Spiritual Awareness

Doctor of Spiritual Awareness

By Rev. Patricia Buben

Much of this class is organized around the fact that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.  It goes on to discuss definitions of spirit.  To me, spirit is the breath of life—the essence of a person.  It can also be described as being both immortal and intelligent energy.  As spirits, we go through lifetimes (reincarnate) to learn life lessons.  We continue to reincarnate as we have lessons to learn and when we have learned them all, we become ascended masters.  An ascended master is one who evolves to pure spirit.

The concepts of spirituality are easy and must be lived on a daily basis to become valuable.  There are many elements of spirituality that are discussed and all have aspects that are needed to develop spiritually.  The ones I liked best are:

·              Having heart or being compassionate

                 Understanding how karma works

                Learning to use your intuition

                 Reincarnation – how it works and why

                Being of service to others

                 Understanding death as a natural transition

                evolution of the earth – coming earth changes

                 Practicing meditation and several meditative techniques

                 Understanding energy and using it for healing

                Perceiving good and evil

                 Knowing thyself or "Gnothi Seauton"

                Learning how to see auras

                Developing your psychic abilities

                Being able to develop self-love

                Unconditional love for others

                learning to work with your spirit guides

Most of the concepts are very familiar to me and I have studied these concepts through research and reading a variety of books.  This course is unique in that it contains so many spiritual concepts in one place.  I especially enjoyed the different meditations and learning to work with my spirit guides.  In summary, I would highly recommend this course as it is clear, concise and all-encompassing.

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Spirituality Course

I would like to thank Amy for all her hard work. This was a great discourse and a great discourse to help with my ministering.

One thing I learned was that, with metaphysical discussions, you can’t move too fast or too soon or you will scare off science minded people. It is easier to minister to heart minded people. Heart minded people are easier because they intuitively feel the truth of the message. We must remember that we are ministering to people who are searching for meaning. It is important, therefore, that we learn to minister to all people.

Things to look for in heart driven people: feeling oriented, intuitive, receptive to spiritual ideas, touchy-feely, warm and compassionate, accepts contradictions freely and they accept things on faith.

Things to look for in mind driven people: they are analytical, rational, and somewhat distant, reject any contradictions, logical, does not believe what he cannot see, and thinks faith to be an illusion.

I learned that it was important for the person you are ministering to, to seek knowledge. Remember to be patient, kind, accepting and remain alert to signs that you are beginning to push someone too far too fast.

This discourse talked about a lot of philosophers and their viewpoints. Some of them that were covered are: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Immanuel Kant, Schopenhauer, Fichte, Hegel and most influential are Karl Marx, Freud and Darwin.

Another point I learned was, with greater understanding of the forces motivating the people we minister to in this society, it gives us a greater ability to help them in their times of need.

Spiritualism has a lot to do with faith. We have learned many ways to minister to those who are logically minded and who reject spiritual ideas, simply because they don’t understand faith even if they reject faith.

Here’s the bottom line for me. God teaches through people. I can convey what he compels me to convey. I can be kind and giving and love all people, but I allow the power of God to flow through me, for I have no qualifications myself to minister without God. 

Rev. Nancy Rutledge

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have various classes in Christianity, one on Wicca, along with several Pagan courses, more than a few courses about Metaphysics with more being added regularly.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free, legal and lasts for life, so please take advantage of our Free Online Ordination.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of minister supplies.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and am proud to have started the Seminary.

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Spiritual Development

Essay for Doctor of Spiritual Development I was originally drawn to this course as it was probably the only one I have seen that links up NLP and hypnosis with aspects of spirituality. I have to lay my cards on the table and say at the outset that I am not exactly new to the subject of NLP. In fact, I have been associated with it now for a number of years, qualifying first as a Practitioner and, in 2009, finally achieving the status of Master Practitioner. I am also a registered hypnotherapist in the United Kingdom with a lifelong interest in that subject. However, I am aware that this is not the "be all and end all".  All systems of belief and practice have their limitations and constraints. The danger of misusing systems such as NLP is that they can achieve an almost cult-like status. NLP has its followers, its own language and jargon, its "founding fathers" and influential writers and teachers. It is tempting, although unhelpful, to live within an NLP world seeing everything in these terms. In my model of the world, I see NLP as most useful when it is integrated into everyday life and practice rather than as a belief system operating on its own (and perhaps that seems strange, coming from an NLP Master Practitioner!). To me, one of the great strengths of NLP that differentiates it from a cult is that it never seeks to assess or judge anyone's beliefs. It does not say what anyone "should" or "should not" believe. It does not question anyone's beliefs. It simply asks the question "Is this belief useful for YOU?"  If someone wants to believe in God and that belief is useful for him, that's fine. If someone prefers to believe that there is no God, and for him, that is a useful belief, that is also OK, from an NLP point of view. Now, for all of us, beliefs are really important since they affect who we are. They are the basis of our values. In other words they are part of our identity. When our beliefs about ourselves and the world are attacked or under threat, we will react in some way, even if only through a strong emotion or sense of anger. Many of the dreadful terrorist activities that have taken place in the last ten years can trace their origin to beliefs and values being under attack (or, more exactly, the perception that they are under attack). Many beliefs are formed in us when we are young. "Don't talk to strangers. They're all bad." "People are out to get you – you can't trust anyone." "Little boys should be seen and not heard" "If you don't do well in school, you'll fail in life."  "A woman's place is in the home" We are all, at least to some extent, the products of our own background and upbringing. We will have cause to follow – or else consciously reject – what our parents, teachers and mentors have told us, whether that has been done expressly or by implication. So, if a child is brought up to believe that he is clumsy, stupid, talented and clever or whatever, this belief about his capabilities will be deeply seated. And the problem is that useful beliefs and non-useful beliefs are equally powerfully rooted. Our unconscious does not know how to differentiate the one from the other. So, if I have a belief that I cannot add up a column of figures, it will, in essence become a self-fulfilling prophecy. [Some people would say that all prophecies are self-fulfilling. That is another story.] If, on the other hand, I believe that I am "good" at addition, I will almost certainly find that I am good at addition. Also, some beliefs are useful but have only a limited shelf life. It is a useful belief for a young child that he needs to check things out with his parents and cannot stand on his own two feet. Young children need protection and guidance. But that need does not and should not last for ever. The time comes when that same belief needs to be changed. The "child" is no longer a child and needs to make his own decisions. He is now independent of his parents or at least moving in that direction. That process of change can prove difficult and painful. Some aspects of personal change can certainly be difficult. But not all personal change needs be so. Some changes can be made surprisingly quickly by using appropriate techniques of NLP or hypnosis or other related disciplines. Reference has already been made to the fact that the subconscious (or the unconscious) does not make moral distinctions. It will seek to reinforce a belief that is already programmed because it thinks that if that belief is there, then it must be useful and in the person's best interests. So, the person who believes in God will look at the world for all signs of a creating and loving God to reinforce that belief. The atheist, on the other hand, will look at the evil in world and ask how a loving God could possibly allow such terrible things to happen. They will also tend to gravitate towards people who hold similar views. At a more mundane level, when a person who believes deep down that he cannot do a particular thing – and is then asked to do it – his subconscious will send him the protective message – "No, you cannot do that; remember?" The subconscious perceives that it is working for the best (and the subconscious always tries to do its best) in preventing the person from attempting something he cannot do, with all the repercussions that brings. In NLP terms, this "cannot do" is an example of a "limiting belief". Some of our limiting beliefs have been with us for a long time and may be so deeply seated that we may not even be consciously aware that we have them. (Of course there are many very useful beliefs that are also programmed in, such as that fire burns.)  Scientists have proved that, aerodynamically, a bee should not be able to fly. Of course, no one has told the bee that!  Just recently, I observed my neighbour's tabby cat running up a vertical garage wall. Again, that "shouldn't" be possible, but the cat didn't know that. I remember reading in an NLP book (unfortunately I cannot remember which one) that the most important question anyone can be asked is "What do you want?"  I remember being just a little sceptical when I first read that. However, the more I think about it, the more I realise just how insightful this statement is. If we can actually work out what it is we do actually want, we can move on from there. It is easy to drift through life without any aims, objectives or goals in mind. If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there, as the Cheshire Cat said to Alice. What NLP and hypnosis can do is to allow the conscious and the subconscious to function together, find out what the person really wants and begin the process of moving in that direction. There is no doubt that NLP received a rather bad press in the 1980s when it came to be associated with techniques used by the less reputable end of the used car market. Similarly, for many years, hypnosis was viewed with suspicion although even today it seems to be much more main stream in the USA than it does in the UK. However, if we are thinking (as we are) of the ethical uses of such techniques, we have to be aware that we only seek to help people do what they really want to do. I am sometimes asked, for example, if I can "make" someone stop smoking. The answer to that is a clear "no" – I cannot make anyone do anything they do not actually want to do. I can, however help that person to improve his clarity of purpose. But how does all fit in with the spiritual issues involved? Coming myself originally from a mainstream Christian background, I know that Christianity (and probably all the major world religions) seek to put the puzzles and challenges of life into a meaningful context. Jesus said that he had come to give life and give life abundantly. He healed many people who were sick, not only physically but mentally. It is God's purpose for us to be well and not ill. Indeed, Jesus went even further and told his disciples that they would be able to do greater things even than he had. This was a very radical statement. It is something the mainstream Christian church has not yet come to terms with. Of course, a great deal of what has just been said will clash with our rational minds. If we cannot make sense of something then it doesn't make sense – at least this is the way in which Western society has thought since the beginning of the Age of Reason. We have had a long love affair with reason and tend, culturally, to believe that reason must always triumph over feelings and intuition. If it cannot be measured, we assume only too quickly that it does not exist. (Actually Charles Dickens wrote his novel "Hard Times" to ridicule people, known at that time as "determinists" who believed that everything could, sooner or later, be measured!) Yet, the mediaeval mystics were able to recognise that something can be "true" without there being scientific proof. I can believe that the Genesis account of creation is "true" from a theological and spiritual point of view yet I can also accept that an evolutionary scientist also produces a different version of creation that is "true". If both sides in the creation argument could see that, a great deal of human energy would be saved! In the developing world, some amazing things have taken place even in my own lifetime. This is because people in some of these cultures believe that the words of Jesus are actually true. There are amazing modern accounts of healings through faith, even accounts of people being raised from the dead. This is more than we can take in the Western world.  We often block the power of the spirit with our chilly rationalism. In Capernaum, even Jesus could do no mighty works because of the unbelief of the people. Spiritually, we need to be able to tap into our mystical and intuitive sense in a new way – or else rediscover the older way. It seems (to me) that the world is full of "religion" yet is spiritually parched. There is an old Gospel hymn that has the chorus "I will pour waters on him that is thirsty" There is such a need for a time of refreshing today among all the great world religions. As a registered hypnotherapist, I know that even in a light trance, it is possible to access our true desires even, dare I say, to regress into past lives. In fact our most useful state is that area of light trance – such as when we awake in the morning. People such as Thomas Edison and Winston Churchill were able to put themselves easily into that state and came up with their best solutions as a result. In the Old Testament, many of the prophets went into trance-like states. It is said that the famous Anthony of Padua could, in such a state, bilocate, i.e. be in two places at once. Saint Teresa of Avila could get into such an ecstatic state that she actually levitated and the other nuns had to hold her down! I believe that, in the western world, our religions have become far too cognitive. Certainly where I live, in Scotland, in centuries past it was very important to know what people "thought" from a doctrinal point of view – with much less importance being placed on what they did or how they practiced, far less how they felt. Alasdair Bothwell Gordon Aberdeen, Scotland (UK) ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link. Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirituality Course

Universal Life Church
Defining Spiritualism;

Final Essay

Rev. Kipper T. Rowen

To begin with, let me just say, and I know I’m not the first to say this, this course in Defining Spiritualism is exactly NOT what I had envisioned or expected. But to be honest, I’m not exactly sure what I expected. In the same honesty, I thought I knew what “to be spiritual” and “spirituality” meant. To know the story of Jesus Christ; to know the CORRECT explanation of His parables; to know GOD’s ten commandments; to live a moral and upstanding life based on what our present day culture dictated; and finally to be able to blurt out any Scripture in any Book in my favorite Bible from memory. Then I would be wise, a sage, always having the right Scripture and band aid for every situation I would ever encounter. In short, bearing part of my soul, I would hold a position of knowledge and respect, setting me aside from all the ‘have nots.’

What I did find has in all probability been said by many students before; but I, have to say it. Socrates’ famous self-analysis statement totally rocked my foundations of what I thought my belief system was composed of. “The only thing I know is that I know nothing”. All of my lifelong attempts at gaining knowledge of a certain subject were accomplished by delving into books that taught me to ‘learn’ facts.

This course in fact actually MAKES you unlearn what you think you know. For many of us ‘old timers’, this shakes the very roots of a long life of learning experiences. We are to remember we are ministering to others and not to ourselves; as Jesus commanded; which can be found as a connecting thread through most religions I have been exposed to.

The beginning discourses, appeared to me at first glance was to just be another collection of philosophers, their theories, failures and success that contributed not only to Western thought, but also built up and in some cases, was the ultimate downfall of many governments. “What does this course have to do with me MINISTERING to others? You will notice the word MINISTERING is in all caps. This was because of my terribly distorted view of what a minister does. The word minister has so much power and purpose on its own, that all smaller case letters satisfies the need of that series of letters, to produce a word and ultimately a picture in your mind.

This I shall call the most important thing I learned from this exquisite course. What I do when I enter into a situation in which I may be asked to minister to someone. The first thing I will do before entering the room for the initial confrontation with someone ‘in pain’, is to remove any identifying and tell-tale signs that would tell anyone that I am a minister. I will enter as a new babe, with the addition of an ability to understand languages, the ability to listen and not condemn. My only tools of my ‘trade’ will be a totally open, loving and compassionate mind. An attitude and demeanor I would ask of someone entrusted to ease my suffering.

Besides the long list of contributors to Western Thought as explained; Socrates; Plato; Aristotle; Pythagoras; Descartes; Immanual Kant; (one of my favorites; Werner Heisenburg); on and on. To try to describe what I ‘learned’ from each discourse would in all reality just be retyping what was laid out for us. But then I began to feel a progressive train of thought that could very easily be redirected into a non-religious type of Christian Apologetics. defending the faith against all who would tear it down; in particularly the people who have a death grasp on their Religion of Science. But I was wrong again. What is truth for me obtained from this course may not be the same truths for you. Distilled down, what overwhelmed me the most, consists of four items; 1)As I understand it and embrace it, the statement made by Socrates; The only thing I know is that I know nothing”; 2) Socrates also said “The most important thing you can do is to know yourself” 3) The power of the collective mind is unfathomable. In the cases in the New Testament of the Bible, when Christ was attributed to the miracle of ‘healing’, there is hidden in those Scriptures an overlooked common thread. The one that comes to mind is the instance in which a woman of some age, who had been plagued by ‘an issue of blood’ for many years, approached Jesus from behind so as to not be noticed. She then touched the hem of His garment and the issue ceased.

Christ knew someone had touched Him. When He inquired who had touched Him, she could not withhold, she came forward and made herself know to Jesus who told her “…..your FAITH has healed you….” I’m compiling a booklet on the subject of Christ’s healings with respect to faith and the mind. It may never be seen by anyone, but this course has further influenced me to continue that labor of love with more interest than ever. “Your faith has healed you………………….”is repeated time and time again by Christ.

He appears to be the conduit through which the GOD mind communicates between HIS willing creation's minds”. 4) The simplest of truths for me is simply “Things are all just as they should be.” So when confronted with an apparent evil, we must remember, good cannot exist without a counterpart, evil, to give a substance to the word ‘joy’. The good balances out the evil. Nature strives endlessly toward the state of perfect balance. So the Tibetan Buddhist accept a life of cold, harsh weather, lack of food, no heat, running water, everything we take for granted, JOYFULLY. They know their reward will come when they pass. Therefore they cry at a birth and rejoice at a death/funeral. That person has attained ‘Liberation’ from this worldly suffering.

Although I’m now a Christian, I practiced Zen Buddhism for 14 years now and in my studies my teacher taught me many truths about suffering, especially that of those beautiful people in Tibet and the ones in exile. They all are fully aware of the calling of the universal mind, to bring them back to its eternity, when all lessons had been learned. To return back to the unending collective mind.

What did I like best about this course? Discourse #6 really put my mind into overdrive; Socrates et all. The contents of which cannot, and I emphasize cannot be fully drawn into the correct perspective with 2 - 3 reads. I have so been enthralled with this discourse #6 (The entire course itself), that I have put it in a protective binder to carry with me always. When something has the impact on me that this Course has had, it becomes a source of ‘spiritualism’ (how about that?) in my life and won’t ever leave.

The only point I can truthfully say, that though it isn’t a point I dislike, it is one that makes me a little uncomfortable when I read it. I firmly believe the murky water will clear as I grow. That topic was presented I believe, not so much as an accepted truth, but as a motivation for further considerations. Basically it stated that if we are simply an arrangement particulates, then if I were to shoot someone, there is only the re-arrangement of those particulates, with nothing driven from existence. Does that constitute murder?

At this point in my journey, if good and evil are two sides of the same coin making it a whole, then there must be a source in that coin where good is the only attribute on the one side of the coin, with evil the only attribute on the other, a ‘balance‘, yet separates. Therefore some experiential knowledge of good and bad must exist and in creation this ‘moral standard ‘is imparted to it by its creator.

In conclusion, let me applaud Chuck, on this wonderful course and now for his “BOMB SHELL” of a closing discourse. He not only bared his soul to us, but in my case, he also gave me the strength, to simply put it……look at myself in the mirror, the first time in such a long time, I would only be presenting a guess as to how long it’s been. His story is so amazing, not from the content, but in his ability to offer it to us as a learning experience. Coincidentally, the Doctor I see recently instructed me, in an attempt to teach me to love myself, to embrace all the things, good and bad that is/ WAS me in the last 54 years, and to make each failure as I journey, a learning experience and not another failure.” Amazing! Then I read Chuck’s testimony of his ‘40 years in the wilderness’ and yes, I had a tear or two. Thank You Chuck.

I won’t ever be the same. I won’t ever ‘shove my beliefs’ down someones throat. It’s now apparent, it’s my life’s calling to plant a mustard seed and there my job ends. I’m not a missionary, I’m not an evangelist. However I am Kip with a capitol ‘K’ now.

I’ll let my GOD, your Creator, your Gods, your Gods/Goddesses; the universal collective Mind, do what they do best; nurture what we have planted into

whatever existence requires, to balance it self. Each of us as ministers, were not at first “not ordained” then suddenly “we are Ordained” with all the knowledge we need to minister is automatically ours to expound. Just as everyone else before us, with us, and that will come after us, are on spiritual journeys, whether they know it or not, we too have our own journeys, as ministers, where every experience is one of learning. We MUST be good listeners, sometimes with a tear. It’s been my focus of late, to love everyone, non-judgmentally. Chuck you have made my journey, so much more joyful, giving me the example to follow of simple acceptance that I am me, and not anything else. Everything is just as it should be.

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers hand-fasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.

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