A Course in Miracles

"Becoming the Channel for the Miracle Maker"

A Final Essay for the Doctor of Metaphysics Course

By Daniel L. Moore

            In the beginning, God created the first couple to reflect God's glory.  The instructor, guided by "A Course of Miracles," believes that sin came about because the Son of God forgot to laugh.  I differ as I am guided by the Holy Scriptures which teaches that sin began in the heart of Lucifer (aka, Satan, the Great Red Dragon, the serpent) who rebelled against God and later came to deceive and destroy humanity.

            That said, I do believe in many of the principles found in the course that help a person to go back to the "original design" of God – to reflect Divine Glory.  It does require a change of thinking for the Christian.  The Apostle Paul often taught the churches that they were to "put off the old man," that is the old way of living in fear, guilt and shame.  They were then encouraged to put on the "new man" which is the character and conduct of a follower of Christ.  It is a new way of life that is grounded in love and fueled by the Holy Spirit.

            In becoming a channel for the "Miracle Maker" (God by way of the Holy Spirit working in each Christian), meditation is a good tool.  From the book of Psalms the reader is instructed:  "Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah" (Psalms 4:4 NKJV).  This puts the focus off of self and then upon God.  This allows one to gain closeness to the Divine and seek out God in fellowship.  In this process, we learn to let go of selfish desires and replace them with divine desires.  In this time of prayer we can grow more in love with God and God's creation.  Note the Apostle Paul wrote about proper desire:

            "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11 NASB).

            We are not created to be aimless robots.   We are created for purpose and thus we should pursue lives of purpose.  Purpose gives direction.  It also requires intentionality.  If I believe my purpose is to create music that pleases others, then I cannot just sit around wishing.  I need to practice and practice and practice.  I need to set aside all distractions and focus.  This requires attention.  A master mechanic becomes one because he or she pays attention – to the big picture and to the small details.  The grandeur of majestic buildings, the paintings that catch life with unique expressions, the song with that tune we cannot shake, and the modern gadgets all around us are the results of the wonderful alchemy of purpose, intention, and attention blending together.

            God had a vision when God created the universe.  As a reflection of Divine glory, we are to be visionary.  This means to look forward.  The past can be a trap if we allow past mistakes to bury ourselves in guilt.  Learn the lessons but forgive the mistakes and sins.  Move one! 

            Channels for God to work miracles through do not work alone.  We are "lone rangers" but a body connected to the Head – Jesus Christ.  Help is offered, should be requested, and to be taken.  Help can come from a friend, a co-worker, a family member, a stranger, and the Holy Spirit.  To be created in the image of the Triune God, a community of Three Persons, is to be created into a community of God's family.  Our greatest help is God.  We sometimes don't like the answers given – but who truly knows best?  God. 

            Miracles can occur when we allow God to work.  This requires following God's instructions.  I met an evangelist who served as a pastor to "shantytown" in lower Mississippi.  His congregation never grew above one hundred.  He did many baptisms a year.  He would go visiting the people and often would ask those living in the shanties, "Do you want to see miracles in your life?"   He would invite them to a Bible study.  He told me, "And they saw miracles.  When they quit smoking and drinking alcohol, they had a miracle – they had money to pay the rent and electric bill.  When they quit doing drugs – another miracle as they could buy groceries!  When they cleaned up and applied for jobs – a miracle!  They were hired.  When they saved money – a miracle!  They were able to buy something without stealing from others.  We saw miracles all the time!"

            The miracles are there.  We just need to adjust ourselves to be the channels for God's blessings, pray for help, become more purposeful, and stand back to watch – another miracle!

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Spiritual Awareness

Master of Spiritual Awareness

Rev Don Eck

I have never been one to be able to relax and meditate without my mind wondering off on some event that took place during the day or the day before.  From the Spirit Quest to the Awareness class I have been able to actually finally after years meditate without letting myself be distracted.

By following the outline and lessons in these two classes I have been able to actual begin to become aware of things in my past and present life and how all these events and people have shaped me into the being that I am today.

I am now able to not only feel the energy that the Universe provides us but absorb that energy and gain a positive approach to life in all relationships at home and in business.

In the lesson on Our Need for Energy studying the "Parent", "Child" and "Adult" ego reaffirmed and brought to mind the things I learned years ago in college.  This lesson has helped me to become conscious of what's not working and I have been able to make changes in my actions to some of these things.  I am still working on some actions but this lesson was real to me and I will continue to work on myself in this area.

From this lesson on it was read, do the assignments, read, do the assignments and read, do the assignments.  I have had people that I work with tell me that I have changed in the last few months.  They say I am more relaxed and actually giving out lots of positive energy in the workplace. 

Thank you for these great courses. Lives do change  if one follows the lessons as assigned in each lesson.

Rev. Don Eck

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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.

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Four Gospels

The Four Gospels As I read the book, The Unvarnished Gospels, I compared what was contained within; to what I was taught to me by Thomas directly (some call him Saint Thomas ). Before I continue, I should probably explain. It was in 2006, when I was first attuned to Reiki. Before my first attunement, my Reiki teacher explained that once we are attuned to Reiki, our healing angel would make themselves known to us. Upon my first attunement, I suddenly began hearing the name Thomas over and over in my head. I asked my Reiki teacher about it, and she said that is how angels reinforce themselves- by repetition. While driving home that night, I began to hear, "Thomas from the Bible" over and over; I was confused, because I didn't recall a Thomas gospel in the Bible. When I got home, I opened my Bible and searched the index, but found no reference to Thomas; I decided I would search the internet later. I made dinner and sat down in front of the tv, when I turned it on, the History channel came up. Then the announcer said, "Coming up next on Banned from the Bible, the Gospel of Thomas." As you can imagine, I felt chills run through me and probably turned about five shades of white. Thomas was only with me a short time, approximately a month. During that time he opened me up to all sorts of teachings, but most importantly, the true teachings of Jesus; I believe that was his reason for being with me. For most of my life, I had a very negative view of Jesus, feeling that because of him, so much pain and death were wrought upon this world. Yet, through Thomas, I was exposed to the true teachings; I was shown in a mental, emotional and spiritual manner. This occurred while I was at work one day, since there is no 'time' within spirit; it took less than a few minutes. Afterward, tears began to flow down my face and would not stop. I had to retreat to the bathroom for several minutes, because I was so consumed with the power of what I had just experienced. Not only because the event itself was so powerful, but also because I realized how wrong I had been about Jesus. HE wasn't the one to blame for the atrocities carried out in his name, or the religion that sprang up in his name; it was ignorance and human ego that was to blame. From that point forward, I felt a stronger connection to Jesus, and have been very grateful to Thomas for sharing his knowledge and wisdom with me. When Thomas left, I received a new healing angel, and I knew then that Thomas had only come to show me the truth of Jesus and help me to awaken myself to higher levels of understanding. The Four Gospels What I learned through reading the four gospels, even with the original Greek translation, is that all of them are mostly inaccurate about his teachings. I do not come from any religious background, so I believe that I can remain fairly impartial when examining religious teachings. I do not hold any particular scripture sacred, yet, I also do not believe that any religion or teachings are wrong. In all of my studies, I have found some Truth within each of the numerous religions around the world. I also know that every person is incarnated here and reincarnated numerous times, in order for their soul to learn, grow and evolve, and within that framework, people can only grasp the ideas and concepts that they are ready for. In regards to the four gospels, it was clear from my viewpoint, having been exposed to Jesus' true intentions through Thomas, that none of the four gospel writers understood what Jesus was teaching. All of them appeared to exhibit Jewish foundational beliefs, and tried to explain Jesus through those precepts, instead of realizing that Jesus, while raised Jewish, was speaking about something clearly different from traditional Jewish teachings. Remember, Jews were taught about the Old Testament "wrathful and vengeful god that should be feared and worshiped" while Jesus taught about a radically different form of god. It should be of no surprise that most people, especially traditional Jews of that time, would not have understood this radical departure. The only way that many could understand, was by interweaving this new concept, within the old belief system; hence the reason each gospel author interpreted things in their own way. Additionally clear, is that by the time John was written, the author(s) were clearly writing to solidify the new Jesus "religion". The lessons began to sound more like they came from an evangelical preacher, than from a humble enlightened carpenter who was teaching his wisdom to the masses in order to help build a better, more loving world. I am sure there are people who will take exception to my essay based upon my connection to Thomas; however, I am not one to doubt my own personal experiences. Through Thomas, I learned that Jesus was just an enlightened human man with human flaws just like everyone else. Jesus was teaching about the God within, and how by finding this pure, loving light within each of us; we could truly transform the world. He was both a leader and a teacher; willing to risk everything for what he felt compelled to share with the world. In the end, he sacrificed himself to fulfill the prophecies, believing that this would bring about a revolution of human thinking and behavior, but what came instead was the complete opposite of his true intentions. Yet, over two-thousand years later, finally his true teachings are being realized, as many souls have finally evolved enough to comprehend the same understanding that Jesus had taught back then. People are realizing that God does not live outside of us. God is not some deity living worlds apart. God is not hiding in another dimension, in the sky, or in a place called heaven. God does not judge, nor does God favor. God doesn't grant us wishes, nor does God answer prayers. God is apart of everything, as we are each a part of everything. God is within, because we are all an interconnected individualizations of God. When Jesus said, "My God, your God, my Father, your Father" he was telling us that we are ALL children of God. There is nowhere that God is not. So seek God not outside of yourself, but learn to find and connect to the Divinity within. Once there, realize that you become your thoughts and your beliefs. It is not God, is it not fate, it is you that is in control of you. These are the Truths that I have awakened to in this lifetime. With Blessings. Rev. Bradley "Those who are here to teach, should teach; Those who are here to live, should learn; Those with ears, should hear!" Rev. Bradley ******************** 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

Spirit-Quest

Master of Metaphysics

 Rev. Don Eck

When I started this course I thought wow 30 weeks is a long time, but as each week passed I kept looking forward to the next lesson with excitement.  This has been a course that will be with me for years to come.  Thank you, Amy for putting together such a valuable course.

I found Lesson 3 Grounding and Center of the Head to be a little slow for me.  But with practice I found that this tool works anytime and anywhere.  I drive 47 miles to work each day and I would practice grounding myself as I drove the highway.  Soon I was finding that I could ground myself anytime I wanted to, releasing negative energy and pulling positive energy from the center of the earth. What energy I learned to pull from the earth.

I would practice bringing up a rose for hours, blowing them up and making a new one.  I have learned how to remove negative energy from around me and replace it with a big gold sun.  It has really helped me to deal with some very negative things going on in my life and I am sure this will be one of the most valuable tools that I will practice for the rest of my life.

Thank you for lesson 12 – Chakras.  I was not familiar with this topic at all.  I must have spent days on reading and practicing cleaning out my major chakras. 

The chapters on Affirmations and Asking the Right Questions were very enlightening.  I had forgotten how important affirmations were.  When I had my own Insurance business years ago I had learned about affirmations and over the years I had let them go.  Thank you for reminding me how important affirmations are.

I found the lessons on how the spirit communicates through music, numbers and color very interesting and informative.

The most difficult lesson for me was reincarnation.  I don't believe in reincarnation.  In order to get through this lesson I finally did what you said in the beginning and just worked off the assumption that reincarnation happens and then I was able to come to some understanding with the lesson.

In closing this paper I would just like to say again, thank you, Amy for putting together such a great course.

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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