In my fifty years as a minister and educator I have developed certain spiritual principles as guidelines by which to think and live. The following list represents my highest aspirations, as well as the best I know in the realm of spirituality at this point in life.

1. Everything is one. Everything in creation is an expression of God. One person is no more precious than another, because essentially we are all connected, we are all one. We are each a part of one great cosmic family, and what we do to another, we also do to ourselves.

2. Unconditional love is the highest expression of our being. The greatest thing we can ever do is to love, because it is Love that has brought us into being, and it is Love that wills our connection, not our separation. We must drop the condemnations and judgments we have imposed against others for their actions or behaviors, and strive to love everyone, including ourselves, as fully and unconditionally as we can. This is what forgiveness means.

3. We are responsible for our own lives. We each create our own reality, and we must each learn to take responsibility for our thoughts, actions, failures and achievements. We must also stop blaming others for what did or did not happen in our lives. In some strange but remarkable way we have each planned our lives, and we are each here to do good for ourselves, for each other, and for all creation.

4. Life is eternal. We do not die. The body dies, but something within each of us is eternal and lives on. Call it the soul, the spirit, consciousness or whatever you will. In the end our most important insight will be the discovery that God is within everyone and that we are all eternal beings on a quest for wholeness and unity.

5. Life is not only eternal, it is precious at every level of expression. We must not only respect our lives and the lives of others, we must also cease from any activity that would harm or destroy others. War is not only wrong because it takes human lives, it is also wrong because of the damage inflicted on those who are forced to kill others. As President Jimmy Carter once said, We have to find a better way for settling our disputes than killing each other's children.

6. All religious systems contain some truth, but all religions also have some tenets that are not true. A common thread of truth runs through the world religions, and we would do well to find those truths and live by them, rather than thinking that only our religion is right and all others are wrong. Jesus was a devout Jew, who wanted to reform his own religion from within rather than start a new system. The truths he taught were universal, but his followers have occasionally twisted his teachings to suit their own ideas and to heighten their sense of superiority and rightness.

7. Slowly but inevitably the world is being spiritually transformed. As this happens, it will bring an end to strife and suffering, because a new unity of all people will be achieved. This will be the result of new insights and intuitions developing in men and women, providing them with a new affection, a deeper appreciation and a