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In 1983, a man with a vision of a more human and divine world embarked on a personal quest to make that vision a reality. With the idealism of one who had truly experienced a transcendental moment and was awakened to the majesty and mystery of Oneness, Tony Bottagaro wrote a simple book sharing his message of justice, love and peace. This book, “To Create a World More Human and More Divine,” has touched hearts, activated peace dialogues and affected lives in amazing ways.

Over the past 30-plus years, Bottagaro has shared his message of unconditional love with noted leaders, individuals and institutions across many segments of society.

He has taken his message to the United Nations, the White House, the U.S. Congress, the State Department and the Pentagon. His journey found him seated with the president of Costa Rica for peace talks and at the Vatican with Pope John Paul II for a personal audience.

Bottagaro seems too good to be true. Friendly, engaging, open and passionate, he lives his message of love and shares it with absolute joy. His words transcend religious, social, business and political realms. He speaks from his heart, revealing the yearnings of Spirit within calling him to be an emissary of peace, justice and love. As he says in his first book, “The fact is there is only one purpose or focus, and that’s simply to create a society inspired by God through love.”

Honestly, his message of love never grows old. Bottagaro is the first to admit that his message is not new, revolutionary or unique. He maintains that the mes-sage of Christ has been ignored. He wonders if perhaps we have been waiting to see if there is another option to loving God, our neighbor and ourselves.

Have you ever wondered if your consideration, kind word or simple question could make all the difference for someone? Bottagaro reminds us of the number of lives we touch in the course of a day, much less a lifetime. The simple message of love just might be the healing agent for the com-plicated lives we seem to live.

“We, and not God,” he says, “have set up all the rules, regulations, structures, nations and boundaries. There is no mountain, ocean or any natural boundary that separates us as a people. There is no difference between people except what we choose to call different: the difference of color, friends or enemies, relatives or strang-ers, nationalities and so on. Nor is there any civil law that divides us as a people except the laws and boundaries that we have established within our hearts.”

Universal Law dictates that life is whatever we believe it to be. Our thinking and believing always create the context for our being-ness. Whatever we put into life is what is returned. Bottagaro’s perspective is that each of us exists to “put on the Christ” and love one another.

This call to wake up and “put on the Christ” is a message that is consistent with many spiritual teachings. For those of us on the spiritual path, the challenge always is to put our words and beliefs into action, to live in integrity with spiritual principles.

The concept of applied spirituality invites the consciousness of One-ness supported by such practices as gratitude, service, loving kindness and compassion. Bottagaro’s call is to look for those things that connect us, rather than that which divides us. This mirrors Dr. Ernest Holmes’s

Bottagaro portraying a scene from his best-selling book, “The Poet, The Count and The Peddler.”

Bottagaro portraying a scene from his best-selling book, “The Poet, The Count and The Peddler.”

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guidance to “prove Principle rather than repeat all the words of wisdom that have ever been uttered.”

Bottagaro says he’s been hit by “lightning strikes of clarity” that revealed the mystical awareness of Oneness. He says these intensely personal experiences clearly revealed a call to deliver “the simple message of Christ, that is love, embedded in the Oneness of humanity.”

Such numinous moments fueled his passion and led him to write his first book, create a documentary film that premiered at the United Nations and to be open to divine guidance to be of service. Bottagaro encourages us to remember the story about the grain of sand, something so small it may seem insignificant. The truth is that one grain of sand repeated over and over again ultimately creates a beautiful beach or grand sand castle. We are as significant as a simple grain of sand, and each of us has a role to play in life. People often ask him, “Now what? What do you really want from me?” Bottagaro answers with a shrug of his shoulders and a smile, saying, “Be the Christ presence now.”

Calling on a lifetime of introspection and prayer, he recently created a “Universal Declaration of a World More Human and More Divine.” This beautiful and powerful message to humanity calls each of us to live from a consciousness of Oneness; the intention of a world where uncon-ditional love is the solution to all of life’s challenges.

The declaration says, in part: “There comes a time, and that time is now, for the One body of people of different languages, religions and nations to come together, one by one, to eliminate, with unconditional love, any injustice or evil that exists within governments, religions and all sectors in the economic and social systems. To respect the opinions of humankind, we declare the causes that impel us to change the course of history.” (The full declaration can be found at AnthonyBottagaro.com.)

Bottagaro is a genuine voice calling for sanity in this crazy, amazing world. Thoughtful, prayerful, interested in sharing ideas about life, jus-tice and love, Bottagaro is likely to invite you to “break bread and talk a while” when you meet him. If that happens, don’t miss the opportunity.

As he would say, “With love, pass it on.” z

A FUNDRAISER WITH TONY BOTTAGAROJoin New Thought NoCo Center for Spiritual Living on Saturday, December 3, 2016, to see Bottagaro live. The event is from 7 – 8:30 p.m. at 5628 McWhinney Blvd. in Loveland, Colorado. Tickets are $25 each/$40 for cou-ples and include a signed copy of his best-selling book, “The Poet, The Count and The Peddler.” Get your tickets online today at BrownPaperTickets.com.

Centers forSpiritual Living