"The vastness of creation is whole. The Infinite Creative Spirit made it all possible; but there is no division, separation, or diminution of the Creator in the created. The Creator has expressed and fulfilled Himself (or Itself) in the creation, which has no existence outside of the Creative Spirit that brought it forth. The whole is present at every point; therefore, all is totally and completely 'within' you all the time. It may be difficult to comprehend, but the Infinite I AM is the point in you where the whole becomes individualized as you. You are the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in you. This is the great key to all human existence, the unity of all life." (Unity of All Life, 35). Eric Butterworth reiterates this teaching throughout his book Unity of All Life which was published in 1969. He stresses that when one only sees what is happening on the surface of life, (s)he can feel powerless, a victim of circumstance. EB explains how futile it is to look to the world to find meaning. "Life, of itself, has no meaning. only you have meaning. However, life begins to be understandable and manageable when you begin to realize your unity with the Infinite, to know that the wholeness of the possibility of God is inwrapped within you. Then life becomes an exciting adventure of self-discovery." (Unity of All Life, 36).
The key, according to EB, is to turn within for guidance and to know that God is working through us. EB cautions against thinking that God is doing anything to us. He reminds us that "meaning in life comes from our right of choice, the choice to have faith, to believe in deeper realities, to see the larger horizon." (Unity of All Life, 40).
In a much later book, The Universe is Calling, EB, reiterates the need for us to place our attention and energy on the power within to see the changes we desire outpicture. “You can find great help through prayer. But as you come to understand the science of prayer, you will realize that it is not an act of entreaty to God. It is turning the focus of your consciousness away from the problem to your center of being in God, and giving way to the creative flow which will stream forth therapeutically from within your innermost self” (The Universe is Calling, 30).
Throughout his books, EB is firm in the conviction that we have within us all that we need to overcome any appearances of dis-ease, limitation, or sense of separation. He vigilantly reminds us: “God is the wholeness of life, substance, and intelligence which is always present. It is not a miracle that is needed, ever, but the disciple of consciousness to let ‘Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,’” (The Universe is Calling, 26).
EB stresses over and over again that it is our responsibility to discipline our consciousness. He states, “Man is the channel for the expression of Infinite Intelligence and energy and love. We are using the same power, the same basic Infinite Mind stuff, whether we are rising to success or floundering in mediocrity, whether we are manifesting health and youthfulness or suffering in disease and old age. The Infinite Creative Spirit in us is to each of us what we are to it. It invariably responds to us by corresponding with our mental attitudes.” (Unity of All Life, 35). Is he saying that our thoughts create our experiences? Definitely. He believes that is true in all cases.
EB does suggest that race consciousness can affect our experiences. However, he clearly states that when challenges occur, the place to go to change the direction of our lives is to our consciousness. What we need to learn to do is to detach from our experiences so that we are responding rather than reacting to them. EB puts it this way: “…the incident is completely external to you. It may happen around you or even to you, but of itself it does not happen in you. Your mind is your domain. Here you are the master.” (Unity of All Life, 63).
So is he saying that we should live in our inner world and not engage at all with our experiences in the outer world? No, I don’t think so. He talks about the fact that our experiences give us feedback on where our consciousness is. He clarifies for us ways that we process information. When we use what he calls horizontal thinking we look at our life experiences, analyze them, and base our perceptions and choices on past results.
This thinking, he says, keeps us in a loop because we are making predictions and choices about our future based on our past. We can’t expect different results if we continue with the same patterns of behavior.
Vertical thinking moves us out of the loop. We pay attention to experiences and then we see how the results might have been different. “The vertical thinker knows there is always ‘more’ in the man and in the knowledge accumulated by the man. He is open to the influence of the intuitive. He deals with conditions, experiences, and persons not as they are but as he is, and he uses them as the challenge to a greater discovery of that isness. He does not think about problems and thus develop a problem-oriented state of mind. He thinks through problems to the whole Spirit that is only being partially expressed. Thus he develops a solution-oriented state of mind.” ( Unity of All Life, 65).
Butterworth invites each of us to look at our lives with different eyes. He urges us to remember that within us are the powers of the Creator. As we focus our thinking and our attention on the infinite possibilities of expressing those powers we live fully in the unity of all life.