Spiritual Awareness

Rev. Gene Rapalyea Final writing, a postulation For Master of      Spiritual Awareness Spirit "The breath of Life," after temperature and pressure is our primary need and function. If we stopped our own breathing or an animal stopped breathing or had its breathing stopped it died. This was good cause for us to have considered the breath the life force. What is the true spirit? How do we come to know it? When we had a break for a moment in the attention it took for our struggle for survival, our attention turned to questions about our own being, what and why possibly first, who, when and how many, following.  The beginning of a greater awareness was under way. All of life is a growing experience; a dynamic meditation. Even the most boring or arduous of tasks can be accompanied by day dreams or insights about the out come of enduring the boredom or challenge. Dreams for example like the weekend at the lake, the show or dance on Friday night, putting the kids through college, or how to get that raise. These even if we are unaware of it are ventures into future realms. Ventures that lead us to question the efficiency of our action and how we might better accomplish the desired out come. These questions continue to move us forward in our understanding, while our sensual experience motivates us further to desire. To fulfill our desires we have to take action whatever direction that ends with the out come expected. We get experience by getting the unexpected a "bump on the head." That bump is a knock on the door. The bump either discourages us and we change direction. After enough unanswered knocks or the door opens and we get to experience the fruit of our labor until we are full and our expanded awareness precipitates another desire. So we move on continuing to ask the questions above, each one taking us to new territory.  The mystery and myth begins and the secret which is the spirit appears when we get to the edge of our world. This is an understanding that when we try to express it in words and it defies expression but becomes evident by coincidence and happenstance. It can be heard in nature (this is inclusive of the man made world) first as a meaningless cacophony, then if we allow, it takes on meaning. We see it in visual display in a glimpse but loose it when we try to grasp its form. The secrets intrigue us further into our inquisition. While the other side of us that demands certainty and control states, this can't be, I don't believe in it, it's a machination, a delusion, and ties to prove the dis belief to be true, but still the secret persists. So we give it a name God etc.  Now we might be able to pigeon hole it, find the rules (Laws) so we can use or abuse it be a prophet to our profit. The question then becomes what really does profit us? We have been going though experiencing the ramifications of the fear of scarcity and death since the Garden of Eden, Pandora's Box or other stories that convey a myth that carries us from a state of innocence through the experience of ever atrocity imaginable, the key word here being imaginable, how ever long ago that started in metaphoric reality terms. Our understanding was put up your guard, and grab what you can by whatever means possible and of those that aren't so quick to grab save six for pallbearers, but soon we notice no matter how much we get or try it doesn't satisfy. The questions continue now that we have had a snapshot of a larger friendlier place. Now our focus becomes how do we enter and stay in that world, the one that does satisfy.  The search for methods begins, there are many. Most having there roots in prayer and meditation (sitting or moving) and ritual.  Meditation (sitting) can be introspective or focused on a goal and guided then reinforced by ritual (actions speaking louder than words).  Moving meditation on the other hand, we are including any of the activities that focus the mined. Examples might be Sports of any kind, riding (including driving and flying), writing, mathematics, shooting, (including golf and pool) music and art any other activity that one might think of that might focus the mind. Once again as we tighten our focus our awareness expands.             As our individual awareness expands those around us also get more room to expand so that loving our neighbor becomes more of a reality and we are not waiting for the other person to do unto us first before we decide what to do, as we take up preemptive kindness and love. Those that we were at odds with and had to struggle to pray for become fewer and fewer until we can say "God is in his heaven and the world is at peace."             A dream some might say? Like a long journey a dream is accomplished by continuing in the direction of the desired out come. No one can do it for us.             Just imagine how that would be, the possibilities our endless.    ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar