Mota

True existence begins when one evolves the soul enough for the being to approach, become, morontial. It is not very different from some of your highest human philosophies, thought, spiritual insights, but there is a world of difference in the day-to-day living application of these intellectual concepts. It involves more than mind. It involves feelings, action, and consecration of will. It is a different way of perceiving one's self, one's place in God's universe, one's fellows, one's world. And the events, which react upon and are reacted to by the individual ascender.

Mota is the most basic, kindergarten level of beingness. Some mortals have attained mota here. Most have not. The path to God is not a straight paved road. It would be helpful to think of it as a trek through mountainous terrain. After much effort one attains the heights of the spiritual mountain. The reward is a rarefied atmosphere, an atmosphere, which is but a resting place for the soul. Serenity, peace, truth, beauty, strength, wisdom, compassion, love, closeness to God, and Godliness may be glimpsed at the top of the mountain.

But to get there involves much spiritual effort. Remember the inevitabilities of life. They are not mere intellectual concepts. Inevitably, after replenishment of the soul, one must descend again to the more common atmosphere of humanity: the shadowy valley, the dark despairs, the pain and grief, the struggles of each of your existences, the curving roads where one can only see around the corner through faith.

What is this mota, which must be evolved in the human heart? It is in the depth of the darkness it is easiest to discern the stars. When you are in the valleys of soul growth, that is when you must raise your eyes upward and see the promise. God has written His promise to you in the heavens. In the orderly pinpoints of light across your earth sky you see the promise, the signature of the creator. What seems distant to you is your destiny - if you consecrate your will to the will of The Father.

Those pinpoints of distant light may be thought of as the Mansion Worlds, the Paradise ascent, each world becoming more spiritual, more fulfilled, more universal, eternal, and loving. When darkness encroaches, fear is palpable. Fear is a spirit poison. It is an intellectual deceiver. But, alas, it is part and parcel of your experiential existence. It cannot be fully eradicated. It is like a soul disease.

What does mota tell us? Love is the antidote. When fear surrounds you, you must fight valiantly for an opening to allow God's love in. It is not easy or always successful. Believe me. I empathize. I, too, was as you are. I know the struggle. In the struggle comes the victory.

Think of a seed: tiny, self contained, in a packet with other seeds, not knowing any other existence, feeling secure inside a little space, seeing around, others, and deriving comfort. If the seed had consciousness that is what it would feel: safe within a prison, not knowing that it is mostly potential, feeling this was the existence. Now, a hand reaches in, picks one seed, and places the seed away from its fellows, from its tiny home, into darkness in the earth. This seed would feel frightened, persecuted by the hand. “Why me,” it would say. “Why have I been hurt like this? Why cannot I remain in the perceived easier existence of seeddom?”

The seed would begin to change. In there it would be painful at times as the transformation, growth, occurs. It would be lonely. It would no longer see its fellows. It would feel abandoned, despairing, doubting, and questioning of the cruelty of its existence.

What the seed cannot know is what it is becoming, that after much struggle upward, through an environment which feels crushing - which is much physically heavier than the seedling, which involves persevering, with courage, strength, it will see the light, the warm sunlight, the fresh air, and its brethren - around, arrayed in the colors of God, blowing in the winds free, well cared for by the hand of God.

This is faith. This is what is asked of you, faith. In the darkest hours, which each of you will go through, your faith in the sunlight in the watch care, in the assurance of what you are becoming, will get you through.

Unless your reject the survival career your faith grows ever stronger. It does not become less. Only the human consciousness of your faith wavers. This is natural. But your faith itself grows ever more. Morontia Mota tells you this.

Faith is the gift to you from The Father. Your assignment is to - effort in your day-to-day life to become morontial. You will not succeed fully, but will succeed a lot. Life is but a day's work. Do it well. Your work is to develop mota and put this mota into actions. The act is yours, the consequences God's.

Through faith you will build true character. True character is courage. This is God's promise. You have two levels. One is that eternity - your eternity of your existence - is built on your desire, will consecration, and belief in it, but your soul is constructed on your actions. Two things: submitting one's will to The Father, in return you receive eternal life. Second thing: consciously acting more morontial, building your eternal soul in liaison with the mighty, wise and perfect Adjuster. These are your tasks and it will not be easy. Cleverness is no substitute for character.

What does this mean? It means that intellectual understanding does not replace true feeling of spirituality. Spiritual growth comes in the heart-soul area of feeling. That is why there is despair, pain, unfairness, injustice, intolerance, bigotry, etc. It is for you to overcome these feelings and deal with fairness, love, tolerance, compassion, understanding, wisdom, truth, beauty, and real goodness. Because it is such an imperfect world is no excuse for you to give up.

Each of you holds a miracle. None of you know your true destiny. Yet we know that each person here has a destiny on this planet to transform. You have a responsibility to transform your lives. It is like being a soldier for God. You will be asked much but given much more. The human will not be capable of meeting the challenge. But, you are not merely human: you have the mighty Adjuster and loving seraphim, and your eternal soul, and many many, celestial helpers. Your Adjuster is more than capable of meeting any challenge.

The human will bleed. The Adjuster will rejoice. Not in the pain, but in the gain. Do not live in the shadow-illusions of the material narrow-minded perspective. As one walks through the dark valleys one must effort and act and look Godward. We have much compassion for your individual defeats. We are not unaware of what the struggle costs. You are more beloved because of your valiant, never ending struggle to rise above the world and your own animalistic nature.

Jesus had no fear. One of the keys to His poise and balance was His entrenched and living faith in the good outcome of life. Each of you, each of your lives, will have a good outcome. Good is too tiny a concept to describe the miracle of what awaits, but if I told you, I would be taking from you your most valiant moment.

A great destiny awaits those who have the strength of character to actually run the race. Now it is easy to learn, to listen, to feel lost and loving. It will not always be so. Personal crisis will affect each of you. No one is protected. How sad for those who never struggle. In your human state you cannot understand this morontial concept. But they are to be pitied.

Anxiety must be abandoned. The greatest disappointments are those, which never come. You will be disappointed. You will be defeated. You will enter into doubt and despair and darkness at times. But not the way you think. Do not bring this state into your hearts before its time. Each of you will go through your own Gethsemane. But to live in anticipation is a human cause of unnecessary and unreal pain. 

Trust in The Father who loves you, each of you - personally, individually, as you are. You will get growth lessons but perhaps not those that you anticipate. Faith is powerful. Live in faith and know that some day you will understand the realities of this world. This should give your soul sustenance. In your daily lives you might be hurt or feel small. The Creator Son, Father of our universe, knows each of you.

Question: I have two questions about mota. In reading the Urantia Book about mota, looking at the world
with mota vision. How do we turn it up to the mota level, then? I tried to even write some, but when I tried to write the mota equivalent I can't quite seem to get there. I was wondering if you might have some way to do it, or way to think about it, that would be actually mota teachings.

Answer: You will never achieve mota in thinking. Mota is achieved through increased faith which comes through a more active prayer, worship, thanksgiving, and silent receptivity life, increased awareness of love of God and the love of one's fellows, and applied faith, love, goodness, beauty, and truth to every action of one's life. It is a way of being that transcends physical reality.

It is seen more clearly glimpsing the reality of the morontial on this world. It is a shift in focus. When you view a design of grays and whites, you first see one pattern as the whites jump out. Then, when the focus is shifted, you can see the blacks come forward. That is mota.

Question: Would that be something like the concept of the yin and the yang of the Eastern religions on this planet?

Answer: No. That's different.