Remember the Holocaust

Subject: Fw: IRENA SENDLER IS DEAD   We must never forget . . . . .      The prize doesn't always go to the most deserving   Irena Sendler There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the WarsawGhetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' ... She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids..) She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize ... She was not selected.   Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.     Powerful message, especially the "cartoon."  Let us never forget! 63 years later In  MEMORIAM  - 63 YEARS LATER Please read the little cartoon carefully, it's powerful. Then read the comments   at the end.   I'm doing my small part by forwarding this message. I hope you'll consider   doing the same. In Memoriam  It is now more  than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended This e-mail is  being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the  six million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10  million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests  who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned,  starved and humiliated with the German and Russian Peoples looking the other  way!  Now, more than ever, with Iraq , Iran , and others, claiming the Holocaust to  be 'a myth,' it's imperative to make sure the world never forgets, because there are others who would like to do it again.  This  e-mail is intended to reach 40 million people worldwide!  Join us and be a link in the  memorial chain and help us distribute it around  the world.  Please send this e-mail to people you know and ask them to continue  the memorial chain.. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

MASTER OF SHAMANISM ESSAY by Rev. Bryan Rice

Rev. Bryan Rice MASTER OF SHAMANISM ESSAY                                                 INTERMEDIARY, PROPHET, HEALER             Shamans are common archetypes that have shown up throughout history all over the globe. Originally, shamans, as they are called today, most everywhere, had historical roots in Siberia. Over time, the role that shamans have played, first in tribes and clans, and now, more commonly, in other settings, has solidified and become distinguished from medicine men/women, though they are still called that in some cultures, witch doctors (not so common), priests, (with a distinction between the two titles being more clear in the modern day), and intermediaries.             Shamans and priests shared similar duties of healing and performing rituals. As a certified Shamanic Therapy Practitioner, I see the roles as being separate despite performing ceremonies and rituals.  As mentioned in the lesson entitled Shamanism vs. Christianity, there were definite distinctions made between priests and shamans. Though priests are intermediaries in various religions, between creation and God, shamans play a more direct intermediary role, being guided by not only God, but entities such as Archangels, Angels, Spirit guides, and Power Animals. Shamans, one might argue, have one foot in ordinary reality and one foot in non-ordinary reality, a place where shamans journey in a dream-like state, when theta waves have helped to induce an ecstatic trance.               Shamans journey for a variety of reasons, whether to heal themselves, others in their communities, or creation. Though priests are healers too, shamans are more reliant on travel through non-ordinary reality of Shamanic Consciousness, in the sense that they retrieve a person's lost power there, find someone's soul fragments there, or gain knowledge of foreign energy intrusions when performing extractions.  They, like priests do perform exorcisms, which are similar to extractions.  Priests may call upon the Holy Spirit if a Christian and invoke angels when they use sacramental healing, but they are more rooted in ordinary reality.             Priests and shamans both have magik-like spiritual powers, at least priests of today do, one's who claim to be able to turn bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Shamans "magik"-like abilities are found in their ability that I previously mentioned -  maneuvering through non-ordinary reality, which I must say, consists of an upper world, a middle world, and a lower world. Christendom and shamanic religions differ on their view of the underworld. In shamanism, there is no "hell" or place of torment, nor "a lake of fire".             Some of Jesus the Christ's healing ministry was very shamanic-like. I must agree with the author of this course, that shamanism, though traditionally thought to be pantheistic, meaning worshipping all of creation, believing that everything is divine, it does and can have a place for a Christian, despite the Old Testament's speaking out against divination, which is part of a shaman's work. Though primarily healers, shaman's if they can in fact fit into the Christian paradigm of the world, would exist on the fringe as prophets, on the edge of society. Keep in mind that most prophets were a threat to institutionalized religion because  they spoke out against the misuse of power in religions.      So why shouldn't shamans be allowed to be Christians?  They don't worship the devil, they honor creation, and they too work with spirit-beings and seek the ultimate good for people in their communities. That is what the Christ did. Christian missionary work with indigenous in different countries was similar to witch hunts in dealing with pagans of any kind. But really, if a Christian is honest, paganism in various ways became integrated into early Church practice. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Dr. of Metaphysics by Rev. Robert Gill

Achieving any objective can appear deceptively simple, and understanding the message of this course is no different.  From the beginning, we must put aside our ego and engage our higher mind, the realm of the spirit.  Our ultimate goal is happiness and salvation, and there are two essential elements we must use to get there – love and forgiveness.  And this is where it all starts to get complicated. We all desire happiness, and with happiness comes love.  That desire drives our will and our thinking.  Our ego constantly tells us that it has the answer to our desire, and provides us with plenty of illusions designed to make us happy.  But these illusions provide only temporary happiness, to be replaced by other illusions.  Happiness comes from our higher mind, not the ego, for it is a state of being in which we are immune to the troubles of the world, and protected from the world.  The ego cannot provide happiness, but only the illusion of happiness.  We desire more than illusions.  But, desire is not enough.  To achieve true happiness, we must have a conscious purpose to achieve happiness, powered by our intention to seek happiness, and our devotion to that pursuit. This is where the two essential elements come in.  Happiness requires that we love ourselves and all the rest of creation.  And, we cannot find that love until we are prepared to forgive ourselves and others for the slights we have suffered.  "Only illusions can be forgiven, and then they disappear" says A Course In Miracles (T24.III.1.2).  Accordingly, we must forgive others for the illusions we created in response to their "attacks" on us, and we must also forgive ourselves for that response.  In that way, we rid ourselves of illusions and open ourselves up to love.  But that is not enough.  We must also extend that love to all of creation.  For only by extending love to others can we give it to ourselves. And thus is happiness created and salvation attained. Love and Light, Rev. Bob ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Gnosticism by Rev. Michael Barth

Master of Gnosticism Final Essay By Michael Barth               This course was the toughest course that I have taken through the seminary.  Bishop Pat includes a lot of information in this class.  There is a lot of information that I did not know beforehand.  There is still information that I am still processing from this class.             One thing that I did not know was that Gnosticism had different schools of thought like the Persian School.  I did not know that there were so many schools that were considered Gnostic.  Even the term Gnosticism is new and was not used until recently.  This course also taught me that some of the early Christians were probably Gnostic as well like the Apostle Paul.             Before taking this class, I had heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library but that was it.  I did not know that these two important discoveries shed light on what Gnosticism was and is.  The reason I found out that these documents were hidden was because the early Christian Church had persecuted Gnostics and tried to destroy all their documents and Holy Scripture.             This course also taught me that in Gnosticism, there are 7 different heavens that are guarded by Archons.  With each Archon, you had to give the right password to enter into that heaven.  Also, I did not know before that this planet was created by an evil Demiurge and that all things were evil.  This was totally new to me.  The author said that this evil Demiurge is sometimes considered Yahweh from the Old Testament.             This course also presented parallels between Gnosticism and Christianity.  The fact that there is the Gospel of Thomas and other books that portray Jesus in a different light was new to me.  Also, what is new to me is that Jesus might have studied Gnosticism before going on his 3 year ministry in Israel.  This I did not know but would explain where Jesus was for the first 30 years of his life.             This class was very well written.  There is so much information contained in this class.  The Master of Gnosticism class was well written for the most part.  There were a couple of lessons I did not like because the author took what appeared to me as an anti-Gnosticism view.  This class will require an investment in time due to the amount of information presented and the amount of new terminology that I came across.  As I said earlier, I am still processing a lot of the information and will have to go over some lessons again.  This course did spark an interest in wanting to read the books that were discovered at Nag Hammadi Library and the Dead Sea Scrolls.  This class is not for the light-hearted.  I would recommend this course to people who are ready for a lot of information, new terminology, and have extra time to study this material. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Druidism by Rev. Michael Barth

Master of Druidism Final Essay By Michael S Barth               I found this course very fascinating.  I learned a lot about Druidism.  Druidism is so spiritual and earth-base which I did not know before.  The alphabet was really interesting to see for I did not know Druidism had an alphabet or a calendar of its own.             The fact that Druidism is so spiritual and centered around the Earth is what stands out the most for me.  Also, I did not realize that the Druids had spread into Europe and into what is now the Middle East.  I had previously thought that the Druids were only localized in Ireland and England.  The different levels (e.g. bards, ovate, druid) were unknown to me before taking this class.  I did not realize that someone passed through these levels and that a druid would have to study for as long as 20 years in order to obtain the level of druid.             I also learned that each tribe was autonomous.  Previously, I had thought that the Druids were more organized like the Catholic Church.  Also, I did not realize that they punished people by shaving their heads.  This really caught my attention but it makes sense to me.  By shaving the persons head, other tribes then knew that this person had been punished for doing something.             I like the lesson on ethics.  Beforehand, I knew that the Druids revered the Earth but did not realize that they honored all things.  This would be comparable to Jesus saying "Love thy neighbor as thy self."  The Druids also had many different gods that they honored.  Most of the gods I never knew about before taking this class.             Some of the holidays that they celebrate I had learned from the Master of Paganism class.  While I am not Pagan or Druid, these holidays did strike close to home for me.  These holidays are important because they symbolize different times of the year such as the equinoxes, solstices, and the in between points.  Celebrating nature is something that I do since we still have a lot to learn from nature.             I found it fascinating that the Druids passed everything down orally.  When I learned this, I wondered how then we knew so much about them.  That's when I learned that a lot of what we know now came from other people such as the Romans.  The lesson on magic was very informative.  When I think of magic, I think of David Copperfield making things disappear and reappearing but the Druids did magic in order to heal and for self-development.             This class was very well written and worthwhile taking.  I learned a lot about Druidism and I am very fascinated by it.  This course has prompted me to learn more about Druidism and about nature too.  I would recommend this course to other people. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Dr. of Metaphysics by Rev. Terence Stewart

What caused me to think deeper about things was the part of the course that went into the human ego. So what follows are some thoughts on its identity, conditioned appearance and structure in mental and physical phenomena.     Lesson 4 says that everything is born out of the ego. It seems that the whole of the metaphysical course is dependent upon this one factor, which is the one and only cause of our conflict and suffering created by a distortion in our perceptions causing a selfish, individual existence. We are as if asleep in a dream world and as in a dream, we appear through our perceptions as the dream person who is separate from the other dream people, dream objects and events. However, just like in a dream, it is all one movement, projected by the mind through delusional states. It is nothing but mind, we could say that the mind is capable of creating its self with all its delusions, not only in the dream state but in the so called waking state also.      If we analyse the waking state, we find that nothing exists in its own right as a separate entity. A person, a tree, a rock are all made up of other factors and without these other factors they could not appear. Without the sunshine, the rain, the air and so on a tree could not appear as a tree, it only appears as a tree in relation to everything else. This is also the same regarding a person, a person is dependent on physical form, feeling perception, cognition and consciousness to be able to appear to exist and without these factors there could not be a person. Everything depends on countless factors, nothing can be found as a separate entity, so the world as a whole, with all its events is nothing but one inseparable total movement in the now. This is none other than mind itself, created through our projected distortions, it appears as individual events but everything is coming into being and vanishing at the same time in this very moment. The beginning of existence is here and now. The past present and future is contained in the now, the universe did not come into being millions of years ago, it is created by the mind moment to moment in the present .This is the one cause of all problems. Through delusion we see different objects of existence, but we really cannot talk of objects of existence, as from the ultimate level, an object cannot be found. If we look into any object composing the world that we perceive, it dissolves away and only existence can be found .The universe does not prove its own existence, all it can prove is existence.     It is this distorted view point that has caused us to think we are separate individuals in a world alien from eternal reality, resulting in the deluded ego or self thought. Somebody once said that the cross in Christianity is symbolic of the self or the I thought, the example would be cross out the I and I crossed out is none other than the sign of the cross which   = no self, leaving only true reality and dissolving the world, which the self has created and all the destruction it has caused, for in reality the world does not exist. Once seen through only God, only eternal reality exists which is limitless truth and love. That is the unconditioned, beyond the delusional mind made world of distorted perception, which only sees individual appearances. The world created by the ego is only the same substance of dreams and has no reality of its own. The ego would like us to think otherwise. Once this dream has come to an end through true insight, if the slightest thought about eternal reality even the thought I am one with this reality arises, it is none other than the limited ego claiming eternal limitless reality for itself.     The ego always wants to lay claim, control and own the whole of creation, this may be what is referred to by the devil in the scriptures. He wants his own power and separation from love and truth which he will not share, for only Gods will of love and truth can be shared. He wants a separate world that he can own for himself and will cause wars, death and destruction to try to get it. This is the cause of our distorted perceptions of the true reality of the universe.   As an example of the ego or I thought is if we look at a candle flame, close our eyes then open them and think of ourselves looking at the flame, close the eyes, then repeat a few times, we will come to see that we or our ego or I thought comes into being and vanishes each time we look. It is none other than a conditioned process and yet it is the cause of all our suffering.     Until we wake up from our dream to the Truth, there will only be conflict, fear and unhappiness caused by our wrong perceptions projected as a world where we play out our own inward conflicts, causing untold suffering to ourselves and others. Until we come to see that this entire world is none other than a reflection of our mind with all its delusions and in reality we cannot own or create anything that is real, we can only create an empty dream like phenomena, for that which is real is only God or reality.     In the first lesson of this wonderful Metaphysics course, it says all we have is freedom of choice and also that Einstein said "we cannot solve a problem with the same level of thinking that caused it". We have to penetrate with love and compassion through these distorted perceptions which are none other than the world itself to the endless unconditioned love which has no limits and no description. For all description is only a limitation, of that which is beyond all limits which is so limitless that it cannot even be described as limitless. To the silence that just is.            ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Shamanism by Rev. Judith G. Wolf

Shamanism Final Essay Judith G. Wolf, Ph.D.   In his final lecture entitled "Conclusions," with its 53 references, the author, Bishop Pat,  states that "Researchers have concluded that even after five hundred years of reports of shamanism, its core remains a mystery."  What I wonder does he mean by core.  This is troubling especially since Bishop Pat has spent the previous 19 lessons presenting every conceivable detail about shamans from so many cultures. We have learned about their journeys to retrieve souls, the variety of accessories they have including masks, drums and ornamentation, which vary by cultures.  We have learned of the many, many cultures in which shamans reside, of their histories and their differences.  This is an incredibly in depth course which presents Shamanism from every conceivable aspect.  How then does the core elude us.  Are they any more a mystery than a holy man who prays for the world with great results, or a medium who goes into an alpha state to communicate with the beyond.  In some ways the shaman is easier to understand then the later.  We can understand the healer and the worshiper. We can understand the use of hallucinating aids to "trip" into a spirit state.  What mystery is so beyond us. Perhaps because the author is a Shaman, he supports this conclusion.  But because he IS a Shaman, I would think he would understand it better than anyone.   I have to confess, it took me one and one-half years to complete all the lectures.  One of the reasons was the organization of the course.  At times I found it difficult to follow and at times I felt it bogged down in detail.  Also it was not well proofed. In the future I would urge Bishop Pat to reread his course and make sure words, phrases and sentences are not omitted. It is frustrating to read along and upon coming to an important section find that a critical sentence and a-half is missing.   That being said, I would recommend this course to anyone who would like to know everything that is currently known about Shamanism.  If it is not covered in the course, there are myriad references. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/ ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button.

Comparative Religion Essay by Rev. Charles Morris

This course provided a more balanced, impartial perspective of several religions.  I was raised in strict, rather fundamental, Baptist/Christian environment, at home and in school.  It simply never struck me as being unquestionably true, but questioning was highly discouraged, so I never received the answers I needed to resolve my beliefs.  Once I was an adult, I walk away from religion altogether.       During my six years in the US Army and eight years working as a US Department of Defense civilian, I have worked with people from many faiths, and those with none.  It was a pleasure to be in a tolerant and accepting environment, though not all groups were equally equal.  All varieties of Judeo-Christian religions are openly accepted, and are well accommodated with on-post religious support; Wiccans, however, are largely misunderstood and rejected.  Today's security and political environments have also created a Muslim-hostile undertone, though they are publicly welcomed, and one base even offered a joint Jewish/Muslim prayer area in the chapel.     Several months ago, I was ordained primarily as a joke.  I've found my opinions of religion turning increasingly anti-theistic over the last several years, and I started this course in an attempt to temper that perspective.  I believe that mission has been accomplished, or at least begun.  I now have a greater understanding of why the Christians I work with inappropriately proselytize in the workplace, improperly referring to me as heathen, and telling me I would burn in hell for being ordained.  I understand the motivation and perspective of the many Wiccans I have the pleasure of calling some of my closest friends.  I understand why my fundamental-Christian second-ex-wife, who grew up on an Indian reservation, thought she had shamanic powers of healing.  Primarily, I better understand my own religious attitudes and perspectives as a secular humanist.       What did I like best in this course?  The historical perspectives of religious evolution.  I was intrigued as my spotty self-educated theories of religion's lineage resolved into the clear picture presented, much of the fog clearing and the pieces falling into the bigger picture.  Closely related, it was revealing to see how religion is a fundamental piece of the human psyche and sociological landscape.  Coincident to this course, I took a management course including the Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI).  How could this piece of the average psyche be so lacking in emphasis within me?  It is largely do to my natural de-emphasis of religious/emotional aspects.  It is good to know where I fit in and why.     What did I like least?  The sections on mysticism and spirits.  These concepts are a bit too far from the measurable, tactile world for my tastes.  However, they were clearly and informatively discussed in the text.     I think these courses could be improved by shortening the lessons and lengthening the course by a few weeks.  I found them to be a bit longer than I could consume in a sitting due to numerous other demands on my time.     This course was very well written, the HTML emails were generally well coded, and the topics were approached impartially and with respect.  They were easy to understand, and the topics built logically from basics to more advanced concepts.  I would love to take additional courses written by Rev. Kythera Ann, and will be looking for Comparative Religion Parts II and beyond. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Final Essay on Comparative Religion by Rev. Justin Oles

Final Essay on Comparative Religion               Sadly it been months since I last read, and then reread, the material for the course but I didn't really know what I was going to write.  I'm not sure I do now except that I have a pressing desire to write something.  So here goes.                I'd like to start by saying how easy this course was to read and therefore become interested in.  Previous readings I have had on the topic or comparative religion went in depth on the similarities and differences of the various faiths but never really followed any set format.  They also tried to compare religions in general as a whole, never breaking them into further groups that would allow them to be fairly explained and compared.  Its fair, for example, to compare Judeo-Christian religions to each other and possibly to even include Islam into the mix.  These religions are largely if not completely based on the same mythology and therefore lend themselves to comparison.  Comparing Catholicism to say Asatru or Druidry becomes extremely difficult based on the drastically different goals of the faith let alone the vast differences in the cultures that spawned them.  This course begins by breaking the different world faiths into the groups of exoteric and esoteric allowing for a better comparison.  Thats not to say that faiths don't contain both, they certainly do, and I would be hard pressed to call one purely one or the other, but if still gives us a starting point.                It may have been beneficial to go a little more in depth on that line as well since in todays world people are more individualistic and therefore tend to be leaning towards a certain direction, mainly the esoteric one.  People want to understand the inner workings of their faith and are no longer willing to be outside the circle of initiates.  People want to be in control of their own spiritual life just as they want to control their mundane life and the religions that control their spiritual existence through the requirements of a clergy and initiations into the faith are falling by the way side.               In the process of explaining the different faiths the writer also took it upon herself to try to explain why people seek faith and why different society sought certain faiths.  It makes sense, to some extent, as you go though the processes described as to why humans need faith.  Put simply they need a way to explain the unexplainable and they need to find the peace that faith in something can bring to the inner self.                In the end this course, while not providing me with what I expected, which was a greater understanding of the world religions, did provide me with a tool kit with which to analyze the faiths of the world on my own time in my own way.  This course allows me to better understand what people are seeking from their faith and possibly makes me better able to "tend my flock."  I would like to thank Rev. Kythera Ann for her excellent work on this topic and I hope that she continues to write Comparative Religion 2 and so on until the topic has been fully developed in text.   Rev. Justin Oles ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Dr. of Metaphysics by Rev. Daniel L. Moore

"Becoming the Channel for the Miracle Maker"   A Final Essay for the Doctor of Metaphysics Course   By Daniel L. Moore               In the beginning, God created the first couple to reflect God's glory.  The instructor, guided by "The Course of Miracles," believes that sin came about because the Son of God forgot to laugh.  I differ as I am guided by the Holy Scriptures which teaches that sin began in the heart of Lucifer (aka, Satan, the Great Red Dragon, the serpent) who rebelled against God and later came to deceive and destroy humanity.             That said, I do believe in many of the principles found in the course that help a person to go back to the "original design" of God – to reflect Divine Glory.  It does require a change of thinking for the Christian.  The Apostle Paul often taught the churches that they were to "put off the old man," that is the old way of living in fear, guilt and shame.  They were then encouraged to put on the "new man" which is the character and conduct of a follower of Christ.  It is a new way of life that is grounded in love and fueled by the Holy Spirit.             In becoming a channel for the "Miracle Maker" (God by way of the Holy Spirit working in each Christian), meditation is a good tool.  From the book of Psalms the reader is instructed:  "Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah" (Psalms 4:4 NKJV).  This puts the focus off of self and then upon God.  This allows one to gain closeness to the Divine and seek out God in fellowship.  In this process, we learn to let go of selfish desires and replace them with divine desires.  In this time of prayer we can grow more in love with God and God's creation.  Note the Apostle Paul wrote about proper desire:             "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11 NASB).             We are not created to be aimless robots.   We are created for purpose and thus we should pursue lives of purpose.  Purpose gives direction.  It also requires intentionality.  If I believe my purpose is to create music that pleases others, then I cannot just sit around wishing.  I need to practice and practice and practice.  I need to set aside all distractions and focus.  This requires attention.  A master mechanic becomes one because he or she pays attention – to the big picture and to the small details.  The grandeur of majestic buildings, the paintings that catch life with unique expressions, the song with that tune we cannot shake, and the modern gadgets all around us are the results of the wonderful alchemy of purpose, intention, and attention blending together.             God had a vision when God created the universe.  As a reflection of Divine glory, we are to be visionary.  This means to look forward.  The past can be a trap if we allow past mistakes to bury ourselves in guilt.  Learn the lessons but forgive the mistakes and sins.  Move one!              Channels for God to work miracles through do not work alone.  We are "lone rangers" but a body connected to the Head – Jesus Christ.  Help is offered, should be requested, and to be taken.  Help can come from a friend, a co-worker, a family member, a stranger, and the Holy Spirit.  To be created in the image of the Triune God, a community of Three Persons, is to be created into a community of God's family.  Our greatest help is God.  We sometimes don't like the answers given – but who truly knows best?  God.              Miracles can occur when we allow God to work.  This requires following God's instructions.  I met an evangelist who served as a pastor to "shantytown" in lower Mississippi.  His congregation never grew above one hundred.  He did many baptisms a year.  He would go visiting the people and often would ask those living in the shanties, "Do you want to see miracles in your life?"   He would invite them to a Bible study.  He told me, "And they saw miracles.  When they quit smoking and drinking alcohol, they had a miracle – they had money to pay the rent and electric bill.  When they quit doing drugs – another miracle as they could buy groceries!  When they cleaned up and applied for jobs – a miracle!  They were hired.  When they saved money – a miracle!  They were able to buy something without stealing from others.  We saw miracles all the time!"             The miracles are there.  We just need to adjust ourselves to be the channels for God's blessings, pray for help, become more purposeful, and stand back to watch – another miracle!       ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Shamanism Essay by Rev. Alan Kelly

Rather than begin with telling of my lessons, I would like to bring forth some of my opinions and ideas that may improve the course. First, I believe that the length of the course should be included in the on-line description along with the mention of a final exam. Also, 20 weeks seems like a long time for this discourse. It may be more beneficial to send the entire course in the form of a booklet and when the individual feels they have had sufficient time to study and grasp the material, then they can notify you and you can administer the essay requirements prior to issuing the certificate of completion. I found that a week between lessons was too long a period for myself to retain information from one class to another. And I found many, many typographical and grammatical errors in the courses.   Now with that off my chest I would remark that it came as a great surprise the vast information you supplied in regards to Shaman. Regrettably, I was of the incorrect mind set that Shamanism was solely Native American based. I was equally surprised to find that Shamanism was not restricted to just males but rather originated from females. I found it truly remarkable to learn that Shaman exist in almost all countries. I also learned that there were different types of Shaman such as Shaman healers, Shaman, and medicine men and that they are all different but could also be the same. I certainly never expected to learn that Egyptians and Greeks has Shaman.   In all honesty, when I enrolled in this course I was attempting to learn more about Native American Shamanism. I think that a more detailed course should be created along this area of study. I also would like to see more detail of the actual ceremonies performed and the purpose behind each. It was, however, interesting to learn of the different meaning and purposes of the robes and masks and drums that Shaman utilize. I still have questions as to whether a Shaman is someone who has learned the trade, inherited the tradition or was simply born into it. I am curious as to whether Shamanism can, in fact, be learned and applied in today's modern society. So although the course was extremely interesting and informative, there are still many questions that I personally would like to have resolved. I also realize that this may never happen in totality. Rev. Alan Kelly ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Metaphysical Healing by Ed Click

Subject: Master of Metaphysical healing     First let me say that I am grateful to have this opportunity to be able to partake in the lesson.     It is understandable how throughout the ages humans have lived in fear of what they do not understand. The practice of any type of healing is as old and intriguing as the universe itself. From the first person to figure out what plant caused what reaction to the hands on faith works of today.      Slowly ideals of what is traditional for healing are changing. Sadly a lot of the indigenous tribes which have practiced traditional healing for their entire existence are slowly disappearing due to modern progress.     It is uplifting and a blessing that there are some individuals that have the awareness that all things are connected and that modern medicine and traditional medicine can co-exist. I find it interesting that no matter how you examine true healing, it is all a matter of spirituality.     It is important that any healer have a base knowledge of body function to help assess any treatment. However it is imperative that that healer also have a secure understanding that the soul and spirit must be treated as well. In treating the spirit and body we can use many different methods from hands on to spirit quests, oils and aromas, even working with energy fields. I think that the most important here is that the healer has to make the spirit and physical connection of the one in need of healing. They have to make that connection for both to receive that divine energy.      There is also another faucet to this healing triad. Let us not forget the mental aspect. Sometimes it is not always physical. Healing is also about breaking old behaviors and self destructive patterns and helping secure a spiritual connection. It may have to go as deep as a life recall in order to understand the damages so the healing process can begin or the process may be as simple as stating some loving, healing and some type of positive affirmations each day.     With all the things that happen in the medical world these days, it becomes ever troublesome to find some one to trust. This is even harder for those in the fields of Natural Healing. I truly find it appalling that some one would take such a divine gift and cause harm or give false practice. I believe that in order to respectfully assist any one in the healing process you need to make sure that they are open fully to the experience. Be certain that you have knowledge of any prior treatments, both traditional and medical. I also feel that it is imperative that you get as much back ground information (fears, traumas, etc) as they are comfortable in giving. It is my thought that you can not fully treat the person if you do not understand why they came to you in the first place.     I feel that any one making a conscious decision to pursue this path has a strict moral and spiritual obligation to adhere to the Healers Oath. Many Blessings Ed Click ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Dr. of Metaphysics essay by Rev. Savrina Griego

At this moment… At this moment, life is happening.  At this moment, not the past, not the future but at this very moment.  When we stay in the moment all other focuses fade away, we stay in-focus at the same time we are out-of-focus.  At this moment, your moment is different than mine but we all are on the same field working with no Ego, no fear, no anger, no pain and no petty issues.  At this moment is when Magic happens.  For when we are in the moment everything falls into place as actions and questions become clear and obstacles are removed.  These difficulties are created and controlled by the Ego. The Ego cannot be part of the moment for in the moment is God.  Once we leave the moment we fall prey to the Ego and all the fallible that it entails.  Prejudices, wars and power are all part of the Ego.  If we are to become one with God we have to practice the focus of the moment.  Each moment, is just a simple touch of the infinite and as the ticking of time goes by we must learn to lengthen the moment creating an eventual eternity of one single moment.   Then and only then, do we really become one with God. God is the creator of the moment.  The moment is his son Jesus.  To get to God you must go through Jesus.  By focusing on the moment you now focus on Jesus and allow yourself access to God.  Each moment extended gets you closer to being one with God.  Darkness of thoughts lead to the Ego controlling the person which then leads to creating power and wars issues that ultimately can destroy our world.  The Ego is a way-ward thought of the past or future and takes you away from God.  By focusing on other things the Ego is allowed to grow and take over causing the person physically, mentally & spiritually to become stressed leading to an unhealthy, diseased and dying person.  When we are in the moment we retain health, vitality and access eternal youth.  But what is the Ego?  The Ego is that which takes you out of the moment, it pulls, tugs, and twinges it way in.  Thoughts of what if, why that, why me, if only, are just a small sample of what the Ego likes to play with.  As long as you entertain these thoughts the Ego grows and darkens.  Ego cannot survive in the light of the moment.  As we go about our daily lives we need to be vigilant to what & where our thoughts flow.  This requires practice and loving patients with ourselves along with forgiveness of the unintended wander be aware and bring yourself back to the moment.  Do not let the Ego take over.  We must intentionally go forth with determination and create a moment.  At this moment we make a better world.  At this moment we smile because we are that much closer to God.     Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/ ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button.

Master of Religious Philosophy by Rev. Trish Wormeck

Religious philosophy Summary of Course     10/21/2009                                                             Dr Patricia Wormeck THD, ND      I do believe after taking this course, that I have found my spiritual place in the world.   After completing my Doctorate in Theology, I came to realization that I cannot be a part   Of any organized religion.  This course helped me define my position in the world of   religion.      Immediately in the course the definition for religious philosophy was a study in non bias,   or non personal agendas or opinions.  Most written material, books, courses, etc. have   agendas that the author wishes to express.  I might include possible include the books   of the bible, but that would be my opinion.  The point of the course is that we do not   want to study in that way.   Studying facts and points of view of various religions is        acceptable.  The basis for the whys and wherefores of religion organizations and why   people need religion is discussed, as definitions of words such as precepts and concepts.      I was very interested in the discussion of the makeup of the brain that determines   whether a person has spiritual tendencies or not.  Apparently the more serotonin    receptors a person has, the less spiritual they tend to be.  The serotonin seems to    given them comfort.  With this definition, I must have fewer receptors and therefore   need the comfort of spirituality.     The above definition is not the only reason for spirituality.  Maybe God has programed   us to be spiritual to refine ourselves for out afterlives, and maybe not.  The love of ideas   and what men think can also be motivators.        I loved this course, and it has opened a few field for me.   Thanks so much. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/ ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button.

Final Essay on the Four Gosepls course by Rev. Derek Kemp

Final Essay on the Four Gospels Course I have found this course very challenging and absorbing to read and study giving me a different perception about the Four Gospels than before. The modern translation supplied with the course opened new points of view in a down-to-earth way making it much more readable than conventional translations, particularly for this type of course. I am not in agreement with everything in the notes but they have been caused me to stop and think more deeply about the gospels. The point has been made that Jesus at times becomes frustrated or angry or even childish. This view is understandable but surely, we are forgetting that the central fact of the Christian faith  is that Jesus is both divine as the son of God and also human as the son of humanity - in effect a sort of dual personality which must have been difficult even for him to reconcile from time to time.  He did not come straight into the world as a figure from heaven (would he really have been accepted if he had ?- I doubt it!) but was born of a woman in very humble circumstances and lived his life among mankind for about 30 years so that he could experience and understand human problems and failings.  At the same time, when he started his ministry, his divine nature enabled him to heal and  do other miraculous works, which one might have expected would convince the people that here was someone special. So I feel that the human element is bound to show through when his hearers are being deliberately dense or misunderstanding him. We, as humans, must have been in situations that caused us to be angry or frustrated when people we were talking to refused to understand. As to being childish, the Jews were about to stone him for blasphemy, and to run away until tempers cooled would have been a sensible thing to do. The Pharisees and lawyers were always asking trick questions and producing rather stupid stories to try to trap him but never seem to want to understand his replies. They were the learned section amongst the Jews and should be able to follow his meaning through their own knowledge of scripture.  The Pharisees and lawyers were honoured amongst the people by getting the best seats in the church, at dinners and generally being on a higher plane  by expecting as of right the salutations of more humble men.  They refuse to understand his message because they do not want to change their lifestyle which is so good even under the Romans - though the life offered by Jesus would surely be better.  The Jewish faith was protected in the Roman empire and they did not want to change the status quo. In other words, they are more concerned with this world and its benefits (like many people today) than the heavenly world proclaimed by Jesus. They and the leaders of the synagogue wanted to keep in with the Romans and they fear that Jesus' teaching could attract reprisals from Rome. This would upset their lives and create problems they did not want. Can one wonder that Jesus is frustrated and angry on occasions as he would expect the Jewish leaders to be ready for his message and support him, not to cause rebellion against Rome, but to stir up the Jewish faith and the lives of the people to a better understanding of God? I feel that this study has helped to heighten my perception as well as, to some extent, changing it for the better. Rev. Derek Kemp Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Biblical Egyptology Essay by Rev. Richard A. Helmersen

Biblical Egyptology Final Essay By Richard A. Helmersen               The question about the existence of evidence supporting the Biblical Exodus was dealt with exhaustively in this course.  When I underwent theological training thirty years ago, I was taught that there was absolutely no evidence outside of the Bible supporting the Exodus.  That was the prevailing view among intellectuals of the day, but Dr. Federspiel has done a good job of updating my knowledge on the subject, and I would have to agree with him that there is indeed substantial evidence supporting aspects of the Biblical account.  He did not give absolute proof of the Exodus, but there is certainly a preponderance of evidence that something approximating the Biblical account took place nearly three thousand five hundred years ago.             Although I was told there was no extra Biblical evidence supporting the Exodus, I accepted its existence as both a matter of faith and with the knowledge that the Bible was not written as a fictional account but was attempting to be factual and was taken very seriously by Jews, Muslims, and Christians.  Though I had been taught that the first eleven chapters of Genesis were essentially tribal myth and not to be taken literally, from Abraham on there was extra Biblical support and archeology has supported the facts quite well.  Numbers may have been exaggerated or numerological schemes, but there was support for the existence of the people and places discussed in the text.  Because the Exodus is included in the part of the Bible dealing with history and was taken by the Hebrew people as factual, I have always accepted the basic facts of the story.  That does not mean that I accepted all the events as literally true, as they were recollections of people passed down through the centuries, of a heroic past.  We in the modern world often exaggerate the exploits of our ancestors, and I expected no less from the Children of Israel, however in the basic facts, I always thought there must be general truth, which would include their arrival in Egypt several hundred years before the Exodus, and the leadership of a person named Moses to take a group of Semitic people out of that land.  It didn't need to look like the Hollywood version of the story to be generally true.  There may have been a relatively small number of Jews leaving Egypt and settling in Palestine for the story to be true in my mind.  Dr. Federspiel has convinced me that my assumption was indeed correct and something indeed happened.  Furthermore, although it appears that a great deal of Egyptian history was lost to internal squabbling, fighting, wars, and natural disasters, enough circumstantial evidence exists to support the presence of quite a large number of Semites in Egypt who arrived in Jerusalem.             I was interested to discover that a staff was found in Jordan of Tuthmoses IV –Moses II inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphic writing and Graham Phillips presumed it belonged to Moses.   Though it is not proof, it is an interesting theory which I feel needs further study.  Certainly it proves that Egyptian and Semitic people had contact with each other in the area of modern day Israel .              One thing that appears certain is that Moses was a real person.  He is referenced by both Manetho and Artapanus.  Manetho states that the Egyptians "troubled by calamities, in order that the divine wrath might be averted, expelled the foreigners…their leader said to have been Moses."  If a pagan Egyptian priest living three hundred years before the Common Era has a record of a person named Moses who was kicked out of Egypt to appease the gods, Moses probably existed.   Moses is a popular Egyptian name, not Hebrew.  It is doubtful that the Hebrew authors of the story would have made up the name from thin air.  Just the fact that they were able to come up with an Egyptian name for their hero suggests some knowledge of Egypt .  To have an Egyptian pagan priest confirm the basic facts of the story is more than an interesting coincidence.  It suggests that the basic events of the story actually took place and had a significant impact on Egypt.       Remember that Manetho was remembering an event that took place more than a thousand years before his time.  We don't remember trivial events that long.  Something significant must have taken place.  As a matter of fact, with the evidence of an Egyptian priest, I am convinced that the Exodus was more significant an event than I had originally thought.  My expectations for the Exodus were small.  I figured a small number of people left Egypt and settled in Palestine .  I really downplayed the plagues in my mind, being the recipient of a liberal theological education.  After looking at the evidence submitted by Dr. Federspiel, I am forced to accept the possibility that even the plagues and miracles may have some validity.   If the plagues were recorded and remembered for a thousand years in Egypt, they must have happened and Moses must have been credit for them.       Furthermore, it seems quite likely that the military defeat in the " Reed Sea " may have happened too, as that would be significant reason the remember Moses.             It is too bad that a fire destroyed the Alexandria Library and anti pagan fervor during the Christian era, lead to the destruction of so much material in Egypt.   It is also too bad that early European Archeologists collecting samples from ancient Egypt were so sloppy that they destroyed priceless papyri codices and fragments.  Because so much material has been forever lost, we will never have the full picture of Moses and the Exodus, however to say there is no evidence that survives today appears to be far from the truth.  We have a great deal of circumstantial evidence preserved by Josephus and Eusebius.  Furthermore, there is possible archeological evidence being unearthed today, though our understanding of the hieroglyphs makes it very hard to interpret.  With time and further work on interpreting of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, it seems certain that the existence of Moses will be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.        Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Dr. of Christian Studies by Rev. Robert Schultz

FOUR GOSPELS ESSAY   Important note in Mathew 1 is that at the time the devil is tempting Jesus, he finds that Jesus is loyal to the father and then leaves him alone. This however is only because the devil has recognized that Jesus was the son of the father. For, believers the temptation never stops. Satan, through his trials, was unable to capture the one thing that he wanted from Jesus, that being his faith. For we are children also of God, however we also humanly maintain our free will, and since we keep that will alive on earthly things, Satan knows that we can always be attacked and often times will fail regardless of our walk. Satan can see our vulnerability as we maintain our free will. We need to as son's of the king, act and respond to things, people and circumstances in a different way, a way that only pleases the father, setting aside our will and praying for His will be done. To think merely because we are saved and protected through the blood of Christ by simple words is a lie we tell ourselves. Words without action are nothing more than just words. We must all make a choice, not simply a change to enjoy the riches of the kingdom. As it states in Ephesians "Put on the full armor of God"   The teaching of Jesus gathering the 12 disciples is a simple yet very deep illustration. Can we even ponder the concept of having so much light (righteousness) illuminate through us that anyone would be willing to leave their life and all it entailed, to follow us through a simple invite as "Follow me". But as Christians, aren't we called to bear the same fruits of the kingdom, so that everyone knows that there is something different and that difference that they see is desirable. Then there is the message that common man, regardless of past, can and is entitled to the kingdom and all that it offers. As the disciples returned to Jesus and wondered about their failures of healing, Jesus tells them they have the power within them, yet their lack of faith has became apparent through their failures. God clearly tells us in the word that He has given all those who follow him, everything that they need. Since it is impossible for God to speak a lie, we must believe that we have the same powers within us, implanted by the blood of Christ, being created in his own image. Inability to use those powers I believe falls upon ones measure of faith. The analogy of the fig tree is also a vital teaching if we look into its depth. Yes Jesus was hungry and he approached the fig tree to partake in its fruit, a fruit which it was divinely created for. Upon seeing that it was barren, he commanded it to death. We were created by God to first multiply and secondly to expand the kingdom of God. I personally have to keep myself in check, asking daily that my old self be crucified and that the new me be fruitful. What good is life if the very life we were given, does not bear any fruit of the kingdom of God? To ask oneself for the old self to be crucified and the new self emerge and be fruitful, requires a deep knowledge of God and a measure of faith knowing that through that faith it will be done. Prior to my own salvation, I was that fig tree, From the view point of those passing, they saw a healthy hard working and productive person, my tree was in bloom and covered in leaves so to speak, yet I was not bearing any fruit that would sustain the lives of those that came to me or myself. Death was necessary to make way for the new.  The question is simple, does your life bear fruit that others may partake of and become truly and heavenly healthy, or do you just offer shade to those for a moments rest. Imagine if you can, Jesus picks Mathew, a tax collector who is hated by everyone. Prostitutes were given more respect than the tax collector. But through the power of Christ all of mankind can have new life, no matter how much sin they posses. No one can go too far, that God's hand is beyond their reach. Has anyone you know, including yourself, commonly with children, made a pack with someone by nicking the finger and uniting the blood. We refer to it as "blood brothers." As children those Blood Brother packs are taken very serious. Aren't we in essence as we take communion and drink the symbolic wine or fruit juice, making a pack with Christ? Is not our intention, for that drink to enter into our bodies and mix with our own blood for a purification process? In other words when people do laundry and need the whites to be deeply cleaned, do they not add a small portion of bleach to the tub. In relation to the amount of water in the tub, the bleach is added in a small quantity but its effects are tremendous. I find it necessary to address the issue of Jesus knowing who would betray him. Let's look at the story of Zacchaeus. Jesus is walking along a path and comes upon a tree with a man sitting in it. Zacchaeus, small in stature finds it necessary to climb the tree so he can see Jesus. Jesus walks right up to the tree and says "Zacchaeus, come down from there for it is your house I am to spend the night at.  Jesus knew Zacchaeus by name as there was no introduction. Secondly, the sycamore tree is large enough for Zacchaeus to climb and is standing at the edge of the path. That tree had a divine calling or purpose if you will, and is evident by its ability to survive standing alongside a path heavily travelled. I believe as we look very deep into every word that it is written, it is then that we can understand God's plan. Jesus knew everything, just as his father knows everything from beginning to end. So did Jesus know that Judas would betray him, absolutely. Judas being chosen was all part of God's master plan. Does God know your next decision, your heart, your failures and successes, has he not from the beginning, known every hair on your head? Another way to look at this divine belief system is simply this, was Jesus a son of God or was he Really God in the form of man. Lots of controversy on this thought. I personally think Jesus was God, But for mankind to believe, it was needed to state he is my son, a person that people could see, touch and hear. God knows how hard it was for man to believe in something they can't see. Look into the Old Testament. How long did God's people keep the law after the witnessing of a miracle? We believe what we can see and that is sad, for then comes the lack of faith issues. Illustration after illustration throughout the book of judges, people walked the walk, as long as there was a leader, but left on their own, returned to their sinful nature.   When we look at the crucifixion, we know that Jesus had the power to choose another path, yet he asks the father several times "Is there any other way" But being obedient to his father's no, he chose to walk the path that would have ever lasting effects on this world. Jesus, already knew the answer, yet the question needed to be asked for our benefit, and hence, Do we ask God, before we make our choices? He chose to remain obedient to his father, be beaten beyond recognition and to endure a pain through a vast variety of tortures that we can't even begin to comprehend. And He did this so that we may have eternal life.  I recall when my 5 year old daughter was diagnosed with cancer and then for 15 remaining years after 5 different surgeries her life kept diminishing to a vegetative state. At age 20 and having completed her assignment she was called home to our Lord. Numerous people approached us with hearts full of sincerity and said "I know how you must feel, Reality, until you've walked through an identical pain yourself, you can't begin to know how someone feels. You may be able to comprehend loss and sadness of similar tragedies of your own life, but you can't experience what another as gone through. We can imagine the pain and process our Jesus endured, but only a few can actually feel his pain to the depth of their beings. There is much debate and even indictments against the authors of the gospels regarding truth and plagiary. Although they are an excellent place for new believers to begin their walk, one must always look beyond the written word of man and weigh it against the glory of god. Having a background of 30 years in law enforcement and interviewing thousands of witnesses, one thread always ran true. Each witness always had a slightly different version of what they actually saw and heard. God through Christ Jesus, tells all, those that have ears, hear and those that have eyes, see.  The same holds true as we read the word of the living god. Truth is not to be manipulated for sake of drama or personal fulfillment. Truth is truth and all will be judged one day on their abilities to hear, see and speak it for the glory of god.                                                                                                             Rev. Robert Schultz   ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Wiccan Studies essay by Rev. Michele M. Gordon

Wiccan Course for ULC Seminary   WICCAN COURSE        First of all, I want to thank Lord SkyWalker for his time and energy that showed in the course work!  I was highly impressed with what I learned in this course. Thank you, Lord SkyWalker!           I have had opportunities for many years to practice some Wiccan ceremony ways, and to meet "real" Wiccan practitioners in my lifetime.  I am, however, of Native American heritage, (Anishinabe), which is also referred to as Ojibwe, or Chippewa.  I am from the Bad River Reservation in Odanah, Wisconsin., and have practiced my Native ways of spirituality for more than 30 years now!  There are similarities between the Wiccan ways, which also have a close connection to Nature, as does our Anishinabe way.  We also believe in walking in a good way upon Mother Earth, and looking at the 4 directions for guidance (the Medicine Wheel).  And of course, we believe in our ceremonies as a special time of connection between one another and with the Creator.         I found making the altar a very special part of the course work.  I have attached a picture of the altar I made.  I enjoyed learning about how each altar can be set up to suit the individual practitioner, and also that there are certain things that need to be a part of the ceremony.  I had fun searching out a chalice, rock to represent the Goddess and Lord, and also a wand.  I made this out of the end of a Tamarack branch.  Tamarack trees are sought out for teepee poles, and I happened to have a teepee in my yard, and was able to find one end of one pole to use for the wand.         I loved the history of Wicca, and was saddened by the tragedies that occurred because of prejudice and judgments of others.  I do believe there is a Karma for any sort of persecution of peoples.  My own ancestors endured oppression and holocaust-type annihalations, so I have a deep understanding for what happened to Wiccans of the past and even in the present.  I have a beautiful story as a psychotherapist to share.  One of my young clients had a desire to look into Wicca, and become a part of it.  Her mother, however, was Christian, and of the more fundamental sort.  I was amazed, however, that the mother was open to discussing this with her daughter in one of our sessions.  In the end, they both allowed me to invite a Wiccan woman in to share about her religion and way of life.  Both Mother and Daughter were able to ask questions and get answers.  The mother was able to see that this woman lived a pretty normal life, and practiced her ways of belief in a beautiful manner.  The Mother and Daughter also took a class together with a local "witch" and were able to gather more information.  They also read books together on the topic of Witchcraft and Wicca.  It was a fun thing to see, as it could have turned out so very differently, if the Mother had forbade her daughter to pursue her interests.  The story had a beautiful ending for both, and brought them closer as a Mother and Daughter.        I believe this course brought me more information and knowledge regarding Wicca and the practice of it.  I believe strongly in "energy medicine", as a Reiki Master.  I see the power of prayer as energy that can be put to good use, and I believe Wicca is one way of gathering that energy and using it in a positive way.  I actually had my old "Book of Shadows" and pulled that out from years ago!  I was amazed at how much this book had in it, which I had gathered over 30 years ago!!  I now keep it in a very special place, and refer to it on occasion as part of my spirituality.  As a Native woman, we have women's ceremonies, one of which is the Full Moon ceremony.  I have hosted this at my home since the 80's, and continue to do so.  I see that the Wiccan ceremonies are also around the moon at times, and it has shown me that the Moon has been important to women for eons.  I have come to believe that it does not matter how we do ritual, as long as we connect to the energies that are around us, and share with others these sacred times.         As a Reverend with the Universal Life Church, I have done many wedding and funeral ceremonies which incorporate my Native beliefs into the rituals.  This has been very special to me, and I believe it is why I was called upon to be a Reverend with ULC, so that people can have access to their ceremony the way they would like it to be.  I was called upon to perform a ceremony that the couple had chosen to put some Wicca parts in, and it was delightful!  They had Hand-fasting as part of the ceremony, and they stood in the lake as they said their vows to one another.  I loved it!        I so appreciated Lord Skywalker's open-ness about his practice.  He enjoyed his ways of teaching.   Sincerely,   Reverend Michele M. Gordon ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of the Life of St. Paul by Rev. Graham Louden

Final Essay  …Master of the Life of St.  Paul.            Rev.Graham Louden     The life  and works of the Apostle Paul still resonate through the ages and continue to generate controversy  and debate.  We have all been   made  aware of  his alleged misogyny and there is  frequent allusion to his stated opinions on the role of women in the community of the church  (opinions often deployed  and  decontextualised  in a highly partisan fashion to reinforce an argument which, many suspect,  begins with  visceral prejudice and then belatedly seeks corroborative material  to reinforce that prejudice).  Further,  Paul is often accused  (in particular by the Tubingen theological persuasion) of hi-jacking the early Christian church and re-making it according to his own prescription, lending it a structure and theology which is in no way pre-figured in the  life and teachings of Christ.      Whilst  it may be true that the Christian church at the close of Paul's missionary activity was very different from the  early community,  it does not follow that the developments that occurred in this Pauline period  are alien to the message and the principles enjoined by Jesus.  The following that grew up around the person of Christ may well be termed  'a cult of personality underpinned by millenarian expectancy',  but  Paul, and others,  knew that   that had to change if  the essence of the Christian message were to survive and to avoid  descent into faction and internecine strife.  He also saw the need to defend it against the attempts of the 'Judaisers' to  annex it and to reduce  it to the status of yet another cult contained within the imperium of Jewish law and  practice.   There was also the danger, in a polytheistic society,  that Christianity would be vitiated by the introduction of  alien elements and practices and, indeed, this certainly  did occur with Gnosticism,   Manichaeanism  and Neo-platonism,  inter al gaining  ground  amongst   the more   susceptible gentile  converts.   In part, at least,  Paul's  greatness consists in his recognition that the Christian message was entire in itself and  open to all, whether   Jew or Gentile.                                                          In his two epistles to the Corinthians,   Paul reveals himself as a supremely practical apostle setting out clear guidelines  for the creation of a worthy Christian community which will serve as a beacon and inspiration  to its members and remain faithful to the message of Jesus Christ.   Corinth, in Paul's day, was a highly diverse city,  filled  with different races, creeds, languages and temptations.  Paul's advice to this fledgling  community in the midst of debauchery, prostitution, and  Oriental vices,  is concentrated on remaining true to the message of the Cross,  developing a tradition of godly ministry  based on humility  and  true  preaching of the gospels,  worshipping  communally and avoiding idolatrous practices that might tempt them. He counsels against  too much reliance on  the intellect and overvaluing logic and  accumulated wisdom to the detriment of  the simple faith and the promptings of the  spirit.    The frequency of Paul's references to Jesus, throughout the two extant letters to the Corinthians,  militates against the suggestion that  he was imposing his own agenda rather  than  that  of 'the one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through  whom we live'.  (1 Cor. 8:4).          Paul's advice to the Corinthians and his ongoing concern for their welfare,  which prompted him to make at least three visits and to send emissaries such as Timothy from time to time to assess the situation there,  mirrors the teaching of Jesus with its emphasis upon love, hope and salvation.   1 Corinthians chapter 13 provides a masterly re-working of Christ's  emphasis upon  God's  unconditional love for us and our love towards our fellow men and women.  Self-discipline and service allied to effective leadership and the valuing of the diverse gifts which individuals could bring to the service of the church, are all defined and  placed by Paul into the context of an structure  that would remain true to its founder and could endure over time.  Once the expectation of an imminent Second Coming had receded,  it  was vital to settle down to the long haul of history and that required strength of purpose, clarity of vision and  unity of belief.    Paul was one of the first to realise this and to address the issues,  but not as the result of a preconceived master-plan or long-term strategy;  his letters  and visits to the Corinthians are normally reactive rather than pro-active  – he learns of a crisis in Corinth, an outbreak of idolatrous practices or  immorality and he responds  by offering clear advice and strictures.  The epistles do not suggest a coherent,  evolving  scheme for 'planting' a church or a premeditated modus vivendi but, rather a growing realisation   that  human nature needed  guidance and could not be relied upon to understand and  implement   Christ's teachings and  example unaided.  If only for this aspect of his  dedication and missionary zeal,   Paul  deserves the towering reputation that  has  been accorded to him as a Father of the Church.  ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Buddhism Essay by Rev. Kirk Haas

Buddhism Course Essay   I have sat down many times now trying to write this essay on the Buddhism course by Tricia Stirling. I haven't been able to adequately put to words the influence that this course has had on my way of looking at life. Am I Buddhist, can I follow the Eight Fold Path? I would have to say no. I have been raised in this materialistic world and have become accustomed to my attachments to those things that make up my life, as I now know it to be. Two aspects of Buddhism that do speak to me are the Six Perfections and the Four Immeasurables. Metta, Karuna, Mudita and Upekkha are to me four qualities that should be a crucial part of everyone's life and not just a Buddhist thing. If all encounters in life were to be approached with these four thought processes in mind, Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic joy and Equanimity, there would be little conflict and a lot less pain in our lives and the lives of those around us. The Six Perfections of Generosity, Ethical behavior, Patience, Joyous effort, Concentration and Wisdom again, if practiced in everyone's daily interactions with everyone they encounter would eliminate conflict, anger and greed. Everyone should be concisely applying these 10 actions, regardless of their particular religious practice and belief system. Am I ready to abandon all attachments? No, I like my home and truck and guitars. I like my children and wife and food and work and, well it goes on. I am learning though that allowing myself to become upset that I am late to work or the show or whatever I haven't achieved, is counter productive to peace in my life. I am learning that it is not the end of the world if I don't achieve something I was trying for or wanted. I am learning that I will not achieve enlightenment in this lifetime and that is all right. I have many lifetimes ahead to work on that. I am on a path of enlightenment. Taking this course is one step on that journey. If I can share some of the knowledge that I am gaining in this lifetime with those that I encounter in this lifetime my journey will continue in a positive way. I believe that is where I am right now. Do I have a Buddha in me? Yes and he is guiding me along my journey, steering me in positive directions. I accept that the shortest path to enlightenment is not the best path. I want to enjoy the learning and the sharing and I am enjoying it. Maybe achieving is not the answer. Maybe traveling is. Thank you Ms. Stirling. I recommend this course to anyone who is mildly interested. It will open up your mind to a different way of approaching your journey through this lifetime.   Rev. Kirk Haas   ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/

Master of Metaphysics essay by Dr. Rev. Nancy Kimes

Final Essay – Spirit Quest – Master of Metaphysics      By Dr. Rev. Nancy Kimes     This study course is a great course for those beginning their path and while serving others through ministerial pursuits. One of the deepest studies in this course is lesson 13, "Your Spiritual Path". Not many know or understand that we choose our parents and our experiences. This understanding is needed to make wiser choices and take responsibility for our selves. If one learns this it can change the course of their life and make giant steps on their spiritual path. Lessons can be learned quicker and bring more awareness to making conscious choices.   One has the opportunity to sense that their thoughts are things and will project what they are thinking outside as well as inside of themselves, emotions such as fear and love. All thoughts stem from one or the other. This is an opportunity to make conscious choices conditioning the mind for a favorable outcome.   The bigger the lesson the stronger the impulse to change patterns that better serve you and prepares you to live a better life. It also helps when interacting with others. I am not fond of destroying roses while doing the meditations, which are great by the way, so I replaced roses for bubbles or balloons instead.   Also, there is great information on the chakras. It was hard to choose one subject for this essay as all the chapters are "gems" of knowledge. This course helped me solidify my beliefs and create a deeper connection and foundation for those beliefs.   Sometimes, I tend to get somewhat philosophical when talking to someone about spiritual matters. This course helped bring me back to the basics clearly and concisely so those who are beginning their path can ease into this knowledge. The lessons provide stepping stones of beliefs they can grow into. This course will help everyone!    In His service,   Dr. Rev. Nancy Kimes               Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/ ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button.

Spirit Quest final essay by Rev. Heather L. Boyd

Universal Life Church Spirit Quest - Final Paper By Rev. Heather L. Boyd     I have given a great deal of thought to exactly what I wanted to express about this course and how it has effected my life, because it has made an effect.  I guess the first thing I want to express is my lack of belief in reincarnation.  I believe that when you die you go to heaven and all of your loved ones who have passed on before you are there to greet you when you arrive.  I look forward to that as there are some people who have passed, both family and friends that I miss greatly.  Because of this deeply ingrained belief, I had a difficult time with some of the lessons surrounding this particular topic.  I do have to admit though, I did enjoy wondering about the souls around me a trying to guess how old they would be under the guidelines given, "and so and so must be a new soul", etc.  Imagination is a fun tool.  I know little to nothing about Karma and Chakras and found that these areas interested me.  I would like to explore them more.  As my grandmother always told me, "the day you stop learning you die".   The central idea of meditation was the most valuable part of the course for me.  From this study I learned that I was stuck in a rut.  I had a great deal of negative energy in my space and a very negative individual creating more and more negative energy in my space all the time.  This course helped me to take a look at my future, from where I was standing at the time, and make a decision to either follow the path already laid out before me or to step off that path into the unknown and see where that takes me.    When I looked down the path I was already traveling, I noticed that the unhappiness and the constant dire struggle I was experiencing probably would not end any time soon.  I was a smoker, drank what most people would consider to be too much and over-weight.  My husband offered me no support as a spouse; in fact he was more prone to doing a little sabotage.  So . . . I stepped off the path.    In June of this year I quit smoking and when that went I noticed I didn't need the alcohol either.  I never realized how much time these bad habits consumed.  I began eating a more healthy diet and to date have lost 15 pounds.  I separated from my oh-so negative husband of seven years and we will be getting a divorce.  I am in the process of cleaning my home from top to bottom and redecorating, painting, etc. along the way.  I have picked up a new hobby, photography and I have time now to spend with my family.  Unfortunately, the isolation in which I lived with my husband has resulted in my not having any close friends, but I am looking to remedy that situation.  I have more time to spend with my son, who has an autism disorder, and help him learn the tools he needs to succeed in life.  I am relearning the concept of playtime.    I found the meditation, when I could do it, was soothing and created a center within me from which I could objectively proceed back out into the world.  I try to meditate now when I can, and plan to do it more often once things become a little less hectic.  I am rearranging my bedroom with the goal of creating a corner in my world where I can go to "unplug".  This involves painting the walls a nice relaxing color, eliminating clutter, rearranging the furniture to give me space for a new chair.  I am planning on getting one of those zero-gravity chairs where I can sit and really relax and listen to my relaxation CDs by candle light.   Overall, my outlook on life has changed dramatically.  I am happier, I am more positive, I am calmer, I have more time to devote to the things that really matter and I know that I need to make myself one of those things.  Here's to the future! Try our new free toolbar at: http://ULCSeminary.OurToolbar.com/ ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! As a longtime member of ULC, we created the seminary site to help train our ministers and our site has created a great ULC Forum. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials and some outstanding online seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button.