Comparing two of Eric Butterworth's works

Hi folks!

I have found something that will be an adventure into the thoughts of Eric Butterworth (EB). In class, we have finished with most of EB’s book “Discover the Power Within You” (DTPWY). He wrote this book in 1968. I am giving a presentation to the class on his 1998 book “Dealing Positively with the Third Millennium PosiTrends or Negitrends?”(DPTMPN) As I prepare, it occurred to me that there could be change in the ideas that Butterworth writes in this book. I am interested in seeing how his ideas may have changed in the intervening thirty years.


I am going to use the chapters from the latest book DPTMPN as the subjects of my inquiry. They seem to deal with most of the topics addressed in his earlier work. Here is how we will proceed:

1) “The Ground of Being”;

2) “Intrepreneurship for Everyone” (taking charge of your life);

3) “Managing Your Own Health Care”;

4) “The Relationship Revolution” (managing your relationships);

5) “Dealing with Stress”;

6) “The Toxic Effect of Words”;

7) “The Word is Integrity”;

8) “A Heritage of Gentleness”

9) “Victory over Excessive Dependencies”;

10) “Entirement in the Golden Age” (seeing yourself as your own employer)

11) “Quo Vadis?” (What is next?)

Since this is an adventure, I am not sure what I will find. EB may not have addressed some of these topics in DTPWY. He may discuss topics in that work he did not mention in DPTMPN. Some things will most probably be lumped together. We will see.

Please feel free to ask questions. If you are following along in the books, please join in the adventure. Point to what you find interesting within each topic. I welcome discussion.

In “Ground of Being” EB speaks about a negative trend that is the common practice of separating our intellect from our religion. He says we compartmentalize them. In holding them separate, he believes we give up our source of creativity, our power; that we practice a religion where God is separate from us. We have made God out there in our image. This God is vengeful, jealous, and capricious requiring that we beg for God’s intervention and help. How can we blossom with a deity that is jealous of our success? We can never presume to be greater than our God is!

EB posits the idea that we can never reach our full potential until we find and have a positive relationship with God. We must confront all of our constructs about God in order to expand our consciousness to the point where we experience ourselves as expressions of God. We then know our place in that allness. Once we ground ourselves in the experience of our oneness with all that is we recognize that we are in fact in the flow of creativity, intelligence and life.

From EB’s perspective, it is critical that we come to an awareness of and accept our oneness with God. Being a wave in an ocean is the description he uses to relate how each person is in the expansiveness of God. He declares that until we have this awareness of ourselves as expressions of God, our God will never be enough to quell all our doubts in God’s power when tragedy happens.

The last area EB addresses in this chapter of DPTMPN is prayer. He mentions Jesus’ prayer practice here as the foundation of prayer that works. EB is adamant that God is principle and like mathematical principle, cannot be changed by our words or pleas. The purpose of prayer according to EB is to “know the Truth” and declare it for our own awareness. (p. 11) We then use our knowledge of the Truth to solve or dissolve our own problems.

So how do these ideas compare with what EB said in DTPWY? The first thing I noticed about the two books is that in his first work EB relies heavily on scripture to support his statements. In his second work, EB mentions Jesus and scripture, although he does not found his statements upon them.

In this book, EB sets the stage for the idea of power emanating from within each person as expressions of God as principle. He describes this idea as the “Great Discovery” of Jesus and gives a wonderful story of how Jesus may have experienced his awakening as a boy. (p. 14) EB continues by talking about Unity as the religion of Jesus as opposed to all other religions that are the religions about Jesus. He talks about Jesus’ “unique concept of God” as all there is, in us, around us, and the law by which we live. (p. 27) EB has carried all of these beliefs into his later work and expanded upon them based upon his experiences over the interim.

Near the famous EB statement, “But I want someone with skin on” is where he discusses how the common practice is to create God in our image. (p. 29) EB says our practice of anthropomorphizing God encourages the error thinking that we are separate from God. He declares, “You do not have to look ‘out there’ to find the Life Principle.” (p. 33) EB quotes Paul Tillich who referred to God as the “Ground of our very being.” (p. 32) I can detect no shift in belief, all of these ideas relate to his later work.

EB treats prayer in a very straightforward manner. He talks about the different ways prayer is commonly used. Then he says that Jesus outlined a specific prayer idea that was to gain unity with God. “Prayer is not something we do to God but to ourselves.” (p. 106) EB believes that when we direct our thoughts away from finite form we are following Jesus’ example of prayer. We then understand that prayer is to help us shift our thinking to be in alignment with Life Principle, God. When we pray we open our lives to the good that has always been present, we allow it to manifest. EB is right on target with these ideas about prayer in DPTMPN.

Well, that is it for this week. I look forward to reading your comments.