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.

Search This Blog

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Mystical Christianity

Mother Maryesh
Julian of Norwich, mystic Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle
Matthew Fox, silence process not destination let go of control; trust, intuition
Historical background
Meditations, reincarnation, sacrifice

Meditations of different mythologies

Dead Sea Scrolls; Essene

The Divine Feminine

More faces of the Divine Feminine; sophia
#9 Mary Magdalene
#8 more faces of the divine
#24 spirituality and sexuality “Eden” means delight in Hebrew
#17 Reincarnation in Christianity Origen taught pre-existence and enentual universal salvation believers included Voltaire, Schopenhauer, B. Franklin, Goethe, Balzac, Emerson, Henry W. Longfellow, Aldous Huxley, WB Yeats, Rudyard Kipling, Salvadore Dali, Wordsworth, Shelly, Victor Hugo, Carl Jung, J.D. Salinger
#13 Gospel of Thomas rediscovering Jesus the Lost Years
#14 Universal Laws
#11 Mary Magdalene as archetype
Tree of Kabbalah – symbol for sexuality and sexual knowledge serpent – sexuallity, wisdom of goddess cobra in Egypt serpent of brass of Moses Mercury – caduceus
Chakras
1. Root, base of spine security, patience ability to tap primal matrix
2. Socral area creativity and balance how to give and receive
3. Solar plexus control, authority 1-3 are the lower chakras – combine to create our shadow
4. Heart absorb/readiate light/love
5. Throat communicating
6. 3d eye intution
7. Crown connection to higher consciousness
Mary Magdalene – initiate to Temples of Isis
In Egyptian ka body – looks like physical body only energy energized by sexual force (Egypt. Djed) “Raising the Djed” = rasing kundalini energy

Master Number 88 – power of thoughts manifest in physical plane seed thoguhts – held intensely – blend with emotions – empower them to manifestation
8 = power moving into material form doubling or tripling the 8 accentuated the power
Triple 8 reduces to 24, symbolizes power of the feminine 2 and the unity of polarities brought into manifestation and foundation of the 4. Underlying energy of 24 is 6 of devotion and service.
Per Greek gematria 888 = Jesus as does numerical total of the 24 letters in Greek alphabet. The sacred and magical number is also the string ration of the whole tone in musical harmony. It tells us it is time to become whole. Imagine 3 figure 8s drawn in etheric body. Shadow not evil

Spirit Quest – M of Metaphysics

Forgiveness getting rid of pain – visualization, feeling letter/response/forgiveness

Nature abhors a vacuum; grounding; A Protective Rose
Creating and destroying exercises
Running your energy
Creating your own reality
Patience, humililty, anger-management
Create destroy roses
Karma – the laws of balance
#1 keeping one’s word
24/30 ask the right question
Kineseology – lies make you weak
Bodyof glass
#23 allows entery to flow
#18 color music numbers color
#17 getting unstuck a vibration
#15 affirmations awareness changing belief
#22 pictures for spirit communication send pictures as form of telepathy
#21 auditory telepathy
#20 music sending spiritual hellos
#19 numbers number patterns
#16 speaking in the positive “There are thoughts that must be questioned.” Unconscious hears only positives
Goals forgiveness awareness imagination grounding

Spiritual Awareness

#6 different types of meditation 3d eye activation
#7 energy visualization colors
#8 know thyself affirmations
Aura
#10 pskychometry practice objects distance
#11 clairvoyance and telepathy developing psychic ability
#12 self love
#13 teacher/guru spirit guide
#14 universal law law of abundance law of action akasha ascension attraction balance challenge
#3 reverence, heart and intuition voice of non-physical received by physical
#4 light, reincarnation, choice spiritual light also of diffenent colors dark energies easier to master
2 candles on either side of you as you sit in front of a mirro light candles and turn off other lights relax, stare at reflection and ask over and over “Who am I?” image will change a past life ask other questions
#5 balance, service, death, earth evolution 7 million years ago – Sahelanthropus tchadensis early proto human
#20 needs essay of 500 words what have you learned, didn’t learn, liked didn’t like etc. ascended masters and christ spirit
#19 kundalini and other energies overview healing
#18 community with spirit feelings automatic writing theology but not clearly defined from what perspective
#17 energy returning negative energies
#16 law of perfection, periodicity, planetary affinities, polarity, present moment, prayer and meditation, process, prophecy, rededication, rebirth, rebond, repulse, sacrifice,
#13 function of religion defines our relationship with nature
Intutiion Balance service spiritual energy visualization

Astral Projection Rev Davon
OOBE summerlands – after life
Remote viewing form of OOBE
Pocket reality – astral temples
#2 supercoscioius conscious subconscious
Methods of gaing trance
Lucid dreams
#4 lucid dreams
Planes
Visualization
Monroe Technique
#5/24 3 theories of construction of planes
Dr. De Carcia’s (multiple levels incl the void place between planes (@7) incl this and astral
Monroe’s – locales
And author’s
2 other bodies – spirit and soul pborlem of forgetting
Describes personal experiences as fact
#8 Montoe Technique easiest
Relax, hypnogic state – deepen – state of vibration – learn to astrally vibrate – partial separation – dissociate from body biggest obstacle is fear
#9 Donald De Garcias
#10 DeGarcias OOBE note dreams structure to understand experience
11 dreams usually black and whte lucid dreams usualy color

Shamanism – Bishop Pat

#1 general info Eskimo shaman – Angakot initiate, mystic psychopomp myths healing healer not same as shaman
Q&A and glossary
#2 assumptions illness – power --- loss or drain of soul
Ecstasy expereince of being outside one’s self ordinary v. nonordinary reality
Micharel Harner Foundation for Shamanic Studies Mircea Eliade Czaplicka not emphasized
No special name among its own practitioners confined to northern Asia
Footnotes without references
#4 types of Shamanism refers to many writers but does not give references probably taken from Czaplicka

Buddhism – Tricia Stirling

#1 familiar story of Siddhartha Gautama and beginnings
#2 4 Noble Truths all life is suffering the casue of sufferng is desire the end of desire leads to the end of suffering the way to end desire is the 8 Fold Fath
Dukka – suffering The 5 Skandas or life components are body, sensations, thoughts, feelikngs and consciousness
Tanha = desire
Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration
#3 the three jewels – the buddha, the dharma (teachings), the sangha (community)
Buddham saranam gacchami
Dhammam saranam gacchami
Sangha saranam gacchami
To the Buddha for refuge I go

Tripitaka (3 baskets) most import of his teachings consists of vinaya Pitaka (basket of discipline rules for monks and nuns), Sutra Pitaka (basket of teachigns spoken discourses – contains 4 noble truths and 8 fold path), Abhidhamma Pitaka (basket of higher teachings contains criptures of Theravada Buddhism)
Sangha esp refers to those who have reached Nirvana

Do not kill, steal, engage in sexual misconduct, lie, abuse intoxicants, speak of other’s errors or faults, elevate yourself and blame others, be stingy, give vent to anger, defile the 3 jewels of refuge
In Zen precept cremony 3 pure precepts: do not creat evil practice good actualize good for others
#4 buddhis council Ananda B’s cousin and friend a main speaker at 1st council
2d council @100 years later
Mahasanghita the majority group: Great vehicle, highest goal Boddhisattva, Sthavira- The Elders – Theravada The Way of the Elders highest goal Arhat

Ashoka 3d council presided over by Ashoka sent missionaries
4th council called by King Kanishka – to streamline teachings not recognized by Theravada spread of Buddhism

Gnosticism Bishop Pat Schwab

1/20 definition does not mention Mani or Zartosht emphases cosmology over knowledge
2 demiurge archons gnostics as source for Judeo-Xtian
3 a glossary alchemy as a pseudo-science
4 overview from Wikipedia main features of gnostiticism doesn’t mention gnosis as direct knowledge of divine
Not a corruption of Xty
Remote supreme monadic divinity emanation of further divine beings demiurgos subregent of real god world flawed
Gnosis is central
Primarily Syrian-Egyptianfrom Platonism (omits Persian infl on Plato)
Persian i.e. Manichaeian and Mandaeism religious traditons in their own right
Dualism-monism libertinism
Later influences omits Sufis (irfan) althou admits Ismaili infl on Kabbalah
Xty and China jingchao but rather Persian Rel.
Good definitions

Gospel of Thomas – Rev. Raymond Thompson

1/20 “Not all turth is meant for all men” Clement of Alexandria background
@1949 “Love your brother as yourself. Trust him as the pupil of your eye” changed to Love your neighbor as yourself
Google Aramaic bible
Cf Morton smith “Jesus the Magician” “The Gnostic Society Library” online cf Gregg Bradan The Divine Matrix
Verse by verse commentary
2 sayings 3-6
3 sayings 7-11 author has fun

*********************
The Universal Life Church offers free online ordination and an extensive seminary program where we offer a course in Wiccan Studies, one on the Four Gospels, several courses that are based on A Course in Miracles, several Christian Studies courses and a variety of courses on Spiritual Awareness and Spiritual Development.

No comments: