Master of Metaphysics

This blog is for the comments regarding the Master of Metaphysics - Spirit Quest program offered through the Universal Life Church and their online seminary program.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Spirit Quest

Spirit Quest Essay by Rev. Christine Pondelli

Grounding is the most important aspect of this program for me. Through grounding, I have claimed my place in this physical world. Previously, I had always felt as if I were floundering; I was always at a loss to whether I belonged or not. My gauge was forever focused on those around me and their intentions for me. Well, I’ve learned that I belong right where I am; another’s likes or dislikes are of no consequence. All being equal and unique, I have a place no matter where I am.

Creating and destroying roses, and the protection rose allowed me to gather up the old negative energy that was draining my life. In these discourses I learned how to rid my spirit of energy that belonged to others; their thoughts and actions directed toward me that I had taken owned. This was sapping and blocking the positive energy level that I desired. Envisioning the sticky rose for ridding my space of negative energy made my spirit lighter and allowed me more focus for what I wanted to accomplish.


Karma reinforced the notion of what goes around comes around. I appreciated the explanation that passing judgment was putting energy where it doesn’t belong; turning something neutral into something charged. It’s interesting to learn that everything I put energy on will create or resolve karma. I remind myself of that daily, because having judgments is a hard habit to break. I’m doing better every day.


Forgiveness was eye-opening, specifically the phrase “its not personal”. That was instrumental in my being able to let a lot of resentment pass. Also, “holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” That is an excellent analogy. It is not easy working through pains and past hurts, but this discourse allowed me steps that help set these negative energies free. What I can’t seem to let go, I send the sticky roses around gathering up the remnants of old energy and then blow them up.


Every week I received a valuable message that helps me on my journey.



by Rev. Christine Pondelli

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

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

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

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.


Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Spirit Quest

Living In A New Light By Rev. Cheryl Kautzman

Master of Metaphysics - Universal Life Church As I embarked upon my journey of the metaphysical studies of Spirit Quest, I wasn't sure of what to expect or of how the teachings would pertain to my life. However, as I read the material, I soon realized that information contained in the discourses were giving my being the clarity that it so desperately needed.

Originally, I signed up for the Masters of Metaphysics program to aid me in the spiritual counsel of others and to provide me with the tools of becoming a more enlightened minister. Though I do not like to label my beliefs, many would classify me as a Wiccan of sorts, and thus, I feel that a working knowledge of metaphysics is essential to understanding and maintaining a positive relationship with the world that we live in; applying metaphysical thinking is also crucial to influencing internal reactions to the external environment. Though I learned something valuable from each lesson, I felt that there some discourses that opened my eyes up to a new way of thinking.

First, lesson 13, Your Spiritual Path, gave me more insight on how to know my true self (the self that I was born with, minus outside influences) and to recognize the need of ridding myself of false personality. By striving to know my true self, I am becoming closer to my spirit.

Discourse 15, Affirmations, has made me more aware of how harmful,ingrained beliefs can and need to be changed; though it may be difficult at times, we, as individuals have the inherent power to change our own thought systems, especially if our beliefs are based on the poisonous pedagogy acquired throughout our lives. Daily, I try to look at things from a more pure, internal perspective, rather than to eye them from previous, external influences.

A very enlightening discourse, Tools for Getting Unstuck, part 2, is filled with very useful information on encouraging one to broaden their horizons by learning new life lessons and to allow for spiritual growth by constantly challenging oneself. From this discourse, I am learning to know what I am capable of achieving from my life and how to find the courage to follow my true path. Also, the lesson has helped me to use my emotions, such as anger, in a more controlled manner, and to transform these emotions into a more positive force that I may be able to use to my benefit.

The last lesson that I would like to mention is: Money, discourse 29. This discourse is important in redifining the meaning and purpose of money and how to make and keep it. This discourse also touches on the subject of making money in a way that one enjoys; it is from the advice in this lesson that has prompted me to the reach the decision of working for myself in the very near future.

In a final survey of Spirit Quest, I have say that by subscribing to the program, I am becoming a more well-rounded individual. I have stopped trying to fit into the "rat race" by discovering the real me. I am now listening to what my spirit is telling me, and as a result, I am finding that I am more happy and comfortable with my life choices. I am more relaxed and know that it is imperative to stop to enjoy life, and, at times, still your body and mind to attune with Akashic consciousness. It is my hope that by applying the techniques presented to me in Spirit Quest, I will continue to grow spiritually and use the teachings to help others when warranted. I also want to remember and convey to the masses that sometimes the mysteries of life are the most beautiful when they remain just that -- a mystery.

By Rev. Cheryl Kautzman

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

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

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

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.


Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Spirit Quest

Metaphysics Course

Taking the Spirit Quest course has been a life-changing event for me. The course has, quite literally, saved my marriage. The course has revealed possibilities that I had never appreciated before. Spirit Quest opened a closed mind, and infused me with a desire for further personal and spiritual exploration. In addition to learning some excellent tools, like creating/destroying roses and grounding, I have come to better understand myself as a spiritual being. The course has been very interesting, thought provoking, and challenging. I have especially enjoyed the many examples discussed throughout the course, since I could really relate to them. In fact, the examples seemed eerily familiar. It was almost as if the events had actually happened to me.

The course was very well designed. I reviewed each weekly offering at least three times, as suggested, prior to the next installment. I found that certain concepts, such as Forgiveness in week 2, needed to be reviewed more often. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the concept; rather, it was usually that the lesson held particular meaning for me. The lesson on Forgiveness was especially important to me. It taught me that people are often not against you, but merely acting as a result of their own pain. This simple truth was a profound revelation for me. It enabled me to see my role in causing pain in those that I love, and it made me understand that their actions were a result of their own pain. “It” wasn’t about me; it was about their own pain and spiritual path. This realization made it much easier to forgive. The idea that “carrying a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die” really illustrated the fact that forgiveness is for you- you need to forgive, other people do not need to be forgiven. I now understand that forgiveness is a gift that you give yourself.

The idea of forgiving oneself was a truly new concept to me. The understanding that I have been acting out of my own pain allowed me to begin to forgive myself for emotionally hurting those that I love the most. I am, and always will be, still responsible for my actions. However, I have been able to let go of some of the extreme guilt that I have been taught to carry. My burden, while not lifted, has been eased. I can accept myself for who I am, and I can get on with my life.

I am grateful for the many tools embedded in the Spirit Quest course. The lesson on “Grounding” has been especially helpful to me. I was not sure that I was doing the exercise properly until I began to see the effects on my surroundings. For example, prior to a budget meeting at work, I grounded myself and the room. I got to the room early and set the energy. The meeting was to be a follow-up to a particularly contentious management meeting. I knew that division directors were coming to the meeting prepared to do battle over scare resources, while attacking the proposed staffing allocations for other divisions. I spent ten minutes grounding the room prior to anyone else arriving for the meeting. The meeting was very successful and actually quite cordial. Several managers commented after the meeting that it was one of the most productive meetings that anyone could remember.

The Spirit Quest course is unique. There is such a tremendous amount of information in the course that it deserves further study. I printed each lesson and placed them in a binder. I review the lessons periodically, and I use them as a spiritual reference guide. When I am confronted by a particularly difficult situation, I refer back to Spirit Quest. This action has helped me to remember to use the tools that I learned throughout the course.

Spirit Quest has re-awakened my desire to learn and grow as a spirit. Once again I look upon the universe with a sense of wonderment that I last had when I was a child. Spirit Quest has enabled me to transcend my personal situation and given greater meaning to my seemingly mundane daily existence. I have truly been inspired. I look forward to taking additional courses from the ULC Seminary.

Please sign me,

Reverend Aaron

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

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

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

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.


Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Spirit Quest

Master of Metaphysics by Rev. Michael Bland

A perfect spiritual being on a unique course

In reviewing my life I find that I have been on a Spirit Quest since my childhood. I would seek the elders of my family for words of wisdom and direction for many of my endeavors. At the age of nine I remember a time when I asked my Grandfather if he knew Jesus. He answered me with these words.

“I’m just a simple man (a retired coal miner of 50 years) if I didn’t know him I wouldn’t be standing here.” “Your Grandmother was sure to read me the Bible every night at dinner as we thanked him for our food and our happy home.” “I was thankful that we had a well that pumped sweet water for my bath and of course for us to drink.” “I was thankful that when the big mine collapsed I was just outside when many of my friends were still in the ground.” “I look around and see the grass growing on the side of the mountain that keeps the dirt in place so that our home doesn’t slide down the hill.” “I see the dew in the morning watering the world and your Grandmother waiting for me with a smile every day as I came back from the mines.” “Yes, I know Jesus, I know him very well”

As my life went on I see that the same pattern continued as I went into my teens. My Dad and I were working in the garden when I asked him “Dad, do you know Jesus?” He kept on hoeing and said these words to me. “Do you see that blossom on that tree over there?” “That’s the first sign that apples are gonna grow on the tree.” “Before that, the tender buds of the leaf were on it and then the leaves filled it to full with color. “You remember last year when we dug that hole to put your dog in his grave?” “Well look at it now it’s all covered with beautiful grass and that tree is its shade from the hot sun.” “Your mother and I lost your brother to Typhoid two years before you were born but now we have a son who’s working right here in the garden with me now.” Yes son, I know Jesus. I wouldn’t have the strength to carry on if I didn’t.”

Many years later I was driving my rig through the desert when I came up on a hitchhiker. It was too hot to be walking so I pulled over and let him in. Not much time after he was in the truck he asked me if I knew Jesus. I was a little shocked, as my mind had been on the company just before I saw him and it wasn’t in a positive direction. I was upset about some pay they had bilked me out of. I thought for a moment and said to him. “If being thankful for the air I breath and the lungs I have to breath it with with means I know Jesus, then yes I know Jesus.” He sat for a few moments then said this to me. “Jesus is the Son of God.” “God made himself flesh and then sacrificed himself on the cross that guys like you could be saved.” I looked over to see an empty seat where the hitchhiker had been setting. To say the least I was shocked. I pulled he truck over and got out, looked at the side of the truck and then back down the road. There was no one in site for fifty miles in any direction. I stood there scratching my head and jumped back in the truck. On the floor was a small Bible, which I saw had John 3:16 circled in red.

Over the course of the next year I read that Bible from cover to cover and saw the reason for this persons/angels visit with me. I hadn’t really known Jesus. I just knew about him. In the Bible I found many answers to my many questions and accepted Jesus (The Christ) as my savior.

As many of you would guess, I now had more questions. I wanted to know why things were as the are and how many things worked. I understood about Powers and Principalities but was finding no references to the roots of these subjects. Everything has roots….where are the roots? I was finding a lot of do’s and don’t do’s but the reasons for them were all so superficial in there answers. I needed the darn roots. What makes things tick so to speak. I mean the real things in life, like why does my brain work the way it does. Just telling me about the parts doesn’t tell me why they are there or what pattern they took to come to be in the form that they are in. Again I need the roots.

ROOTS

I took a course in Metaphysics through an online college and started reading about making roses and grounding cords and blowing them up. Sheesh, This writer had to have one heck of a drug supplier I thought to myself. I continued the course till one day it started to all come together. “Woe, what have we here?” “Creating Your Own Reality” That’s the title I read “Let’s start off by saying that there are no accidents and there are no coincidences in the world.” Now this person was talking like they knew what they were saying. Tell me more “God doesn’t work in mysterious ways, either. There’s nothing mysterious about it. There is a plan for everything, which continually unfolds.” Ok, Now we’re getting to some roots.” I continued to read till the lesson ended and a new plan of attack was in place. I would put this person’s idea to the test. I had already learned about the roses, the grounding cord, Forgiveness, Meditation and all the incidentals up to this point. I was on the same Quest I was before but with a different approach.

The course went on for another few months with more and more input from Competition, Chakras and Karma to Dreams, Reincarnation, Time, pain and even money.

Although the journey for understanding these questions in my life are far from over I now venture down a highway that actually gives to me what I put into it. Some of you are thinking boy this was an easy way for him to write his dissertation and just leave us hanging. On the contrary I wouldn’t do that. I will fill in the one question I hope some of you have asked by now. If he already has the answer about Christ then what is he looking for? My journey actually started as I said before at about nine. I had a vision. Yes a vision. I saw a world so overtaken with problems and food supply was very limited and very expensive. I saw a dinosaur (Brontosaurus) nibbling on a tree top that was 100 feet in the air, I heard a voice in my head saying that everything had a frequency and I had an overwhelming desire to find he how and why. Now let’s not forget I was just nine years old. I had no idea about anything much other than playing with my little cars in the dirt.

Well here it is 44 years later and I have the food problem almost licked. A few associates and I will put this information into the world’s hands this summer. The problems of this world are going to be there till Christ returns and in my opinion that won’t be very much longer. As for the dinosaur …. I don’t know! All I know is that the tree it was nibbling on was 100 foot tall in the vision. I was nine and that tree was only four-foot tall at the time. The tree is 90 foot now and still stands strong at my parent’s old house. You figure it out.

In closing I would like to leave you all with this. The world is a beautiful place and people will be people. If you let them get under your skin then you lost that battle. Fight the good fight and endure till Christ comes again. God Bless.


Rev. Michael Bland

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

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

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

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.


Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Spirit-Quest

Spirit-Quest Experiences by Rev. Kathy Bailey

I found Spirit Quest to be one of the most helpful of my courses so far. The exercises were delightful to read and easy to follow. The tools I found to be most helpful were the grounding and meditation exercises. When I first created a grounding cord, I could hardly rise from my chair. I felt very weighted down and attached to the earth. When I released it, I felt lighter, as if I might be able to float. I have incorporated these techniques in a class I’m teaching and have received rave reviews on it. It has actually helped one of my students learn to visualize.

This course has actually helped heal my spirit and solar plexis chakra which became damaged about a year ago. I had been working on it for almost a year without getting too far, and this course has really sped up the healing process. The blowing up of roses has been a tremendous benefit when ever I’m feeling angry, lonely, sorrowful, or depressed. I can now pour that negative energy into a few roses and blow them up and feel better and behave better.

The discourses on reincarnation and the different life cycles of the spirit were a tremendous help in understanding who I am and where I am in this incarnation. I have always known I was an old soul and reading the definitions and characterizations of each cycle was a true revelation. I recognized quite a few people in each of the cycle descriptions. It has also helped me become more tolerant and understanding towards others of younger life cycles, and confirmed what, I personally, have been teaching. That some people are not yet ready to evolve spiritually, yet, and attain a higher form of enlightenment.

I have also learned that I’m a person worthy of good things and respect and that I don’t have to be around those who are negative and abusive. I can still love someone without having to be around them when they are being nasty.

Over all, this course was wonderfully enlightening and enjoyable. Rev. Amy Long did a fantastic job putting this course together and making me feel worthwhile. I loved her anecdotes on her personal experiences. It’s always nice, in a class, to hear of the teacher’s pitfalls and triumphs. These are great tools for anyone to use.

Blessings,
Rev. Kathy Bailey

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

The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

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

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.


Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar