Choosing A Metaphysical Education And Career

The word "metaphysics" comes to us from Ancient Greece – meta, meaning higher – beyond earth physics or invisible physics. In the standard dictionary definition metaphysics is referred to as a branch of philosophy that deals with First Cause and the Nature of Being. Students studying this advanced knowledge of evolution should not accept its teachings unless a "compatible feeling" accompanies it. Metaphysics is not meant to be studied solely as an intellectual pursuit. A student of metaphysics does not attempt to solve all questions materially. They are taught to accept that which happens obviously, even when no scientific explanation can account for it. It is taught as a branch of philosophy in many academic colleges and universities today as "Speculative Philosophy."

Metaphysics is synonymous with the Greek word Pantheism (pan meaning all). Pantheism is the doctrine that God(dess) is all, the sum total of everything that exists; all things, animate and inanimate, including the earth and humans are manifestations of God(dess); suffering, evil, and change are aspects of God(dess) as much as the ultimate good in everything.

Today, the word "metaphysics" has become a description of many fields of interest such as: philosophy, religion, spirituality, parapsychology, mysticism, yoga, ESP, dreams, Jungian psychology, astrology, meditation, self-help studies, positive thinking, holistic healing, life after death, reincarnation, etc.

The common denominator of these and other comparable subjects deals with an exploration of Reality, and how this knowledge may benefit humanity, both individually and collectively. This is why most professional metaphysical practitioners regard metaphysics as a spiritual philosophy of life. They use this spiritual philosophy in whatever system or teaching of metaphysics they are engaged in.

Metaphysical practitioners throughout the world are engaged in different things, all under the general label of metaphysics. This encompasses a wide range, such as yogis, mystics, psychics, astrologers, channels, spirit mediums, positive thinking teachers, meditation teachers, spiritual ministers, spiritual and pastoral counselors, spiritual and holistic healers, self-help teachers, etc. The range is wide, but, again, the common denominator is the search for truth, purpose and meaning in life. CIAMSS views all of these fields as part of Metaphysics, in regard to our Degree and other educational and certification programs.

The College of Inner Awareness, Metaphysical and Spiritual Studies is a private, non-secular college. Our study programs and degrees are designed solely for religious/spiritual/metaphysical/holistic vocations and avocations and are theological not academic. At CIAMSS, we do not take one phase of study over another – it is our belief that there are many paths we may travel on the way to finding Truth. We believe that all paths "lead to the top of the mountain".

Metaphysics As A Career

Many who have inquired about a metaphysical career, while communicating to us their enthusiasm and desire to enroll in the CIAMSS education programs, have at the same time expressed their uncertainty as to what they wish to do after graduation. Our answer is, do not limit yourself. There are many opportunities in the field of metaphysics; remain open to all of them.

Many of our students, from around the world, have enrolled in CIAMSS for the knowledge factor alone. They have no intention of becoming a metaphysical practitioner. We welcome all students, degree or non-degree, certification or personal growth. Whether you are studying for a metaphysical vocation or just for the knowledge that may be acquired, you will enjoy the improvement you will realize in your life as a result of your studies and a metaphysical lifestyle.

Whatever your motivation for studying with CIAMSS, you may be assured that the quality and nature of the studies covered in our education programs can make a dramatic improvement in your life. A metaphysical lifestyle can bring forth your inner potential for successful living from the practical standpoint in matters of love, romance, marriage, income, career, inner confidence, peace of mind, creativity – to the growth and expansion of your mind (inclusive of Higher Consciousness), expanded awareness, increased intuitive and psychic sensitivity, and self-realization.

The Legalities Of A Metaphysical Career

Metaphysical teachings incorporate, or have as their main theme, the spiritual nature of the human being. Hence, metaphysics was established as a spiritual philosophy in the United States and many other countries, and, since the existing federal and state laws nationwide do not separate the spiritual from religious, metaphysics was placed in the legal classification of religion.

Many metaphysical practitioners, who are operating legally, such as teachers, counselors, healers and social workers are operating under a religious classification most hold a legal ministerial status. They may choose not to advertise this fact or call attention to it unless challenged to do so, unless, of course, they have chosen to function as ministers in a spiritual center or church.

Your own legal rights to teach, counsel, or heal in metaphysics today is frequently determined by having an ordained or licensed ministerial status, not upon a degree in metaphysics. The primary purpose of a metaphysical degree is to establish a highly professional image of yourself as a person who is learned in metaphysics and has taken the time to obtain a scholarly level of knowledge. A metaphysical degree can provide you with many opportunities in life. It can mean:

GREATER KNOWLEDGE: A metaphysical college education will increase your ability to understand developments in religions/spirituality and in society, to think abstractly and critically, to express thoughts clearly in speech and in writing, and to make wise decisions. These skills are useful both in your chosen vocation or your private life.

GREATER POTENTIAL: A metaphysical college education can help increase your understanding of the community, the Nation, and the world – as you explore interests, discover new areas of knowledge, consider lifelong goals, and become a more responsible citizen.

GREATER OPPORTUNITIES: The world is changing rapidly. Many jobs rely on new technology and already require more brainpower than muscle power. In your working life, more and more jobs will require education beyond high school. With a college education of any type, you will be more prepared for any opportunity that may arise.

For the reasons stated, therefore, you will probably find that you must have a ministerial status to practice legally. As explained elsewhere in this catalog, you may obtain ministerial status in our Ministerial Education Programs.

Specific Career Opportunities In Metaphysics

The Ministry

From the beginning, God(dess) has called leaders from every spiritual belief to serve. For the minister, each day offers a new challenge. The phone rings; you are summoned to the bedside of a dying man. Later in the day, you help arrange a marriage. That evening, you counsel a soul in trouble. No other vocation offers such a wide span of involvement with humanity. Then when you stand to preach or to teach, think of it – in your human hands you hold the truth of Universal Knowledge or God(dess), the supreme answer to the soul of humanity. The ministry is not a job, not a profession. It is a calling, and the noblest – the most demanding and at times exasperating but it is surely the most satisfying and rewarding experience human life affords.

The minister serves God(dess); God(dess) develops and strengthens us. We must prepare ourselves first, then our sermons, lectures and classes. The very fact that we are ministers will work against our spiritual life unless we are careful. We study the great books, but for a text; we pray, but in front of a group or beside a hospital bed. While attending to these public ministries, our personal devotions may be neglected.

Power in preaching and teaching comes in direct proportion to time spent in prayer and meditation. Nothing – not speaking ability or a personality or a persuasive manner can take the place of the Spirit, filling and shaping and using the life committed to Him. Are we adequate to the task? Never. But God(dess) accepts and uses our service nonetheless. If the truth were known, few of us pray or meditate enough. We tend to rely too much upon our own cleverness in programming and promotion, but not enough upon the power of the Universe through prayer and meditation. Sadly, our spiritual organizations show it.

The minister who keeps his/her appointment with God(dess) need have no anxiety about his/her work. In your daily walk, you will experience the unfolding hand of God(dess) bringing new power and effectiveness. You will see your life lifted to a level you never dreamed possible, a level you could never have attained by yourself.

Spiritual And Pastoral Counseling

Your decision to enter the ministry has the potential of being one of the most significant events in your life. You have chosen to "get involved" by being a part of the growing movement of people helping other people. Your energies and efforts are needed in today's world. You can make a positive difference in the lives of others. Helping others in their attempts to make sense out of life is no easy task. Yet, reaching out and caring about what happens to another human being can be a satisfying and rewarding experience. So many people today are struggling to get along in this fast-paced and rapidly changing world that the need for helping services has increased in all areas, especially in the area of interpersonal relationships.

Spiritual and Pastoral Counseling: behind that academically ponderous phrase is one of the most dynamic, rapidly expanding fields of the decade. It is growing so rapidly that its scope can only be estimated. Spiritual/Pastoral Counseling is no longer just the province of the orthodox religious community. It is a response to the need for someone to really care for the troubled within the modern spiritual center and those numerous persons who have no center, but who turn to a minister or spiritual counselor for help when crises strike.

It is important to obtain the best available training in counseling, not only to avoid doing harm but also to maximize one's abilities to be of genuine help to the disturbed. If he/she is competent, a counselor often has the privilege of walking with another human being on his/her inner journey toward wholeness. The counselor who has paid the price of disciplined study and training leading to competence knows the joy and wonder that comes with the realization: "My personality, with all its flaws and frailties, has been used as an instrument by which the power of the universe brought healing to another human being."

You and your client whom you are going to help will team up together. The client will use his/her flexible, non-rigid intelligence, and will need the cooperation of your flexible, non-rigid thinking. With some very precise assistance from you, your client will become able to discharge, release and be freed of stored up tensions that have held his/her patterns of hurt in place, and then think through the experience of hurt until he/she makes complete sense of them. Then the experiences will no longer affect him/her in rigid or compelling ways, but only as if they were ordinary memories of ordinary living.

It's not difficult to be a spiritual/Pastoral counselor, and yet in a way it's very difficult. What you'll have to do will be a fairly simple matter, once the theory and practice is understood, and yet doing it will often be complicated. What you will be doing is assisting another person to become free of rigid patterns of behaving and feeling that have been left upon him/her by experiences of being hurt in the past. The only serious and persistent difficulties in your way will be the rigid patterns that have been left upon you. The CIAMSS Spiritual and Pastoral Counseling Education Programs will prepare you to open you mind and allow you to change the patterns and become a true caregiver.

Metaphysical Healing Modalities

Metaphysicians throughout the ages have practiced what you know as "Faith Healing." With God(dess) all things are possible. There is a wide variety of healing experiences today, and faith is a major ingredient in receiving healing from any of these. A strong desire to give us the thoughts that brought about the condition is even more important.

It sometimes takes intercessory prayer from another person to turn around a condition one has incurred. Only when the emotions of illness are set right can an effective healing take place. We know that fear, greed, revenge, jealousy, anxiety and frustration are seeds of disease. When the body is mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in harmony it is "at ease" and is healthy. When it is at "dis-ease," illness follows. Life will never fail to give us what is right for our growth. When we put ourselves in harmony with the Divine Mind, illness is overcome.

Metaphysical healing practitioners generally accept requests for prayer treatment for physical, emotional and/or financial conditions needing improvement. Not all use prayer. Some use meditation and others use psychic or telepathic healing along with holistic modalities. The current holistic trend toward alternative or complimentary medicine is increasing the demand for metaphysical healing practitioners, and should continue to do so for many years to come.

The Relationship Between The Holistic Movement And Metaphysics

Metaphysical and holistic healing practitioners recognize the interaction of Mind, Body and Spirit. Metaphysics teaches that as a person thinks, so he or she is. If your thoughts are negative, you will manifest illness. In Holistic medicine, like Metaphysics, self-responsibility is stressed. Patient participation is encouraged in every aspect through attitude, diet, exercise and education. There can be no separate compartment called "Health." All of life reflects our level of consciousness.

In our Holistic Healing Education Programs, CIAMSS teaches natural modalities such as Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Herbology, Acupressure, Aromatherapy, Biofield (Energy) Healing and Visualization. All these, as well as the spiritual healing modalities have been given to us, in nature, to promote health. The plants that grow on the earth, the mineral found in the earth, the animal found upon the earth, our hands, and our voices were placed here by God(dess) to help us survive and flourish.

Training Good Teachers

Many of our public schools are doing a poor job these days because of overcrowded conditions and teachers who must be inspired to put their heart in the work. There are some ways to do this, including better school housing and better salaries for many educational workers. But the metaphysical spiritual center or school can inspire the desire to teach the young in many of its members. A dynamic program of spiritual education for all ages is a wonderful challenge to any spiritual group. If you intend to teach something you must know it well; and this fact in itself will spur the teachers to deeper studies in spiritual philosophy and metaphysics.

For some, even those who in the beginning felt that they had no special talent, there will come a time when an inner urge to do something more will manifest. In many cases this urge will came in a desire to teach, to point the way for others that they may find the joy you have found. In the first place don't expect people to look up to you as a teacher or to follow your teaching unless you show in your own life that your ideas work. The old saying "Do as I say, not as I do" will not work in this area, the result will be failure. If you are not willing to make a few changes in yourself, don't set yourself up as a teacher.

Never forget that living is also teaching. Many people will follow a leader. And what better form of leadership than example? It's better than any other form of teaching. After all, what right does anyone have to try to teach another the worth of something, unless he/she has proved it in his/her own life? Unless you can show by your everyday living that you have something that makes your life better, it doesn't mean much to try to teach it. If another can see by your example that your way, your belief makes your life a better, happier experience, he/she will wish to have what you have and so you may teach and help him/her.

You must also be willing to constantly study, read, and learn in order to broaden your outlook and increase your knowledge. Never forget that a teacher learns from students as well as they learn from their teacher, there is much truth to the old adage: "A teacher teaches what he/she needs to know". Realize also that you must face criticism. Great people throughout history were criticized so why do many of us feel we should be spared this? Make up your mind that you will not let this discourage you. On the other hand, as you grow more confident and helpful and people begin looking up to you, do not let it go to your head.

No matter how much you know there are always those who know more and all your knowledge is only a raindrop in the sea of eternity. Keep your humility. It is a great virtue. Never feel proud or conceited because you think you know more than some because on this great spiritual path each of us are exactly where we should be. Seek instead to bring others to where you stand. Perhaps you may also learn from them, for in some other field they may know more than you. You came to evolve, as all souls do. As you help others to evolve you also progress. There are many ways of teaching. Not all can teach formally but all can help. If what has been given you has helped, or comforted, or guided you, do not hesitate to share it. Often a personal experience related well will help another more than any other thing.

You are entering a new life and you can do it from where you are now. Stress meditation with your students. It is of utmost importance. Look within for guidance. The Spirit of Truth will always guide the one who trusts and believes that "there is only Good". Let the perfect power of your Creator work through you to serve humanity. Do not falter, nor be discouraged, no matter what comes. When you see the greatness of the Light you have helped to create, your joy will know no bounds and you will forget the harshness of the struggle.

So the day is close at hand when countless people of all ages will hear the truth. They will hear about God(dess) and Spirit; about the visible and etheric worlds, the origin and meaning of human life; the facts about transition and the afterlife; the truth of communication as a perfectly natural process; and they will be encouraged to develop their own spiritual and psychic powers as a natural part of the educational process – which it certainly is. Is this too much to hope for? We think not, as the tempo of change is speeding up; Aquarian age vibrations are pressing hard upon mass consciousness and forcing people to think more deeply about spiritual truth.

Other Metaphysical Careers

In addition to the above metaphysical vocations, you might also consider social work, past life regression facilitator, intuitive practitioner, spirit medium, administrator, lecturer, writer, motivational speaker, body or massage worker, just to name a few.

The Advantage Of A Metaphysical Degree

Many people practicing metaphysics today have a ministerial status but very few have a bona-fide metaphysical degree. This is due primarily to the fact that there are very few legitimate colleges and universities teaching metaphysics and its allied fields. Be aware that many people practicing metaphysics and claiming to have a degree have obtained their degree from a diploma mill, making their degree suspect and casting doubt on their qualifications to practice metaphysics. We strongly suggest that you verify the credentials of any school you wish to attend. Unfortunately, there are many charlatans selling their "snake oil" today, but what is even worse is the well-meaning but poorly trained practitioner. They become a danger to their client and to themselves and eventually to the entire professional metaphysical practitioner vocation.

Your degree will be invaluable to you once you set up a practice or write a book, or give public lectures, etc., because you will be received as an authority on your subject. In many instances, your degree could make the difference between failure and success.