Chaplaincy Studies Essay by Jack Anderson

Chaplaincy

By Reverend Jack Anderson

 

Spiritual direction: Finding the key to our inner souls

Inside each human person, say pastoral ministers, is a deep desire to connect with what is most beautiful, joyful, peaceful and true about the world and about each person's unique call from God to be of service. But the noise, and trying to meet deadlines, and pressures of contemporary life often leave many people too frazzled to experience God's presence for more than a nano-second here and there.

How do people maintain virtues of hope, joy and love and not be overrun by becoming bitter, despairing or resentful?

Enter the Chaplain--a skilled spiritual person assisting other people of faith to discover God's presence in his/her life, build a vibrant prayer life, learn spiritual tools for discernment and decision-making, and develop a close relationship with God. Christians who are serious about their faith recognize they can't do it alone.

As a Chaplain I will be able to offer a helping relationship to anyone seeking answers to spiritual questions and wanting to develop a spiritual background that supports their call. I can offer advice about solving problems as a pastoral counselor and help a person tap into God's guidance and to sort out God's voice from other pulls or tugs that come from the culture or elsewhere.

As a trained Chaplain I will provide counseling or therapy that is consistent with my skill level. My role will be to help individuals deal with a particular issue where they feel stuck. A Chaplain is using a microscope to help in locating and dissecting the problem for effective remediation..  A Clergyperson asks, Where is God in this particular situation?  That person would be using a telescope to identify that a problem exists.

Many lay people become interested in seeking a Chaplain's guidance when facing life-altering decisions like whether to change careers, move to another city, or choose a marriage partner.

God has given each one of us the key to understand our inner souls. I don't think we were taught to trust that feeling by ourselves but were made to understand with clarification from your clergy.

Choosing the career path of a Chaplain should also be guided by faith. You should meet with other Chaplains and/or clergy to get a sense of the job and then to choose, as time allows, the path you will take.

People are going to ask, 'How will I know this is the right path?' I would then have to respond by saying  'I don't know, but I know you'll know.'

It's already moving out into the world as Chaplains apply their ministry in hospitals, homes for the elderly, prisons or homeless shelters.

Immigrants often lack extended family and trust the church as a place where they can be listened to. Occasionally that is not enough and the Christians will seek the friendliness of the Chaplain as they can counsel at the person's home or living abode. Sometimes the people may choose the atmosphere of the Church setting. The really important thing to me is that the troubled person has someone to talk to and confide in while seeking spiritual and emotional answers.

Students quite often will be an excellent choice for enrolling in the Chaplaincy program as it gives them a real opportunity to see how people of the community may have a multitude of problem both spiritual and being a human in general. A good portion may not have received a "calling" but it is critical for questions to be answered.  Students will come to a sense of their own answers within. Speaking with different clergy men and women gave me a birds-eye view of the profession (calling in general). I would only suggest this program to require you to visit different clergies and not just your own faith.

Students' deepest dreams or desires are planted by God and the students need to sense God's deep love for them. What will bring someone the greatest fulfillment, greatest joy and peace? A student's desire, a dream, if they really listen, is not going to go against who they are and who God has created them to be in their uniqueness.

 

During the early days in the Prison Systems, chaplains were exclusively Christian. Their unabashed objective was to convert everybody to their particular brand of Christianity, and it was either Jesus' way or no way. Though much of this remains the status quo in some places, prison chaplaincy has become increasingly pluralist in the ensuing 117 years, and chaplains find themselves dealing with more contemporary issues.

 

Though Christians still dominate the landscape of prison chaplaincy, diversity is now the order of the day. Proselytizing is still active in many prison facilities, but it is officially prohibited or generally discouraged. Chaplains are still a mainstay of prison operations, but many of their positions are being eliminated. Prison religious programs are still widely available to all inmates. Religion itself is still an integral element of correctional programming, but even it is being redefined by the courts.

 

As a Prison Chaplain I will need to look at each of these issues,

 

Christianity vs. Diversity  As the country's prison population has dramatically increased, so has the religious diversity of inmates. Though more and more minority clergy have been answering the call to prison chaplaincy, they are often excluded by qualifications that are based on Christian type ordination and pastoral education standards. Likewise, prison religious programs are all too frequently limited to Christian modes of practice, whereby inmates of other faiths are often obstructed in fulfilling their religious obligations. The world is made up of much more than just Christians and all faith traditions should be honored and accorded equal treatment in prison environs.

 

Permitting vs. Prohibiting Proselytizing  As inmates are literally a captive and vulnerable audience, proselytizing is rightfully prohibited in most prisons. Yet, inmates are regularly subjected to subtle and active forms of proselytizing by dominant faith groups subtly, by way of heavily focusing on certain faith programs while limiting others, and actively by using outside volunteers and inmate "disciples." This behavior is highly offensive and disrespectful to targeted inmates of other religions. Again, all faith traditions must be honored and adherents of all faiths should be free of proselytizing pressures from others.

 

Professional Chaplains vs. Volunteers  Correctional chaplaincy is a professional discipline, requiring extensive training beyond that of one's own faith group. Staff chaplains must have sufficient working knowledge of divergent faith requirements in order to properly administer the activities of all faith groups. When properly augmented by contract clergy and community resources of other faiths, staff chaplains are highly effective, contributing significantly to the orderly operations of correctional facilities and the rehabilitation of offenders. However, some correctional systems have recently fallen prey to offers of "free" chaplains from religious organizations whose agendas are self-centered. Consequently, religious programs in those places have suffered greatly, and the religious rights of many inmates have been trampled upon. The integrity of religious programs can be best ensured by retaining professional correctional chaplains and fully using their expertise.

 

Open Religious Programs vs. Faith Based Units  In the past few years, prisons have been experimenting with inmate living units that are operated in accordance to faith-based principles a promising development but one that is ripe for abuse. Though most of these programs profess to be open to inmates of various faiths and "interfaith" in nature, many are actually operated out of a single faith contingent's mission and are proselytizing machines. Furthermore, in some systems where these units have been established, they have become the entire focus of religious programming. Fortunately, however, some truly "multi-faith" unit programs are proving themselves to be the preferable alternative because inmate participants are being taught about their faiths by members of their own faiths and proselytizing is discouraged. These multi-faith units should be encouraged, but only so long as they do not detract from religious programs that are available to inmates elsewhere.

 

Religious vs. Civil Law  Recently, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act was enacted to ensure the religious freedom of all inmates. Likewise, some state and local religious freedom initiatives have been enacted to ensure the religious freedom of all citizens. Some may view this as being burdensome on or intrusive of correctional operations. The alarming development, however, is that civil courts have been ruling that a supposed "sincerely held belief" in a given faith is the proper test for determining an inmate's religious affiliation. This directly conflicts with the standards (i.e., religious laws) by which bona fide members of various faith groups are affirmed and it would also appear to violate proper separation of church and state. It has created a nightmare for prison religious program administrators in that they are essentially being required to accept the faith claims of inmates who are not recognized by the faiths themselves as well as accept some claims that are not even linked to any particular faith tradition. As religious freedom is a hallmark of American life, it should be protected at any cost, even if it requires correctional administrators to step out of their familiar operational box. However, when the courts start making religious decisions, they should be actively challenged. Likewise, correctional systems and personnel should be vigorously defended against inappropriate religion related lawsuits.

 

Though chaplaincy is facing new and old challenges, it is of proven benefit and deserving of the utmost support. As a Chaplain I will be asked to perform a myriad of tasks that encompass a broad knowledge base. If this is to be my career pursuit, I must begin now to enhance myself both intellectually as well as spiritually.

 

I chose the prison chaplaincy as some force brought it into my mind and has continually reminded me that this is the path I need to travel. I have let God control what I need to do and I merely obey and follow to the best of my abilities. ULC has been a huge part in my decision making process. Everything from the seminary styled courses to the weekly messages from Reverend Amy have helped in my decision making process.

Spirit Quest Final Essay

SPIRIT QUEST
By Rev Naunie Maddox


    Spirit Quest was and still is an on going learning journey for me.  There are countless ways in which to use the Spirit Quest information.  This has been an invaluable course for me.

I now find myself grounding myself several times a day. Destroying and recreating grounding cords. I experiment with what they look like and what size they, all the way down to what they look like.  Being grounded has been (past tense) a huge issue for me.  My whole life I have struggled with it.  It comes natural now and my life has improved in many ways.

I even ground my home, job, bank account, and my relationships.  It's wonderful energetic house cleaning.  Being highly empathic, knowing and feeling everyone's thoughts and feelings around me became confusing. Not knowing what was mine and what belonged to someone else can be overwhelming.  I have had to isolate myself from large groups, crowds, public places, and to a large extent isolate myself from friends and family.  With the tools to purge from me what is Not mine has helped immensely.  I am getting out more often and my income has improved. 

I am grateful for the tools to ground male and female energy. Wow, I had no clue that could be done.

The roses are awesome.  It really energetically changes situations, thoughts, and feelings in a positive manner.  Not to mention becoming present and having easy tools to utilize for staying present and grounded is fantastic.

The Golden Sun is an essential in my life now.  I have in the past known about clearing energy but that creates a void or a vacuum.  Filling up my energy with my Golden Sun is a great way to really keep my energy clean and gave me the tools to manifest much more in my life and increase my personal power.  I filled up me and that helps with clarity. 

I enjoyed the information on communicating with spirit and the many ways spirit communicates.  I am a much more effective channel for spirit now and the "rose lie detector" as I call it is helpful tool. 

I had no clue about baby spirits.  That was new information for me.  I have had similar experiences without ever knowing what I was dealing with.  I had been a few days pregnant actually several times and I could feel it. I would end up having a bad feeling about it and just clear my energy of what does not serve my highest and greatest good and the pregnancies would then terminate.  I am glad to know about them now.  Thank you!!!

I have learned a lot about my own soul and my incarnations through this course.  I have gained much clarity and understanding.

My journey through this course has been enjoyable and quite a learning experience.  I have been able to change my thought patterns and open my consciousness much more.

Blessings and Thank you
Rev Naunie Maddox

Y. Smith- Final Essay - Spiritual Development

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to learn and take this course with ULC I just completed  

Dr. of SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT by Dr. David Crouch

Throughout the 22 weeks I continued to grow  and what begun with was a course that I was hoping to help others with their spiritual development it helped me first. As I took each homework assignment seriously, turned in weekly short essays to the forum, corresponded with others and reading books to support the new knowledge I was absorbing. The 22 week course started off a powerful first five lessons: Lessons 1-5 Life with Clarity and Purpose, Direction, Clarifying the way by starting at the end first, Identifying and modifying the limitations that inhibit openness for change, Faith and Learning. Those first five lessons opened a new door into my mind! Life with Clarity and purpose, identifying and modifying my behavior and my emotions and how I thought of situations and how I reacted in negative situations. It taught me to mainly recognize what was going on, where do I need to be open (minded), how can I change my own thought pattern. 

At this point early on I was focused on what to focus on, and how and how to recognize/identify. Christmas came and went in my household and and I thought about this how I have the power of my mind and all I have to do it to get organized how to clarify, what is my focus? My focus was and still is, to help others. To be a spiritual advisor, counselor, to help them with their emotional issues, to physical. I studied Reiki and became Reiki II certified and even took reflexology course so that I can understand what was happening to people on a physical level and how I therefore can direct the Reiki healing. Although the most important is how to communicate with others when in need. How to console how to help them with the right direction and tools to guide them, their brains into a  positive frame of ind and positive way of thinking and living. 

After Christmas I went back to studying and this time with an armful of books to help strengthen what I was newly learning. I read books on Astral Travel, Projection, self hypnosis. As the next Lessons came in: Lessons 6-11-A Review/Magik, Review/Nature of Natural Magik, part 3, Experiential Filter and the Power of choice, Master sorting, Thoughts and Growth. At this point I created a sacred space in my home, was doing self-hypnosis with the help of homework assignments and suggestions by the writer of the course I was practicing  meditation and contacting my spirit guides and really to see if I could reach this level. I was sorting, filtering negative, seeing how a bad habit turns into a bad thought and thought leads to action and that action not favorable. How anger and how I control my emotions not the situation controlling me. I was beginning to learn that its okay to say No, its okay to cry when I need to and okay to not cry when everyone else is. 

After Lesson 12,  I opened a Reiki Healing Center and started to take clients, yes early I know but I was so excited and so ready to jump in and help anyone who needed it. I did many clients as charity and for free because they needed it and I was not concerned with money. I now currently take paying clients and teach Reiki but still volunteer 10 hours a week at the local County hospital doing hands on healing for patients who will allow me. That has been healing to my soul as well. I plan on making a trip to New Orleans this summer and volunteering spiritual healing and development classes for those in need. Upwards and on wards! 

Lessons 12-17 were probably the most intense learning I received the chapters were: Unconsciousness Altered States, Changing your history and future from your mind out, Future Pacing, I love the Internet, Acceptance, Ways to gain clarity. Learning how to do self hypnosis, meditate and how to hypnotize others was what I was doing at first and past life regressions, I was hoping to fix things in the past so that way the present was better for myself and others. I always practiced on myself first, I look within and when I saw things I didn't like I changed them. Slowly but surely. I feel if I cannot understand myself or my actions how on earth can I be help of any kind to others? Acceptance and forgiveness came into play and I forgave and when I did that it lifted me to a higher spiritual level. I have no grudges on anyone I do not get angry like I used to, am I perfect enlightened Buddha? Of course not but I can honestly say I am much better in my mind, much stronger and have a purpose,goal and future pace. I plan the future and do not dwell on the past.  At the end of these lessons I had finished most of my extra reading and was focused.

 This course taught me how to focus. The secret is? Be organized in your kind, know that you have the power of your mind to make good and bad choices. You have power of your emotions and just like in life if you are all over the place, a mess, can't find your keys, don't know directions to a grocery store, go to the counter and forget your wallet all this scatterbrain activity is the same way your brain is filtering experiences and memories. Your all over the place! Get a notebook, a workbook, a journal take notes, remember your dreams, record them, when you stat fading into thoughts of WHY did this terrible thing happen to me, STOP that thinking! You may never know the "why" move on and look forward and accept what had happened happened. Period. Learn from that mistake and don't do it again. That's all we can do. But if over and over and over your making the same mistakes, always losing your keys, always getting lost, remaining scatterbrained you will not be able to focus on your spiritual growth. Your connection with your spirit guides or ancestors, angels or spirits. ((You can call them what you like)) Through hypnosis, astral projection the techniques taught from focus, goals. I learned to keep my brain on track and its a powerful feeling!

 Now all I got to do it help others. Not as easy as I had hoped. Everyone needs a different script and everyone individual and each session requires me to understand and be empathetic to their experience and I custom create solutions, or prescriptions. Some just need to know they are doing a great job, others must know they are doing the best they can. Some are faster then others, as I learned I thought everyone would grow as I did and I found others to be much slower or much faster ((to my surprise!))

 Receiving my last group of Lessons 18-22: Creating, Manifesting and the Power of Now, Creating Clarity and Meta-Modeling, Tapping into the Collective Unconsciousness, Shamanism, Collapsing Timelines and Enhancing the Expression of Our Spiritual Selves.

To bring it to a very condensed version and how I can remember is this:

The 6 step reframe for Spiritual Development

1. Identify the behavior (recognize)
2. Establish communication with with the unconscious 
3. Separate the positive intent behind the behavior from the behavior itself.
4. Find an alternative behavior (replace the behavior with a positive one)
5. Get the buy in! Buy the cow and believe what you your voice in your head is saying (the new positive thoughts replacing negative patterns)
6. FuturePace imagine yourself in an old negative behavior and see what went wrong and change it. It starts with you working it through in your brain and then its easier to do in the future when that old patterns returned. 

This course has helped my new frame of mind, my spiritual thoughts, how to find a replacement or alternative choice to a bad behavior for myself and for my clients, it has helped my spiritual connections through readings and divination's, it has helped me be more understanding as to how and why folks behave the way they do. I am very much looking forward to taking two more course through ULC, Comparative Religion and Shamanism. I believe all these courses work together with Spiritual Development and without spiritual development all other knowledge gets cluttered in your brain and lost in your busy life . I learned how to take it easy, pace myself, set goals, focus with clarity on my goals and when a roadblock came to pass I recognize it and replace it with a new action and climb right over any obstacle and now I and really plan for my future. From business to personal. 

Rev. Yvette Smith "Mambo Asogwe LaReina"
ULC Ordained Minister,Spiritual Advisor and Medicine Woman 

Visit the Official website:DivineHealingFL.webs.com

REIKI HEALING~HYPNOSIS SESSIONS~GUIDED JOURNEYS AND MEDITATION~CEREMONIES

www.Facebook.com/floridadivineweddings

yvettesmith666@gmail.com

The Four Gospels Seminary Course Final Essay

The Four Gospels Seminary Course Final Essay

I had never actually gone through the Gospels straight through until taking this course.   I was very surprised to see the similarities which I honestly did expect to see but I was really blown away in seeing the differences.   I think the glaringly obvious thing I got from seeing what quotes and stories came from which Gospels is that the Gospel of John really does seem to fit at all with the other three.   

I have always have problems with certain teachings of the Church.   I was raised Episcopal but that is so similar to the Catholic Church that I can go to mass at either church and not miss a beat.     

Many of the issues I had, especially some of the biggest seem to all come from John.   I am just at a loss at why that book was chosen to go along with the others.  I can see the benefit from its wording in helping building the Church and promote a certain view of the Faith but one would think it would be taking a risk that people would read ALL the books and see how this one doesn't fit.   Apparently history doesn't support my common sense theory on this point.   I can only assume literacy levels and the Church being the source of the metering out of knowledge helped in keeping the differences less noticeable by the masses.    

John 14:6 has always been the top problematic issue for me since I find it hard to believe that a God of love and Jesus's teachings of openness, understanding and love would condemn all other belief systems.  This is exactly how this verse is used commonly in Christianity and it has always given me a very cold feeling.   

Perhaps Jesus was saying that the way to God was by listening to his teachings, many of which are universal like the Golden Rule.  The Jesus I believe in is not the one written of in the Gospel of John, I see him in the loving teacher who did not take any credit for his miracles and actions but gave credit to God the Father.

Rev. Dave Juliano

Shamanism Course Essay

SHAMANISM ESSAY

Rev. Victoria Hogan

I had not known what to expect when I chose to take this course Bishop Pat created. In finishing the course, the amount of research Bishop Pat did over many years is to be honored and respected.

The course on Shamanism takes the participant on a journey through the early history of the shamanic people, the various cultures, different races, different beliefs and how the individual shamans portrayed their shamanic roles and practices.

My great grandmother came from the Finnish-Russian area and was known for her gifts of sight, her dreams, her prophecies, her knowledge of the plant medicines, and her ability to walk and talk with the Spirits. She was known as the area healer and mid wife.

Many generations ago, my Native American grandmother was also known for her gifts, as the area midwife and her ability to speak many languages. There was very little else known about her.

There were many people in my family born with gifts, with sight, with the ability to have prophetic visions and with the ability to walk and talk with the Spirits. However, we also lived in a world where these "gifts" were or could be discounted, mocked, or cause other people to label a person with gifts as mentally ill.

My mother spoke of her fear that if people found out her grandmother, father or other family members had dreams, visions, talked with the spirits, had prophetic visions, etc., that they would take the people of her family away and lock them up in an insane asylum.

My father did not want any one to know of our Native American ancestry, certain gifts, or certain aspects of my great grandmother's life and her involvement with the people of tribe close to where she lived.

There is so much in our modern age that can and does undermine the shaman, the shaman's gifts, and the people that are born to these gifts. So much of the old knowledge and training were lost or went underground.

Bishop Pat shares his journey that started with a question he had regarding shamanism. He traveled to many different parts of the world to meet with shamans, to hear their stories, and or to learn from them. Bishop Pat also studied what many different authors had learned and written on.

One of the the points Bishop Pat makes is the transformation that came to him, when he learned to ask the right questions, how this lead him into his own personal research and the revelations this research brought to him.

Along with the history of the shamanic people, Bishop Pat also shares information on shamanic practices as they relate to Christianity, Science, modern age and research into the paranormal.

There is a portion of this course that is focused on the Mayan culture, the Mayan calendar and what the deeper research that Bishop Pat did revealed.

While the course is not a course designed to teach a person how to become a shaman in 10 easy lessons, it does explain about several parts of the shamanic practices and how some of these altered states, dream states, out of body experiences, and more can be achieved.

Bishop Pat shares how shamanism was once part of the Jewish history, as it was of most indigenous cultures. I had spent many years learning of the life of Jesus and read of gifts, his dreams, and his healing gifts. I knew the stories of my own ancestors. I had my own dreams and gifts and knew the gifts my mother carried. Then a time came in my life where I was given an opportunity to spend many years with a medicine man and other medicine people, the shamans. What I learned was in many ways so identical to the teachings of Christ. The healing ways and special abilities of Christ and some of the healing ways and special abilities of the shamans were so identical that there had to be a common source of learning, a common beginning.

Towards the end of the course, Bishop Pat talks about the scientific research that is being done now, or over these past years, into the paranormal, the mind, the energy, and learning what we can do just with our thoughts, once we learn to activate these gifts.

While some people choose to use some of the shamanic practices to harm or control others, which tends to give shamans and shamanic practices a bad name or the label of evil, black witches, evil spells, etc. it should be remembered how much evil has also been done by those that declare they are doing certain things in the name of God or as Christians. Bishop Pat speaks to the many ways the shamanic gifts have been suppressed by governments, mental health people, and others.

I have been with others where we were given an opportunity to learn how we could manipulate a computer with our thoughts. I have seen this work. I have witnessed levitation by a thought. I have witnessed healings that have been done through prayers. I read where Michael Harner's people were able to use their thoughts to clean contaminated water. I have witnessed the healing of mental illness that has come through the shamanic healings.

There is a story in the Bible where the disciples go to Jesus and complain that a man who was not one of them was doing healing work as Christ had been doing. Christ admonished the disciples and stated that the man believed in the power of God to heal and so he was able to bring healing.

Fools Crow, a Native American healer taught that any one could have this power, they just had to learn how to become empty and allow the Great Spirit to work through them. Fools Crow spoke of becoming like an empty tube.

There is so much that we as a people do not know about our brains, our energy, our gifts, or our potential to do some amazing things. We were born with so much. Some people did not understand their own gifts or abilities. These people often feared the people that did understand these gifts and abilities. Some people wanted power and control over others, so they forbid the use of these gifts and or abilities and had those that were known as shamans, healers, etc., killed off, destroyed or locked away. Governments enforced rules that forced people to turn away from the knowledge of their gifts and abilities. The inquisitions and witch hunts tortured so many people and or put them to death

As Bishop Pat shared in the last part of this course the scientific studies shows the discovery of many hidden gifts and abilities that a person was unaware that they had access to. We learned to suppress so much in order to just survive.

Then does this not speak to how these gifts and abilities were given to us by the Creator, these things are part of us, and perhaps the greater purpose and potential of using these gifts, was in the end, part of the Creator's greater plan.

One of the things I was taught was this: "Power is a gift of the Great Spirit (Creator, God). Power cannot be used out of anger, for self gain or to harm the spirit of another person or to interfere with their spiritual journey. Power can only be used in ways that honor the Great Spirit."

Christ had admonished the disciples because they did not have the faith and belief that the other man had, which was that God could use him to heal other people. In the end did not Jesus instruct us and teach us, that if we had the faith of a mustard seed, we could move mountains.

I want to thank Bishop Pat for the extensive research he has done over these years and then sharing this information with us. This course shows how irregardless of our race, culture, religion, beliefs, the color of our skin, or any other difference we may have, how as a people of this world, we shared a common beginning, a common belief, a common base and that how over time, we simply diversified.

There is a part in the Bible that speaks to how we should not hide our light under a bushel basket and another part that says how we should not bury our talents. When the Creator created us with gifts and abilities, perhaps there has been a huge wrong doing by those who tried to destroy these gifts and these abilities by destroying the people that honored them and used them. Perhaps the greater wrong was done by those who fear the condemnation and judgment of man/men, should they choose to honor these gifts and abilities given to us by the Creator.

Each of us has to choose our paths and how we will walk those paths. Do we walk in a way that honors all the gifts and abilities the Creator has given to us to use? Or, do we walk in a way that denies our gifts and abilities, so we can honor and follow the men that rule, the men that govern, the men that hold high offices or who are the power of the churches? Who do we choose to serve?

One of the greatest things this course by Bishop Pat does, is to teach us the importance of learning to ask the right questions and to then search for the answer and the truth to those questions.

Spirit Quest Essay

SPIRIT QUEST ESSAY

A year ago I became very ill and I also developed narcolepsy. I had to make rapid changes in my life, resign from my job as a crisis nurse, and I was going to have to stop driving. My ex-husband and I had been friends for years. He extended an invitation for me to relocate from Virginia back to Minnesota and to house share with him. So I chose this option.

I left a career, a cottage that I had redone, friends, the ocean, mountains and so much more, so there were a lot of losses. No longer being able to drive was also a life changing event and a huge loss.

On the positive side, I was able to activate my retirement, I would be closer to my sons and grandchildren, and, I was going to be given a lot of time to pursue some things I had not had time for earlier in my life.

I had conversations with Amy Long regarding the seminary program and what courses to take. Finally I decided one of the courses would be Spirit Quest. I was going through losses, changes, and it would be a wonderful time to explore different coping methods, to further explore my own spiritual journey, and to also sort out old wounds, traumas, and or dysfunctional behaviors I had created a long this life journey. Since I was no longer going to be able to do many things I had done for so long, it was great time to set new goals based on the many changes and to explore what options I would now have to work with.

I had not realized how deeply the Spirit Quest Course would take me, how deeply I would journey to the past traumas of my life. I had not realized how I would learn to see how those traumas and the dysfunctional coping behaviors I had created were the dark shadows and the demons of my nightmares or how I would learn the new tools taught in this course in how to release what was no longer serving me or my spiritual journey.

One part of this course teaches how to use roses, how to create the image of a rose in our mind, then how to put an unwanted thought, memory, experience, negative energy, negativity that someone else was sending at me, and more, into that rose. Then you blow up the rose. The course also taught how to create grounding cords, which connect one with the earth, which can bring the grounding, healing, constant connection to our earth mother and all the strength and nurturing this will bring. We are also taught how to bring in the golden light from the sun into our space and energy.

These tools become the vehicle that a person can use to travel down those "memory lanes" of trauma, exploring the wounds, the traumas, hurts, or what ever dysfunction that a person may have on that journey. Soon the method becomes easier and easier to use.

As I traveled this path and used the roses, I began to notice how much more quickly I was able to really identify problems, how I was no longer afraid to see them, and how when I did find them, I could then make a choice what I wanted to do with that specific problem. Often that problem would go into a rose and I would explode the rose. I stayed grounded, then brought in the sun and light to heal that energy space, my heart, my child, my mind and emotions and most important, my spirit and or my relationship with my spirit.

As I journeyed these past 8 months through this course, I was also beginning to see how what I was learning affected my relationships and or challenges in the present in increasingly healthy ways. The more of the old dysfunctional behaviors and ways of reacting were being released, the less I needed to be reactive to what some one else was doing or saying, or with their behavior. My objectivity was increasing.

I was also losing the triggers that had been so much a part of my life. So often some thing would trigger a memory, a reaction, an emotion, and these things and their patterns were deeply ingrained in my life. In doing the releasing, the triggers were disappearing as well. Or if I was triggered, I could pop the event that had triggered me into a rose and then take the time to explore the event, then blow up the rose, and bring in the healing light and, of course, I would have stayed grounded with the grounding cord during all of this.

As all of this was occurring, I soon discovered how much easier it was becoming to remain calm when some one else was acting out or sending negativity my way. I was finding I had better sight and better protection, which increased my objectivity with that person or event. What I was learning helped me have clear and more rational thought, and an increased ability to not react, rather, to take the moment to explore what was really going on with that person. Often what was going on had nothing to do with me, other then I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that person was looking for some thing to dump their anger or frustration on.

So it was becoming easier not to own the other person's reaction, not to react to their behavior, and it became easier to allow them the right to own their problem and reaction. With this skill increasing, it also became easier to, if I chose to do this, assist the person with calming, exploring what their real problem was, and then helping them explore options they could use to manage their problem in a more positive and healthy way.

In these past 8 months additional skills continued to build on the new skills I had been learning. Boundaries were also affected, the ability to create healthier boundaries, the ability to calmly set healthier boundaries, the ability to more clearly state my own needs and what was comfortable for me was increasing.

On the opposite side of this, was growing comfort in knowing the gift of compromise, of more calmly being able to see the other person's point of view or their needs. One example of this is my ex-husband likes more open spaces and does not like clutter. I loved clutter, had lots of collectables, books, art, etc. and had always had these things out about where I could see them.

This was a point of friction between my ex-husband and I in the beginning. Finally one day, I was able to really step into his shoes, understand his perspective, and then I was able to more clearly honor and respect his needs. I chose then to really de-clutter and to really make choices about what I could and needed to release from my life. I got rid of clothes, paintings, art work, books, and so much more. I took time with my things, my collectables, tried to find homes for things that I knew other people might need. I said goodby to so many things.

When it was all over, I discovered how much freer I felt, how it seemed a huge burden had been lifted off of me and how the tremendous chaos piece of my life was being diminished.

There is so much more to this course that I have not even touched on. I would encourage any one that is facing change, or facing the need to change, to explore this course and the many gifts and tools it brings.

At the end of these 8 months, there has been so much clearing on every level of my emotions, memory, spiritual, and even with the things in my physical environment. Clutter on any level comes between us and our Spirit, our Spirits, and the Creator.

The name "Spirit Quest" implies we are going on a search for our Spirit. Before I could go on a search, the course had me getting rid of things. I finally realized that all of those things had been blocking my view and connection with my Spirit. I did not need to go any further to search for my Spirit..........I just need to get rid of stuff.

I wish to thank Amy Long for creating this course and her willingness to share so much of herself, her own journey, and her life. This course has been a wonderful gift to me, my life, my Spirit, and, to those that are in my life and love me. Not only is it easier for me to be with them, it is now much easier for them to be with me.

Thank you for allowing me to share this with you.

Rev. Victoria Hogan

Comparative Religion Course

COMPARATIVE RELIGION

Reverend Nicholas Lake

Religions throughout the world share similarities and peculiarities that shape how we define our religion in relation to other religions.  Rites and rituals for one religion are accepted while others may view their paradigm belief with skepticism.  At present there are 43 religious beliefs that are practiced daily.  Each belief system is founded on a spiritual journey through self-awareness, inter/intra connections.  This course has opened my spiritual eyes to the endless possibilities of how individuals can interact with other religions by opening their hearts and closing their mouths.  These days of political, racial, ethnic uncertainty, religion has and will be the fabric that binds all cultures together.  Ministers, priests, rabbis and Imams of today have to be more open minded and not reliant on their "own religion is the best religion "dogma.  Today there are seven religions that are recognized worldwide.  Each of the religions share a common theme:  they each share a profound impression of the principles and rituals of their home countries.  The common thread for each religion is sought to bring harmony to their disciples, they offer recognitions for the world's aesthetic and graciousness.  They display reverence and humbleness before the anonymities of the cosmos.  I learned that each person we encounter shares an idea about who we are and how we can help in that person's role in life.  I learned that the five elements of life of this course have evoked a positive model as a Minister.  Fire:  Embracing the universes heat when talking about life.  Wood:  building of the foundation between man and its infinite abilities.  Metal:  Strength, able to withstand the physical pressures of changing of life's directions.  Water:  Liquid pleasure, moving of one idea to another.  Cascading of hope and change.  Earth:  The epic-center of what is good in our conscious and inner being.  What I found must enjoyable about this class is the diverse faiths share commonality of ethical teachings and acting upon them.  The common elements that we share are two elements -The First is the concept of reverence for the supreme beings and respect and morality that this brings.  Second is the "golden rule" concept of treating other religions as you would treat your religion.  Of recent times the plight of religious fervor has taking a turn for the penitent person to grasp.  I cannot find any fault with this class; this program is presented straight forward information that enhances the student to seek new information about the existing information.  There is no reason to alter/change the format of this class.  Information is discussed with enlighten and reverence.  The students and proctor can discuss each topic in a discourse but professional manner.  What I can say is I learned how every religion must be open to other faiths and paradigms without losing their own faith.  Ministers of ULC can learn from this class by visiting other faiths and exchanging ideas through cooperation and fellowships.  We as educators must be vigilant in our teachings and acknowledgements of other religions and faiths.

I would enjoy taking additional classes with Rev. Kythera Ann