I believe that this course is a fairly complex and long one (in the good sense), and that any essay raising issues related to the Insight into Awareness must include a summary of the key points of each of the Insights. Having set a holistic basis for discussion, it can then delve into deeper considerations.
The course teaches us the Insights that, as more and more humans become aware of, will lead to a dramatic evolution of society over the new millennium.
The First Insight tells us to become aware of the mysterious occurrences that change one’s life. It is the insight of awakening, brought about by reaching a critical mass of individuals who now experience more spirituality. It requires us to remain open and alert for the coincidences in our life to move us towards our destiny.
The Second Insight asks us to acknowledge our awareness as something real, and to realize how we have up to now been preoccupied with control and the attainment of material security, but that we are collectively becoming aware of our essentially spiritual nature. The Universe is much more than material security and its true nature should be discovered. This Insight represents an awakening of true reality. However, our coming awareness should involve the spirit, the mind and the body in harmony, without neglecting any aspect of ourselves.
I began to question traditional religious views at the end of the twentieth century. Raised a Catholic, I had more and more issues with Christian concepts such as sin – especially the original sin – the transcendence of God, and the commands of the Church, which sounded increasingly antiquated. I turned to the study of Neo-Paganism and other new and old religious views, and I have been discovering and refining my true beliefs ever since. In that sense, it was a spiritual awakening.
The Third Insight informs us that everything in the universe is composed of Energy, and this Energy creates all the forms and substances of what we call our reality. This Energy responds to our intentions. This Insight requires a different understanding of the physical world. Being able to sense that energy first brings a heightened sensitivity to beauty. This beauty comes from the ability to use that universal Energy. The Third Insight leads us to understand that everything in the Universe is one, but that humans are unique in the sense that they can consciously project energy.
In a sense, the Third Insight tells us about the immanence of the Divine. The Love of God is present in all things, and that sensitivity to beauty comes from a new awareness of the presence of the Divine.
However, the Fourth Insight reveals the human tendency to steal energy from other humans by controlling them and taking over their mind. This creates a sentiment of scarcity and is the root cause of human violence (physical or otherwise). Personal insecurity, the fact of feeling depleted from energy, leads us to look for dominance and hunt for others’ energy. This can be summed-up in the two words power and competition, which very often rule human behavior.
Even on a metaphorical level, the Fourth Insight is interesting. It shows that humans cannot live spiritually while being disconnected from the Divine. They need to realize the presence of God – Divine Energy – in their life to avoid violence. They do not realize the immanence of the Divine in the whole of Creation. Therefore, their competition is meaningless, as God is in any case always with and all around them.
The Fifth Insight tells us that it is possible to reach a state of mystical consciousness, or higher purpose. This experience is the key to ending human conflict and shedding power and competition. We must open our minds, hearts and spirits to be able to tap into the unending source of universal Energy. This will lead to an increased need for transcendent experience, allowing love to enter into oneself. This consciousness will be felt as a sense of buoyancy and total security. The challenge is to maintain this stage of consciousness.
Simply realizing and accepting the immanence of God should already be a major step in the right direction for reaching that sense of love. Becoming aware of the beauty of things and people around us, a consequence of having accepted the Third Insight, should also help realize that conflicts are meaningless.
The Sixth Insight therefore asks us to face and resolve our particular way of controlling others so that we can tap into the source of universal energy. Each of us is the next step in the physical and spiritual lineage of our parents, and we should be able to recognize what they gave us and what we made of it. We will then need to clear away past attitudes, fears and behaviors, our unconscious control drama. Being able to assess ones’ true spiritual identity and to discharge one’s spiritual past allow to have a clear awareness of one’s spiritual path.
My mother was clearly an ‘intimidator’, and my father a ‘poor me’ if there ever was one. I would probably be something between an ‘intimidator’ and an ‘interrogator’ (yes, it is more difficult to assess clearly one’s own control dramas). Over the past years, I had to shed a number of fears I inherited from my parents. However, I think that this process was relatively successful and that I am now becoming more and more a leader/advocate (I am a mid-level diplomat and a published jurist, and it feels right).
The Seventh Insight teaches us to constantly evolve, to stay alert to every coincidence and allow our perception of beauty to guide our path. One must therefore focus on the environment, learn to build energy, and especially to learn to ask the right questions, follow our intuition and listen to our dreams to find the answers. Fear images should be done away with. This can be done by engaging the flow of universal energy into our life. Impulsive desires should be differentiated from intuitive knowing.
The Eighth Insight includes teachings on how to conduct relationships, especially about the dangers of being addicted to people (co-dependency), how to manage Energy within the family and especially with children, and how to consciously project energy into others, which is the next step in developing awareness. As we evolve spiritually, we will form groups with like-minded people, and this Insight tells us how to deal with group dynamics. This will allow the Energy to flow longer and brighter and bring out the best of each other.
As humans become more and more aware of the Insights, we are entering a new phase of the evolution of the human species and of the planet that relates to the spiritual perfection of the soul. This will be ensured by passing from our current five-sensory perception to a multi-sensory understanding that will lead to peace, compassion and Spirit. We will realize that we are Spirits or Souls having a physical experience and that time is generally meaningless. Every action, thought or feeling is motivated by an intention that is a cause with an effect that affects further reincarnations of the Soul through the law of Karma. To become whole, the Soul must balance its energy, avoid judgments, listen to feelings and understand them, and learn reverence for all life (and therefore humility). This all means making responsible choices and learning our lessons. Becoming a reverent person will mean becoming spiritual.
The Ninth Insight is an outline of where the human race is heading for the next thousand years. It gives the inspiration and motivation for our current actions. This utopian vision can be achieved through living by the eight other Insights, which will bring a heightened sense of alertness and move us towards our true destiny. It will involve a changing of occupation based on intuition, the automatic production of goods, and the achievement of Spiritual doctrine. We are therefore on a bridge towards the future and multi-sensory ability. Humans are the culmination of Evolution, and our common destiny is to reach Heaven on Earth.
I believe, however, that this vision of the world, although certainly not impossible, is still far off. First of all, only a very few people have reached the stage of multi-sensory ability, and most people remain focused on their material needs. The spiritual revival of the planet is still in its infancy, and violence is still prevalent. Violence is not necessarily increasing: it is simply more publicized through the media, but I feel nevertheless that anger is rising in Western societies. I fear that the situation will first of all have to become much worse for people to realize how much they need to regain the spirituality and the closeness from God that they have lost.
The Tenth Insight tells us how to remember our Birth Vision. This life purpose exists within us, and understanding it does not need to wait, as it unfolds in every moment of our life. Intuition is the key to find that purpose, thought the sequence of being, doing and only then having. The type of plan for that life purpose is usually defined at the time of reincarnation, although this is far from being always true. Learning our Birth Vision requires embracing our purpose and living past the fear.
In this new ear, humans will be able to become authentically empowered. They will be humble, having shed their fear and pain, will love and listen to their feelings, and will be able to forgive. They will aim at reaching goals together, not against each other. They will reach the freedom of taking responsibility for their lives. They will therefore be able to fulfill their Birth Vision. They will be able to let the Universe/God lead the way.
The course was thoroughly enjoyable. It was quite deep and insightful (no pun intended), and should be recommended to all Seminary students.
Rev. Baudouin Heuninckx
*******************************
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.
