ULC Spirituality #8

I understand your perspective very well having lived it myself.  I grew up in the Christian Science faith, which made me an oddball to all the other kids.  Then, as an adult when I left the church, I became an object of pity from the Christian Scientists.

Later when I became a yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner, one of the local churches here in west Texas put an article in their membership bulletin warning them not to do either as it was "heathen devil worship."  Seriously?!  I just had to laugh.  I got a call one day from a very frightened young woman who told me gust the "women in the church" told her that if she took yoga it would "open the door for Satan to take over her body" and she'd go straight to hell.  With a trembling voice she asked me if it was true.  I admired her so much for summoning the courage to call me.  I hope she continues to question such authority.

I used to hide my religion and later yogic philosophic ideas.  Over time, as I've become more secure, I've become more vocal when asked about my beliefs even though they appear on the surface to be very different from others here in the Bible belt.  As I explain my thoughts, though, people usually come to see there is little to know difference at all!
Thanks for the thought provoking lesson!
Namaste
Rev. Penny
Sent from my Kindle Fire

Lesson 16 Dr. Spirituality

Here is my response to the homework:

I really liked this week's lesson about healing and forgiveness. I agree that love is what we are here to share with the world and each other.  I am unable to do the assignment regarding to talking to a significant other as I do not have one. I can share an experience in terms of love.  The father of my children and I married when we were very young.  We had not yet come to realize who we were as people.  I tried to fit into his family and he tried to fit into my family and somewhere in the middle we lost what little we knew of ourselves and our relationship with one another.  We have both gone on to different relationships over the ensuing years.  He has been married to his current spouse for well over 20 years and I walked him down the aisle when they married. 

We remain friends and supports for one another when such support is needed. I am not in a relationship with anyone other than myself at this time in my life.  It has been many years since I have had a companion.  During this time I have tried to find myself, tried to avoid myself, tried to distract myself, lost myself in my family's issues, lost myself in my work and generally avoided embracing my I Am self. Some days I am able to lose myself in happiness, other days I worry, I judge, I get frustrated, I feel sorry for myself, I envy others, I am relieved that I do not have a significant other, I feel sad and lonely.  None of these resonant with love.  It appears that my ego has been working overtime. I think this course is serving as a catalyst to move me beyond by illusion of "stuckness" to letting go of real or imagined hurts and into .

Love. Monnie

Re: Dr Spirituality Lesson 18

Hi Amy,

Hope your week is going splendidly : )  Here is my response to Lesson 18's prayer related to healing war and our conflict with enemies.

After reading the prayers I called my friend Molly and talked about the prayer related to war.  She said that "war is necessary to control the population of the planet and thereby insure continued life on the planet."  She agreed that it is important to heal and forgive old grievances and wounds.  She thinks that the tenant related to this topic is naïve. She believes there needs to be a balance between good and evil and that is our goal rather than trying to "make everything good."  She does not believe that God is solely good. 

She believes that everything is God and all that is happening including the ego is all part of the  Divine plan.  She believes we can move forward as individuals when we resolve old issues and continue to maintain equanimity.  When we move forward we can bring others along with us.

Monnie

Universal Life Church Spirituality #6

I am really enjoying these lessons. So far, although I haven't posted before, I am finding them informational and good, brief reminders of ideas I have studied in years past. I admit my admiration for Socrates' conviction to his values in the face of execution. It was his opinion that his knowledge was so correct he was willing to die for it.

On a different note, my personal beliefs do not extend to include the idea of an anthropomorphic deity. The questions posed asking why God acts one way or another is foreign to my mind, although I have certainly heard people ask these questions.  I have to take a step back and open my heart so the answers will come that they need to hear. I consider that I step into the stream of pure consciousness and receive the info I need. I don't think of God as having acted to create a situation that must be overcome ir navigated, but rather that the situation is the karma each of us is dissolving and/or creating through our actions and our thoughts. For those who do believe in a God that sits in judgment or directs our lives, I try to change gears and work from where they are comfortable.  So far, in my limited experience, this method has served me well, but I am open to suggestions and instruction.

Thanks!
Namaste -
Rev. Penny

Spirituality

Universal Life Church In the reading of this course and some additional research I have done, I can see the similarities between science and the Bible, as well as the differences. In my own personal spiritual path, we believe that all Gods are one God. They just go by different names. In this course, I believe it to be the same, even with science-minded people. Whether they believe there is a God or not, they do believe there is a higher power. Even if that higher power is numbers, they see it as something greater then themselves.  I would like to address the creation hypotheses for a moment. In Genesis 1:1-3, 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3. Then God said "let there be light"; and there was light. Can we see how this can correlate with science and the Big Bang Theory? As a child growing up and attending church we were told that a life-time to us was but a blink of an eye to God. The way I see this is that if the blink of an eye to God is but a hundred years, a day would be thousands, if not more. (No one can ever be sure of this). No one is ever sure if indeed there was a "Big Bang". Other than scientists knowing that the universe is expanding and that it had to start from somewhere, no one knows for sure. Just like the Bible. No one knows for sure if this is how creation was actually started. But I do believe that they go hand in hand. Science Vs. The Bible. The Theory of Evolution:  Charles Darwin's theory that life came from the oceans again coincides with parts of the Bible. Genesis 1:20-21.  Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens."  So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw this and it was good.  This was the fifth day. Genesis 1:26-27  Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them.  Darwin's theory that life came from the ocean could be true. Again, no one knows for sure. Who is to say that the time that passes in a day to God could be hundred of thousands or Millions of years and in Darwin's theory, with time on our side being ever so slow compared to that of God's, it could indeed seem that man came from the ocean; that this is where life started.  There is a beautiful analogy that I believe covers all religions, faiths, spiritual paths and belief systems, science and so forth.  Imagine if you would, a beautiful mountain. On top of that mountain is God, Mohammad, Allah, The Goddess, Shiva, the Master Architect or whatever Higher Power one may believe in.  Everyone wants to get to the top of this mountain. There are many different paths for people to take. People need to find the path that is right for them.  Now some people tell others about their path and that their path is the right one, the only way and to follow them. They lead them to the top.  Some people tell others they know the best path to take to get to the top and in doing so trying to get everyone to follow them, wind up only going in circles at the base of this mountain.  Some people may take an easy route, while others tend to take a harder path, all to attain the same dissension. Some people's path may be lonely and they go solo. Others are in groups with support. It doesn't matter how you get to the top only that one tries.   Some people sit at the bottom of this mountain trying to calculate the best way to get to the top. Others wonder why bother? Maybe they will find another mountain they will come to climb.  The above analogy illustrates how God is inside each and every one of us. To some it could be the Great Mother, and to others it could be this gray haired, bearded older man or it could be the infinity symbol. I believe that this Omnipotence comes to us in whatever why it sees best for the individual.  I have always believed in the thought process that the cup is half full, rather then half empty. All belief systems are beautiful, no matter what they may be. Science has some wonderful theories, as does religion. I believe they all go hand in hand. No matter what path one may walk.   All Gods are one God.            Rev. Hope Macdonald-Vellone ******************************************** 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 long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  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. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar