In preparation for the PTS Internet classes, the information below is designed to provide you with:

• An introduction to the teachings of MSIA, the Church for the Movement of Inner Spiritual Awareness.
• Various terms and references that you will see in content of the class.

The core teachings of MSIA include:

• God loves all of its creation. In other words, "God didn't make any junk." Whether you use the term God, or Universal Spirit, or Cosmic Life Force, or something else, the message is the same. Whatever is created, God loves - in a personal, dynamic, objective, non-inflicting way.
• Not one Soul will be lost. Again, there are various terms for the idea of a Soul. The term is not as important as the idea: Who we really are as Souls cannot be destroyed, and ultimately we cannot be lost, no matter how many twists and turns our life takes.
• Don't hurt yourself and don't hurt others. There are obvious and subtle dimensions to this teaching. We easily recognize that we do not want to physically harm ourselves or others. What is less easily recognized are the subtle forms of hurt that we engage in, with ourselves and others. This can range from the kind of "mind chatter" we listen to subconsciously throughout the day to our various judgements against ourselves, others, and situations in the world. The attitude we bring to our lives plays a vital role in determining the extent to which we experience life as play or punishment.
• Take care of yourself so you might take care of others. With the fast pace of modern life, sometimes it seems like taking care of ourselves is the last thing we can "get around to." And yet, when we do not, we find the quality of our caring with others - children, spouses, family, friends, co-workers - is diminished. Taking time to smell the flowers in small and large ways is an important way to fill our cups so we might be of service to others with heartfelt, energetic spiritedness.
• Use everything for your upliftment. To be sure, sometimes this can be a very challenging proposition. There are plenty of situations any of us can bring to mind and think, "I can't see any upliftment in that." Nonetheless, everything that happens to us can be used in a way that supports us. This is not a matter of the "power of positive thinking" - it is a matter of practicing positive living, affirming that we can consciously choose to direct ourselves in ways that are uplifting to ourselves and others.

Terms and References

The Mystical Traveler Consciousness: It may be useful to look at this term in reverse. "Consciousness" refers to awareness - a dynamic quality of being that is fluid, loving, and uplifting in all situations. "Traveler" refers to mobility of consciousness. The Traveler is a consciousness that is present and available to all people. The work of the Traveler is focused on moving more of the individual consciousness from the realms of the physical, imagination, emotions and the mind into the Soul and into God. "Mystical" refers to the fact that much of the time, these travels and experiences of consciousness come about in mysterious ways - mysterious, meaning in ways that do not follow linear thinking or planning patterns.

Imagine that you had a perfect friend and guide to help you navigate a journey into unchartered territory - territory unlike anything you have ever experienced in your time on Earth. Imagine unconditional loving, freely extended to you, as you work through habit patterns and release memories and issues that have blocked the full flow of freedom in your life. This is the kind of friend the Mystical Traveler is.

The Christ Consiousness: Again, this is a reference to consciousness as a dynamic state of awareness and unconditional loving. In this sense, the Christ can refer to the person Jesus Christ, as someone who demonstrated such consciousness, and it can also refer to an ongoing state of being that is accessible to all people, regardless of creed. The Christ Consciousness is a primary focus of our work with forgiveness, because many of the teachings of the Christ point to forgiveness as a key to freedom and to the Kingdom of God within us all.

The Light: When we begin and end classes, we do so by "calling in the Light." This is a practice of inviting Spirit to work with us; to illumine us as we participate together and with the information in the class. The Light is in all things; each person "sees" it in their own way. When we call in the Light we ask for the highest good to take place. This is a gesture of openness and humility in our interaction with God and with each other. We are essentially acknowledging that we may not know what is "best" in any given situation, and opening ourselves to see how the process will unfold.

Some additional information about MSIA: The Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness is an ecumenical church. The business of MSIA is Soul Transcendence, or becoming aware of oneself as a Soul and as one with God. While we go about that business, we can also focus on experiencing how our participation with life can make a difference, contributing to the upliftment of ourselves and others. The teachings of the Church offer education in the truest sense of the word: assisting people to find within themselves the tools and willingness to create and contribute to the kind of world they want to live in. The teachings of MSIA represent a practical spirituality in that people need to check out the teachings for themselves in order to experience whether or not they work for them.