Buddhism

Master of Buddhism Majick W. RavenHawk This particular class is written quite well.  I have been a practicing Zen student for over 30 years and I am glad to see all the different nuances within Buddhism covered. It is not only learning about the philosophy/religion that is important , yes we are better human beings by learning the differences of each culture and religion.  What I find is that it is better to live the experience. By finding what resonated with your inner being and following your heart allowing your true essence to find its purpose while here on this planet at this time.  The understanding that we are all Buddha and Buddha in nature we can come to grasp that we are all interconnected in the essence of consciousness.  There is truly no "us and them", there is only the oneness.   It struck me as incomprehensible when I witnessed a man on the news ranting about how he did not think it was his place to help those who were in need during this recession and had lost their homes.  He stated that it was their own fault for making bad judgment calls on investments and having little savings.  He felt that if they had to live on the streets so be it as long as he took care of himself.  The ranting was loud and full of rage.  I wondered if somewhere down the line he might not suffer the fate of those he refused to help and how he would feel if others turned their backs on him.  Whether or not people understood what they were getting into during the time of greed and attachment one good thing has come from it.  It has shown how painful it is to have such great attachment to the material so much so that one loses their own identity and becomes the "things".  It has also produced many who understand and have reached out in compassion to help those struggling during these times. As the Buddha taught that attachment only brings suffering is so true.  Without the attachment there is no suffering because the "want" no longer drives us and the "things" not longer define who we are.  We are part of the collective consciousness or unconsciousness. The choice is ours.  Should we decide to suffer or reach a point of non-suffering, it is ultimately up to us and what resonates with our very being.  Should we awaken or slumber in our suffering. ******************************* The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have multiple classes in Christianity, Wicca, Religious Philosophy, three courses in Metaphysics. a course in Buddhism, a re-vamped course on Shamanism, and much more. The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. 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

Sample Awareness

Insights into Spiritual Awareness course; essay By: Rev. Frank L Ducharme     Although I have read the book Celestine Prophecy some time ago and found it very inspiring, this course detailed step by step each insight that brings a new level of understanding. I have found this to be very enlightening and reaffirming to my practices and beliefs. I can say I have truly enjoyed this course and looked forward to each and every lesson. This course was not only a learning experience but a lesson of growth and development.     To slow down and put the habitual repetition of every day life aside for a moment and pay attention to the subtle signs that are easily missed. The signs and guidance are there we just need to open ourselves to see and accept them. We need to trust ourselves and trust what we feel and act upon what our instincts tell us not how we are conditioned to react. We must retrain ourselves not to get caught up in life's daily routines but to experience life and the world around us to better see all it has to offer.      There are times we should think of our selves but we must also think of how we all affect each other, How our own actions affect the others around us and future happenings. One action or reaction can affect so many and how others may act or react in future situations. Every conversation no matter how mundane it may seem hold a message and has meaning, We need to pay attention to every thing that takes place in our daily lives because some ware sometime it may have a greater meaning or a lesson we need to learn. One may see a particular situation as a bad experience but we needed it to take place for one reason or another to learn from and break the cycle.     I was born into a Roman Catholic home as was my father and grandparents, my mother however was raised protestant and had what I would say different views. Upon entering school I went to a private Catholic school from first grade to eight having religious classes on almost a daily bases. Some ware between fifth and sixth grade I started to realize the contradictions I was being taught and started questioning what the priest and nuns were saying and teaching and believe me that was not what you were suppose to do. Throughout my teenage years to early adult life I searched for a belief system that I could wrap my head around, something that made sense and I could wrap my head around. At almost thirty I began a serious study of Wicca and the Pagan ways and things began to make sense. It is a belief and an ever evolving practice that encompasses what I have felt for so much of my life and is a way of growing that does not restrict or control.      Whether we realize it or not all of us thrive on energy, Energy from the center of the universe. We as humans have ways of sucking that energy from one another, one such way is threw conflict and control. Those who constantly try to control every one they come in contact with, who dominates every conversation are generally insecure in one way or another. Some ware in there lives they are not in control at all and so every ware they go the may feel the need to control every aspect and by doing so they will suck the energy from every one they come in contact with. Another method of control is seen threw conflict, some people feel or believe they can only gain power and control threw conflict and manage to drain the life power from others until there is nothing left. Once you realize that you don't have to control others to get the power you require, that by fowling the principles of the insights you get all the power you need naturally life become so much simpler and easier to navigate, you can be truly happy and at ease.      Once we realize that the energy we thrive on can be obtained from some ware other than the people around us, that the universe itself has all we need and its there for the taking we just need to learn how to accept it. We need to take care of our selves by diet and exercise, and slow down a bit to enjoy the sights sounds and savor the tastes that we encounter on a daily basis. Through meditation and relaxation we can relieve the daily stress and focus on the positive energy. For if we can put forth positive energy and keep a positive attitude then we can affect everyone we encounter in a positive way and keep the positive flow of energy flowing around us. We also need to pay attention to each and every interaction we have on a moment by moment basis to see and realize what each conversation means, what message is their for us. Every experience we have on a moment by moment basis happens for a reason, we need to pay attention and learn from our experiences in order to evolve into a higher being. If we can affect more and more people we encounter with positive energy and a positive attitude and teach them to do the same, imagine the ripple effect it can have on society and how the world could change.     We are all here on earth for a purpose, to experience everything that occurs throughout our lives for a reason. To encounter everyone we meet in our lifetime on purpose, there are no chance encounters or coincidences we actually chose our entire life's journey at the moment of birth. We choose our parents and family and friends to shape our life's experiences so we could learn and feel what we needed in order to evolve to the next level for the next time around. Each life we choose what we need to experience in order to learn from those encounters. Each and every time we choose what we need in order to proceed for the next time we are born. When we succeed in learning what we need we will then advance to the next level of existence.     At this point in our history, we are not yet at the point of soaring as the eagle, but rather we are still caught up in the good versus evil. Our world is in chaos. Our leaders are ineffectual, religion has lost its purpose and that a great transformation is nearing. The transformation is not the result of a mythical "second coming," but rather must stem from the higher thoughts of man; a man that reconnects mentally with the center of all that is in order to break our cycle of destruction and ignorance. The time is getting close and, as the Hopi have said, "it is we who we have been waiting for." Higher human consciousness is attempting to break, alter, or change the current cycle.  A cycle filled with ruinous dogma, fear, greed and confusion. Humanity is approaching a moment in time where he can consciously choose his next evolutionary step.   A great vibratory train is headed straight for us and that we must choose to either stay in its way or to get off of the track. If there is disaster, it will be because we stayed on the track. As with Nostradamus, the Book of Revelations and other prophecies, we are given the tools, in the form of a largely pictorial code, to raise our awareness, our vibration and our very nature above the 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.' It is time to look deeply into the tools and images that been offered as a gift to our time and learn the true revelation of their inner meanings.    "The return of the Goddess and all of her wisdom."     Once we transform into multi-sensory beings we will then see the beauty in everything and everyone. We can then look past the inabilities and disabilities and see the true abilities and potential. To recognize our intuitions and senses and true abilities and trust out gut feelings to guide us. Prophecy, telepathy, and clairvoyance will be accepted and taught as the norm. We will then be whole again.        The methods and activities set forth in this course are not necessarily a new concept but very important for awareness and self growth, and so simple. It is so very easy to get caught up in life's challenges and the daily routine, one needs to take the time for yourself ; reflect and keep in touch with the energy around us. Everything we need to continue growing and evolving is their we just need to recognize and utilize it.   Blessed be to all Frank L Ducharme *******************************   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.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.   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

Buddhism

1.  The festival or holiday that appeals to me the most is Abhidhamma Day, the day that the Buddha became the Buddha and achieved enlightenment.  I see it as the day that it was proven that had the authority to teach his new philosophy to those who would listen.  I see this day as very similar to the Christian Holiday of Easter where it is taught that Jesus rose from the dead proving his divine authority to preach his new philosophy to those that would listen.         2.  This tells us that when using the things, primarily food items, provided by nature that we should only take what we need and not take any more than that.  It is not necessary to warehouse the things that nature provides or grow it and harvest it for a profit.  If we were to only take what we need as we need it nature would continue to produce it and make sure that there is the amount needed for our survival, not over-consumption, but our survival. 3.  I believe that if the Buddha was teaching today, he would teach that Buddhists and everyone else, should not only abstain from eating meat but also should follow a vegan diet.  The reason for this with today's technology is simple;  it can easily be done.  i have been a vegetarian for 2 years now and can honestly say that I have not gone hungry.  I believe that based on the products available, the Buddha would teach that there is not a need for meat.  I also believe that if he was exposed to slaughter houses and the factory farm.   *******************************   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.We also offer many free wedding ceremonies for your use.   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

Christian History

Final Essay for Masters, Christian History One of the first striking elements of the course, which may or may not have been intended by the author, was the initial framing of the purpose of the course as one that ultimately explores history from a theological–revelatory perspective. Dr. Loy opens his lesson with an exploration of Paul's historical assessment that the Greeks, Romans, and the Jewish people had participated in the historical preparation for the emergence of Christ. While I would argue that this bears no resemblance to the field of history per se, it does illuminate one perspective of how history is interpreted theologically. This is a striking continuance of how the gospels themselves reexamine and reinterpret the Hebrew Scriptures outside their Jewish theological and social contexts and within the Christian frameworks.  In this fashion, what I am ultimately arriving at, is one of the most striking elements I gained from the course was an awareness of and appreciation for the continued tradition of interpreting historical events as the unfolding revelation of God's direct involvement in human lives.  While I am not a Christian, I can appreciate the vitality that such, what might be best termed, a "theohistorical" examination provides in assuring the continued potency of the faith and reinforcing the centrality of the theological belief that Christianity is the final covenant and revelation of God to humankind.  In short, history is preparation for Christians—it is a place of continued discover of God's will. This sense of unfolding revelation and continued vitality was also illustrated in the course through its examination of the theological, how Christians came to think about and understand their faith, development over time.  Dr. Loy does a superb job in exploring the diverse fruiting of thought that emerged after the death of Christ and the rise of monastic orders and the structured Catholic Church.  One thing that I would suggest would be a continued discussion of this unfolding through contemporary times that examines the true diversity of theological strands that have framed the diverse Christian views; in this fashion, truly examining the past and current breadth of the unfolding revelation of God within the Christian faith. I was also struck with the relationship between the unfolding of the Christian faith and Christendom—that is a Christianized political environment.  Dr. Loy discusses at length the growing complexity that such merging led to liturgically; additionally following this it appears the Christian church also underwent significantly greater refining of complex theological issues such as freewill. On the one hand, Pope Gregory asserted that while we inherit sin, we do not inherit "badness"—thus human beings not only engage in redemptive behavior through the baptismal and continued participation in the Eucharist, affirming their relationship to Christ, but are charged with engaging in rigorous self-assessment to ensure they are engaging in right-acting behavior.  What questions I was left with in this lesson (16) was the precise definition of sin from a theological level as Gregory saw it—are the seven deadly sins defined at this point, is sin reflective of something less tangible, how is it defined against its Hebraic origins? I also found this theosophical element a fascinating one in that, to some degree, it logically undermines the notion that one can interpret the unfolding of historical events from a revelatory and theologically preparatory way.  Pope Gregory appears to address this aspect by holding there are exceptions to the predestined versus freewill argument by suggesting there was an "elect" exempt from free will.  I would have liked greater clarification as to who reflected this. All in all, I enjoyed the course and I appreciated Dr. Loy also attending to issues pertaining to women within the church, violence that emerged as the Church became a political authority, as well as defining the unique differences between East and West Christian structures and the source of this schism.  Rev. Katherine MacDowell ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link. Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program. Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar