Just spray the ceiling w/ lots of water, wait a while and scrape with a big, fat putty knife. Done.
Just for fun, try it in a closet – you’ll see how easy it is. Most of your time/work will be spent moving or covering furniture and cleaning up the mess.
If you do have asbestos, I wouldn’t worry about it (but that’s just me) because when you spray the ceiling the asbestos won’t get airborne because of the water.
