Seminary Program

This is where we post the essays from many of our Universal Life Church Seminary students. When students finish a ULC course, they write a comprehensive essay about their experiences with the course, what they learned, didn't learn, were inspired by, etc. Here are their essays.

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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Metaphysics and Miracles

Metaphysics and Miracles
I came to this course very skeptical of what it would cover and how it would relate to me. I had been to the local church that promised miracles by giving out one hundred dollars in ten dollar bills to members and then asking for a tithe and a donation for this and that until the person receiving the funds having been pressured by others gave it all back. The pastor then stated “wasn’t it wonderful that all were blessed and could give today?” I also had read the give and it shall be returned articles, the chain letter ideas, and played the lottery to get rich quick. I now know these ideas were based on the knowledge of human needs, loneliness, and fears of lack of goods. I had been to the basement and needed to find answers that were workable to move up to my full potential and while searching for a true answer decided to take this course.

The course has been a great awakening for me. It has not been a soft shake on the shoulder but a hard wake up call that changes must be made in my perception of who I am and what is real and what is made up by ego and is not real. I have come to realize I never understood the concept of love, forgiveness, and miracles properly before taking this course.

The discourse that was the most enlightening to me was Lesson 19. When I started my job with a major company we were to assist callers with questions and problems related to products and work being done for them by contractors. We all were excited and felt that we were providing an excellent service to the callers. Over the years with new management the purpose has changed. We now have stringent metrics to meet, multiple time limits, scripts to read, and helping the callers has become second to meeting goals set by management to ‘Look Good.” This has caused a morale problem as there is now no purpose in what we do but to get our names on a board to show the center that we are tops in what we do. Those who never make the board are replaced or feel that the job has no meaning. The pride that was felt in the beginning is nowhere to be seen now. The only occasional show of pride is by some of those who continually make the board but even the majority of them do not show much happiness.

After reading the lesson and pondering what I could do to get the old spirit back into my job I found the solution in the beautiful prayer included with the lesson:

I am here to be truly helpful

I am here to represent Him Who sent me.

I do not have to worry about what to say or what to do because He Who sent me will direct me.

I am content to be wherever He wishes, knowing He goes there with me.

I can now feel that I no longer have to worry about my name on a board continually and when it is there it is just something the company does and not a reflection on the True Me. I no longer have to worry about letting the team down, and I can do my work and the right words will come out and when they monitor me and I fail a point it is not the end of the world I can learn from this and move forward because I am acting with Love and the pressure is off me. The pressure was put there by ego with a desire for praise and recognition by my peers. It has nothing to do with who I really am. I can remove the pressure with Love and forgiving myself for what some may see as a failure but I now see as a learning moment.

Each lesson gave me a major point to work on. It will not be an overnight complete change but with continued work I should see a change in my life due to understanding of purpose. Each change will be seen as a miracle. As pointed out in the course – there is no size to miracles so each change will be a complete miracle. I know there will be set backs and doubts as ego tries to get in the way but with the information I now have I can go forward. I will acknowledge the small selves that pop up but then move beyond them.

I am so please that I took this course. It has taken me to other works on the subject of Metaphysics. Reverend Loretta M. Siani has presented the material in a way that anyone can understand. This can be a complicated subject but in her capable hands it was not only enlightening but enjoyable and each lesson built to the next so that you wanted to go forward and take what you had learned to a new level.

by Rev. Sharon J. Mayer


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