Interfaith Spirit Quest

Body, Mind, Spirit: Healthy Dinner Ideas – Rewiring the Brain

A Prayer for Spiritual Community: Creator and Sustainer, in this spiritual community, in this time and place, may we feel your presence ever stronger, ever deeper. As we gather in a spirit of fellowship, may your love, strength and Spirit of Truth bless us all in every way. Thank you for our daily sustenance, food and strength, we ask for your blessings upon this meal. May each one present here tonight receive a special blessing of insight, may we go on to encourage, love and support each other as you would have us do. At this time, if there are any special prayer requests, aloud or in silent prayer, please mention them now for inclusion in this unbroken, connected chain of prayer….

Your prayers…______________________________________________________________________________________

…_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for hearing our prayer. In thanksgiving and in remembrance of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Body – Healthy Dinner/Supper Foods: Some of you may prefer a light dinner (supper) and heavier lunch, others may prefer to have their bigger meal in the evening – either way – we just need to pay attention to our bodies and do whatever works best. Parts 1 and 2 of this 3 part series may be found online at www.InterfaithSpiritQuest.com.

Healthy Dinner/Supper Ideas – Control your own portions and remember - everything in moderation.

• Soup or Chili, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita, Pickles/Olives/Veggies
• Big Salad Bowl, Loaded with Veggies, Light on Meat/Cheese/Egg/Beans, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita
• Grilled/Baked/Roasted/Boiled Lean Meat, Side of Stir-Fried or Fresh Veggies, Tossed Salad, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita
• Baked/Boiled/Grilled/Roasted Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes/Veggies, Fruit Salad/Fresh Fruit, Hearty Bread/Crackers/Pita, Pickles/Olives/
• Stir Fry Veggie Bowl, Lean Meat/Fish or Beans/Tofu, Brown Rice, Sliced Oranges or Fruit Salad
• Baked Fish, Boiled Cabbage/Carrots/Potatoes, Rye Bread

Interfaith Spirit Quest

Mind & Spirit - Brain Rule #3- Wiring: Every brain is wired differently. See Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School - by John Medina.

Every brain is wired differently and each brain can be re-wired to think differently – at will! Do you believe this?

In the book Brain Rules by John Medina, it talks about a Michael Jordan quitting Basketball to focus on a new challenge – Baseball. Michael Jordan failed miserably at Baseball, not even rising to the level of a minor league farm team! But this is Wisconsin and we love football, so today, we're going to talk about Brett Favre – our favorite NFL Quarterback and his 2009/10 NFL Football season with the Minnesota Vikings! J As you all know by now, the Vikings lost the NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints on January 23, 2010. Had they won, Favre would be playing in his third Super Bowl this year, his first two being with his beloved Green Bay Packers way back in the last century. J Favre threw an interception near the end of regulation time in the 4^th quarter, which sent the game into overtime, never to regain possession of the ball in overtime themselves, the Vikings promptly lost. The Saints make it to the Super Bowl. Go Indianapolis Colts! While I do not blame the loss on Favre, many people have picked up on the fact that Favre has been in this situation on two other occasions as a Green Bay Packer; once against the Philadelphia Eagles and once against the New York Giants. In both of those games, Favre also threw and interception that ended their hopes of heading to another Super Bowl.

So, what does this have to do with re-wiring the brain? What I'm trying to show here is that Favre actually had his best year ever as a Quarterback in the NFL! All of his stats were way up, his interception ratio was at the lowest number ever, throwing only 7 interceptions all year versus his previous average of 13 at minimum. Many years were much higher; Favre threw 20 interceptions during several years. Anyway, moving on….getting to the point now….

The question is: 1) How did he do it? How did Brett Favre, a 40 year old Quarterback, have his best year ever? How did he get his interception rate down to 7 from his previous average of 13? …and question 2) How or why did he throw that final, crushing interception?

The answer to question #1 is that he effectively re-wired his brain; he managed to eliminate all obstacles to his success by focusing on his biggest problem – interceptions. He changed the way he does business. He proved that he could do it through controlling his mind, thus controlling his actions.

The answer to question #2: So why did he thrown that last interception? First off, nobody is perfect, I believe that Favre did everything he could to lead the Vikings to victory but could have used a little help from the defense that day. Then of course there's the Referees stating publicly, after the game of course, that they messed up on a couple of calls that went against the Vikings. Anyway, so the answer is – perhaps re-wiring the brain is an extremely difficult thing to do and it requires intense, continuous desire and focus without let-up on the part of the individual to change. But Brett Favre did in fact prove that it could be done. He is to be forgiven for his momentary lapses, and this will only lead him to improve his performance should he choose to come back for another year – which I think he will do.

Every time you learn a new task, you are wiring your brain. To solve and old problem, we need to turn it into a new task. Do not think of things as problems, think of things as goals or targets. Do not think of problems, think of ways to reach your destination. Focus only on what will work, not on obstacles. While the author of Brain Rules, John Medina, talks a lot about the physical reasons for the wiring of our brains, and we certainly cannot do everything we think we can, the really cool thing that I have discovered is that our spirit personality is unquestionably capable of willing the physical body and mind to do the impossible!

Interfaith Spirit Quest

Interfaith Spirit Quest - Tips to help you re-wire your brain:

• Pray, meditate, contemplate – focus on your task/goal/target
• Be a reminder to yourself – leave notes, journal, repeat motions toward task/goal/target
• Exercise, eat healthy, sleep well, get some sunshine
• Evaluate your life – do you need to work on your love life, family life, play life and work life?
• Be honest with yourself, seek to understand why you don't make the right choices or changes
• Align your habits with your task/goal/target – that means create new habits and destroy bad habits
• Choose your life, map out your destiny; but accept who you are and soar where you know you can
• Have the experience. A few wise sayings:
  • "What you hear you forget, what you see you remember, what you do, you understand",
  • "Practice makes perfect".
  • "Just do it!"
• The Creator & Sustainer of the Universe wants you to enjoy an abundant, successful and fruitful life!
• Celebrate your abundance and enjoy the fruits of your success!

Interfaith Spirit Quest Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think it's possible for you, or Favre for next year, to be completely successful re-wiring the brain? _________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is keeping or preventing you from changing something about yourself that concerns you? _________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How can we support each other? How can we help and support ourselves? _________________________________________________________________________________________

Brett Favre began his career as an Atlanta Falcon in 1991 throwing 4 passes as a Falcon, 2 of them interceptions, 2 of them incomplete.

He was traded to the Green Bay Packers in 1992 and played there for 16 seasons. His interception ratio averaged 13-20 per season. He led the Packers to 2 Super Bowls, winning one and losing one.

 

 

 

In 2008 he asked to be traded to the Vikings, but Packers Management refused and traded him instead to the New York Jets where he had 22 interceptions and an all around bad year.

 

 

 

Ah, finally, the Favre's wish to become a Minnesota Viking is fulfilled. He takes the Vikings on a whirlwind romance and almost makes it to the Super Bowl. His interception rate during the regular season is pared down to 7. Brain effectively re-wired. There's always next year – one can only imagine what the Favre will do next.

Albert Einstein on God, Superhuman and Human Purpose

Selected quotes from Albert Einstein (with my comments in brackets):

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

(Where does this freedom come from?  Our thoughts?)

~

The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books - a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects.

(...ah, but what a great attempt at grasping we attempt.)

~

One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the main aim in life. The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work, pleasure in its result, and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community.

~

The point is to develop the childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition and to guide the child over to important fields for society. Such a school demands from the teacher that he be a kind of artist in his province.

~

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.

(The solution to the problems within the education system?  Life is beautiful - that's what we should teach!)

~

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.

(oooh, I wonder what that age is - am I too old too read?)

~

Let us not forget that knowledge and skills alone cannot lead humanity to a happy and dignified life. ... I claim credit for nothing. Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insects as well as for the stars, Human beings, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.

~

I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.

(...oh-oh, he seems contradictory here, or at least opinionated.)

I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no superhuman authority behind it.

(...those darn ethics.)

~

I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.

(Me thinks those doings are mankind's responsibility while we occupy in this space.)

~

Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.

~

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It's the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and science. Whoever does not know it can no longer wander, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed.

~

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

(...ah, but you cannot see it (the imagination), can you?)

~

Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.

~

If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.

(Well, being neither, I will just call you brilliant, and a citizen of the universe!)

Albert Einstein

Brain Rules, by John Medina - Re-Wire Your Brain

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School

Interfaith Spirit Quest Book Recommendation:  Brain Rules is a fascinating look at how our brains work and basically tries to teach us how to re-wire our brains.  Most of our actions have been hard-wired into our system through repetition.   Whether playing Beethoven on the Piano, or eating every last Hershey's Kiss in the package; practicing or repeating these actions ends up hard-wiring our brains to do it faster, better, more efficiently, practically without even thinking about it.   The author, John Medina, explains how our brains function so we can transform the way we think, feel and act.

From the back of the book: 

• Exercise improves cognition
• Every brain is wired differently
• We are designed never to stop learning and exploring
• Memories are volatile and susceptible to corruption
• Sleep is powerfully linked with the ability to learn
• Vision trumps all of the other senses
• Stress changes the way we learn

From BrainRules.net - Contents: 

EXERCISE | Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.

Will you age like Jim or like Frank? ~ Our brains love motion ~ The incredible test-score booster ~ How oxygen builds roads for the brain

SURVIVAL | Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.

Tour the amazing brain! ~ What’s uniquely human about us? ~ Goldilocks and the Swedish sauna ~ A brilliant survival strategy ~ How we conquered the world

WIRING | Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.

Neurons slide, slither, and split ~ Experience makes the difference ~ Furious brain development not once, but twice ~ The Jennifer Aniston neuron.

Buy the book or see the rest of the contents here.

 

2012: Science or Superstition - The Movie

Video Trailer for the movie:  2012:  Science or Superstition

 From 2012dvd - About the documentary movie: 
2012: Science or Superstition

December 21, 2012: the end date of the sophisticated Long Count Calendar created by the ancient Maya in Central America. Countless books and websites, magazine articles and newspaper headlines debate its meaning, with enthusiasts in two camps: those forecasting apocalypse–the end of time–and those who see a coming renewal, a rebirth of consciousness.

Adding fuel to the debate, some scientists see the increasing number of natural disasters in recent years as evidence of a catastrophic climax of events in 2012. How much of what we're hearing is science and how much is superstition? In this film the leading researchers, writers and scientists in the field tell us exactly what this date means to them, why it's important, and what we should expect.

Featured in the film are Graham Hancock, John Major Jenkins, Daniel Pinchbeck, Alberto Villoldo, Anthony Aveni, Robert Bauval, Jim Marrs, Walter Cruttenden, Lawrence E. Joseph, Alonso Mendez, Douglas Rushkoff, John Anthony West and Benito Vegas Duran.

Purchase the movie or the book:

Map of Humanity - Historically Oriented Map of the Soul

WOW!  View this interesting creation - a "Map of the Soul" or "Map of Humanity" - This Humanity Map, created by James Tuner, is a giant atlas listing human emotions, states of mind, judgments, characters and more; placing real and fictional locations in seemingly purposeful specific territories or continents.

Larger Version of

Map of Humanity

The Map of Humanity organizes information much like an atlas organizes information geographically, except this map organizes locations based on moral, emotional, and cultural significance.  This is a very interesting map to just sit and study. 

Map features continents and other geographically situated markers called: 

• Wisdom
• Truth
• Reason
• Answers
• Hedonism
• Abandonment
• Tranquility
• Courage
• Faith
• Dreams
• Eros
• Imagination
• Ingenuity
• Realism
• Ignorance
• Pride
• Destruction
• Poverty
• Abomination
• Hate
• Envy
• Workaholic Island
• Greed
• Aspiration
• Freedom
• Hope
• Slumberland
• Compassion
• Fool's Paradise
• Utopia

Bodies of Water named:

• Oceanus Cognitum
  
• Sea of Knowledge
• Sea of the Shortsighted
• Sea of Foolishness
• Gulf of Arrogance
• Bay of Logic
• Gulf of Election Promises
• Strait of the Lost
• Strait of Hopelessness
• Oceanus Crisium

Cities named:

• Alexandria
• Stockholm
• Beijing
• Baghdad
• Orleans
• Cologne
• London
• Medina
• Boston
• Tel Aviv
• Naples
• Basra
• Verdun
  
• Chicago
• Chernobyl
• Forbidden Zone
• Vienna
  
• Moscow
• Monaco
• Los Angries
• The Hague
• City of Gold and Lead
  
• Metropolis
  
• Milan
• Olympic City
• Aircastle (in Utopia)

Websites that explain the Map of Humanity in more detail: 

• JT Illustration - The Map of Humanity

"It is an attempt to map the last six thousand years of human history and thought upon a theoretical geography to discover a sense of what kind of civilization humanity has attained. And like the geography of human nations, it is in constant flux, changing and growing as long as mankind walks the face of the earth."

• Joey DeVilla - The Map of Humanity

"Just as Inferno was the most interesting book of The Divine Comedy, the equatorial area and parts south are more interesting. Here’s a map of “Elysium” and its neighbor “Fool’s Paradise”."

• James Turner - explains the Map of Humanity

"From the mythical cradle of human thought in the Garden of Eden, to the farthest reaches of human imagination, the map plots out mankind’s achievements, trials, and tribulations throughout history. We have constructed a world made up of our own actions and beliefs, as much as the one formed by the land we live on. The map of humanity is formed by our thought, our feelings, our dreams, and our nightmares."

Buy the Map of Humanity here or click on the image below to purchase on Amazon:

• 24 x 36 inch Giclee Print (an elevated printing technology)
• Heavyweight Coated Paper
• Suitable for Framing
• Beautifully Illustrated and Quite Legible
• Printed with Archival inks on 12 color Large Format Printer
• Illustrated by the creator of the Rex Libris comic book series James Turner

Like a Butterfly: Creating Conscious Evolution

Humanity Ascending, a video about conscious evolution, offers a hopeful image for the conscious universal growth and progress of humanity.  We as humans are often resistant to change, but good ideas do eventually develop into reality, and like a caterpillar eventually becomes a butterfly if all goes well; we too can develop into something even more beautiful.  We’re not supposed to stay cooped up in our cocoon – we’re supposed to be born again, born into a new reality of truth, beauty and goodness. 

Please watch the following trailer for Humanity Ascending, a video by Barbara Hubbard:

After you have watched the movie trailer, you may wish to purchase Humanity Ascending video - you can do so here. 

Questions to consider after watching Humanity Ascending:

Q1: What can we do to step out of our cocoon?

Are you taking steps along the way toward your spiritual growth and progress, your conscious evolution? Or are you playing it safe, just trying to muddle through life without getting hurt too bad? In the video, Humanity Ascending, we are urged to move past the destructive phase of our existence and progress into a loving and compassionate phase of new reality.

Q2: What role does our faith, our religious beliefs, play in the various levels of our conscious evolution?

What we need is faith that boldly proclaims God's love for all people, and then to boldly demonstrate that faith by showing God's love to everyone we know and meet.

Q3: What can we do to consciously evolve our faith into this new phase of reality?

We need to get to a point where we love everyone with a universal affection, a love that breaks down barriers and seeks to unite us. We must meet people where they are, forgive their ignorance – Jesus did, we must also be able to forgive ourselves when we fall short – let's not be so hard on ourselves; let's get back up, seek new information and try again. Let us pray for a spirit of service, joy, humility, abundance, generosity, wisdom and strength.

Q4: What happens if we do nothing?

Taking the easy way out, doing nothing, will do more harm than doing something in the long run. People will continue to live in ignorance, thereby stalling not only their own progress, but that of those who surround them. Imagine what could happen if the world embraced a unified, conscious evolution toward loving others as God loves them. This is an improvement on the golden rule; which says to treat others as they treat you – or alternatively, do unto others as you would have done unto you. It's quite different to love others as God loves us; it really makes one think on a higher level.

Free Butterfly Mandala Patterns to print out and color: 

   Lucy Learns Butterfly Mandala Patters to Print and Color

 

Materialism - Materialists - Secularism

It is not the material/physical body that enjoys material things, for when the material body dies, it is just like the dust; it is your spiritual soul or divine mind that does the enjoying. Unfortunately, for many of us, the spiritual soul has too strong of a connection with the material body and is too concerned about its comfort.

Moral convictions based on spiritual enlightenment and rooted in human experience are just as real and certain as mathematical deductions based on physical observations, but on another and higher level.

Urantia Paper 195.6

From Wikipedia – Materialism: The philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that can be truly proven to exist is matter, and is considered a form of physicalism. Fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions; therefore, matter is the only substance.

Do you think so?

Science is unwittingly responsible for our present day materialistic pursuits (although science minded folks will blame religion for everything). Delighted and fascinated are they with their practical discoveries and inventions – so much so that they compel and demand our allegiance and participation – almost like a religion! But underneath all of this excitement is a rock solid spiritual foundation.

Materialism promotes by its very existence the idea that man must perform like a machine, because a machine can do it better and faster; we should strive to be like the machine (presumably, instead of like God). But we must remember that we are the purpose for the machines' existence. The machine exists to satisfy our needs. We designed the machine, it did not design us, nor does it define us. It is nothing. The machine is designed for the physical body and is not concerned with the spiritual realm.

Did mind emerge from matter, or did matter emerge from mind? If man is only matter, then how does he know he is only matter?

Machines, and science, should enhance our lives, our enjoyment, and expand our horizons. They should serve us and not take away anything from us. If it does not do this then it is bad science and is destructive and harmful.

Does a machine value another machine? Do they appreciate and respect their contribution? Is the machine even aware of its own purpose? Can it change its purpose at will? We can – which is all the evidence one needs to realize that we are more than a machine, more than matter. We are not matter, but we do matter!

Many people have a mechanistic view of life, for instance believing that efficiency and profit are all that matters. You can walk into any discount store nowadays without even interacting with another human being. Self-serve shopping and self-checkout lanes – why not just leave your money at the door and skip the whole shopping experience altogether? You can even do your shopping on the computer, and you don't even have to leave your house, your merchandise will be delivered right to your door! How convenient, right? Human interaction is being methodically, intentionally or un-intentionally, eliminated from our world.

So, is this bad or good? What happens to humanity when the only level of personal, human interaction comes about as a result of our own determined efforts to be with other people? Are we eliminating everyday human interactions, like shopping and working, at our own peril; or are we creating an opportunity for more meaningful and personal human relationships to develop? Perhaps it depends on our perception. Maybe we can have both – maybe we can bring back the human cashier and the human worker and still develop the more meaningful and personal relationships in other areas. I think we need both. The human is capable of seeing things that a machine could never see (never say never?). I wonder if the company CEO realizes the profit potential of each human being, and ignores it as his own peril. I wonder if they can ever get past human weirdness, quirkiness, difficulties and mistakes; and see how valuable we really are to them, their companies, and to each other.

Do you think it's true that man must be more than matter (material), since he recognizes his materialness? Machines deteriorate, man deteriorates. Machines do not progress without human intervention. Humans create their own progress.

Do you think a machine could ever create? Well, we're actually closer to that then you might realize. Artificial Intelligence is mechanistic intelligence that will soon surpass the creative intelligence of human beings. That is, the intelligence of one individual, not necessarily our collective intelligence. There will come a day, maybe it's here already, when we will rely on this artificial intelligence to live our lives and to make choices. But we should remember that we created the machine that can do this – we fed it with information, statistics, and the ability to calculate (almost thinking). So when we have access to a machine that is smarter than we are, smarter even than a 5^th grader, J will we be angry K at what we have done, or will this open up some sort of undiscovered reality for us?

Science, math and machines materialize because of our mind. Without us, it all ceases to exist. If I sit and philosophize, if I put my philosophy on my computer machine and broadcast it to the far corners of the earth, does it even matter if no one is there to hear it or read it? Don't I need another philosopher or interested individual to pick apart or validate my thoughts? What do I care if my machine can analyze my philosophy? The machine means nothing to me in the whole scheme of things. It's the connection to other human beings that is meaningful and important to me.

Likewise, is it significant to God that matter, the dirt of the earth, the water in the sea, functions as a result of his expectations? Well, it might be important, maybe even significant, I don't know, but this was not the reason he created it all – he created it to serve a higher purpose. This is why we create machines and other material things – but sometimes we lose sight of the higher purpose.

The ultra-materialist, the one who uses material/matter for his own gain, denies God. Secularism, the materialist's cousin, ignores God and believes it can replace God with methodologies. We should know that the more material and secular we become, the more unhappy and even violent we can become. We must use the machines and other matter we create to assist us in our endeavors to connect with our higher purpose.

It is not necessary to sacrifice faith in God in order to enjoy the blessings of the modern secularistic revolt: tolerance, social service, democratic government, and civil liberties. It was not necessary for the secularists to antagonize true religion in order to promote science and to advance education.

… Secular social and political optimism is an illusion. Without God, neither freedom and liberty, nor property and wealth will lead to peace.

Urantia Paper 195:.8.8 & 12

References: Sources used for this presentation

Urantia Book Paper 195

Truthbook.com: Materialism

Wikipedia: Materialism

 

 

Study Shows: Women generally more Religious than Men

A study recently released by Trinity College of Hartford, CT is apparently indicating that women are generally more religious than men. This 2008 American Religious Identification Survey reveals that there are a greater percentage of women (55%) than men (44%) within the Christian religion. This percentage is virtually reversed within the Eastern Religions traditions, and is about even within the Jewish tradition, a fact that could be related more to philosophy than anything else.

Those who conduct these studies have always thought that the reason there were more women within the Christian tradition was because women generally outlive men, so there are naturally more women than men in the population at any given time. However, this does not explain the figures for Jewish and Eastern Religions. The figures for 'No Religion' seem to indicate that women are generally more religious than men. We should note that 'No Religion' does not necessarily mean atheist - it simply means that the person surveyed is not affiliated with any named institutionalized religion, and are likely to call themselves Humanistic, Ethical Culture, Agnostic, Atheist, or Secular individuals.

What would be even more revealing and quite interesting is a further breakdown within some of these religious traditions. Let's compare female friendly religions versus male-dominated/oriented religious denominations/traditions. This would answer the question 'which religions make men and women feel loved and accepted?' and 'which religions remain male-dominated/oriented?'.  The answers to these questions may very well cause an immediate boost to the membership lists of religious establishments that appear to be more female friendly. 

Here are two charts: The first chart shows the general breakdown of male/female composition, the second gives a more detailed breakdown.

Detailed Breakdown of Gender Composition of Religious Traditions

Religion	% Male	% Female
Catholic	46	54
Baptist	43	57
Mainline Christian	44	56
Christian Generic	48	52
Pentecostal-Charismatic	42	58
Protestant	45	55
Mormon-LDS	45	55
Jewish	49	51
Eastern Religions	53	47
Muslim	52	48
NRM & Other Religions*	52	48
No Religion**	60	40

*  'NRM & Other Religions' may include those involved in Scientology, New Age, Eckankar, Spiritualist, Unitarian-Universalist, Deist, Wiccan, Pagan, Druid, Indian Religion, Santeria, Rastafarian, or other non-mainstream religions.

** 'No Religion' does not necessarily mean atheist - it means that the person surveyed is not affiliated with any named institutionalized religion and are likely to call themselves Humanistic, Ethical Culture, Agnostic, Atheist, or Secular individuals.

To view the complete study – see PDF Document - 2008 American Religious Identification Survey

God’s Relation to the Universe

God created the universe with a purpose and of his own free will and for his own satisfaction. The universe labors to bring forth intelligent human beings who possess the power to pro-gress and per-fect. The universe does this under the superintelligence and guidance of the Universe Creator, God. Everything revolves around progress.

God upholds the universe, its planets, places and spaces, all things material and spiritual; he maintains its stability. In the midst of seeming chaos, there is always this sense of order, stability and trust – don't you agree? God created a sustainable, renewable universe – everything is designed to renew and refresh and perhaps even expand.

Nature is not God, nor is nature something to be worshipped; it is something to be appreciated, cared for and used as God intended.

God is related to the universe in many ways, but especially in the sense of his goodness (creation and maintenance of the universe), his creativity (design and function of the universe), and his eternalness (which includes an invitation to us to join him in eternalness).

We humans still think of God in primitive ways, we have been taught that the Universal God would inflict wrath and pain upon his creation; this is wrong. God does not physicalize his displeasure. The god/s who were imagined to do this were created, dreamed up in a more primitive time; yet we still follow this line of thinking.

We are slowly beginning to realize that we live in a good place, a universe of order and stability, and of laws – physical and spiritual, but we have trouble connecting the dots. Surely a wrathful God who would just as soon destroy his creation could not have created the universe just described !?! To connect the dots between God and the universe means to realize that just as a loving father and mother take care of their creation (children), in even greater care and concern does God watch over his universe.

God does not desire sacrifices, nor does he demand obedience with hell as a consequence of disobedience (the earthly consequences of our actions are the only hell we must suffer through). Do you think God is satisfied at seeing Jesus crucified on a cross? Far from it. Is there not a better way to please God? Perhaps all God desires is progress.

 

From the Urantia Book – Paper 4:0.1

The Universal Father has an eternal purpose pertaining to the material, intellectual, and spiritual phenomena of the universe of universes, which he is executing throughout all time. God created the universes of his own free and sovereign will, and he created them in accordance with his all-wise and eternal purpose. It is doubtful whether anyone except the Paradise Deities and their highest associates really knows very much about the eternal purpose of God. Even the exalted citizens of Paradise hold very diverse opinions about the nature of the eternal purpose of the Deities.

Labyrinth Patterns - Find Yourself

Action: Decide which path you want to take and find yourself.

Print out our colorful Labyrinth patterns (garden mazes), grab a pencil and find yourself.

Labyrinth Patterns to print:
Download LabyrinthPatterns0109   - PDF Document

As you walk toward the center of the Labyrinth (you and your pencil), think about your own center, take a journey inward. As you attempt this inward journey on the Labyrinth pattern, don’t worry about completing it quickly, take your time. Whenever you run into an obstacle (wall/border), think about your bad habits, the things you wish you would do differently. Determine or declare that you will do them differently next time. Whenever it seems you’ve found the way, you’ve made it closer to the center, think about your inner strengths and all the times these strengths have helped you through bad situations. Determine or declare that you will always call upon these inner strengths in the future. Try to understand yourself as you continue the journey inward. When you arrive at the center, feel or imagine the warm embrace of a loving God, take time to joyfully revel in your success and the abundance of God’s love.


About Labyrinths: Unlike mazes, a labyrinth has no dead ends - there is only one path. There are twists and turns, but you will not get lost. With a labyrinth you don't have to think about the path, so you are free to relax and think about other things. Labyrinths are calming and meditative, which is why labyrinth gardens have been built for thousands of years.

Labyrinth Books