Spirit Quest

Universal Life Church Seminary

Master of Metaphysics

"Spirit Quest"

Rev. Justin Oles

It's interesting to see how many of these courses written by completely different people, on completely different topics cover the same basic material. Spirit Quest is another one of those. It covered giving and receiving energy as well as grounding, some main points of several courses. Rev. Long's way of doing things involving "roses" and "golden suns" is very similar to things I've read in other ULC Seminary Courses as well as things I've read in books prior to now and other courses such as the Ar nDraiocht Fein and Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids course work. The "golden sun" part is basically the same throughout every course I have ever taken. The "rose" technique is used throughout although this is the first time I've seen a rose used. I like the symbolism although it's not overly effective to me, probably largely because of the effeminate connotations that go with it. Rev. Long also helps to drive a lot of her points home by using personal examples.

While these examples don't apply to everyone they make it easier to understand and in many cases relate. At times I found myself wandering away from the course because of the repetitiveness of the course and the sometimes silly thoughts it evoked in my mind. I'm a spiritualist but at the same time possess a rational and logical mind that has a hard time going along with things that seem fanciful or silly. Once I pulled myself back on track though I normally found that while her exact technique didn't play well with me I could modify small bits to get the same effect. One that I never got past was the rose. In the case of the destruction rose it was easier for me to just picture whatever it was I wanted to destroy blowing up than bothering to picture putting it in a rose. For the cleaning techniques I found that just visualizing something similar to a cotton swab accomplished the same task as the rose was meant to. All in all this was a good course and like most ULC Seminary courses, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

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

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

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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirit Quest

Universal Life Church Seminary

Master of Metaphysics

"Spirit Quest"

Rev. Justin Oles

It's interesting to see how many of these courses written by completely different people, on completely different topics cover the same basic material. Spirit Quest is another one of those. It covered giving and receiving energy as well as grounding, some main points of several courses. Rev. Long's way of doing things involving "roses" and "golden suns" is very similar to things I've read in other ULC Seminary Courses as well as things I've read in books prior to now and other courses such as the Ar nDraiocht Fein and Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids course work. The "golden sun" part is basically the same throughout every course I have ever taken. The "rose" technique is used throughout although this is the first time I've seen a rose used. I like the symbolism although it's not overly effective to me, probably largely because of the effeminate connotations that go with it. Rev. Long also helps to drive a lot of her points home by using personal examples.

While these examples don't apply to everyone they make it easier to understand and in many cases relate. At times I found myself wandering away from the course because of the repetitiveness of the course and the sometimes silly thoughts it evoked in my mind. I'm a spiritualist but at the same time possess a rational and logical mind that has a hard time going along with things that seem fanciful or silly. Once I pulled myself back on track though I normally found that while her exact technique didn't play well with me I could modify small bits to get the same effect. One that I never got past was the rose. In the case of the destruction rose it was easier for me to just picture whatever it was I wanted to destroy blowing up than bothering to picture putting it in a rose. For the cleaning techniques I found that just visualizing something similar to a cotton swab accomplished the same task as the rose was meant to. All in all this was a good course and like most ULC Seminary courses, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

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

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

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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spiritual Development

Dr. Of Spiritual Development Final Essay By Dennis Zerull I appreciate Dr. David Crouch in authoring this course and the ULC Seminary for making it available to all students participating in this wonderful program and making a difference not only their own personal lives but making a difference in their relationship to fellow beings and communities around the world. Today in an age when science and technology have reached a most advance stage, we are incessantly preoccupied with mundane concerns. In such an age, it is crucial that we attain faith based on various traditions of religious and non-religious teachings on the basis of genuine understanding. It is with an objective mind endowed with the curious skepticism that we should engage in careful analysis and seek reason behind our beliefs. Then on the basis of seeing the reasons, we engender a faith that is accompanied by wisdom. It is this wisdom that should be the emphasis on approaching any kind of spiritual development not just through faith and devotion but also through critical inquiry. In Buddhism for example this approach is known as the "way of the intelligent person". Another saying I'm sure many have heard is "no self, no problems". The selflessness of both the person as well as the psychophysical components of the person is another way of understanding "no self".   In this course, NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is one of the main focuses as a method for self-improvement in achieving a higher plain of spiritual development. It is my belief that Dr. Crouch needs to go a bit further into the history if this controversial approach to psychotherapy and organizational change based on a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behavior and the subjective experiences underlying them and a system of alternative therapy based on this which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication to change the patterns of mental and emotional behavior. We know that Richard Bandler while a UC Santa Cruz, was listening to taped portions of therapy sessions of the late Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls and Bandler believed he recognized particular word and sentence structures which facilitated Perls' therapeutic suggestions. Bandler took the idea to Linguist John Grinder and Virginia Satir to produce what the termed the meta model which gathers information and challenges a client's language and underlying thinking. It was then presented in 1975 in two volumes, The Structure of Magic I: A Book about Language and Therapy and the Structure of Magic II: A Book About Communication and Change. They believed that the   "therapeutic magick" as performed in therapy and by performers in any complex human activity, had structure that could be learned by others given appropriate models. They believed as Dr. Crouch, that implicit in the behavior was the ability to challenge distortion, generalization and deletion in a client's language. We also know that later Milton Erickson became the third model and wrote Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton Erickson, Volumes I & II. Basically it was it was a model that was vague and metaphoric in the inverse of the meta model. It was a combination used with the meta model as a type of softener, to induce a trance, and to deliver indirect therapeutic suggestion and includes the models and techniques mentioned by Dr. Crouch such as anchoring, reframing, sub modalities and representational systems. It was also a time of the so-called human potential movement and was developing into an industry. One so lucrative that Bandler and Grinder gave up academic writing and produced popular books from seminar transcripts such as Frogs into Princes. It may seem that I am a bit skeptical about this system but as I mentioned before I do have curious skepticism when it comes to representational systems. NLP doesn't seem to concentrate on diagnosis, treatment and assessment of any disorders. Instead it focuses on help people overcome their own self-perceived, or subjective problems. And as they learn more about their problems they learn how to modify those goals further as a result of extended interaction with a therapist or teacher. But what does NLP have to do with spiritual development. Dr. Crouch explains that there is "the application of mental technologies in spiritual change". I assume those technologies which are presented throughout this course is NLP.  In all honesty I have found NLP to be a bit like a Tony Robbins seminar. I find NLP to be somewhat vague and ambiguous in its language, which can mean different things to different people. NLP tends to offer you a sort of users manual for the brain. This seems to be a metaphor as I have also hear it referred to as "software for the brain". NLP relies heavily upon the notion of the "unconscious mind" as constantly influencing conscious thought and action. A common thread I did find in NLP is the emphasis on teaching a variety of communication and persuasion skills, and using self-hypnosis to motivate and change oneself. I certainly have no doubt that many people benefit from NLP training sessions and from these lesson but there seems to be several questionable assumptions based on such beliefs about the unconscious mind, hypnosis and the ability to influence people by appealing directly to the subconscious mind. All scientific evidence, which exists on such things, indicates that NLP claims are not necessarily accurate. You cannot learn to speak directly to the unconscious mind as Erickson and NLP claim, except in the obvious way of using the power of suggestion. We know that Einstein and Tolstoy's work as an example might produce a dozen "models" of how the mind works, but there is no way of knowing which, if any models is correct. In lesson 18, Dr. Crouch talks about Eckhart Tolle's book "The Power of Now" and how it made an impact on his life. I can also attest to Tolle's works. I have read most if not all of his works and have attended his seminars and lecture.  He is a contemporary prolific spiritual teacher who expands on powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. In his book the Power of Now he talks about methods and "how methods are sometimes needed until they are no longer needed and should be cast aside or dropped".  An essential part of spiritual awakening is the recognition of the unawakened you, the ego as it thinks, speaks, and acts, as well as the recognition of the collectively conditioned mental process that perpetuate the unawakened state. I submit that unless you know the basic mechanics behind the workings of the ego, you won't recognize it, and it will trick you into identifying with it over and over again. It takes you over and pretends to be you. The simple act of recognition itself is on of the ways in which awakening happens. No other complicated methods or hours of writing are needed. "When you recognize the unconsciousness in you, that which makes the recognition possible is the arising consciousness, is the awakening." Eckhart Tolle, a New Earth.  Over and over again Tolle talks about living in the now and that the past and the future will always manifest themselves as the present. Therefore any method that uses projections into the future as to where your life will be is both illogical and not grounded in reason. It is of course possible to plan for the future as long as it is done in the present moment and done with understanding and reason. In my opinion NLP places outcomes on the criterion of usefulness rather than objective truth. Metaphors for the mind conflict with what cognitive science have discovered. This does not imply that NLP would argue against the mind being embodied. The difference between researcher working on Artificial intelligence and NLP is that the first use a computer as their laboratory, while the latter uses human subjects to test their theories. Again it is vital for us to obtain genuine confidence in the nature of mind and reality, grounded in understanding and reason. As long as you are unaware of being you will seek meaning only within the dimension of doing and of future. That meaning will dissolve or turn out to have been deception and it will be destroyed by time for it is only true relatively and temporarily. Earlier in this essay I mentioned selflessness.  Let me further expand on this subject briefly and how it relates to spiritual development. What would you say that success is? The world tells you that success is achieving what you set out to do. It tells that it is winning, finding recognition is essential in any success. They may be by-products of success but they are not success. The conventional notion of success is concerned with the outcome of what you do. Some say it is a combination of hard work and luck, determination and talent, being in the right place at the right time. What the world doesn't tell you is what it doesn't know. That is that you cannot become successful. You can only be successful. Being successful is nothing more than a successful moment. The sense of quality in what you do. Care and attention which comes into awareness. The joy of being conscious, of being awake, of Being. We create a universe with ourselves in the center, and from this point of reference, we relate to the rest of the world. With this understanding it becomes crucial to ask what the self is in relationship to spirituality. Self can be described as ego, as ignorance, which is the failure to see reality and the ultimate nature of reality. But once we gain insight into ultimate reality we ask what is it's nature? Since the physical and mental faculties that constitute our existence are transient, they change, age and then one day cease they cannot be true self. The answer may be that the existence of the individual is accepted only as a dependent entity and not as n independent absolute reality. We are a convergence in the world and the universe and are the interaction of all constituents in mutual interdependence. Each person's life and each life form represent a world a unique way in which the universe experiences itself. In place of spirit I use consciousness or Being. Consciousness is already conscious. It is timeless and therefore does not evolve. It was never born and does not die. When it is manifested it appears to be subject to time and undergoes some sort of evolutionary process. No human mind is remotely capable of comprehending or fully understanding the reason for this process. But we can become aware of it in ourselves and catch a glimpse of it and become a conscious participant in it. It is the intelligence, the spiritual, and the organizer behind the arising of form. Spiritual development is nothing more than an awakened consciousness. That realization is awakening because awakening is the realization of Presence. ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. 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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spiritual Development

Dr. Of Spiritual Development Final Essay By Dennis Zerull I appreciate Dr. David Crouch in authoring this course and the ULC Seminary for making it available to all students participating in this wonderful program and making a difference not only their own personal lives but making a difference in their relationship to fellow beings and communities around the world. Today in an age when science and technology have reached a most advance stage, we are incessantly preoccupied with mundane concerns. In such an age, it is crucial that we attain faith based on various traditions of religious and non-religious teachings on the basis of genuine understanding. It is with an objective mind endowed with the curious skepticism that we should engage in careful analysis and seek reason behind our beliefs. Then on the basis of seeing the reasons, we engender a faith that is accompanied by wisdom. It is this wisdom that should be the emphasis on approaching any kind of spiritual development not just through faith and devotion but also through critical inquiry. In Buddhism for example this approach is known as the "way of the intelligent person". Another saying I'm sure many have heard is "no self, no problems". The selflessness of both the person as well as the psychophysical components of the person is another way of understanding "no self".   In this course, NLP, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is one of the main focuses as a method for self-improvement in achieving a higher plain of spiritual development. It is my belief that Dr. Crouch needs to go a bit further into the history if this controversial approach to psychotherapy and organizational change based on a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behavior and the subjective experiences underlying them and a system of alternative therapy based on this which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective communication to change the patterns of mental and emotional behavior. We know that Richard Bandler while a UC Santa Cruz, was listening to taped portions of therapy sessions of the late Gestalt therapist Fritz Perls and Bandler believed he recognized particular word and sentence structures which facilitated Perls' therapeutic suggestions. Bandler took the idea to Linguist John Grinder and Virginia Satir to produce what the termed the meta model which gathers information and challenges a client's language and underlying thinking. It was then presented in 1975 in two volumes, The Structure of Magic I: A Book about Language and Therapy and the Structure of Magic II: A Book About Communication and Change. They believed that the   "therapeutic magick" as performed in therapy and by performers in any complex human activity, had structure that could be learned by others given appropriate models. They believed as Dr. Crouch, that implicit in the behavior was the ability to challenge distortion, generalization and deletion in a client's language. We also know that later Milton Erickson became the third model and wrote Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton Erickson, Volumes I & II. Basically it was it was a model that was vague and metaphoric in the inverse of the meta model. It was a combination used with the meta model as a type of softener, to induce a trance, and to deliver indirect therapeutic suggestion and includes the models and techniques mentioned by Dr. Crouch such as anchoring, reframing, sub modalities and representational systems. It was also a time of the so-called human potential movement and was developing into an industry. One so lucrative that Bandler and Grinder gave up academic writing and produced popular books from seminar transcripts such as Frogs into Princes. It may seem that I am a bit skeptical about this system but as I mentioned before I do have curious skepticism when it comes to representational systems. NLP doesn't seem to concentrate on diagnosis, treatment and assessment of any disorders. Instead it focuses on help people overcome their own self-perceived, or subjective problems. And as they learn more about their problems they learn how to modify those goals further as a result of extended interaction with a therapist or teacher. But what does NLP have to do with spiritual development. Dr. Crouch explains that there is "the application of mental technologies in spiritual change". I assume those technologies which are presented throughout this course is NLP.  In all honesty I have found NLP to be a bit like a Tony Robbins seminar. I find NLP to be somewhat vague and ambiguous in its language, which can mean different things to different people. NLP tends to offer you a sort of users manual for the brain. This seems to be a metaphor as I have also hear it referred to as "software for the brain". NLP relies heavily upon the notion of the "unconscious mind" as constantly influencing conscious thought and action. A common thread I did find in NLP is the emphasis on teaching a variety of communication and persuasion skills, and using self-hypnosis to motivate and change oneself. I certainly have no doubt that many people benefit from NLP training sessions and from these lesson but there seems to be several questionable assumptions based on such beliefs about the unconscious mind, hypnosis and the ability to influence people by appealing directly to the subconscious mind. All scientific evidence, which exists on such things, indicates that NLP claims are not necessarily accurate. You cannot learn to speak directly to the unconscious mind as Erickson and NLP claim, except in the obvious way of using the power of suggestion. We know that Einstein and Tolstoy's work as an example might produce a dozen "models" of how the mind works, but there is no way of knowing which, if any models is correct. In lesson 18, Dr. Crouch talks about Eckhart Tolle's book "The Power of Now" and how it made an impact on his life. I can also attest to Tolle's works. I have read most if not all of his works and have attended his seminars and lecture.  He is a contemporary prolific spiritual teacher who expands on powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. In his book the Power of Now he talks about methods and "how methods are sometimes needed until they are no longer needed and should be cast aside or dropped".  An essential part of spiritual awakening is the recognition of the unawakened you, the ego as it thinks, speaks, and acts, as well as the recognition of the collectively conditioned mental process that perpetuate the unawakened state. I submit that unless you know the basic mechanics behind the workings of the ego, you won't recognize it, and it will trick you into identifying with it over and over again. It takes you over and pretends to be you. The simple act of recognition itself is on of the ways in which awakening happens. No other complicated methods or hours of writing are needed. "When you recognize the unconsciousness in you, that which makes the recognition possible is the arising consciousness, is the awakening." Eckhart Tolle, a New Earth.  Over and over again Tolle talks about living in the now and that the past and the future will always manifest themselves as the present. Therefore any method that uses projections into the future as to where your life will be is both illogical and not grounded in reason. It is of course possible to plan for the future as long as it is done in the present moment and done with understanding and reason. In my opinion NLP places outcomes on the criterion of usefulness rather than objective truth. Metaphors for the mind conflict with what cognitive science have discovered. This does not imply that NLP would argue against the mind being embodied. The difference between researcher working on Artificial intelligence and NLP is that the first use a computer as their laboratory, while the latter uses human subjects to test their theories. Again it is vital for us to obtain genuine confidence in the nature of mind and reality, grounded in understanding and reason. As long as you are unaware of being you will seek meaning only within the dimension of doing and of future. That meaning will dissolve or turn out to have been deception and it will be destroyed by time for it is only true relatively and temporarily. Earlier in this essay I mentioned selflessness.  Let me further expand on this subject briefly and how it relates to spiritual development. What would you say that success is? The world tells you that success is achieving what you set out to do. It tells that it is winning, finding recognition is essential in any success. They may be by-products of success but they are not success. The conventional notion of success is concerned with the outcome of what you do. Some say it is a combination of hard work and luck, determination and talent, being in the right place at the right time. What the world doesn't tell you is what it doesn't know. That is that you cannot become successful. You can only be successful. Being successful is nothing more than a successful moment. The sense of quality in what you do. Care and attention which comes into awareness. The joy of being conscious, of being awake, of Being. We create a universe with ourselves in the center, and from this point of reference, we relate to the rest of the world. With this understanding it becomes crucial to ask what the self is in relationship to spirituality. Self can be described as ego, as ignorance, which is the failure to see reality and the ultimate nature of reality. But once we gain insight into ultimate reality we ask what is it's nature? Since the physical and mental faculties that constitute our existence are transient, they change, age and then one day cease they cannot be true self. The answer may be that the existence of the individual is accepted only as a dependent entity and not as n independent absolute reality. We are a convergence in the world and the universe and are the interaction of all constituents in mutual interdependence. Each person's life and each life form represent a world a unique way in which the universe experiences itself. In place of spirit I use consciousness or Being. Consciousness is already conscious. It is timeless and therefore does not evolve. It was never born and does not die. When it is manifested it appears to be subject to time and undergoes some sort of evolutionary process. No human mind is remotely capable of comprehending or fully understanding the reason for this process. But we can become aware of it in ourselves and catch a glimpse of it and become a conscious participant in it. It is the intelligence, the spiritual, and the organizer behind the arising of form. Spiritual development is nothing more than an awakened consciousness. That realization is awakening because awakening is the realization of Presence. ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. 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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spiritual Development

Universal Life Church Seminary

Doctor of Spiritual Development

Rev. Justin Oles

This course used an interesting methodology to teach the material which worked very well for me. My world is very much based around reason and logic and it would appear that the author's is as well. As such I was able to more easily relate to the discussions brought up in the discourses than I am in some of the fanciful courses that the seminary offers.

Dr. Crouch starts out the course right from the get go with a scientific explanation of where the mind exists within our world. He then in future discourses goes on to explain how to use the mind to change our world and ourselves to help us grow, develop, and meet our needs and wants. He also goes on to explain how with a little work we can change the way we think about certain things by moving around their location on our "visuo-spatial workbench" or cognisphere, in other words what we see when we look through our minds eye. Dr. Crouch explains that the location of things within our "workbench" has a lot to do with how we view things.

For example, if something gets stored away near the area of things you dislike, then you will dislike it, but if we make a conscious effort to move that thought over to the area of things we enjoy then we may be able to get ourselves to like it. The same thing works the other way. While this may seem like a trivial item, who cares about changing what you like or don't like, you feel that way for a reason right? This technique can be useful in our personal and spiritual growth, for example, if there is something that is causing a road block in your development due to fear or anger, and you can't seem to understand why and get over it, you may be able to change its location in your thought processes and therefore change the way you feel about it.

In lesson 2 Dr. Crouch continues with his scientific methodology by first stating the "universal law", which is that energy follows thought. From there he goes on to give examples of cases where scientists while looking for something and expecting a certain result went on to find exactly what they expected. Are these cases of sheer coincidence or are we seeing scientific proof that energy follows thought. Are we finding what we expected because it was always there, or are we finding it because we expected to and therefore made our expectations manifest based on our strong assumption that it is the way is must be? Using the assumption that whatever thoughts we have will change the very energy of the universe he goes on to talk about how by accepting this and then accepting or affirming what we need or desire we may be able to provide for ourselves.

Dr. Crouch also explains in several of the lessons how the mind works and how it works with the universe. He states that in order for the mind, and therefore thoughts, to change the energy of the universe that it must be placed in the present-positive mind set. The positive portion of this is easy to prove as the mind only works in positives. A good way to think of this is to try to tell yourself that something can not happen or does not exist. Because the mind only works in positives if you try to prove this to yourself you will only see on your minds eye what you are trying to disprove.

For example, try to not think about pink elephants and what will you picture in your mind, why a pink elephant of course. The only way your mind can tell itself not to think of something is by thinking of it. The present portion of this theory is harder to prove without getting more in depth but long story short the only thing that really exists is the present, the past is gone and only a memory, often an incorrect one at that, and the future has yet to occur. Also the only part of this timeline you can affect is the present for the same reasons.

Dr. Crouch goes on to give several more examples throughout the course of how to affect the universe through your thoughts but as this course was long and in depth I'm not going to explain it here, you'll just have to read the discourses for yourself. Near the end of the discourses Mr. Pavlina takes over the writings for Dr. Crouch but the message stays the same, as did most of the thought process and narrative. I would recommend this course to everyone, but specifically those than want to gain a new way of looking at the universe.

By Rev. Justin Oles

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

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

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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spiritual Development

Universal Life Church Seminary

Doctor of Spiritual Development

Rev. Justin Oles

This course used an interesting methodology to teach the material which worked very well for me. My world is very much based around reason and logic and it would appear that the author's is as well. As such I was able to more easily relate to the discussions brought up in the discourses than I am in some of the fanciful courses that the seminary offers.

Dr. Crouch starts out the course right from the get go with a scientific explanation of where the mind exists within our world. He then in future discourses goes on to explain how to use the mind to change our world and ourselves to help us grow, develop, and meet our needs and wants. He also goes on to explain how with a little work we can change the way we think about certain things by moving around their location on our "visuo-spatial workbench" or cognisphere, in other words what we see when we look through our minds eye. Dr. Crouch explains that the location of things within our "workbench" has a lot to do with how we view things.

For example, if something gets stored away near the area of things you dislike, then you will dislike it, but if we make a conscious effort to move that thought over to the area of things we enjoy then we may be able to get ourselves to like it. The same thing works the other way. While this may seem like a trivial item, who cares about changing what you like or don't like, you feel that way for a reason right? This technique can be useful in our personal and spiritual growth, for example, if there is something that is causing a road block in your development due to fear or anger, and you can't seem to understand why and get over it, you may be able to change its location in your thought processes and therefore change the way you feel about it.

In lesson 2 Dr. Crouch continues with his scientific methodology by first stating the "universal law", which is that energy follows thought. From there he goes on to give examples of cases where scientists while looking for something and expecting a certain result went on to find exactly what they expected. Are these cases of sheer coincidence or are we seeing scientific proof that energy follows thought. Are we finding what we expected because it was always there, or are we finding it because we expected to and therefore made our expectations manifest based on our strong assumption that it is the way is must be? Using the assumption that whatever thoughts we have will change the very energy of the universe he goes on to talk about how by accepting this and then accepting or affirming what we need or desire we may be able to provide for ourselves.

Dr. Crouch also explains in several of the lessons how the mind works and how it works with the universe. He states that in order for the mind, and therefore thoughts, to change the energy of the universe that it must be placed in the present-positive mind set. The positive portion of this is easy to prove as the mind only works in positives. A good way to think of this is to try to tell yourself that something can not happen or does not exist. Because the mind only works in positives if you try to prove this to yourself you will only see on your minds eye what you are trying to disprove.

For example, try to not think about pink elephants and what will you picture in your mind, why a pink elephant of course. The only way your mind can tell itself not to think of something is by thinking of it. The present portion of this theory is harder to prove without getting more in depth but long story short the only thing that really exists is the present, the past is gone and only a memory, often an incorrect one at that, and the future has yet to occur. Also the only part of this timeline you can affect is the present for the same reasons.

Dr. Crouch goes on to give several more examples throughout the course of how to affect the universe through your thoughts but as this course was long and in depth I'm not going to explain it here, you'll just have to read the discourses for yourself. Near the end of the discourses Mr. Pavlina takes over the writings for Dr. Crouch but the message stays the same, as did most of the thought process and narrative. I would recommend this course to everyone, but specifically those than want to gain a new way of looking at the universe.

By Rev. Justin Oles

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

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

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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirituality

Master of Spiritualism/Defining Spiritualism

Final Essay

By Dennis Zerull

Conceivably defining spiritualism could be a bit like defining the Universe. The possibilities are endless and the definitions in form or language could fill volumes of texts in the largest of libraries around the world. When one thinks for a moment of each and every individual's experiences both positive and negative just upon this planet alone, not to mention the experiences in different dimensions not yet understood, it brings me back to a simple thought from Carl Jung. Jung said "the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being".

This course touches upon that light buy the author's own experiences as well as using examples of some of the worlds best known philosophers works recorded to date. While some of these philosophers had made attempts and what is seen by some as great strides in trying to explain the human condition, they were somewhat successful in developing a course by which man can achieve great goals and others have failed miserably. Such is the case with Marxism to suggest one example. The "one system" that works for all in the utopian way of thought can only lead to the undoing of this illusion at some point. The author does a fine job in pointing out this fact. But when taking this course the student must ultimately decide when it comes to philosophy what course lies ahead and which one they will follow. Yet this course does a good job in taking a look at some of the more popular routes throughout history.

I do find it a bit odd that the author in his last lesson would say that: "I have decided that any philosopher who has never been married (and who if married has not made it through at least ten or more years of marriage) is a philosophy that is less than worthless". I beg to defer. The Dalia Lama has never been married and has proven not only to be one of the great philosophers or our time but a great spiritual leader, author of over 25 books and mentor to millions of people on this planet. It may be because of the great suffering that the author experienced in his life on the road to enlightenment or spiritual experience that this perception is made in his statement. But ultimately I think the point he makes in this course is that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The course one takes is entirely up to the individual.

Some humans are born into a great spiritual condition while others must struggle to find what it is that brings them closer to the God of there understanding or consciousness. Perhaps it is maternal love, empathy, and other positive mental states or unpleasantness that eventually triggered a deep state of calmness, clarity and compassion. Some humans will never find any spiritualism in this life at all.

As humans, simply coping with the internal and eternal challenges that present themselves on a daily basis leaves little time for reflection to evaluate our habitual responses to day–to-day events and consider that perhaps there may be other options. Over time as the author mentioned in his lesson, a deadening sense of suffering can occur and our egos play it out in endless scenarios of pain and misery to were it finally becomes a sense of, this is the way it is and the way I am and there is nothing I can do to change it. In most cases people suffer horribly or aren't even aware of this way of seeing themselves and the world around them. This basic attitude of hopelessness sits in a layer of sludge on the bottom of a lake, present but unseen. Robert Frost once said: "the best way out is always through". Some people can't grasp such a radical alternative right away so we start to suffer from our own thoughts. We may start to avoid people, turn to drugs or alcohol, loose sleep, hide in our homes, or fight with our loved ones until all you can think about is figuring out how to escape. Unfortunately there is no escape because we can't hide from our own minds. Eventually if we are fortunate we finally figure out that the problem is the solution and we begin to understand what the particular situation is. We begin to seek something greater than ourselves. In the Christian tradition it may be the teachings of Jesus or for a Buddhist the first teachings the Buddha gave after he attained enlightenment.

Spirituality or enlightenment is a term that can sound a bit grandiose or unattainable by most people. It is actually quite simple. In terms of thinking it can be as simple as habitually walking through a dark room, bumping into the chairs or a coffee table. One day by luck or accident we brush up against the light switch or a button that turns on the lights. Now suddenly we see the room and all of the furniture in it, the walls, the rugs and perhaps with a deep sense of wondering we actually see it for the first time. We realize the light switch was always there. We just didn't know it or maybe we just didn't think about the possibility that the room could be anything but dark. We have spent our lives navigating in the dark that we've forgotten how to turn on the light.

As humans we also suffer from not getting what we want and not keeping what we have. Whether it is marriage, our jobs, or in some cases our faith in God or your concept of a God or Spirit. Life doesn't stay in place for a moment. All living beings and the contents of this world are impermanent so therefore we should not suffer from attachment to a set of beliefs or perceptions. Change your perception and your experience will change. We all experience a profound desire to survive, to live and maybe experience some moments of peace. Finding peace in silence or meditation helps us to comprehend that thoughts, emotions, judgments and sensations come and go and helps us realize that attachment to our perceptions of who we are or what we are, what we want, what we need or what we don't want are common to all living creatures. Acknowledging that all conditions are bound to change, we can approach each moment with a bit more clarity and allow new avenues in our life to flourish and grow.

The desire for everyone to achieve happiness in this life and the effort we put forth to achieve that goal is done through loving kindness. Buddha knew this and Jesus knew this. Both gave us direction and instruction to practice. Spirituality may come and be perceived in many forms. A thought, an experience, a moment of profound clarity. When you choose to be happy, you can't avoid seeing the same desire in others. When you clearly look at your own fear, anger, or aversion, you can't help but see that everyone around you feels the same fear, anger and aversion. This is wisdom. The awakening of the heart, the recognition of our connection to others is spirituality.

Each morning when I wake up I try to shape my thinking in beneficial ways before I begin my day. I have to watch my own thought process and try to observe my mind so I do not get immersed in it. It helps to extend human values outward, extending from a single person to your family and from your family to their friends. In this way we can not only transform our family but our communities and hopefully our nations and our world. If we cultivate our minds in the way of the spiritual leaders that came before us and we practice what they taught us, it will lead and spread to a better world. Practice the profound. "May my body, my speech, and my mind be used in a more compassionate way so that they become a service to others".

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

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

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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirituality

Master of Spiritualism/Defining Spiritualism

Final Essay

By Dennis Zerull

Conceivably defining spiritualism could be a bit like defining the Universe. The possibilities are endless and the definitions in form or language could fill volumes of texts in the largest of libraries around the world. When one thinks for a moment of each and every individual's experiences both positive and negative just upon this planet alone, not to mention the experiences in different dimensions not yet understood, it brings me back to a simple thought from Carl Jung. Jung said "the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being".

This course touches upon that light buy the author's own experiences as well as using examples of some of the worlds best known philosophers works recorded to date. While some of these philosophers had made attempts and what is seen by some as great strides in trying to explain the human condition, they were somewhat successful in developing a course by which man can achieve great goals and others have failed miserably. Such is the case with Marxism to suggest one example. The "one system" that works for all in the utopian way of thought can only lead to the undoing of this illusion at some point. The author does a fine job in pointing out this fact. But when taking this course the student must ultimately decide when it comes to philosophy what course lies ahead and which one they will follow. Yet this course does a good job in taking a look at some of the more popular routes throughout history.

I do find it a bit odd that the author in his last lesson would say that: "I have decided that any philosopher who has never been married (and who if married has not made it through at least ten or more years of marriage) is a philosophy that is less than worthless". I beg to defer. The Dalia Lama has never been married and has proven not only to be one of the great philosophers or our time but a great spiritual leader, author of over 25 books and mentor to millions of people on this planet. It may be because of the great suffering that the author experienced in his life on the road to enlightenment or spiritual experience that this perception is made in his statement. But ultimately I think the point he makes in this course is that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The course one takes is entirely up to the individual.

Some humans are born into a great spiritual condition while others must struggle to find what it is that brings them closer to the God of there understanding or consciousness. Perhaps it is maternal love, empathy, and other positive mental states or unpleasantness that eventually triggered a deep state of calmness, clarity and compassion. Some humans will never find any spiritualism in this life at all.

As humans, simply coping with the internal and eternal challenges that present themselves on a daily basis leaves little time for reflection to evaluate our habitual responses to day–to-day events and consider that perhaps there may be other options. Over time as the author mentioned in his lesson, a deadening sense of suffering can occur and our egos play it out in endless scenarios of pain and misery to were it finally becomes a sense of, this is the way it is and the way I am and there is nothing I can do to change it. In most cases people suffer horribly or aren't even aware of this way of seeing themselves and the world around them. This basic attitude of hopelessness sits in a layer of sludge on the bottom of a lake, present but unseen. Robert Frost once said: "the best way out is always through". Some people can't grasp such a radical alternative right away so we start to suffer from our own thoughts. We may start to avoid people, turn to drugs or alcohol, loose sleep, hide in our homes, or fight with our loved ones until all you can think about is figuring out how to escape. Unfortunately there is no escape because we can't hide from our own minds. Eventually if we are fortunate we finally figure out that the problem is the solution and we begin to understand what the particular situation is. We begin to seek something greater than ourselves. In the Christian tradition it may be the teachings of Jesus or for a Buddhist the first teachings the Buddha gave after he attained enlightenment.

Spirituality or enlightenment is a term that can sound a bit grandiose or unattainable by most people. It is actually quite simple. In terms of thinking it can be as simple as habitually walking through a dark room, bumping into the chairs or a coffee table. One day by luck or accident we brush up against the light switch or a button that turns on the lights. Now suddenly we see the room and all of the furniture in it, the walls, the rugs and perhaps with a deep sense of wondering we actually see it for the first time. We realize the light switch was always there. We just didn't know it or maybe we just didn't think about the possibility that the room could be anything but dark. We have spent our lives navigating in the dark that we've forgotten how to turn on the light.

As humans we also suffer from not getting what we want and not keeping what we have. Whether it is marriage, our jobs, or in some cases our faith in God or your concept of a God or Spirit. Life doesn't stay in place for a moment. All living beings and the contents of this world are impermanent so therefore we should not suffer from attachment to a set of beliefs or perceptions. Change your perception and your experience will change. We all experience a profound desire to survive, to live and maybe experience some moments of peace. Finding peace in silence or meditation helps us to comprehend that thoughts, emotions, judgments and sensations come and go and helps us realize that attachment to our perceptions of who we are or what we are, what we want, what we need or what we don't want are common to all living creatures. Acknowledging that all conditions are bound to change, we can approach each moment with a bit more clarity and allow new avenues in our life to flourish and grow.

The desire for everyone to achieve happiness in this life and the effort we put forth to achieve that goal is done through loving kindness. Buddha knew this and Jesus knew this. Both gave us direction and instruction to practice. Spirituality may come and be perceived in many forms. A thought, an experience, a moment of profound clarity. When you choose to be happy, you can't avoid seeing the same desire in others. When you clearly look at your own fear, anger, or aversion, you can't help but see that everyone around you feels the same fear, anger and aversion. This is wisdom. The awakening of the heart, the recognition of our connection to others is spirituality.

Each morning when I wake up I try to shape my thinking in beneficial ways before I begin my day. I have to watch my own thought process and try to observe my mind so I do not get immersed in it. It helps to extend human values outward, extending from a single person to your family and from your family to their friends. In this way we can not only transform our family but our communities and hopefully our nations and our world. If we cultivate our minds in the way of the spiritual leaders that came before us and we practice what they taught us, it will lead and spread to a better world. Practice the profound. "May my body, my speech, and my mind be used in a more compassionate way so that they become a service to others".

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

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

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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change.

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirituality

Spiritualism for me materialized as though a bucket of ice water had been tossed onto my soul.  The younger years of my life were relatively placid:  I did all the things that my family and society expected of me but there was always an emptiness and questioning inside.  I felt lost, no, bereft of spirit and knew I needed to reclaim it. Physical ministering to those who need it is the easy part.  Food, clothing, shelter:  these are the most basic needs and thus the easiest to give.  Nourishment of the spirit?  You have to dig down deeply within yourself to find that answer.  For me it was like an epiphany because I would lay awake at night and literally watch my life play before me as if on a movie screen.  And I realized that while I had a soul, I had no spirit. Materialism played a part in the old Rita:  getting out there, working, earning money, and that was it.  There was no fulfillment because my soul and spirit were getting nothing from it.  My rude awakening came in 1987.  I hadn't been feeling well for a while; I'd put off doctors' visits and tests because I couldn't bear to miss a day of work.  And then I had no choice.  I had my fourth miscarriage and needed emergency treatment.  While performing the procedure, my doctor noticed an irregular formation indicative of State I cervical cancer.  I was 32 years old and came to in the recovery room effectively neutered - he had performed a total hysterectomy.  Then I was told that the deformities and Stage I development noted was a unique one:  usually found in the daughters of women who had been treated with DES during difficult pregnancies.  I was 32 and unable to bear any more children.  I was a failure and stereotypically, worthless as a woman. When I asked my mother she cried bitterly and I believe she blamed herself.  At that moment I hit rock bottom and knew I had to pull not only myself up, but also my mother.  God had spared me - but why?  That was when I realized that perhaps it was for a higher purpose.  It took a long, long time for me to gather the strength to look within myself and to confront the Rita I had become over the years.  I didn't like her very much and told her to get with the program.  I needed to heal my soul and that has been my life's journey ever since.  I understand that we are not meant to know all Divine intentions, but that we accept them gladly, no matter how difficult they are, because they are part of the purpose God has for us. I faced a lot of personal demons and there were times I could not look into the mirror of my soul without shielding my eyes.  God's love for us is whole because it embodies our spirits and we cannot separate the two. My ULC courses have made me more aware than ever of the spirit and I see the Divine Hand in every thing, every day.  We are all children of the Spirit and I feel that these courses put me into a unique position - to help others find and heal their wounded spirits and to understand that a rich soul can benefit you far more than a thick wallet.  The ULC has helped me find purpose which is why I am seeking chaplaincy. Rita S. Milo ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. 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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirituality

Spiritualism for me materialized as though a bucket of ice water had been tossed onto my soul.  The younger years of my life were relatively placid:  I did all the things that my family and society expected of me but there was always an emptiness and questioning inside.  I felt lost, no, bereft of spirit and knew I needed to reclaim it. Physical ministering to those who need it is the easy part.  Food, clothing, shelter:  these are the most basic needs and thus the easiest to give.  Nourishment of the spirit?  You have to dig down deeply within yourself to find that answer.  For me it was like an epiphany because I would lay awake at night and literally watch my life play before me as if on a movie screen.  And I realized that while I had a soul, I had no spirit. Materialism played a part in the old Rita:  getting out there, working, earning money, and that was it.  There was no fulfillment because my soul and spirit were getting nothing from it.  My rude awakening came in 1987.  I hadn't been feeling well for a while; I'd put off doctors' visits and tests because I couldn't bear to miss a day of work.  And then I had no choice.  I had my fourth miscarriage and needed emergency treatment.  While performing the procedure, my doctor noticed an irregular formation indicative of State I cervical cancer.  I was 32 years old and came to in the recovery room effectively neutered - he had performed a total hysterectomy.  Then I was told that the deformities and Stage I development noted was a unique one:  usually found in the daughters of women who had been treated with DES during difficult pregnancies.  I was 32 and unable to bear any more children.  I was a failure and stereotypically, worthless as a woman. When I asked my mother she cried bitterly and I believe she blamed herself.  At that moment I hit rock bottom and knew I had to pull not only myself up, but also my mother.  God had spared me - but why?  That was when I realized that perhaps it was for a higher purpose.  It took a long, long time for me to gather the strength to look within myself and to confront the Rita I had become over the years.  I didn't like her very much and told her to get with the program.  I needed to heal my soul and that has been my life's journey ever since.  I understand that we are not meant to know all Divine intentions, but that we accept them gladly, no matter how difficult they are, because they are part of the purpose God has for us. I faced a lot of personal demons and there were times I could not look into the mirror of my soul without shielding my eyes.  God's love for us is whole because it embodies our spirits and we cannot separate the two. My ULC courses have made me more aware than ever of the spirit and I see the Divine Hand in every thing, every day.  We are all children of the Spirit and I feel that these courses put me into a unique position - to help others find and heal their wounded spirits and to understand that a rich soul can benefit you far more than a thick wallet.  The ULC has helped me find purpose which is why I am seeking chaplaincy. Rita S. Milo ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. 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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirit Quest

To all fellow ULC course members~~ I have worked on FORGIVENESS with family and others for years in different situations. I never really hit quite the Bulls Eye with those letters as I did with this round of writings. I chose to write a form of 3 letters. When I did the assignment, I just let it all flow or, I would never get to it to start with or get this part of the assignment completed. I was amazed at how rigorously honest I could get with each one, my Creator and Medicine Helpers came to help me as I chose to focus and DO THE ASSIGNMENT! They assisted to keep things at bay and helped me to not get to distracted. I was surprised at what came out on the paper in each step of this process in this discourse. I found; it was Honest, Non-Judgmental and straight to the point in each step of the way which helped me tremendously to stay focused and walk through it as best as possible. I have assisted in FAMILY CONSTALLATIONS healing work for others. Now I know you receive the healing in your issues that are similar however, I have not been the one speaking of the family dynamics. When I finished, I noticed a lightness and an understanding of others in a deeper way that I have in a long time. As I visualized my grounding cord for this weeks work in seminary to ready self with greater protection tools. I find these are gifted to us, a chosen few~~ as we CHOOSE to LOOK for them and HONE, REFINE them, to assist with arming self with tools to destroy the buttons that others seem to push and this in turn allows in pain that harm self in all facets of one's embodiment, no matter how it enter the body. I learned about the grounding cord and the Golden Sun with a little tweak to it. I never understood the importance of collecting and burning off the energies.  this is very helpful key. I understand now, these tools are to re-mind us of what we are here to do, you re-member? our our mission our purpose? and how to weave through life carrying out our Divine contract or agreement, with less things attached to us well... Rev. Amy's discourses are to assist each of us to purify ourselves and Burnish us so we will do our jobs with; Clarity, Courage, Streangh and Love.  I loved this one as I was able to incorporate the assistance of Sister Sun and have her help me collect those parts of my self I have spread out in and throughout my daily events.  Collecting this back up and bringing it back into me if I choose or sending it into Sister sun to transmute... great one, Rev. Amy! I especially love the part of ...        **RE-member to ground out energies that don't belong to you*** Before this course I learned to ground to the center of Mother Earth by desending on a Silver/Golden/White cord and tie it around a large crystal shard in the center of a cluster at the center of the Mother in the center of liquified Crystal. Anything that was not for your highest and best and/or  based in a negative not postive would be transmuted in the liquidation that is of Crystalan structure.  Only Divine unconditional love could live/exist there in this environment. With this discourse I can now feel the movement to the crystalan base and I'm there. much quicker.... I have done this during meetings to stay focused and not be scattered, used while supporting clients in overwhealming situations emotionally, and have used this to gather more energy into self when I was needing a nap and no time allowed for this in my schedule. Thank you Rev. Amy. Blessings from our Sacred Medicine Circle, Rev. Ayanvli Rick ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. 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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirit Quest

To all fellow ULC course members~~ I have worked on FORGIVENESS with family and others for years in different situations. I never really hit quite the Bulls Eye with those letters as I did with this round of writings. I chose to write a form of 3 letters. When I did the assignment, I just let it all flow or, I would never get to it to start with or get this part of the assignment completed. I was amazed at how rigorously honest I could get with each one, my Creator and Medicine Helpers came to help me as I chose to focus and DO THE ASSIGNMENT! They assisted to keep things at bay and helped me to not get to distracted. I was surprised at what came out on the paper in each step of this process in this discourse. I found; it was Honest, Non-Judgmental and straight to the point in each step of the way which helped me tremendously to stay focused and walk through it as best as possible. I have assisted in FAMILY CONSTALLATIONS healing work for others. Now I know you receive the healing in your issues that are similar however, I have not been the one speaking of the family dynamics. When I finished, I noticed a lightness and an understanding of others in a deeper way that I have in a long time. As I visualized my grounding cord for this weeks work in seminary to ready self with greater protection tools. I find these are gifted to us, a chosen few~~ as we CHOOSE to LOOK for them and HONE, REFINE them, to assist with arming self with tools to destroy the buttons that others seem to push and this in turn allows in pain that harm self in all facets of one's embodiment, no matter how it enter the body. I learned about the grounding cord and the Golden Sun with a little tweak to it. I never understood the importance of collecting and burning off the energies.  this is very helpful key. I understand now, these tools are to re-mind us of what we are here to do, you re-member? our our mission our purpose? and how to weave through life carrying out our Divine contract or agreement, with less things attached to us well... Rev. Amy's discourses are to assist each of us to purify ourselves and Burnish us so we will do our jobs with; Clarity, Courage, Streangh and Love.  I loved this one as I was able to incorporate the assistance of Sister Sun and have her help me collect those parts of my self I have spread out in and throughout my daily events.  Collecting this back up and bringing it back into me if I choose or sending it into Sister sun to transmute... great one, Rev. Amy! I especially love the part of ...        **RE-member to ground out energies that don't belong to you*** Before this course I learned to ground to the center of Mother Earth by desending on a Silver/Golden/White cord and tie it around a large crystal shard in the center of a cluster at the center of the Mother in the center of liquified Crystal. Anything that was not for your highest and best and/or  based in a negative not postive would be transmuted in the liquidation that is of Crystalan structure.  Only Divine unconditional love could live/exist there in this environment. With this discourse I can now feel the movement to the crystalan base and I'm there. much quicker.... I have done this during meetings to stay focused and not be scattered, used while supporting clients in overwhealming situations emotionally, and have used this to gather more energy into self when I was needing a nap and no time allowed for this in my schedule. Thank you Rev. Amy. Blessings from our Sacred Medicine Circle, Rev. Ayanvli Rick ******************** Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button. 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. Many have been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and can attest to its ongoing growth and change. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar