’s, Jim Goure perceived that the world was headed towards World War III. There wasn’t much he could do in his job at the Atomic Energy Commission to prevent that. But he knew that prayer worked, and he felt compelled to take early retirement and dedicate his life (and that of his family) to prayer for peace.

We find ourselves again with parts of the world marred by war. We find ourselves again with a need for people of Light to join together in prayer for peace.

The place to begin is by reminding ourselves of what is real and what is not. The fighting on Earth is a shadow play, a drama concocted by humans. As painful as it it to witness, it is not reality. Behind the veil of illusion is the Joy of Spirit, the Love of Spirit, the Peace of Spirit.

With this reminder to stay focused on the Peace of the Divine – not the noise created by humans – we rise to a higher calling. Rather than being caught up in judging various players in the violent dramas on display in various parts of the world, we remember that all of us came from God, that we were created in God’s own image and likeness, that we are all sons and daughters of God, that we shall ultimately merge into God again. Every soul – even when the outward consciousness is engaged in wicked behavior – is a holy receptacle filled with Divine Love.

From this perspective, we calm down, back off of our judgments, and begin to focus on the Love that is, on the presence of Divine Love in everyone and everything.

If you would like to move your consciousness in this direction, you might try a prayer such as, “Forgive me, Lord, for my own judging. If I have any hidden anger or resentments, let them be released. Untangle the knots within my own heart, Lord, that Your Love may shine forth from my heart. May the overwhelming Love that flowed forth from Jesus’s heart also flow forth from my heart. Help me to stay centered in this overwhelming Love, that as I go to and fro on Earth, that Love may always be with me, that everyone and everything I meet may be blessed by this Love. Let everyone on Earth be touched by Thy Love, Lord, that all may know that they are loved, and in feeling loved, they may be at peace with themselves and their neighbors. Continually remind all of us, Lord, that we are of Thee and Thy Love and that there is nothing else. In this consciousness, we know Thy Truth, and Thy Light. In this consciousness is Thy Peace. And so it is. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

04/13/2024

Dear Light Group,

Many years after his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus appeared before the apostle John in what must have been the wildest experience of John’s life. The Romans had imprisoned John on the island of Patmos, which now is in the north of Greece’s Dodecanese group of islands. Jesus appeared before John with white hair, eyes that were “as a flame of fire,” and a voice that was “as the sound of many waters.” Out of Jesus’ mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword. Jesus’ face shone as brightly as the sun.

Whether it was the fire in the eyes, the face shining as brightly as the sun, or the sharp, two-edged sword coming out of Jesus’ mouth, the scene scared the living daylights out of John. He fainted.

Jesus laid his right hand on John and told him, “Fear not…I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore.”

Then Jesus dictated messages to John that he wanted delivered to churches or communities of believers. There were seven of these churches, and they have been interpreted as being symbolic of our seven chakras or seven energy centers.

Whether Jesus’ messages were meant to be delivered to actual communities of believers or were meant as symbolic renderings of our energy centers, there is a fairly consistent theme to them that might be summarized as, “I see that you’re trying, but I also see that you’ve slipped. You need to step it up.”

At the end of his messages to the seven churches, Jesus says this: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent.” Those words could have been spoken by any number of master gurus or master teachers. Jim Goure was known as a man of deep love, but if he thought you were out of line, the Janus head of Mr. Goure the Gemini could swivel unexpectedly fast and zing you with a rebuke. Yogananda’s guru, Sri Yukteswar, was known as being stern and severe. Yogananda said this about his guru: “Discipline had not been unknown to me: at home, Father was strict….But Sri Yukteswar’s training cannot be described as other than drastic. A perfectionist, my guru was hypercritical of his disciples, whether in matters of moment or in the subtle nuances of his behavior.”

For those who could withstand his rebuke and reform their ways, Jesus made this promise: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne….To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God….And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

We do not have a master teacher with us now. Jesus has been dead for over two thousand years, and Jim Goure has been dead for over thirty-seven years. But is it worthwhile to imagine what they might say if they were alive?

If Jesus were to appear before any one of us with the luminous intensity that the apostle John experienced, what message would he deliver? Would it be, “Fear not,” which is what Jesus said to John. Or would he say, “I have somewhat against thee,” which is how he rebuked the churches. Or would he offer the Tree of Life and the paradise of God?

If you would like a prayer to aid in that reflection, you might try this: “The Spirit of the Christ speaks Truth within my being. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies me. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my energy centers. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my purification center. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my regenerative center. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my light center. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my Divine Love center. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my power center. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my extra-sensory perception center. The Spirit of the Christ cleanses and purifies my wisdom center. I surrender my desires, my fears, my subconscious gossip to the Spirit of the Christ. The Spirit of the Christ is omnipresent. It is in me. It is in all of my family members. It is in everyone. It is in everything. The Spirit of the Christ is everywhere. The Spirit of the Christ uplifts everyone and everything. Identifying completely with this Spirit of the Christ, I am free. Identifying with this Spirit of the Christ, I am in the paradise of God. Thank you, God, for making it so. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

04/06/2024

Dear Light Group,

After Jesus was crucified, his disciples were gathered together, and “…the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews.” The disciples’ spiritual master had just been killed at the behest of a raging mob. No wonder they were behind closed doors, afraid the mob would next come after them.

At this point, the resurrected Jesus appeared before the disciples and said, “Peace be unto you.” Then he showed them his hands and his side, where he had been nailed and where the spear had been thrust into his side. The disciples, seeing that it was in fact Jesus, were glad. For the second time, Jesus said to them, “Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

Perhaps the disciples were a bit giddy seeing the resurrected Jesus. So for a second time Jesus said, “Peace be unto you,” as if to say, “Calm down, children.”

Then he said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” You wonder if the disciples fully understood what they had just been told. They were being sent out into the world. No longer would they hide behind closed doors. They would do wonderful things: they would have visions; they would spread the gospel; they would heal the sick. Peter even brought an individual back from the dead. But they also were persecuted: John was imprisoned; Stephen was stoned to death. Peter was crucified upside down.

What kept the disciples going, despite the persecution? The answer may lie in what Jesus had said to them, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” That may have been the moment when the disciples received a transmission of Divine energy that stayed with them and forever changed their lives. It may have been such a complete reordering of their bodies, minds, and souls that they were durably strengthened and inspired to go out into the world and “feed my sheep.”

Are there any lessons for us in this story? Could it be that we, too, are hiding? Could it be that we are hiding from the Holy Spirit, afraid to express our divinity because of the mob mentality outside our doors? Could it be that we have yet to truly “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” for fear of being persecuted?

If we turn from these concerns, we hear, “Peace be unto you” But rather than waiting for Jesus to appear in front of us and give us comfort, it may be time for us to find the peace within ourselves. The first step may be for us to simply calm down, to let go of our fears, to let go of our tightly self-protective nature and instead open ourselves to that which is flooding in and around us, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Cosmic Vibration that sustains all people and all things.

If we can do that, then all fears drop away, and we become That, we become the Holy Spirit, the Cosmic Vibration, radiating harmony, peace, and joy to one and all.

If you would like a prayer to accelerate your absorption in the Spirit, you might try this: “Thank you, God, for Thy Holy Spirit, vibrating within me. Thank you, God, for Thy Holy Spirit, vibrating harmony, peace, and love within me. Thank you, God, for this harmony, peace, and love filling my being. Thank you, God, for baptizing me with Thy Holy Spirit. Thank you, God, for baptizing me in Thy harmony, peace, and love. Thank you, God, for centering me in Thy harmony, peace, and love. Thank you, God, for oneness with Thy Holy Spirit, for oneness with Thy harmony, peace, and love. Thank you, God, for this harmony, peace, and love radiating out, touching everyone and everything, that all may know Thee and Thy glory. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

03/30/2024

Dear Light Group,

Around the last year of his life, Jim Goure had this to say about Jesus:

Jesus declared the Christ in everyone and everything on January 12, 1985. It is so established. He declared it with such authority that every mineral, every atom began to change, right before our eyes.

Jesus merged himself into everyone and everything on planet Earth. It is not a person, per se. It is the Christ. It is in every rock. Every dust particle. That is the new second coming.

Is Jesus physically incarnated at this time? He is in you. When I look at you, I see Jesus. He has merged himself with everyone and everything on planet Earth. You move and have your being inside of him. Welcome, Messiah, I like you.

If what Jim said is true, then Jesus as Christ is in each one of us. Easter, with its elevated energies, is an opportunity for us to connect more deeply with this Christ that is within us.

If you would like a prayer to help you explore that Christ within you, you might try this: “Welcome, Messiah. Welcome into my consciousness, Messiah. You and I are one. Merged as one, there is only You and Your universal Love. This Love shines within my heart. Within my heart, I feel the Comforter you promised your disciples when you were in the physical. I feel your warmth and caring and protection. Thank you, Messiah. Now within my heart is the still small voice of the Christ, singing praises to God. Within my heart is the Goodness of the Christ. From my heart, this Goodness radiates out for the wellbeing of all people. You and I are one, Messiah. You are in all that is. Merged with You, I am one with all that is. Together, our Love and Goodness permeate Earth and everyone and everything on Earth, and there is only this Love and Goodness, flowing and growing and blessing all that is. And so it is. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

03/23/2024

Dear Light Group,

As we round the bend towards Easter, it might be helpful to revisit the Last Supper. Reading a bit between the lines, that event was packed with high drama.

Imagine this: Your spiritual leader gets up from dinner, takes off all his clothes, and starts to wash your feet. If we were among the disciples, and if you’re like me, you’d be wondering, What the heck is this guy doing? Has he gone nuts?

But if we reflect on that event and see it symbolically, it has huge meaning. Our feet are that on which we stand, and they therefore are symbolic of our understanding (that which we are “standing under”). By washing the disciples feet, Jesus was cleansing their understanding so they would be better prepared for what was to come (the Betrayal, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection and their own Divine missions).

Getting into the spirit of Easter, we, too, can use it as a time to cleanse our own understanding, so that we, too, can be more receptive to the messages of the Lord.

Jesus “knew that his hour had come,” and at one point he “was troubled in spirit.” As thoroughly identified with the Divine as Jesus was, perhaps there was a shuddering of a human soul. Even great spiritual masters can have moments when it is difficult to relinquish the human body.

And yet, did Jesus mourn his imminent passing? No. Instead, he realized that his disciples, hearing him saying that he was going to leave them, were a bit dazed and confused and worried, so he told them, “Let not your heart be troubled….I will not leave you comfortless. I will come unto you.” And he told them, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of Truth….Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you – not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Then Jesus gave them the commandment that is the essence of his teaching, the essence of his being, the essence of who he has asked us to be: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you….By this shall all men know you, that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

And there we have the essence of the Last Supper: As we cleanse our understanding, we realize that the Divine (the Comforter) is always with us. In that spirit of the Divine Comforter, we let go of our fears. Having let go of our fears, we feel free to love, to radiate from our hearts the Divine Love that is our essence.

In that spirit, you might want to try a prayer such as, “The Love of the Divine radiates from my heart. I am That. I am that Love. I am that Light. That Light and Love radiates from my heart. This is my essence. I am one with this Love. I am one with this Light. This Light is everywhere. This Light is in everyone. I am one with the Light that is in everyone and is everywhere. This Love is everywhere. This Love is in everyone. I am one with the Love that is in everyone and is everywhere. Thank you, God, for the joy of being. Thank you, God, for the joy of being Thy Light. Thank you, God, for the joy of being Thy Love. Let me reside all the days of my life being this Light and Love. Let me reside all the days of my life radiating this Light and Love from my heart to all of creation. Thank you, God, for making it so. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

03/16/2023

Dear Light Group,

Easter will be upon us in two weeks. We think of this as a time of death and resurrection – of Jesus.

Does this tale apply only to Jesus, or have there been others? And what about the rest of us? Will there be a death and resurrection story for each one of us?

If you have read Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, you have heard of other resurrections. Yogananda’s guru, Sri Yukteswar, came to Yogananda in flesh and blood well after Sri Yukteswar’s body had been cremated. Sri Yuktesway’s own guru, Lahiri Mahasaya, appeared in resurrected form to three of his disciples shortly after Lahiri Mahasaya had been cremated.

Then there is Jim Goure. Jim said there is no death. He said Jesus proved that. I haven’t heard anyone claim that Jim appeared to them in a physical form after Jim’s death, although several people have said that his spirit has appeared to them.

What are we to make of all this?

One conclusion would be that after death of the physical body, our spirit, our consciousness, lives on. That is true not only of spiritual masters but of all of us.

So let us during this Easter season give thanks for life eternal: “We give thanks, Lord, for those who have shown us eternal life. We give thanks for Jesus, Jim, Yogananda, Sri Yukteswar, and Lahiri Mahasaya. We give thanks, Lord, for our own life eternal. May our life eternal be in Thy Spirit of Love, Light, Truth, Spirit, Joy, and Peace. While in the physical, let us manifest this Love, Light, Truth, Spirit, Joy, and Peace at all times and in all places. Let us be Thy presence of Love, Light, Truth, Spirit, Joy, and Peace on Earth, that all may know their own life eternal in Thee. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

03/09/2024

Dear Light Group,

What a crazy thing life is! The spiritual masters have taught us that we’re living an illusion. We think we’re separate from everyone and everything else, but that is false. We think this physical world is real, but it is not. We think our ego is something precious and important and something to be protected. It is not.

What the spiritual masters have been saying to us is that, just as when we awake from a dream and realize that our dream is not real, so it is when we awake from the dream of life: it is then that we realize our waking perceptions have likewise been unreal.

What is real is our oneness with the Divine. When we realize that, we see that there is no separation. We are not separate from anyone or anything else. It is all one unified Sea of Light. Once we realize that, we become baptized or absorbed in the stream of Spiritual Light. We rise out of darkness and delusion and the sea of souls, and we enter the world of Spirit. When ignorance, darkness, and delusion have been withdrawn, we no longer merely reflect Spiritual Light but actively manifest it. Being thus consecrated, we become free. We become Christed.

If you would like a prayer to draw you into this state of consciousness, you might try this: “Thank you, God, for removing darkness and delusion. Thank you, God, for helping me to see the Light. Thank you, God, for helping me to see that this Light is my essence. Thank you, God, for helping me to see that this Light is the essence of everyone and everything. Thank you, god, for helping me to know my oneness with this Light. Help me , Lord, to not only reflect this Light but also to actively manifest it. Let my heart be clear and pure so that it can actively manifest Thy Spiritual Light. Keep me always centered in this knowing, that I am manifesting Thy Light at all times and in all places, for the betterment of all and for Thy greater glory. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

03/02/2024

Dear Light Group,

God is Bliss. God is Joy. So we have heard from numerous mystics and spiritual masters.

It feels as though this must be true, and yet, the full experience of that Bliss and Joy remains elusive. How come?

Our restless monkey-mind is one reason. Like a monkey whose head constantly turns from one thing to another and whose body is constantly jumping around, our minds jump from one subject to another – from groceries to finances to the car to the house to our family to the news to who-knows-what.

Then there is the allure of the senses: the desire to feed ourselves with pleasure, whether it be scrumptious food or visual delights or beautiful sounds or lovely scents or a luxurious touch. We just keep hopping from one sensation to another.

As if that weren’t enough to keep us distracted, we create expectations of others and then get upset when those expectations aren’t met.

At the end of all this restlessness, where is there time, energy, and focus for God?

But the rewards for doing so – for stilling the mind, heart, and senses and for quelling the desire to set expectations – are endless Bliss and Joy. By letting go of our physical and emotional bondage, we enter the Realm of the Divine. In that Realm of the Divine, we become all-seeing, all-knowing, all-being. Everything is seen as a luminescent Sea of Light. We sense the entire cosmos glimmering within the infinitude of our being. We see the center of this Sea of Light as a point of perception within our hearts, and from that point of perception in our hearts radiates a Divine splendor blessing every part of the universe.

If you would like a prayer for quieting the mind and senses and for entering the Bliss of God, you might try this: “Peace, be still my mind. Peace, be still my senses. Peace, be still my heart. In the stillness is the still, small voice of God. In the stillness is the Joy of God. in the stillness is the Bliss of God. In the stillness is the Peace of God. From the stillness in the center of my heart, let the Bliss, Joy, Peace, and Light of God radiate out to the entire Cosmos. Let this Bliss, Joy, Peace, and Light bless all of creation. Thank you, God, for blessing me with Thy Bliss, Joy, Peace, and Light. Thank you, God, for merging me into Thy Sea of Light. Thank you, God, for reminding me that I am that Sea of Light. Thank you, God, for this Sea of Light that is the Joy of the creation. Thank you, God, for this Sea of Light, blessing everyone and everything. Thank you, God, for making it so. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

02/24/2024

Dear Light Group,

The first and last books of the Bible make extraordinary statements about who we are. In the first book, Genesis, it is said that, “God created man is His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them…And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” In the last book of the Bible, Revelation, John the Beloved says, “Grace be unto you and peace from…Jesus Christ, who…hath made us kings and priests unto God.” So we’ve been made in the image and likeness of God, and that image and likeness is good, and then through Jesus Christ we have been made royalty and priests.

Sounds great!

But what does it really mean?

One thing it means is that basic goodness permeates all creation (God saw His creation as “very good”). That nugget can be a bit hard to swallow given what we hear in the news. But if we reflect on how we react to the news – “Oh, that’s bad. Oh, those people are terrible. Oh, that person says things I like; I’ll align with that person.” – we see that we’re being judgmental, and that judging blocks us from perceiving the basic goodness all around us. Once we let go of the judging, what remains? Nothing. The mental racket going on inside our heads stops. We are free then to experience a creation pulsing with basic goodness.

And what about John the Beloved’s statement that we are “kings and priests unto God”? Our reaction might be, “That sounds nice, but, who, me? Royalty? What are you talking about? I’m just little me. I’m not royalty.” But once we have let go of our judging and its associated mental racket, once we tune into universal basic goodness, we are, indeed, like royalty. As we sit upright in prayer and tune into the basic goodness of the creation, we are kings and queens unto God. The more we get into this consciousness of basic goodness, the more our Divine royalty gets reflected in everything about us – in the way we dress, in the way we speak, in the way we drink a cup of coffee, in the way we relate to others.

If you would like a prayer to tune into your Divine royalty, you might try this: “Teach me Divine royalty, Lord. Help me to let go of my judgments. Help me to see that I am not I-me-mine but instead am part of your flow of basic goodness. Free me to recognize Thy basic goodness in everyone and everything. Remind me always, Lord, that I am not I-me-mine but am Thine priest of basic goodness. Remind me always, Lord, to act with kindness, that I may be a true ‘priest unto God.’ As I act with kindness and feel compassion for others, let me feel in my heart Thy warmth, generosity, and openness. Let my heart pulse with the steady beat of Thy warmth and love. Let this steady beat of warmth and love radiate out from me, that all may be touched by Thy Love and Peace. Thank you, God, for making it so. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

02/17/2024

Dear Light Group,

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy.’ But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He taketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.”

With statements such this, which he made in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, if he were in the physical today, would never have made it as a social media star. Social media programming is designed to slot us into like-minded groups and then keep us in those groups by fueling our anger at some other group.

But love and forgiveness are at the core of what Jesus taught us, with his words and with how he lived. In doing so, Jesus manifested the essence of God, which is Divine Love. In doing so, Jesus demonstrated a recognition that all people are equally God’s children – whether they are doing things we approve of or not.

Our job is to be partners with God, as Jesus was, in manifesting the redeeming power of Divine Love. As we do so, as we extend our love to friends and enemies alike, we find Divine Love everywhere – in our fellow humans, in nature, in all that is. To recognize the Divine in everyone, to see their Divinity and separate that Divinity from the evil they may be expressing, to see God equally in friend and enemy, is a testimony to one’s spiritual attainment.

God is ever merciful. Divine Mercy and Love place no conditional demands on us. In that same spirit, we should act divinely towards each other, without judgment and without ulterior motives.

When we feel wronged, it is best to let go of any anger or resentment that we may have and instead “Bless them that curse you” – wish good for those who wish evil for us. To do the opposite, to hate an enemy and to retaliate only increases the anger and hatred in the enemy.

The effect of evil is to divide, obscure, and cause disharmony. God’s Love does the opposite: consciously directed, it neutralizes the power of evil. It unites and harmonizes.

In following Jesus’ counsel that we “pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you,” you might want to try a prayer such as, “Lord, help me to see with Thine eyes. Help me to see Thy Light within the souls of all people. Help me to release any anger or resentment I may feel towards others. Help me to see Thy Light and Thy Goodness residing in their souls. Help me to be Thy emissary of Divine Love. No matter what happens, keep me anchored in Thy Love, that I may manifest it at all times and in all situations. Let Thy redeeming Love always radiate from my heart, that others may be attracted to Thee and Thy Love and Thy Goodness. Keep me always centered in Thee, O Lord, that I may always feel Thee as Divine Comforter and from that may have the strength to be the Light of the world. Thank you, God, for making it so. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

02/10/2024

Dear Light Group,

Behind it all, behind all of the phenomenal world, behind everything on Earth, is an ocean of bliss and love. We are surrounded by this ocean of bliss and love. This ocean of bliss and love fills and surrounds us. It is us. It is our essence.

And yet, we know it not.

Why is that?

It’s because we have concentrated our identity on our selves and our little world – rather than having concentrated on the ocean of bliss and love. It’s because we have separated ourselves from the rest of creation – and in so doing have separated our consciousness from the ocean of bliss and love.

How to get back to the ocean of bliss and love? In one sense, it’s as simple as switching our allegiance. We switch our allegiance from self-protection and self-aggrandizement to openness, generosity, space. Rather than seeing the world in terms of what we like and don’t like, what we think is good or bad, what we want or don’t want, we open ourselves to simply being. We let go. Rather than trying to control everything, we work with what is. Rather than trying to protect our own little world, we realize that we have no territory to defend. Having no territory to defend, we feel open, spacious, free. Having switched our allegiance, we are free to merge with the ocean of bliss and love.

If you would like a prayer to accelerate your merging with the ocean of bliss and love, you might try this: “All of my worries and fears are dissolved in Light. That Light is my essence. I am that Light. I am that Bliss. I am that Love. That Bliss, Light, and Love is in every cell of my being. That Bliss, Light, and Love fills every room of my home. That Bliss, Light, and Love fills the city in which I live. That Bliss, Light, and Love fill this nation. That Bliss, Light, and Love fills all nations. That Bliss, Light, and Love fills all peoples of all nations. That Bliss, Light, and Love fills Earth. That Bliss, Light, and Love fills all creation. I am That. I am that Bliss, Light, and Love. I am free. I am one with all that is. Praise be to God for this Bliss, Light, and Love. Praise be to God for the ocean of Bliss, Light, and Love. Praise be to God for the freedom to be one with this Bliss, Light, and Love. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

02/03/2024

Dear Light Group,

To return to the Beatitudes, which we pondered a couple of weeks ago, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

There are religions that put a great deal of emphasis on purity. Hindus maintain that we can’t know God until we purify ourselves. Muslims, before prayer, are expected to perform a purification ritual called Wudu, during which they wash their face, hands, arms, and feet.

Then there are people such as Jim Goure who tell us that we are It, that we are the Divine, that believing we need to go through rituals to get to the Divine can be a trap, something designed to keep us down in our human nature rather than up in our Divine nature.

Who is correct?

The Divine is here now. The Divine is pure. The Divine is not affected by our thoughts, emotions, or behavior. So if the Divine is pure and If we are Divine, then our core nature is pure.

And yet, do we “see God”? If not, then maybe we need to reexamine how to be “pure in heart.”

Being pure in heart doesn’t need to involve stressful rituals. It simply requires that we declutter. Just as we might declutter a closet, so we need to declutter what’s in our hearts.

We have old fashioned tools at our disposal to do so. They are called discipline and morality. These words are hardly spoken these days without a snicker from the self-appointed cognoscenti, but they provide us a means of staying clear of distractions. It’s as simple as that.

If you’d like a prayer to discipline and strengthen your focus on the Divine, you might try this: “Thank you, God, for keeping me focused on Thee. Thank you, God, freeing me of distractions. Thank you, God, for always reminding me that in this universe of change, You are all that really counts. Thank you, God, for purifying my heart, that I may see Thee. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

01/27/2024

Dear Light Group,

To return to the Beatitudes, which we pondered a couple of weeks ago, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Who is correct?

The Divine is here now. The Divine is pure. The Divine is not affected by our thoughts, emotions, or behavior. So if the Divine is pure and If we are Divine, then our core nature is pure.

And yet, do we “see God”? If not, then maybe we need to reexamine how to be “pure in heart.”

Being pure in heart doesn’t need to involve stressful rituals. It simply requires that we declutter. Just as we might declutter a closet, so we need to declutter what’s in our hearts.

Love and Light,
Tully

01/20/2024

Dear Light Group,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Thus begins the Beatitudes. One reading of what Jesus meant is this: When we’re at rock bottom, we seek God.

Why were the people Jesus spoke to at rock bottom? They were being crushed by two opposing forces. From their own side, from the Jewish side, they were confronted with some of the most rigid, dogmatic, self-serving, hypocritical priests to ever walk the planet. From the Roman side – and the Romans were the ones who ruled the land of Israel – there were officials who saw it as their primary task to control the rebellious Jews and, when necessary, punish them in cruel and savage ways (think the crucifix).

It was a dangerous world filled with soul-crushing rules imposed by cold-hearted priests and ruthless Romans. If you got out of line, it was curtains for you (again, think Jesus on the cross). No wonder people were “poor in spirit.”

Jesus, in the first of the Beatitudes, was expressing compassion for these people (“Blessed are the poor in spirit”) while also giving them hope (“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”).

Beatitudes that follow give us guidance as to how to reach “the kingdom of heaven.” We are blessed if we are “meek” (humble), if we “hunger and thirst after righteousness,” if we are “pure in heart,” and if we are among the “merciful” and the “peacemakers.”

These Beatitudes that give us the route to heaven are basically saying: It’s all within. It’s all within our minds and within the way we be. There is nothing in the Beatitudes that says, “First you must fix this crazy world you live in. Go out and change the priesthood and tell the Romans to change their wicked ways.” Not at all. If anything, Jesus appears to be saying: “First look at the world within yourself. First look at your own thoughts and emotions. Are they ones of humility, mercy, and peace? Or are they ones of judgment of others and self-aggrandizement?”

Two thousand years later, do these Beatitudes have applicability the world we live in? In a world that to many people appears to be increasingly nutty, is Jesus’ message still relevant?

Absolutely yes. It all starts within, within each one of us. It starts with examining ourselves. What are our thoughts and emotions? Are they “pure of heart,” or are they filled with judgments and intense emotions and fervent desires? To what extent are we among the “merciful” and the “peacemakers”?

To return to or perhaps deepen our experience of the “kingdom of heaven,” we might want to try a prayer such as, “Thy kingdom come, O Lord. Thy kingdom come within me. Show me Thy Mercy, Lord. Show me Thy Peace, Lord. Make me an instrument of Thy Mercy. Make me an instrument of Thy Peace. Let Mercy and Peace pervade my thoughts this day and all the days of my life. Let me touch with Mercy and Peace everyone I come in contact with. Let me experience and be grateful for the Mercy and Peace that others extend to me. Let us collectively magnify this Mercy and Peace, that all may feel Thy Love, Mercy, and Peace. Create your reign of unity now, O Lord, that all of us may feel bound by Thy Love, Mercy, and Peace. Create your reign of unity now, O Lord, that all may experience Thy abundance. Create your reign of unity now, O Lord, that all of us may point our attention to Thy love, Mercy, and Peace. Thank you, Lord, for bringing Thy Love, Mercy, and Peace to Earth – through me and through everyone. Thank you, Lord, for making this a planet of Love, Mercy, and Peace. Amen.”

Love and Light,
Tully

01/13/2024

Dear Light Group,

I was at my father’s hospital bedside when he passed away. At the moment of death, when the heart and other monitors, which had been declining, finally reached zero, I felt his soul burst out of his body. It was then that I realized that this man who I thought I knew was something much, much greater than I had assumed. His soul was this enormous, powerful, rose-colored sphere of Light that, once it was freed of its physical body, went rocketing across the universe expressing its love for one and all.

This made me wonder: if my father had such a wonderful spirit and such magnificent love for all creation locked inside him while he was in the physical, is that true of the rest of us? Being wound up in our daily lives, do we have any idea who we really are? Do we have any idea what magnificent beings we are? Do we have any conception of the boundless love and joy that resides within us?

Shall we explore the possibilities? If you’re up for it, you might want to try a prayer such as, “I am free. I am free of all physical, mental, and emotional limitations. The Spirit within me is free. This Spirit is all Joy. This Spirit is all Love. This Spirit is nothing but Joy and Love. This Spirit joyfully expands its Love. This great Spirit that I am expands its love for all creation. I am centered in this Spirit. I center this Spirit. I love you. I love you. I love you. That I Am.”

Love and Light,
Tully

01/06/2024

Dear Light Group,

A new year typically arrives with hopes for a fresh start, better living, and an uplifting life. Most of these hopes are centered on our experiences of the material world – health, wealth, and a pleasant life.

The life of the Spirit promises us much, much more than that. The life of the Spirit takes us to a realm where our material desires are as nothing compared with the bliss, Light, and cosmic consciousness of Spirit.

That newness that we seek at the turn of a year is at its deepest level a desire to be reborn in Spirit. Instead of seeing that rebirth as a one-and-done, Saul on the road to Damascus type of totally life-changing experience, perhaps we could view it as daily baptisms in Spirit, some of them seemingly mundane, some not.

Many of us take a shower early in the morning, and that starts our day with a basic purification of body and spirit – and what is baptism if it isn’t a purification of body and spirit? Immersion in water opens the pores of our skin, flushes out toxins, and calms and balances our energies.

If we then pray or meditate, we are giving ourselves an opportunity to be immersed in – baptized by – the wisdom and peace of Spirit.

On those days when we are able to go deeply into this Spirit, restlessness subsides, our consciousness is calmed, and we experience the radiant Light and Joy and Peace of the Divine. When that happens, we have been led from immersion in the material world – the world of desires, selfhood, and indulgence in the senses – to immersion in the kingdom of Spirit. Then it is not just our body that has been cleansed – baptized – but our consciousness. We now see with the inner eye of Spirit, and we now hear the sound of Spirit vibrating in all creation. Then we know that our true nature is not that of an isolated human body. Our true nature is that of a ray of Spirit. That ray of Spirit knows only an ever-new Joy and an ever-new Love. Feeling the vibration of Spirit in every unit of space – in our physical bodies, in the Earth, in all of the planets, throughout the universes – we become one with the Divine.

Shall we give ourselves the opportunity to start the new year immersed in – baptized by – Spirit? If that interests you, you might want to pray, “Thank you, God, for baptizing me in Thy Light. Thank you, God, for immersing me in Thy Light. Thank you, God, for cleansing me of habits and desires that divert my attention from Thee. Thank you, God, for untangling the knots in my heart. Thank you, God, for redirecting my attention from flowing outward and onto sensory phenomena to flowing inward and onto Divine perception. Thank you, God, for revealing to me the Peace that passeth all understanding. Thank you, God, for baptizing me in Thy Light, Peace, and Joy. Thank you, God, for revealing to me that it is Thy Light, Peace, and Joy that permeates all creation. Thank you, God, for revealing to me that it is Thy Light, Peace, and Joy that is my true essence. Thank you, God, for revealing that this Divine essence is in everyone and everything. Remind me, Lord, every day of the coming year and every day for the rest of my life, that it is this Light, Peace, and Joy that is my Divine nature. Baptize me every day, Lord, in this Thy Light, Peace, and Joy. Bless me with this Light, Peace, and Joy all the days of my life. Bless all creation with this, Thy Light, Peace, and Joy, forever. Thank you, God, for making it so. Amen.”

All the best for a wonderful, Spirit-filled New Year!

Love and Light,
Tully