Spiritual Awareness

The excellent Master of Spiritual Awareness Course by Rev Elizabeth King has strengthened my understanding of the concepts in the James Redfield’s book series. I had heard of the Celestine Prophecy and had wanted to read the book or see the film. After starting the course I purchased the three books in the series to include The Celestine Prophecy, The Tenth Insight, Holding the Vision, and The Secret of Shambhala. I also am working with The Celestine Vision, Living the New Spiritual Awareness, and the Celestine Prophecy An Experiential Guide... I recently acquired a copy of James Redfield, Michael Murphy, and Sylvia Timbers God and the Evolving Universe The Next Step in Personal Evolution. The course and these books will help to enhance my understanding the the principles of the lessons. The exercises in the course were an excellent way of reinforcing each of the lessons and helping students to understand each of the concepts.

I understand now how years ago the ideas and principles were given to me but because I was not awake I was unable to take in the knowledge. It took me to this point to understand that I needed to experience spiritual awakening and give up a life based on fear of the unknown and move forward with my abilities to new heights and awareness. How we must see love and beauty in every thing around us. How Love is the only truth and we must give to receive. Because I had followed many who had distorted this principal I was for a time lost. This new awaking is so wonderful and I feel so much more uplifted and relaxed about life. I have always enjoyed the beauty of the environment but never the beauty of other humans before. The concept of we are all One was not a lesson I had learned until recently. I felt for so long it was more a fear based Me and Them atmosphere in my world.

I am slowly getting over the need of preoccupation with survival and comfort. I have been a person who wanted possessions and have filled my space to over-flowing. No longer do I feel the need for that type of reassurance of “Love” because I have things I missed out on or my grandparents had in their home. I no longer feel the need to fear as my peers and leaders say I must. We in the world are all in the One and I am learning that only love is real and giving is receiving. This was a product of my upbringing in a cold and non-loving home as well as the religious instruction I had for so many years received and taught. In the last few years I have moved away from formal religious practice and beliefs when I realized that what was being said did not match what I was reading in the religious texts. I was finding a different meaning for the words that were to be seen with my own eyes. Even Mother Theresa, in letter to one of her mentors that has just come to light, speaks of the difference in what she expected and was seeing and the truth of what should be experienced. She felt lonely and in a void waiting for some enlightenment. If someone with her ability to live the life of service she gave for so many years why should I feel that with a few books and a 20 week course I will be changed without more study, practice, and time? I have started my journey and will continue on the path with the understanding that it will take time but I now have the background and understanding to move forward. This is still very new to my peers and family as each is on their own path to understanding so we are working our way to the best of our abilities and understanding at each step upward. There is much discussion and debate but that is very healthy and will lead to an understanding for all concerned.

I am most interested in the concept that we will be given a time when we pass over to go over how well we have learned the new tasks and lessons we asked to learn during our time on earth. It will be a time to see if we passed or need more work on that particular lesson. Learning this now has given me a reason to ponder before I pursue any action. It has been most helpful to my progress in advancement. Also, I now see that what I had perceived as failures in interactions with others and in my dreams were just stepping stones to help me reach a higher level of understanding. My depression was caused by my being torn between what I thought was real and what I was making happen on my own by my perceptions of what was going on around me. I let others control my every idea and being. Since I had become so afraid of rejection or admonishment I stopped creating, dreaming, or thinking of what I now know I am capable of doing. I was in a state of paralysis and would not even start to create because I had been told in the past I could not do such and such so it was lost before it was found.

I know from what I have learned and read that it will be an ongoing process and that all the principles will not come at once and it takes practice to stay focused on the Love and positive nature of this new thinking process. I work in service and find myself looking or listening to each person I assist with a new understanding and wondering if we are part of a group or if I can better serve them without intruding into their space. In person you can see how someone is reacting to your speech or actions on the phone it is not as easy but if you project love and understanding for all the process is about the same. Since starting the course I have seem a difference in reaction to my speaking with customer with the new understanding I have of the Oneness of all. I had always tried to speak to others as I wanted to be spoken to but there is difference now that I can not describe but the interaction has improved with difficult calls.

Because of some past experiences I had built a wall around me and my space with an invisible but very noticeably felt brick wall. I was not going to be hurt or humiliated again and with this wall I felt what I thought was safety. It was not so. Since the Awareness Course I understand that I was isolated in a non-learning or growing state that I, at the time, felt was a safe haven but was preventing me from moving forward. The wall is coming down daily and each time I work on a new area of my understanding the wall gets shorter and shorter. I will look more into the answers and wisdom that will be synchonistically given to me by my Spiritual Group and those around me to keep shortening the wall.

The ideals that are the whole of this new understanding will help me as a spiritual counselor and in the same token I will be more open to taking ideas from those I meet. I will now understand that each person I interact with on a daily basis will be giving me something I need to understand, change about myself, or speak with that person about. Each will be part of the whole puzzle of what I need to do to finish my lessons on earth. They will help me find my meaning for asking to come to earth to learn and live more for advancement.

It is a growing process and with the lessons learned in the course and the books I am working with I will continue to grow in understanding. I am not sure I have grasped all the information or feel comfortable with each of the higher areas of the principles. I will have to get to the point where those things are more the normal occurrences or actions for me in time. The idea that we will have a life here on earth that will be filled with love is such a change from what I have observed over my 69 years. The idea that governments and leaders will not want to grab the riches of other nations and disrupt their lives and the realization that governments the will not be for personal gain and prestige by overriding others is so foreign to what I have seen and know most of my life. I have seem a shift in knowledge and understanding for the last thirty years but wonder if thought and change can bring about a new loving and better world in such a short period of time. But then since time is a human concept and not a higher power concept I am reminded that with faith, understanding, hope, and will anything is possible.

As Carl Jung said “We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate it only oppresses.” I hope that the shift will happen and I sincerely hope that more will come to understand the principles of why humans are on earth and will come to a point that they are able to learn, understand, and teach. I for one will continue to move forward with a new understanding and open mind to all ideas and principles that are presented to me.

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Spirit Quest

We named our meditation garden Soulquest Place and lined the paths with roses, herbs and other plants.   We shared our spiritual path often in this garden until a stoke took his mind, and finally his body but left behind was his spirit there with me always.  His ashes were placed in a corner with a sign reading, " Blessings".   I enrolled in a local class called Soul Quest and in this class called Spirit Quest. It was uncanny how often within the same week the two classes would be about the same topic.   

      However, at first I had a real problem with the Spirit Quest assignment to blow up roses.  My garden was full of roses symbolic of the love my late husband and I had shared and I found I could not go there to read or meditate and blow them up for it was too much like losing the love of my life, my late husband.  After totally losing his mind, following a stroke, he returned one last time to the garden in December when all green life was dead,  to my surprise there hide among the dead leaves piled around the rose  bush, one last small red bud,  protected from the cold of winter by the piles of brown leaves. 

   In all the years of our marriage, it was his habit to put a rose at my plate each morning if there was one in the garden,  but I was in total shock to find one the week of Christmas.  He knew not my name at this point but he still knew enough to pick the rose and place it by my breakfast plate that 25th of Dec.  He returned the next day to the nursing home never to inner our garden in body again and soon passed in death. 

  Finally, to remain in the class and take part in the assignments, I had to change the color to dead brown roses and blow them up and create new little red buds like the one my Joe,  found that special Christmas day. Eventually, the classes begin to work for me.   I learned that grief needed her justice but even she had to be blow away so the living could go on living and not die in spirit with the dead in body.  Creating that grounding cord help me get back on my feet and not to allow others who wanted to just dump their problems but fail to take responsibility for help themselves to drain me of my own positive energy. 

  I found myself looking forward to the class each week and the next big spiritual foot hold I would gain in my spiritual path in the quest for spirit.  I have taken about six classes now from ULC and this has been my best for personal growth. For many years Joe was my teacher and then you.  I will miss you Spirit Quest Class,  but my quest will continue and since the student is ready I am sure a new guide or teacher will come to lead me in my onward journey in  the quest for soul and spirit.

The Soulquester,
Rev. Linda Francis 

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Wiccan Studies

Wicca Essay

The Wiccan class is one that I have truly enjoyed. While I am not a practicing Wiccan, I find that I do practice Wicca in many ways.

I have enjoyed all the classes, they were very interesting, an easy read that held my interest.

The introduction to herbs class as inspired me to learn more about herbs. I drink the herbal teas, I have rushed to the health food store to purchase herbs as a remedy for a cold, but never really gave much thought to it. I never considered the lavender plant to be an herb, it’s one of my favorite scents of aromatherapy. My rosemary bush by the front porch has taken on a new life, so to speak. I recently purchased a beautiful mortar and pestle, I am ready to take on the herbs.

I enjoyed the classes on alters and have added additional alters around my home.

Rituals, spells, the basics are here. My rituals are limited to moon ceremonies, perhaps someday I will expand, it’s nice to have all the basics here at hand.

Since starting this course, I have added some new books to my library, spells and herbs, dousing, rituals and ceremonies.

Wicca, a religion or a way of everyday life…I believe we are all wiccans at heart, this class helps you realize that.

Thank you Amy and Lord Starwalker. I have enjoyed the journey.

Nancy L. Kuhn

ExclusiveGeorgiaWeddingCeremonies.com

Specializing in home and location weddings

Happiness is when what you think,

what you say,

and what you do are in harmony.

~Mahatma Gandhi

-------------------------

Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving,

the most beautiful of the arts,

because it is not mere translation or abstraction from life;

it is life itself.

~ Havelock Ellis

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Spirit Quest

Spirit Quest Essay by Rev. Timothy Spotswood

I found the Spirit Quest course to be very informative and helpful. I have been involved in religious studies for over 30 years and practicing daily meditation for over 20. So when the course starts out with lessons in meditation I decide that since I paid for the course and want to take it seriously I will study the lessons. Although, since I have been meditating for so many years, I am sure they will have some good information for beginners, but not for me. Imagine my surprise when one of the first things I read about is the ‘grounding cord’. I don’t recall ever learning about this wonderful tool. The blowing up roses is a great tool as well but I have used similar things, but I can not stress how much the grounding cord has helped me. So the first lesson learned is to keep my mind open; I might actually learn something if I let me.

For the first half of the course I was doing very well. I was reading all the lessons as soon as they came in, working on the exercises, taking lots of notes. I really felt I was making some good progress. Then, about half way through I took a vacation out of state for a couple weeks, without internet access. I knew I would be a bit behind but could readily catch up, or just stay a couple weeks behind and continue.

Unfortunately when I got back from Disney World I had not only lost my momentum, I had seemed to have lost interest in the course. I just always had other things to do instead of catching up on my reading. After a few weeks of this I decided to try and figure out what was going on. I mean I was really enjoying the course and felt I was doing well. Why would I try to convince myself I was too busy to pick it back up?

After some mediation I realized I had done this before. Many times before. Throughout my life as things start to go well for me, either in a relationship or business things always fall apart. After some contemplation I realized I was doing it to myself. Something would start to go right for me and I would do something to mess it up. As if some part of me didn’t think I deserved to be happy. I tried to determine when this started or how long I had been doing it. I could not come up with a particular event or time but I could almost see myself around pre-school age and knowing I was a bad person.

I know I am not a bad person but the feeling was very hard to overcome. I decided I had to take charge and try to overcome it. So for starters I would finish this course. As I pick up the next lesson imagine my surprise to see lesson 15 Affirmations, then 16 Speaking In The Positive. These two lessons seemed to cover what I had just spent the last two months working on. I am glad I worked on these ideas first because reading the lessons meant much more to me than if I had read them first (and probably just glossed over them)

Life is a journey. I thank you very much for this course and the help it gave me, and will continue to give me on my journey. The end of the course is not really a destination, but more a step in the right direction. I took almost 10 months to make this step, instead of 8. But I have learned patience a long time ago, and I feel it is more important to do something right, not necessarily fast.

Timothy ‘ Tukaram ‘Spotswood

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Four Gospels

DIVORCE and the CHRISTIAN

Prepared by Stanley C. Lawrence

Paper Written for The FOUR GOSPELS Course

“The Unvarnished Gospels” book was interesting and provided many different perspectives of the Four Gospels of the New Testament, however I tended to disagree with a few of the interpretations of some of the Biblical phrases used, such as, “Kingdom of the skies” and “bathing of the Spirit,” as used in the book. I felt that these interpretations just didn't provide the punch that the original Bible interpretations provided.

Basically, I found fault with much of this interpretation of the four Gospels. I would have preferred an Aramaic to English translation, or better to have studied the book, “The Complete Gospels,” Robert J. Miller, Editor. The textbook, however, does bring up some interesting questions.

Having said that, this interpretation did make one think about the words of Jesus and the traditions about him. I thought about and had the most trouble with the subject of divorce, as

it pertains to the Christian today. It seems as though every family has experienced divorce somewhere in their families or someone who is a friend. And I believe this topic to be very

important for the ULC clergy to consider, as most religions will not remarry someone, through the church, after they have been divorced, because most church clergy believe that this

comes from God, and so this should be adhered to if we are to do what the law of God commands.

Divorce is so prevalent in today's society and most individuals know of people personally who have divorced and broken their marriages apart. Of course, the main emphasis of any

marriage that has children, should be that the best interest of the children involved come first and foremost before the interests of the feuding adults. It is so very interesting that the discourse on divorce in Matthew (Matthew 19:3-12) was immediately followed by a discourse on little children, so it is very important to see that Jesus tied the two subjects together.  Problems causing divorce are largely rooted in dysfunctionality of the adult individuals involved, which makes it extremely difficult to reconcile differences. In these cases, I believe that these marriages have not been ordained by God, as the individuals have usually not taken the time for courtship and the engagement of getting to know each other properly. This often is because of the dysfunctionality of the individuals that rush into these slipshod marriages because of sex being such a part of these courtships and quite often pregnancies ensue as a result.

The dysfunctionality can be very varied, but may include: ADHD, various other mental problems and diseases, alcohol or drug addictions, low self-esteem, these things often combined with low income, and many, many times survivors of child abuse.

Jesus said in Matthew 19, as it is said in the textbook: “So what God joined together, let no man divide.” In the Gospel book of John, it tells the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, where Jesus asks her about where her husband is and he tells her she had had five husbands and was then living with a man not married to her. Jesus doesn't really condemn her for all these marriages (and obvious divorces), however he does speak to her of forgiveness and commitment in her life. Strangely though, the book of John was written for believers in Christ, but it does not specifically mention divorce, as the other three Gospels do.

We as clergy, should be concerned about whether or not the two individuals to be married are truly believers in Christ and if salvation is a part of their lives. If both are sincerely Christian and wanting to obey God's commands, the greatest of which is to love God and each other, then we would seek to try and counsel the adult individuals with the hope that their marriage will completely be from God. We as clergy can decry the terrible evils of divorce and then we seek to marry everyone that wants to be married. Therefore, we should not place the center of our attention on divorce, but rather we should emphasize the lifelong commitment that should be a necessary part of Christian marriages today. Marriage should be a source of spiritual and moral strength in life, with the grace and love of Jesus Christ.

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Four Gospels

Rev. Linda Francis

Essay for completion of the class on the four Gospels.

Perhaps the Gospel of John was were my doubts about the "real truth of the Gospels" begin when I was just a girl. I was a writer, an artist and storyteller even at that age and most of all a dreamer and a mystic. There was a new country song out called "Me and Jesus Have Our own Thing Goin'." Jesus became very real to me that year. I wrote poetry and made up songs to him almost daily on my walks in nature alone or in the hay loft of my Grand Father's barn. He became so real to me it was as we were twin souls and could read the mind and feelings of the other. I came to known a man meek, mild and humble yet strong and wise beyond words. I knew my fundamental parents and church had the man they believed in, picture in their minds and hearts all wrong. As I read the Gospel of John that summer I love the style of the poetic writer and his storytelling ability but I felt he did not know the "real man" I knew and was telling the story wrong. I recall communicating in my own special way that summer with my new friend I had discovered that summer and feeling "his" silent voice telling me, "Yes, Linda, you are right, I would never boast about myself to others as the author has me do. The write loves me as much as you have came to love me this summer but he just heard about me and created the person he wanted me to be, but he never took the time to really know me as you have this summer."

I feel as if there too are perhaps two people involved in authorship of this story. Perhaps a left brained centered person still much in the control of the ego that wants black and white questions and answers, and wanted to convince others he was right to strength the cause of the new church and perhaps a creative storyteller who took his story and told it as it was presented to him, but in a poetic and dramatic fashion. Creative thinkers, like poets and storytellers, in general are not back and white thinkers and want open ended questions and not closed answers as often appear in this gospel.

It was a good to find many years later in my others too who also had the wisdom and knowledge in their research to know and show this story had a purpose of it's own that was more to the author's personal views than the real nature and history of the man called Jesus.

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Spirituality

Spiritualism or Defining Spirituality

An essay for a course from Universal Life Church Seminary 

Rev. Carol Birdwell

This course had 19 lessons and covered a great deal of the history of western thought and the development of religion. It was directed toward the minister so that she would know how to respond to people who argue against spirituality as unscientific.

It is my belief that today we are seeing science and spirituality merge and meet each other in Quantum Physics, but it may be years yet before this becomes widely recognized as fact. Just last week my 17-year old nephew sent me an email in which he expressed his atheistic beliefs, but did not wish to go into explaining why he feels that way. He has never been exposed to any religion in his young life.

I dove right in and took the opportunity to explain some of my spiritual beliefs to him in a very kind and loving way, that I hoped might be “dropping a seed” for him to pull out and look at some time in his future, perhaps after it has even “grown” a bit. There was only love between us in this email exchange and he wrote back a nice note and I was thrilled.

As ministers it is important that we observe people and decide which ones are mind driven and which ones are heart driven. If we want to talk about our beliefs to others it is important that we never, ever push our beliefs, but always be gentle, kind, and understanding, and be aware of where “they are coming from”.

In this course, we studied people whose names I was not familiar with, that I have never studied before, and we also studied many well-known names, such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Einstein, Nietzsche, Merlin, Jesus, Buddha, Socrates, and others. We also learned of various movements and groups.

I agree with our course teacher that if Jesus were alive today, it is very likely he would not be a Christian, and if he were a Christian, he would not be the kind of Christian we are most accustomed to seeing most of the time. He would certainly not be a “fundamentalist” Christian, but more likely a Positive Christian or a New Thought Christian, like the kind of Christian I am. For many years I even took offense at the word Christian and certainly would not call myself one!

Jesus did not come to this planet to start a religion. None of our great teachers and avatars did. They came to teach. Jesus was our big brother and came to teach us that we are Gods, co-creators with all of the energy of the universe, of all that is and ever was and ever will be.

He came to teach us that LOVE is the lesson, and that we can do the same miracles he did and “even greater”, when we know and accept who we are, all of us a part of the Divine Creator, all Divine Energy, all the same Sons of God that he was, our teacher, not our savior as the fundamentalist Christian churches believe.

We walk our paths, our many different paths that all lead back to God, from whence we came and in whom we have our very lives and breathe our very breaths, the breath of God, with whom we are all one, and all of us are all one together, all the same Divine Energy, that changes form, forever and ever, and is always God, as you, as me, as the guy next door.

I very much enjoyed this course, and intend to continue to study it over and over. There is a lot of history and philosophy in it with which I want to become more familiar. There are more “reads” ahead for thes lessons I have saved on my computer.

Thank you.

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Spirituality

Defining Spirituality

Final Essay

Rev. Brendan C. Cook

Spirituality. A word that means so much to so many people. Life defining, life changing concepts can be bound up in that one word. But how is it defined? What does it mean? How does one approach understanding the many concepts comprised in that one word? Though many have attempted to do so, and many systematic approaches have been developed, it is my belief that defining spirituality is at best an exercise in frustration.

Why, after taking such a superbly prepared and well-informed course, would I argue that defining spirituality is surely an exercise in frustration? Quite simply because the definition of spirituality is highly individual. There may be elements of commonality within what is commonly thought of as spirituality, but the specifics are defined and determined by the individual in question.

How many times have we, as ministers, heard the following: “I’m not really religious, but I do consider myself spiritual,”? When we hear that, what does it really mean? Is the person atheist? Agnostic? Anamist? All of the above? None of the above? Some of the people we meet in our ministry may fall into some, or even all, of these categories at some point in their lives. They may not even be sure themselves where they stand, or may not be able to precisely define their belief set or system. And that’s perfectly fine!

As ministers, it is our job to develop an understanding of the process of developing spirituality. A scientist, for example, may not believe in God in the traditional sense, or even consider him/herself a spiritual person. But they may have a clear sense that they are part of something greater than themselves; a part of the Universe which they are striving to understand through their science. As cogently argued in the lessons of Defining Spirituality, science is itself a religion of a kind and scientists are its priesthood. The evolution of this worldview, its components and influences, are essential for a minister to understand.

A grasp of the evolution of Western thought is, as the course makes plain, essential for every minister in today’s world. Defining Spirituality provides a clear, concise understanding of the major underpinnings of modern Western thought, which is especially useful for those who may not have had exposure to such a depth and breadth of ideas and ideological influences before. The course makes clear how modern thought and modern spirituality are inter-related.

Likewise, however, every minister should have a solid understanding of Eastern thought and philosophy as these both can heavily influence those who declare themselves spiritual and not necessarily religious. Eastern thought, with ideas dating back thousands of years, has become part of the modern American mindset over the last 40 years and been widely embraced by those who do not find fulfillment in traditional religious practice. In order to define spirituality and not be frustrated in the attempt, it is clear that we must define it as broadly as possible and seek to learn and understand as broadly as possible.

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Four Gospels

The Four Gospels Course Essay

of Universal Life Church Seminary

Carol Birdwell

This course came with a book with it which was sent by mail and titled The Unvarnished Gospels. It is a contemporary (2001) translation from the original Greek, by Andy Gaus. When I began to read this book, I could not stop. I read it straight through without thought of how it was to have been interwoven with the weekly lessons, AFTER I finished the lessons.

I started the course, and continued with the lessons that came by email week after week. I totally forgot about the book, so I did not study the lessons and the book together as was intended for this course. I suppose I believe it was the best way for me to study the course simply because that is how it happened for me.

When I finished the weekly lessons, I realized the book was here. I had taken no notice of it.

Once I discovered the book I became mesmerized by it. I carried the book with me everywhere I went so that I could read in it during those spare minutes of waiting somewhere.

I intend to read the book again and again. I also intend to study the lessons and the book together as it was intended to be studied.

I have never read the Gospels through like this before. I have read them in bits and pieces during my lifetime and in following preachers during sermons. I have read bits and pieces in reading quotes in my Daily Word.

I read this book straight through like one would read a novel. I absolutely LOVED it! If I knew where I could find more books of the Bible written in the language of today, I believe I would read all I could find, based on how much I enjoyed this book. Thank you so very much! (If you can advise other similarly excellent Bible translations in the language of today, please let me know!)

In this book, in today’s everyday language, so many things that were never clear to me, were made clear to me for the very first time in my life, despite rather a lot of Bible exposure during my life.

One very important thought was that the word “Spirit” was made more vital, more clear and meaningful, when translated as “breath”, the very breath we breathe to live. WOW! What a concept!

In this translation it is so clear to me that Jesus was the teacher that I believe he came to be, that he did not come to start a new religion, to die for our sins (of simply “missing the mark”), but to teach a way of life that we all are meant to live, that is there for us and was taught by him for us, as it likewise was by all other avatars and great teachers throughout history.

I believe that the Gospels were written long after the life and death of Jesus and the stories were first passed down verbally from generation to generation, like our family stories and the living through our world history are passed down verbally today.

Many of us who study genealogy gather what we know from word of mouth, from the family stories, long before we ever are able to find the proof of the events we hear about, if ever. Sometimes the stories are a little, or even a lot, different from the proof we may eventually find.

Thank you.

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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

Universal Life Church - Online Seminary

Spiritual Awareness

I really like the definitions for Energy and Power in this text: “Power is energy that is formed by the intentions of the soul. It is Light shaped by the intentions of love and compassion guided by wisdom.” Light is the spirit of God, love and compassion are the nature of God. It then becomes clear that all power originates in God. For me then, the sense of being powerful or powerless always comes back to my awareness and alignment with the Lord.

Fear and pain signify the loss of energy or powerlessness. When there is fear for the loss of the ability to love or be loved an individual may experience physical pain in the region of the heart—heartache. Every distress and dysfunction of the physical body, every disease can be traced back to an overwhelming sense of powerlessness over external circumstances. Each of the chakras, or energy focal points in the body, is designed to release potent energies to bless the individual and beyond, but these points can be disturbed and blocked causing discomfort and disease when not allowed to function by reason of the individual’s actions and attitudes.

In my own experience, I felt the heartache when I had to admit my own dear wife into an Alzheimer’s residential facility. I spent from 9:30 until 2:30 each day with her for almost five months. Every day when it was time for me to leave, she would ask me to take her home with me. Every day I thought that my heart would break; even now as I write these words, the memory is so strong that the feelings are overwhelming. Finally I was able to bring her back home, and I became her home care provider.

Miracles do happen. I now take care of her every day and I thank the power of the Spirit that I express. She is slowly making progress, and I know that she is happy to be at home with me in her familiar surroundings. We just celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary. We are blessed with four children and six grandchildren. I had to surrender to the power of the Almighty in those dark days. I had to maintain a thankful heart as much as possible. Little by little fear and pain gave way to trust that “Thy will, not my will be done.” God’s grace and mercy revealed themselves moment by moment through the many blessings that have come for both of us through this experience.

Rev. James D. Connor

**********************

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program 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