Cooperation

Today's lesson will be an important subject, a very important subject, cooperation. Cooperation is a major force binding together all creatures in the universe, perfect and imperfect, mortal and immortal. Cooperation among beings of the universe approaches the importance of worship in terms of serving our
father. 

It is a critical time for the peoples of Earth at this time, for you have attained much technical expertise and yet lag far behind in some very important respects, socially. Competition is the order of the day. And this is not an altogether bad thing, for competition has been a great civilizing force for the beings of the planet. Nonetheless, taken to its present extreme level, competition does certain harm to those striving for spiritual growth and development when not accompanied by a proper spirit of cooperation. We must all strive to promote cooperation among our fellows. You will do this through your own living example, primarily. Your example will be that of good will and cooperative interaction with others as you go about your work and rest. This is not to say that you may not compete, for at this stage of development - and indeed for some time to come for you - competition helps to spur you on to your finest performance given your own unique abilities.

However, the spirit with which competition is entered into can be tempered by adding the desire for cooperative achievement and the desire to effect good and follow the footsteps of Jesus. When you cooperate freely, willingly, it becomes that much easier for your Thought Adjuster to lead you. Your Thought Adjuster has a difficult time breaking through the strong animal urges and high emotions which still rule, to a large extent, man on Earth. However, by your experience in spiritual self-development, by exercising the virtues and practices presented in these lessons and in the Urantia Book, and through the promptings of your Thought Adjusters, seraphim (angels), and others, you can strengthen yourself spiritually and focus the sensitivity of that part of you which is most receptive to the Thought Adjuster - somewhat like tuning in a radio or television to its best performance - fiddling with the dial.

What might happen if you choose not to adopt a cooperative attitude? Well, you may not perceive much change consciously in the direction of your life, however it will be that much more difficult for you to work toward a measure of inner peace and that level of self-fulfilment which is attainable during your material existence.

Yes, you will have opportunities beyond this life for spiritual growth and development, infinite opportunities, and so may not wish to eagerly, assiduously, pursue the path of spiritual growth, for it is
an arduous path. Time-consuming, in a sense, and man has always been a procrastinator. If you consult
your inner selves you will find the truth and the truth will help to lead you.

Cooperation is a way of multiplying the strength of your individual effort even while in the flesh. It has been said that cooperation among two affects the strength of four, cooperation among ten the strength of a hundred. Can you imagine how effective the cooperation of a thousand, or a million beings would be?

When Earth is on the threshold of Light and Life there will be no difficulty with cooperation among all living beings, and that will be a wonderful day. But it must start here. Like the other spiritual exercises, your efforts at cooperation - each act in fact - sets off a chain of benefits that go far far beyond your immediate circle, like the ripple in the water that travels for thousands of miles. That is the answer to the questioning mind that asks “What can I, one person, accomplish in my own small way?”

All of us, every single being in the universe, we are all connected to one another. And it is the Father's will that we work together, that each unique individual add his or her cooperative effort to the grand total. This is not at variance with achieving your own personal level of excellence. In fact, it is in harmony with that very goal. The result of cooperation is harmony, harmony among beings, the unification that is achieved when all strive for the common goal. Such a bright and strong purpose that is! So I urge you to strive in your lives for cooperation with your fellow men and women, difficult as it may be. Use your wits, your cleverness, your special abilities, to achieve this. And let your faith help you to realize the importance of your own personal efforts. 

There is a concept in your language called “synergy” meaning, loosely, that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. This applies to all the spiritual abilities, but particularly to cooperation. Are you not eager to find out just how much you, as an individual can accomplish? The challenge lies before you. That is the end of this lesson.

Question: It seems to me that the business of cooperation is resolution of conflicts. Have you any particular
guidelines for that? I know that in my secular life, the change that needs to come; there will be a lot of conflicts to go through. That's in a social arena, and I wonder if that's paralleling the spiritual realm.  What do you do to aid in that?

Answer: Yes, you are correct. It is conflict that acts as the strongest barrier to efforts at fellowship on Earth. Remember again the example of Jesus who, rather than beating a door down, instead, would find the key to unlock the latch. That is the way with conflicts, not easy.

Beyond the material life there is yet conflict, and I, myself must work on the same problems that face you. There are tools that are helpful. To name a few, are compassion, willingness to be honest, desire to do good, and above all a remembrance of the golden rule. Remember the proverb that we cannot understand a man until we have walked a mile in his shoes.

Much conflict among beings arises from misunderstanding as well as greed, envy, fear, anger, the spiritual poisons. Fear, in particular is a source of conflict. Animals fear one another because they are afraid of mutilation or death. You are not animals. Be not afraid. When your fear is effectively put aside you will find that a significant amount of conflict will ease away.