Unity Village, MO 64065-0001
Also by Eric Butterworth
Discover the Power Within You
Spiritual Economics
Unity: A Quest for Truth
Celebrate Yourself!
The Concentric Perspective
Breaking the Ten Commandments
The Universe Is Calling: Opening to the
Divine Through Prayer
Life Is for Living
Life Is for Loving
It is impossible to say how many thousands of people Eric Butterworth influenced to change their lives for the better. His Sunday lectures filled Carnegie Hall and then Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York for more than 30 years. His messages were broadcast nationwide for more than 50 years. His book Discover the Power within You was an influential best-seller even before Oprah Winfrey promoted it on her television program.
Eric’s influence spread far beyond his local ministries and radio audience. He mentored many successful Unity ministers who in turn touched many lives. Practically every Unity minister of Eric’s generation and the generation after was influenced by his thoughts and has taught from his books.
The first time I saw Eric Butterworth was at a conference for Unity ministers in the early 1980s. He was held in such high regard by his peers that he was given a special time allotment to address them on an important controversy that was under discussion at the time. No one else at the conference was given such an opportunity, nor can I recall a similar case at a conference. He spoke eloquently on the matter at hand and even the ministers who disagreed with his position listened respectfully. I was impressed that what he said was centered in and consistent with the spiritual principles he taught.
Some 20 years later Eric came to Unity School to speak to the ministerial students. This was not long before his passing. He still maintained the special dignity and presence I remembered from 20 years before. His message was again centered in the same principles, now specifically applied to the vocation of ministry. I knew these students were generally more interested in “modern methods” for church growth and the newest popular ideas than in the “old” principles. Yet many were moved by Eric’s emphasis on “consciousness” rather than the latest popular ideas. He got them in touch with what originally made Unity a dynamic spiritual movement.
Eric Butterworth was a man who lived true to spiritual principles and clearly saw the practicality of those principles for every life situation. His dedication to Truth, rather than personality or fads, was the source of his spiritual power—his power to influence others to live from a spiritual perspective.
Eric was a shy person, clearly an introvert. As often happens with shy people, some people may have thought him “aloof.” I found him impressive in the way that a profoundly spiritual “monk” can be impressive to people who are sensitive to such things. His wife Olga told me on a number of occasions that Eric was “not charismatic.” I wonder if any husband after many years of marriage can seem “charismatic” to his spouse. What Olga frequently spoke of admiringly was Eric’s integrity. She also told me that toward the end of his life he still would say he had “one more book in him.” Many of us would have liked to read that last book.
Eric seemed to think of himself more as a lecturer and especially a writer than as a “clergyman.” His personal introverted and almost “professorial” orientation makes his accomplishments as a minister and leader all the more remarkable. The principles by which Eric Butterworth attained his success pervade all of his writings and are particularly clear in “In the Flow of Life.”
As Eric Butterworth’s successor in the New York ministry, I met many of the people whose lives had been touched by Eric. They found in his teachings new ways to see themselves and their lives. They found ways to live happier, healthier, more successful, and more liberated lives. They all called him “Eric”—not “Rev. Butterworth” or by any title. They spoke his name with a mixture of affection and reverence. Eric’s students regarded him as both a great man and a special friend. They thought of his message as the standard for spiritual teaching.
All of Eric’s books are well worth reading. Discover the Power within You, his most popular book, is a practical and mystical interpretation of the “Sermon on the Mount.” Spiritual Economics, probably his second most popular book, provides a spiritual perspective for successful and prosperous living. In the Flow of Life is quintessential Eric. It distills Eric’s perspective and feeling for spiritual living into an accessible guide for “being in the flow” of the universe. In the Flow of Life may well be the most profound and useful of Eric’s books.
Eric was always conscious of connections between spiritual traditions. In the Flow of Life especially captures the spiritual kinship between Jesus and Lao-Tzu, founder of Taoism. Although Eric also draws upon the writings of Emerson, Thoreau, Shakespeare and others, In the Flow of Life is not an intellectual exercise but a practical guide for living life here and now. It provides effective anecdotes about “ordinary people” to illustrate the power of the deceptively simple idea of “being in the flow.”
This book shows how “being in the flow” can positively effect every important aspect of life. It describes how getting in the flow of life puts us in the healing the stream of life, the flow of the creative process and the illuminating guidance of life. “Going with the flow” helps us get along with people. It helps us find meaning, cope with adversity, and move more easily through grief. It truly is a simple yet powerful philosophy for living life to the fullest.
Eric observes “Nothing stays; all is change; it comes to pass” and shows why adopting this perspective can be uplifting.
In Chapter 7 (my personal favorite), Eric writes “Life is a flowing experience, and the only certainty is change.” Isn’t that truer than the old saying “nothing is certain in life but death and taxes”? The chapter expresses a calm and liberating philosophy for life: “Life goes on, and we can find new opportunities for love and happiness if we move with it.” Because life is an ever-changing flow, we can look at every circumstance and affirm, as Eric suggests, “I accept the reality of this situation, but not its permanence.” Eric somewhat playfully suggests another meaning of “it came to pass” when he writes, “The experiences of today are simply grade levels in the ongoing process of life. We are not here to fail; we are here to pass.”
In the Flow of Life contains practical spiritual wisdom for daily life. No matter what circumstances you face, you can find helpful insights in this book.
Rev. Jim Gaither
May 2012
About twenty years ago a word came into vogue In scientific treatises, psychological journals, and conversations of people in the street. The word was flow. It was used in many contexts, from the more esoteric idea of a Universe in "flux," to the personal comment on the human condition "I am really in the flow!" And it reached a high point in whimsy in a cartoon in The New Yorker, depicting two grand ladies standing beneath a life-sized portrait of an obvious "gentleman of distinction."
The caption read: "And I said to my husband, 'Go with the flow!' and he went."
But this insight into the "flow of life" is no laughing matter. It is an explanation and articulation of a very basic process of life in the Universe.
I have no way of knowing if the theme of this widely read book (first published in 1975) contributed to this "rage" or whether my thinking was influenced by it. I do know that this concept of the flow of life and expressions such as "go with the flow" have been a constant theme in my teaching for more than half a century. But however the idea came about, it is an important discovery in the quest for understanding by anyone in search of the Truth.
I am delighted to add this preface to the new edition of In the Flow of Life if only to rearticulate my great enthusiasm for the study of the basic "flow of the Universe.” Listen well to the theme of Plotinus that if you flow as life flows, you need no other power. Anything is evil that blocks the flow of creative action, and everything is healthy that flows with the Universe. It will serve you well to work with this theme in your practice of Truth. It could be the most important influence in your life.
With an objectivity that the passage of time allows, I have been re-experiencing the book myself, this time as a student-which I most certainly am. I am finding the message to be helpful and extremely relevant to life in the world today. A serious effort to apply the principles of "the flow of life" is doing great things for me. And I sincerely feel that it will work wonders for you too.
In our classroom work with this theme, we have used a mantra like chant in meditation: "I'm in the flow of life, I am, I am, I am, I am; I'm in the flow of life.” After repeating this for a few times, we make it more personally significant by singing "I am the flow of life, I am the flow of life, I am, I am, I am, I am; I am the flow of life."
Have many good days in your adventure in Truth … and "go with the flow.”
Eric Butterworth
New York City, New York
June 1993
To induce the reader to continue beyond the first page, it Is normally assumed that a book should give promise of helpful information to come. Why would a book be written and published if not to inform? There may be many reasons. For instance, this book was not written to inform but to "outform." By this, I mean that I am not concerned with putting ideas Into your mind but with awakening your super conscious awareness in which all things are known.
Information is knowledge received by tuition."Outformation" is wisdom unfolded by intuition and flowing forth into manifestation In your body and affairs. I hope to excite your mind with some helpful insights. An insight, however, is like the food you eat. To become energy, food is transformed by the process of metabolism. We do not become the food we eat; it turns into us.
My goal Is not to transfer the "gems of wisdom" from these printed pages into your mind. The Insights shared, which I believe will be helpful, must be transmuted into a consciousness of the flow of the creative process. One could memorize every word of the book and be able to repeat it by rote, paragraph by paragraph, and in the end he would have an overloaded mind, and possibly even, as Unity co-founder Charles Fillmore suggests, an uncomfortable experience of "metaphysical indigestion."
It is a common motivation to look for information by which to set things right. However, people are not in the world to set it right but to see it rightly. Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Mt. 3:2 Revised Standard Version as are all Bible quotations in this book unless otherwise noted, but it is right seeing that is the key to experiencing it. In fact, right seeing leads to an actual outforming of it.
A word of advice: Don't read this book as if it were a novel, even if its novel approach entices you to read on. The information contained here in can be gathered easily at one reading. But the outformation in your life that it is intended to elicit may take a lifetime. Pause frequently to reflect and meditate, to digest spiritually.
I am not dealing with religion in a theological sense, but with the transcendence of life. Thus I have no desire to proselytize or to convert you. Paul says, "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within” (Rom. 12:2 Phillips). If you can just get into the flow of the universe within you, you will experience an immediacy of the Presence of God and a clarity of mind. This is likely what Jesus had in mind when He said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mt. 5:8).
The word eye comes from a Sanskrit root word which means "fountain." This is beautifully significant, for when your mind is remolded from within, you are synchronized with the omnipresent flow of God which streams out in the very act of seeing. You see from the consciousness of God. Thus you actually project this consciousness toward anything your eye beholds.
That thou seest, man, become too thou must;
God, if thou seest God, dust if thou seestdust.
-Father Angelus
What you see you become, because of the outforming process of mind. So, perhaps you can understand why I am not interested in simply informing you about Truth but in awakening in you a consciousness of the dynamic flow of life, that you may experience a progressive outforming of this flow in creative and dynamic ways in every phase of your life.
You are about to embark upon an adventure into the inner world of mind and Spirit. It could be the most important journey in consciousness you have ever taken. It should be inspiring. It is intended to be challenging. You may also find it disturbing.
If you have a fixed belief about the reality of life, a "custom-made" set of convictions, then you may want to turn back, for your every settled view will be challenged. Your whole world will be turned upside down and inside out. But in the end, if you keep on until you catch on, you will gain a new perspective of life that will lead to a new experience in living.
It has been said that the starting point in spiritual realization is a right understanding of that One designated as the Almighty. But in a world of such broad diversity, how can we understand unity? How can we discover the One without lapsing into a duality that implies two?
There are many definitions of God, but none quite so insightful as this: God is a sphere whose center Is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere. It is not a picture that can be drawn. In fact, it should draw the mind away from the tendency to envision an anthropomorphic being.
A sphere whose center is everywhere? Impossible! But wait: if the center is everywhere, It must be where I am. Could this be the meaning of omnipresence? A point of life and light, present everywhere as each individualized expression? If this Is true, then I am the center of God. It is an audacious thought with a sacrilegious tone. And yet, can a geographical center be otherwise located in a dynamic and expanding universe? Every point in this sphere, which is God, is thus a bubbling forth of the Infinite flow of life.
What is the One that we call God? It is not a One off there somewhere, ruling the universe as an absentee landlord. It is the One, the whole of things, the allness of which and in which I am an eachness. No matter what I may think I am, I am the flowing forth of the One.
I am unique and different at the surface. There can be no other "eachness" quite like me. And yet I have no existence outside of the whole. My eachness can never be separated from the allness which is God. The Greeks said, "Man, know thyself." I can only know the One as I know myself as the self-livingness of the One. But I can only really know myself when I know that I am "in the flow of life."
Let's examine the prevailing attitudes about this thing called life. There are two basic views: (1) We come into the world as empty creatures who go forth in life to be filled. Life for us at any time is the sum of what has happened to us and what we have been able to accumulate in Wisdom, experience, or things. (2) We come into the world as living souls of infinite potentiality to be discovered and released, for life is lived from within-out.
The first view has been predominant through the ages. Every person has felt its conditioning to some extent, for it is the "wisdom of the world."Subtly but certainly, we are trained to think of life as a "getting" experience. Like Buddhist monks, we are given the psychological counterpart of the little begging bowl by which to go out into the world to seek the "gifts of God" from our parents, our schools, our religion, and our work. No matter what we hunger or desire, we invariably go begging "out there" for fulfillment. Paul seemed to know better. In 2 Timothy 1:6, he writes, "I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you."
Sören Kierkegaard, founder of existentialism, was strongly influenced by his own vision of the inner "flow." He talks of an Arab in the desert suddenly discovering a spring in his tent, providing a constant flow of water in abundance. And he says that we have the same feeling of security and well being when, after years of living a life from the outside, thinking that happiness comes from out there, we finally tum inward and discover the source within. It is probably true that most people attempt to live their life from the outside-in. Life for them is almost totally determined by what happens around them or to them. Ask them, "How are you?" and they are reluctant to answer until they consult the news of the day, check on the Dow-Jones averages, get the weather report, or appraise the mood of their family or their office associates. Their life Is almost totally "outer directed."And they are caught up in the dilemma of whether to conform to the world outside or to spend their life resisting it.
The great Truth taught by the mystics of all ages is: Life is lived from within-out. This means that the whole universe is concentrated at the point where you are. More than this—you are the universe expressing as you. You are its living enterprise. It forever stands behind you with its full resources. However, the fullness of this universal support comes through you and not just to you. The most profound knowledge that you can attain is that your whole existence flows forth inexorably from a universal process, which is always from within-out. How widespread and deep-seated is the belief that we are forever in competition with people and in conflict with the world around us. Our fears, resentment, anger, even grief come because we feel that the instability of life in the world is a threat to our existence in it. Jesus gave the answer, "The kingdom of God is within you"(Lk. 17:21 KJV). This is an absolutely amazing concept. Unfortunately, few have grasped its implications, looking upon it as a deferred payment into the begging bowl.
What is this mystical kingdom? It is the focus of the universe upon, and the flow of the universe within, humankind. This Is made unmistakably clear as Jesus said, "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Lk. 12:32). In other words, there is a longing at the heart of the universe to flow forth into and to perfect all that has been created. This is the basis of all healing and success and overcoming. The kingdom within is the realm of all-potentiality, all-substance, all-life, all-love, all-peace. Jesus said: "Do not be anxious about your life …. But seek first his kingdom and …all these things shall be yours as well" (Mt. 6:25, 33). In other words, get into the flow and you will receive all that you desire or need.
This is not at all a new concept. It wasn't new with Jesus. In the fifth century B.C., Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, was teaching that "all is flux, nothing stays still."1 And a full century earlier in ancient China, Lao-Tzu was teaching that the human spirit has its source in the divine fountain which must be permitted to flow freely through man. He believed that anyone who flows "as life flows" has solved the enigma of human existence and needs no other power. He felt that anything is evil that blocks the flow of creative action, and everything is healthy that flows with the universe.
It is this concept of the "flow" that sets Emerson apart as America's most influential essayist. Academicians never know what to do with him. He doesn't quite fit the labels of "religionist" or “philosopher," so he is called a transcendentalist. But by whatever term he is called, he is not to be ignored. Here Is one good reason:
There is a principle which is the basis of things, which all speech aims to say, and all action to evolve, a simple, quiet, undescribed, undescribable presence, dwelling very peacefully in us, our rightful lord: we are not to do, but to let do; not to work, but to be worked upon; and to this homage there is a consent of all thoughtful and just men in all ages and conditions. To this sentiment belong vast and sudden enlargements of power … We are one day to deal with real being,—essences with essences.2
Emerson could not understand why we make life such a problem by frustrating the flow of good. He said: “Our life might be much easier and simpler than we make it; the world might be a happier place than it is; there is no need of struggles, convulsions, and despairs, of the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth. We miscreate our own evils. We interfere with nature."
In my book Unity of All Life, I tell the story of a man who sat brooding at his desk one evening after receiving his dismissal notice from a company he had served for more than twenty years.3 He was reflecting in despair on the difficulty of getting another job at his age, the impossible task of living on his income, and the shock of feeling that he was no longer needed, that he was useless, through, washed-up.
He noticed a spider on the desk and unconsciously brushed it off. Suddenly he was watching in awe as the tiny creature automatically spun a strand to bear its weight and swung gracefully to the floor. He began to wonder: If this tiny creature could get into the flow of a mysterious resource and deal so creatively with its crisis, then why could he not do the same? The answer came dramatically: He must have gotten out of his own natural flow or this situation could not have come to him. The fact that he was so disturbed by it proved this to be true. Now, getting himself synchronized in consciousness with the flow in the realization that his good did not come to him but through him might not get his job back, but it would most certainly move him inexorably forward to something better.
With a new consciousness of the flow and with mind and body processes synchronized with the flow, the man went on to new security and creativity. He had always longed for the opportunity to write. Now was his chance, and write he did! Not that he became a Hemingway, but he wrote and sold much that he wrote. And along with his retirement income, he managed to achieve an economic security that he had never known. All this because he was now consciously and joyously in the flow.
This idea of the flow of life from within is not easy to grasp, for most of our wisdom and experience, gleaned from the world about us, would seem to contradict it. Emerson says that we must unlearn the wisdom of the world, lie low In the divine circuits, and by so doing, open the door by which the affluence of heaven and Earth streams into us. He is not suggesting that we forsake the cumulative wisdom of science. He refers to those facts that lead to limitation.