Midweek Faith Lift
“Honoring Our Human Self”
Su Podraza-Nagle LUT
2/4/2026
Good morning! To those online with us, those in the sanctuary and those reading this as a Midweek Faith Lift, blessings on the path!
Last week, we delved into exploring and acknowledging our Sacred Human, within ourselves, and our spiritual consciousness, Guided by Unity writers, Metaphysicians, and teachers.
I also asked the question, are we living and doing from the inside outward, or from the outside in?” Were you able to discern the answer?
This week as we honor our human selves, we are going to explore the way we take into ourselves, our failures and mistakes, and how we can view these for what they are. Learning experiences.
True story: I’m at a high school wrestling event. There was a grandmother cheering for her grandson. She would become silent and grit her teeth during those nail biter moments when it seemed her grandson might get pinned. When he was able to escape and complete a reversal she shouted and cheered, and when he pinned his opponent, she exclaimed her joy of the moment, praising his win and sharing her joy with those around her.
What if we remembered to do that for ourselves? Releasing the inner critic to the universe and instead place a cheerleader in its place? What would that look and feel like?
Here are some points to ponder:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:
"Mistakes can teach you how to approach life differently. There's no shame in falling, only in failing to rise."
Brene Brown:
“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known.
Jim Rosemergy, in The Sacred Human brings to light this revelation:
To be human is not to judge our potential by our failures but by our triumphs and the successes of ourselves and fellow human beings.
This is more of a challenge than one would imagine. Consider: Do we go about our day praising the great work, conversations, or exercise, having done the best we could, throughout our day?
Or did we chastise ourselves because of perceived errors and critical self-talk, such as, I’m not good enough, I won’t do that again, I can’t talk to them, I’ll never understand etc.
Now, as a side note, since we all have come to realize our thoughts are prayers, what were we thinking/ praying?
Understand, emotions, fears, grief, longing, and limitation are not spiritual failures—they are sacred experiences that invite compassion rather than judgment.
I am here to tell you that I see something in you that you may not see in yourself. A sacred human. A gift to the world. Honor who you are. Suit up that inner cheer leader!
Jim Rosemergy invites us into a radical remembering—that our humanity itself is sacred. Not someday. Not after improvement. Not once we become “spiritual enough.” But now, exactly as we are, we are the living intersection of Spirit and form.
This Truth can be applied to every aspect of our lives.
This idea is not new. It echoes the heart of Unity teachings from Charles and Myrtle Fillmore and resonates deeply with Emily Cady’s insistence that Truth is not distant, but present, already established within us.
Remember, Rosemergy challenges the old religious split between the sacred and the ordinary. He suggested that spirituality has often tried to lift us out of our humanity when the real invitation of Truth is to enter fully into it.
Charles Fillmore taught this clearly when he said:
“Man is not a body with a soul; he is a soul with a body.”
When we see ourselves through the lens of divine truth rather than condemnation, healing naturally follows.
This isn’t always easy to do. We can very easily get caught up in living from the “Outside- inward. We may become distracted. Squirrel!!!
Remember, seeing ourselves through the lens of divine truth rather than condemnation, healing naturally follows.
Consider this quote from Thomas Edison: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work".
Imagine where we would be if he stopped after a first attempt at the lightbulb.
When we live from the inside- outward, This statement of seeing ourselves through divine truth, reframes everything. We are not flawed matter trying to reach Spirit—we are Spirit expressing through matter.
To honor our human self is to realize:
Our goddness breathes through our breath.
Our goddness thinks through our mind.
Our goddness loves through our heart.
What about those memories, thoughts and emotions we may wrestle with? Hold them as sacred, love them as part of our sacred life experience. Heal.
This is incarnation—not just of Jesus, but of each of us.
When we read from Emily Cady, Lessons in Truth, she insists on a foundational metaphysical principle:
“Spirit is the only reality, and matter is the manifestation of Spirit.”
This means our humanity is not separate from Truth—it is Truth made visible. When Rosemergy speaks of the sacred human, he is pointing to the same realization Cady taught over a century ago: we do not become divine; we awaken to what already is.
Cady reminds us to not strive, but to recognize.
Recognize that:
Our life is already whole.
Our capacity to love is already present.
Our ability to use wisdom is already active.
Last week, I reminded us how Myrtle Fillmore’s life stands as a living testimony to sacred humanity. Her healing did not come from rejecting the body, but from loving it with divine understanding.
She affirmed:
“I am a child of God, and therefore I do not inherit sickness.”
She also affirmed:
“I bless and encourage the flow of life in me.”
“I am mindful of my thoughts and words.”
Notice: Myrtle did not deny her humanity—she redeemed it.
This aligns powerfully with Rosemary’s assertion that healing occurs when we stop viewing ourselves as broken and begin living from our sacred nature. When we see the body as a holy instrument rather than a problem, restoration becomes possible.
Myrtle teaches us that the body responds to the consciousness that holds it. When we hold ourselves in reverence, life reorganizes itself accordingly.
Sacred humanity heals because it removes shame, fear, and separation—the very roots of dis-ease.
Charles Fillmore consistently taught that the Christ is not confined to Jesus alone but is the universal pattern of divine humanity.
To honor our human self then, is to allow the Christ idea to take flesh in:
Our choices, our speech, our compassion, and our courage
This is not perfectionism. It is presence.
Charles Fillmore said plainly:
“There is no mistaken thought, but a mistaken use of God-given powers.”
When we honor our human selves, mistakes become teachers—not condemnation. Growth becomes joyful—not fearful. Repentance, in its truest sense, becomes metanoia—a change of mind, a return to right seeing. (Traveling example)
So what does this mean for daily life?
It means:
Your work is sacred. Your relationships are sacred. Your body is sacred. Your becoming is sacred.
It means we stop waiting to be worthy and start living from the truth; God is already present—because God is.
Live then from the inside, outward.
Emily Cady would say we are to practice the presence of Truth. Myrtle Fillmore would say we are to speak life into every cell. Charles Fillmore would say we are to claim our divine inheritance.
Rosemergy says: be fully human—awake, compassionate, embodied, and honest—and you will discover the holy has been there all along.
I invite you to see yourself as you truly are and an invitation to:
- Stop dividing heaven and earth. Metaphysically, Heaven and earth IS the orderly realization and manifestation of divine ideas. The sacred human.
- To trust your humanity as the dwelling place of God.
- And lastly, to live as the Christ, your potential perfection in flesh.
As we go about our daily life this week, hold onto these words:
We are not humans trying to become sacred.
We are sacred beings learning how to be human.
The greatest influence upon our lives is our view of ourselves.
We will honor our humanity as the holy expression of divine life.
We welcome the Christ within everyone in every moment.
Live as a sacred human—awake, willing, and whole.
To be continued…..
Meditation
Take a gentle breath…
and allow yourself to arrive fully in this moment.
There is nothing to fix.
Nothing to improve.
With your next breath, silently affirm:
I am here. I am present. I am willing.
Allow your body to soften.
Let your shoulders release.
Feel the quiet intelligence of life breathing as you.
Bring your awareness gently into your heart space.
To the Christ within that indwelling presence.
Notice whatever is present within you
thoughts, feelings, memories, tenderness, resistance.
And instead of judging any of it,
practice what Myrtle Fillmore called “the healing power of love.
If there is weariness, let it rest.
If there is grief, let it breathe.
If there is uncertainty, let it be held.
Feel the quiet assurance of divine life moving through every cell, every breath, every experience.
Rest for a few moments in this awareness…in the quiet
letting the truth sink beneath words…
into feeling…
into being.
And as we prepare to return our attention outward, we carry this knowing with us:
We do not leave Spirit behind.
We express it.
And so it is.