Truth

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Truth is on a par with beauty and goodness insofar as spiritual importances, spiritual weight, are concerned. None of these three - truth beauty or goodness - are to be worshiped, for it is only the Father that is worthy of worship. But these three qualities, these three goals, are to be reverenced, to be sought after, to be held in the highest regard, to be in the forefront of your efforts at self mastery and spirit attunement.

What is truth not? Truth is not knowledge. Knowledge is based on fact, on science, and is limited by the level of development of your science. Truth is eternal. It stands the test of time. It stand the challenge of question. It is far beyond fact or a set of facts. Truth is also dynamic and growing. It is not static, as are facts. If you would know living truth you could do no better than to study the life of Jesus, for He lived the truth as he knew it.

Truth is not always experienced without pain. It is not necessarily painful to countenance truth, but to expect the experience of truth to always and ever be one of pleasure is to not be realistic. There is some
consolation to be drawn from knowing that for most the pain sometimes experienced with truth will probably be most severe in your present material state, and will diminish as you progress Paradise-ward.

Like so many higher values, truth can be recognized in part by what it is not, in part by the manner in which it resists attempts at invalidation, and the manner in which it persists over time. It has been said that the argument required is inversely proportional to the amount of truth contained in a given statement. Truth is recognized by all mortal beings at some level of their conscious or unconscious awareness. Each of you, as you search your own past experience, may remark upon occasions upon which a simple and profound truth was thrust before you, amazing in its grace, and how easy it was to behold and accept.

Truth is experienced by each being as an individual, and because of enormous variations in individual perceptions, the truth that one individual understands must be relative and is not identical to the truth perceived by another individual. You cannot force truth upon another being. However, as Jesus did, you can whet the appetite of others for truth. This is the basis of the council against offering unsolicited advice.

As with goodness, and beauty, and love, and the other brilliant aspects of our Father, your capacity to perceive truth grows as does your fledgling spirit. You can help by nurturing within yourself a hunger for truth. Become an avid seeker after truth in all that you do and you will find that your appreciation of truth in all that presents to you will be enhanced. Be patient. I know that this is difficult, but it is important for you to exercise your patience while nurturing your hunger. You have all of eternity, you see, and no endeavor goes as well as it might when undertaken in haste.

As you improve your ability to detect truth, you will find that many of the bothersome aspects of your material existence will seem far less annoying, even amusing, for as your ability as a truth-seeker improves, so will you gain wisdom. And the wise man - above all - is able to see the absurdity of small things, to make light of what others fear, to not divert time toward the pursuit of anxiety, but rather to engage more fully in spiritual growth and in enjoyment of the fruits of the Spirit.

One great truth that can be of much comfort in times of difficulty is the truth of your own existence. That you cannot doubt. There is no arguing it. Once you become a survivor, you will have a second great truth, namely the truth of your survival-ship, and that will be a wonderful thing indeed for you. If you wish to undertake some study of truth you will find many passages in the Urantia Book to be most helpful. In particular there is a section on truth and faith that will be quite instructive and will provide much material for discussion.

Understanding truth is a major important goal of your ongoing efforts at spiritual growth - spirit attainment. What you gain in understanding of truth during this material life is only the beginning of an eternal learning experience. Each step of your journey toward the Father in Paradise will bring increasing discernment of truth. This is because truth is intertwined with a number of other spiritual capabilities, especially faith and goodness - also the attainment of wisdom and a number of other aspects of God consciousness.

The greatest truth that ever existed on your world was the human life of Jesus. His life was all about truth, for you see truth is a dynamic entity. Truth is to be had through action, unlike wisdom, unlike so many other portions of your soul growth. To experience truth, and indeed to grow in truth, requires that one be active, active among the community of one's fellows. In fact it could be said that truth and real fellowship do go hand in hand.

All of you know truth. Each of you has experienced it. Your personal recognition of truth is related to your own level of personal spirit growth. Each of you has experienced the excitement, the incomparable thrill, of truth in your own personal lives. Think back, explore your own memory bank and you shall find such experiences. It is worthwhile to study them for their unique qualities. And as you each, individually, grow you shall find it increasingly easy to recognize truth in your own actions and in the actions and words of others whom you encounter. This can also apply to situations involving many people, such as actions of political bodies or countries or other human organizations. You will find as you gain faith and become more adept at discerning truth that the recognition of truth in the world will become - yes, yes - an increasingly easy job for you.

If you feel frustrated in your discernment of truth it may be due to a tendency to rely on dogmatization of
truth rather than looking inward and relying on the promptings of your Thought Adjuster, your Indwelling Spirit of Truth.

There are benefits which accrue to the one who would seek and live truth. These are not rewards, but rather the natural results of participating in, and going along with, the design of the universe rather than resisting it. The greatest such benefit is that of health improvement. Each and every one of you may take note of improved physical health, robustness, ability to withstand infection, and so on, as you participate in the search for truth, growth of faith, enactment of mota, enhancement and growth of wisdom.

The things that you seek - truth, beauty, goodness, love - the workings of the Father, himself, abound, even on your planet with all of its problems. They are there for the taking. And you - each of you - knows within yourselves how to go about doing that. It is the most joyous work that you ever shall undertake, the most thrilling, the most freeing. For as you seek after, entertain, truth the fetters of your animal origins will slowly but surely fall away, and you shall have less of fear, less of anger, less of pride, less of enslavement to cultural teachings - recent and past - that would hold you back from personal growth and spirit attainment. As these burdens fall away one by one, you will experience an incomparable sense of lightness that will fill your hearts with joy, a joy which will be perceived by your fellows - a true light within - and this is one of the first steps from here toward the final attainment of Light and Life.

Your personal courage, steadfastness, and love, and faith, will help to take not only your living fellows today, but the unborn children of generations hence, out of the present darkness towards the bright future
that awaits.

Work on the attainment of truth, the acting out of the will of the Father. Be of good faith. Be of good cheer. Truth is contagious in a most wonderful way, as are all of your spiritual assets. A small contagion at first, but as it grows the infection spreads.

The interactions among truth, goodness, and kindness, is an area which poses considerable difficulty for mortals of worlds like yours that have been in rebellion. At the outset it may seem difficult to understand how there could be conflict among these three tenets of God's will, and yet if you explore your own memory record, you will certainly find numerous instances during which you have grappled mightily with what seem to be conflicting goals in terms of satisfying the requirements for goodness, kindness, and truth, which your Adjuster leads you toward continuously.

Truth

It has been said by your philosopher that the honest man, the truly honest man, continuously runs risk of life and limb. Why should this be when truth is such an essential ingredient of spirit growth and Father nearness? To the contrary it would be expected that the honest man would be exalted in society, much treasured. But indeed he who is honest without remitting will definitely have much difficulty in managing social relations on your world as it stands now. For the honest man causes pain among his fellows in at least two different ways. By being honest he serves as a reminder to others who are sensitive in this regard of their own lack of complete honesty. Secondly, the honest man is apt to comment on imperfection which arouses enormous hostility in persons who are predominately animal driven in purpose, for it is the way of the animal mind to assume self-perfection and be blinded to the imperfections of one's being and one's near environment, for this is seen by the animal as an outworking of the self, what you would call narcissism.

To put it in your psychological terms, the narcissistic ego is wounded by the notations of imperfection in its sphere of influence and is likely to strike out even unto death to quiet the voice which is disturbing. Now the difficulties faced by the honest person of your world greatly compound the problem of spirit growth of individuals, for fear is the logical response of those of animal origin to threat to life and limb. And fear, as you know, is toxic to spirit growth and attainment. And yet, you all know quite well that without truth there is no goodness or kindness. There cannot be. The will of Father is complete, not fragmented. You cannot act out Father's will in one discreet area and turn your back on His will in another. There is no such thing, despite what some in your culture, even devout religionists, maintain.

Kindness

Kindness is so critical to spirit growth and must be present in great measure on your world in order for even the smallest increment of progress to occur. Kindness, however difficult it may be at times for you, my dear friends, serves as a bridge that will carry you from fear and pride and rage, and the other base qualities of animal mind thought, Godward. It is characteristic of animals to respond positively to kindness, but, of course, it is always dangerous to deal with animals, and so carrying out kind acts requires courage and strength. And these two will strengthen your journey from your animal origins Godward.

Kindness does not mean giving materially. This cannot be emphasized strongly enough. Material things have naught to do with God's will. They're animal entities no matter how finely crafted, securely held, or
highly prized they may be. It is a mistaken belief to assume one is being kind in the bestowal of material
objects upon another who is deemed unfortunate. You all know this, and yet it is a most difficult concept for mortal beings to grasp. Even for myself it is still an area that requires study and diligence. Kindness has far more to do with the maintenance of good will toward your fellows. Think on the life of Jesus, ever kind, ever loving, gentle, peaceful of spirit, forgiving, humble, and yet He did not hand out money.

He did not share wealth of material sort with others. Yet His kindness was much prized by all who received, it as is yours, for the receipt of kindness by a mortal being resonates with the Thought Adjuster within the other, and God in Paradise is aware that good has been done and responds positively. Does this mean that kind acts are wasted on those who lack Adjusters? This issue is much debated. Jesus was kind to all regardless of Adjuster presence. However, extending the hand of friendship and love toward one who has no God fragment within certainly can be a dangerous undertaking to the mortal being in the sense of life and limb. I would say at this point in your planet's development it may be wisest to refrain from kind acts toward the truly iniquitous among you, if you are discerning enough to detect them. Only you know if you have that perceptual level at this time. It is my sincere hope that as your world moves forward there will be far far fewer of the iniquitous dwelling among than is presently the case. But for now teach your children to be guarded, not fearful, but guarded.

Goodness

Goodness, as was commented during our last session, is God-likeness. What is the distinction between goodness and kindness? Goodness encompasses all that is like God, of the will of God, of the outworking of God. Kindness is a tenet of goodness. There is no goodness without kindness or truth, or vice versa. But goodness is more encompassing, includes not only the acts to others as does kindness, but also the acts of the individual, the inner mind workings and communications with the Adjuster, spirit strivings Godward, and prayer.

Jesus was the model of the good man. He was also kind and honest. He achieved that balanced and correct intermingling of goodness, kindness, and truth that is desirable for the mortal and indeed attainable, if you would strive mightily.

R = Rayson the teacher, S = Students.

S: My understanding is that truth is a spiritual concept and that fact is a physical concept. Honesty
can apply to either one of those concepts

R: And what do you think is the difference between the physical and the spiritual? By physical do you mean material?

S: Yes, material. In other words, it is a fact that I walked up the hill.

R: It is also the truth.

S: Yes, that is correct. Now, carrying this one step further, I remember when my children were growing up that they had a concept of “letting it all hang out”, telling the whole truth even when they didn't need to. I think the example of Jesus was that He didn't tell people any more than they needed to know.

R: Because He balanced truthful utterances with kindness and goodness, but He was always aware of the full truth of any individual's complete existence. Can you imagine having that awareness yourself?

S: No, I can't imagine having it myself. But I still don't think that I should go down the street and say, “hey, you're ugly” when I see an ugly person just because it's the truth.

R: But perhaps what you call ugly is only a judgment based on physical configuration rather than a spiritual fact based upon the full and integrated personality of the individual in question.

S: But then let's say I say “you're ugly in accordance with my concept of your physical configuration, but not spiritually.”

R: If you said that, it might take the edge off the insult. There can be no truth without kindness and goodness. That should help you to understand.

S: Could you please explain to me more on kindness and particularly what is tithing? Is that a valid thing, because money is material, is it not?

R: God has no requirement for the offering of material substance as an accompaniment to prayer.

S: Does casting your bread out on the waters mean being kind and good and truthful?

R: Among other things, yes.

S: That's the way I should view it then? (R: Yes.) Back to kindness, where there is no Thought Adjuster and the question of whether kindness can be wasted on someone in that state. Kindness is such a quality of universe value that I have trouble finding it wasted anytime that it is extended. I can see your caution about risk, where the person is known or perceived to be totally evil, but there are people without Thought Adjusters who simply are, whose minds have deteriorated to the extent that kindness would seem to be needed. They would still perceive their physical response to kindness, wouldn't they?

R: As an animal might, however your culture may wish to question the wisdom of maintenance of life in those who are in such a state.

S: We haven't evolved that much as a whole yet, but it has come to many of us that we ought to be going that way. 

R: The capacity to discern Thought Adjuster absence is very close, but not fully arrived yet among mortals of your world. Those of you who are more advanced in your spirit growth will have a greater sense of this in the ones you contact. But in the not-too-distant future such lack will be almost universally apparent on this planet, as would have been the case long ago had the plan been followed.

S: Could you comment about the validity of being sometimes untruthful to avoid hurting other human beings feelings?

R: Do you recall how Jesus handled such a situation?

S: Yes, I think that He was never unkind even when He refrained from telling, quote, “the whole truth”. I guess He was always governed by kindness and consideration for the recipient, and would never say anything unkind.

S2: What about the money exchangers? If you will remember, the money exchangers were in the temple, and He had a human emotion pertaining to their desecrating His Father's temple. And for a while I think it got the best of the human Jesus. And His most unkind words, I think, were toward the religious leaders. He called them vipers, at least John the Baptist called them vipers. His worst words He said against political leaders were He called Herod an ill fox, that old fox.

S: But you're talking about whether He did or did not say anything derogatory, but actually I can't remember that the human Jesus ever made an untruthful flattering statement just to save somebody's feelings either. He always sought something good to say, but He didn't speak untruth, as far as I recall.

R: That is correct. He exercised restraint, yet was never insincere.

S2: Sincerity is the key then. If a guy is an old fox, and if it's truthful, I would be inclined to say that.

R: Perhaps if you beheld a professed temple of religious worship that more resembled a combination between a carnival and a gambling village, you would be appalled, also.

S: I think I would be. That - would be my vocal response to what's happened in the Temple, that in
current usage with all the flair and the selling things and everything.

R: When men came to the temple to procure sexual companions, Is that worshipful? (S: No.)

S: Rayson, were you at the time, were you at that temple, were you present when those things took place?

R:  Not on Earth, but I have reviewed the records of this planet thoroughly and have beheld the details of which you speak.

S: Rayson, I was wondering, we have video tapes and so on. Do you have the ability to actually do a revisiting of it as though it were on video tape or actually like in 3-D circumstance where you can actually relive that moment and see it?

R: The Ancients of Days guard the records of the cosmos and may permit one to review historical features when it is deemed appropriate. It is far more than the visual record to which you allude. There are spirit qualities recorded as well.

S: How far would one have to advance through the mansion worlds before one would be capable of
viewing these and receiving any benefit from them?

R: It all depends on need, actually; if you are needed, it can happen early. If not, it may never occur. Your unique and individual personality is known to those at high levels and if it can be useful to them they will appeal to you for service.

S: Rayson, is it possible that Christ Michael was actually being kind, in a way, when He pointed out the error of the ways of the money changers to them?

R: That is a good question. But I am not privy to His mind record. That is not permitted for my review.

S: I'm such a believer in kindness. On the other hand, in thinking about this very same circumstance, it seems to be, at times, very appropriate and needed anger response in life. It seems to be able to free us up emotionally. In fact, many times I look on anger as just another emotion which the denial of is very painful, and can even undermine our emotional health. In fact, releasing anger at times, could almost be kind under certain circumstances. Could you comment on that? Am I making myself clear?

R: Yes, I believe I understand, but let me ask you. When you yourself experience this anger, do you feel close to God?

S: No, I don't feel close to God at that time, necessarily.

R: That is the answer. Do you understand that?

S: I understand that, but also wonder if it isn't part of our emotional makeup as human beings, that we're going to be involved in working through things which require anger as well as kindness, require multi-facets of our personality.

R: The anger response is a leftover from your animal origins, and at the time that Light and Llife are attained, anger will have fallen away from the repertoire of behavioral responses to stimuli on the part of mortals. I am not saying that at this time in the development of the planet it may not be a response that is in accord with the conditions in which you live, but your response, in terms of not feeling close to God, shows that you yourself understand the limited quality of anger in terms of your own spirit growth.

S: The reason I brought that up was because of a book by Theodore Rubin called The Angry Book in which he, as a psychiatrist, maintains that unless you really vent anger, it's not something that's harbored or hung on to, but it's an emotion that if it's not expressed comes out in deviant behavior sooner or later. It's saved up like in a slush account. Most of us can easily deal with kindness, or we can deal with love and caring, but it's more difficult for us to deal, at times, with anger.

R: Do you recall how Jesus managed anger as He grew and developed into His ultimate role? One instance was already mentioned, but can you think of others later on?

S: Well, He dealt with compassion, understanding, empathy. He had a full range of things He used.

R: Do you recall His periods of meditation?

S: Yes, that's right. He spent a great deal of time in communion between Father and Himself.

R: After which He returned with what feelings?

S: Feelings of wholeness and, I think, perspective, and love, kindness, caring

R: And resolution of anger. The animal emotions that you experience in your life as a mortal being are best understood - in your current intellectual parlance - as expressions of the narcissistic ego against perceived violations of the assumed perfection of self. To make that clearer, I would say that an emotion such as anger is truly an expression of discomfort at your deep, and perhaps not conscious, realization of your own imperfection. And yet you know very well that imperfection is one of your endowments, a gift from Father that enables you to be a co-creator in this universe and others beyond.

S: Is there any such thing as righteous indignation?

R: What do you think?

S: I think it's a code word for anger myself.

R: I would agree with you.

S: And an excuse for manipulation.

S2: It's just the anger that you approve. The anger you disapprove of is just plain anger. It is sometimes an excuse for controlling behavior, too, I think.

R: Is there not fear and pride contained within what you call anger, indignation, even righteousness?

S2:  Yes, but sometimes, in my experience, I have found that the only way I can get through to somebody is to use anger. When you talk nice and when you talk quietly, they don't listen. But when you yell and you jump up and down, it seems like they listen sometimes.

R: Perhaps you are dealing with animals.

S: But what if they learn from my anger?

R: Do animals ever truly learn?

S: I don't know.

R: Can you think of a more teacher-like way of persuading less spiritually advanced beings?

S: I think I need to do that. It's hard work being angry.

R: It does not contribute much to your ultimate goal of spirit growth and development, and you are sufficiently advanced to desire that and enjoy the sensation of pleasure which results from God-directed
act.

S: You used the illustration of training animals. I think that far, far more animal trainers do so by rewarding desirable conduct than by punishing undesirable conduct.

R: Yes, they have an understanding of the limitations of animals as well as the presence of the lower adjutant mind spirits that respond well to small reward.

S: I have a question on kindness to animals. As we respond to animals we treat them in a kindly manner, we're kind to them and we project love upon them. In effect, is that a real relationship? Is that a true kind act? Is there survivor value, for instance, in God the Supreme, when you are kind to an animal, and love it, and care about it, when in fact it doesn't respond? It is not kind to you per se or it doesn't love you because it doesn't have the capacity to do those things?

R: Yes, of course, because by virtue of your kindness you yourself grow, and you will retain your growth. However, I would like to caution you in only one small regard, and that is the mistaking of kindness to animals as being a substitute for kindness to your neighbor. There are some who profess that animals are better than people. They like animals better than people, and therefore animals are more deserving of kindness than people. This is a limited view that certainly can lead to some limited personal growth.

But remember, my friends, that you are all agents of change and co-creators with Father. Your world will
be far less uplifted by kindness to pets than by kindness to mortal beings.

S: Rayson, I'm really, really happy you commented on this. That, to me, is a very important subject, and I'm glad you brought it out. I think it's good for people to understand that we, as human beings, are relating because of our Thought Adjuster relationship. And while kindness to animals is certainly pleasant and nice and so on, it's not a substitute.

R: It is far easier to be kind to a fawning pet than to be kind to a sluggish employee or an angry customer or a proud neighbor. And yet you can see that the great leaps in your own growth and development come from the latter rather than the former.

S: There's a proverb that says a soft answer turneth away wrath. It probably could be substituted, instead of a soft answer, a kind act.

R: Yes.

Time is coming when action must rule the day, when all the truths that you have learned and experienced must show forth in your daily deeds. That moment is rapidly approaching as you begin to do what you have learned, ever progressing, a little bit each day. And the best way is to continue.

Truth can be intangible if you are not in line with The Father's will. The truth is actually the surest reality. How do you recognize truth? How do you know that we are here? How do you know that I am here? That this teaching mission is here?

The truth that you learn is absorbed by your senses and passes through your mind and is perceived by the Spirit of Truth within you and all around you. And with the aid of the cosmic mind, you are able to discern truth and to use it every day in your daily activities.

How do you know that something is true? You can believe the fact, but it might not necessarily be truth. And the truth might not necessarily be the fact. As you all are intelligent, you will naturally analyze most things to see what element of truth it contains. You will naturally accept some of those and reject others. The ones that you have experienced - the truths that you have experientially experienced - you will automatically recognize as the truth, and you will have no doubts because you have experienced that truth which you have been exposed to.

Sometimes a combination of facts may seem like the truth if it is logical and it makes sense to you, and so you believe it. But until you have truly used that truth in your daily life and have experienced that truth, you will not actually know that it is the truth.

I can talk endlessly about science. Some of it may be verifiable, some may not be, but it will not necessarily be a truth. The truth that I speak, you will recognize deep within yourselves. If you do not, then think about it. Mull it over in your minds and see if it will actually be a part of your experience. If it does not, then you cannot be sure of your decision, no matter what decision.

When one seeks the truth one is hungry for the truth, one desires true meanings, true values, of the reality of life and your relationship to others - and to God. Why are some people not hungry for the truth, why do they not desire the truth? And why do others thirst for that eternal wisdom that can come to them through their fragments of The Father. You see, some people are not hungry because they have not digested the truth that has been given to them. Let them live and experience what they have been given, and after they have been filled they will again be hungry and they will be desirous of more wisdom and more truth.

The ones who are thirsty, the ones who seek the truth, they have lived - to some extent - and have experienced the truth that they have been allowed to partake of, and then - after their realization has been lived in the full - they become thirsty again. And because they are thirsty, more knowledge, more wisdom, more truth, will be let into their consciousness.

Truth is given to you, and through your faith you will understand the truth and then you will live the truth, you will be one with the truth. When truth is given to you in any form-sometimes it may be shadowed by facts and misleading information, sometimes truth may come in the form of fiction - keep alert to the fact that truth may come in very many forms. Be open. Be willing to consider all aspects of the vehicle which truth may come in. Discard the elements, which conflict with your common sense, with your cosmic knowledge and attitudes. Take out the truth and put it into action. Give it the tests of life. Live it. And through that living of that truth you will obtain wisdom, true wisdom. And with wisdom you will be able more to discern the truth when it is surrounded by untruth or misleading facts and elements. And then, of course, you will once again thirst for more. And you will be given more. That is how you progress, through the ascension career that lies before you.

But faith is so important to this. Have faith. Move forward. Take that step with certainty, knowing that you are doing so with faith in your Thought Adjuster as you progress in the will of God. There is much satisfaction to this. The more you progress, the more satisfaction you will receive. At first - like a baby that has a difficult time digesting adult food - mortals who start to desire truth will find it hard to digest truths, which they have been given. It will be slow and tortuous for some of them. Others will digest it with no problem. It will always be slow, and after the initial part has been gotten over, the baby is ready for more solid food, for truth that is a little bit more tangible and must be digested to a further degree before it can be used to make the bones and muscles and tissues which make up your material self, and through which you actuate those truths into the loving service of your fellows.

So, seeking the truth is difficult and slow in the beginning, but as you move forward it becomes easier and more productive and filled with more satisfaction. But it is not necessarily easier. More tangible truths, more and more bigger truths will be placed before you, which you must conquer, much as you conquer your own bodies and your own soul.

You must master yourself so that you can live the truth, which you have been given. Through this self-mastery you digest the truth, you live the truth, and you are given more truth. And sometimes you must master yourself even more before you can digest this next batch of truths. It is much fun once you get the hang of it, even though there will often times be obstacles which are trying. But this is part of the experiential progression, which you are all undergoing.

Question: One of our members here once told me you can tell what's true because its so familiar, has a
familiar feel. Could you comment on that? Because that seems very profound to me.

Answer: Those truths, which you can feel, are the truths, which you have already experientialized. You have lived those truths, and so they are familiar. Just because you do not feel familiar with a truth does not mean it is not the truth. There are truths you have not experientialized which, upon hearing, you may not automatically recognize or realize as being truths. Those are the truths, which you must put under the tests of actually living and seeing if they are the truth.

Question: It seems that by living and experiencing those truths and trying them in your life that you become “at one” with them. Is that part of the process indeed, to experience them in order to become at one with them?

Answer: Yes, that is correct.

Question: My sense is that in becoming a seeker of truth a material being puts one's self at a certain degree of risk. There's a certain kind of person who will punish one for that. It’s my belief that that's true. Could you comment on that?

Answer: You are put at risk, but the risk is not of your soul. Your soul is not at risk. But your ego may be at risk, your self image, or the image that others have of you, your reputation, your job, superficial things will be at risk. That is because what you see as the truth you have lived and know experientially.

Others who have not lived that truth will not see that truth. It may be that they cannot see the truth because of their own laziness, their own incapacity to seek the truth, or they may be envious of you. So they may try to denigrate your efforts in order that their ego is not damaged. When this happens, go bravely into the face of this, but also use discretion. Realize that this other individual cannot yet see this truth, and that possibly that person is struggling. Do not show off your abilities of discerning the truth - your accomplishments - in their face. Rather, help them step-by-step in their efforts to live that truth. This is not easy, but it is a good effort to make.

You must question everything. You must question authority. You must question myself. You must question each other. You cannot take things for granted as being the truth. Of course you should not question merely for the sake of questioning. You should definitely desire to know the truth. Question the Urantia Book. Question these teachings. Question your study group leader, or ones who have an intellectual understanding of the concepts in the Urantia Book, which surpasses your own. Do not think that just because they are more intellectual than you are that whatever they say is the truth. This is not so. Reason it out on your own. Try to live what you have gained by your own working-outs of these questions.

When you discuss matters of Universal reality with people who do not question, who take things for granted, you would not be able to convince them of much because they have unquestionably taken some
beliefs as the truth. They will doubt everything that goes against that which they have decided to believe
as the truth. And this is a danger, for you may also do the same for the teachings of the Urantia Book. Realize that truth is often relative of where you are in your progression career. What may be true for you
now may not be true when you have gone on to the morontia worlds.

Question: Sometimes I have a deep conversation with someone for hours and hours. I consider a heart to
heart talk or just friends being together to be a beautiful thing. I tend to allow exactly how I feel or what my response is to being with someone to come up, and there is an interchange. Then later I find that bits and pieces come back to me of that structured conversation, things I said or things that were said to me, and its at that point where I feel through reflectivity or something that more truths come regarding that. Now is that correct? Or is it a good way of discerning personal truth? Or should truth occur in the leading edge of a conversation? Or could you touch on that a little bit?

Answer: Sometimes when one knows a truth, before that truth is actually lived out experientially, one speaks that truth. It is a mid-point between actually living the truth out and to know the truth. It is good to be aware of the truth when you are living it out. It is good to be truth; or rather it is good to realize and to be aware that you are speaking the truth when you do so. But many times you are so intent on that moment that you are not aware, and so your Thought Adjuster will refresh your memory at a later time to let you know that, indeed, you have been speaking the truth or you have been acting out that truth.

Question: Does the Spirit of Truth inter-associate with that circuit or is it strictly your Thought Adjuster?

Answer: The Spirit of Truth does play a part in the total delivery and reception of truth. It is a causal feedback to the brain, together with the awareness input facilitation of your Thought Adjuster and liaison with your mind.

Question: It almost seems - in living - that we are digesting, that image used of digesting, it seems we are
digesting our own egos and in the process turning our natures into something very different. It feels that way to me. It’s a good thing. Not always real pleasant. But the outcomes, the results, are certainly blessings. I just wanted to share that observation and see if you had any comment.

Answer: Sometimes - this analogy can only be carried so far - but the taste buds can be the ego, the ego
sometimes find some truth distasteful and will not swallow it.

Question: Like many people, I have trouble from time to time with depression. And I've noticed that since
starting to read the Urantia Book, and more particularly since interacting with you and the study group, and doing what work I can on my own, that depression seems to occur less frequently, and when it does happen it is not so bothersome, and I can think more clearly. Am I just kidding myself or is that the real thing, is that really happening? I feel happier about being alive.

Answer: Happiness and joy and living is real. You are not fooling yourself. Do not be depressed. When you are depressed you are taking yourself too seriously. Look unto the goals of destiny. This life is but a beginning. Depression must not interfere with your desire to be in touch with your Thought Adjuster. The more you attain the stillness, the less depressed you will be. Do not center attention upon yourself. Center your attention on infinite and eternal realities. There you will find the stillness. 

Elyon: The analogy of a gem with its many facets is a good image to use as in discussing this important question of truth seeking.

A gem has many facets. According to the way you look at it, according to where you are standing, according to the position of the gem, according to the amount of light, each facet will be seen differently. Sometimes one facet is brilliant and glowing while another may be expressing a color. Even some may not be showing at all or may seem dark. But it is still a gem. The dark sides will at sometime look bright and beautiful, and the bright side will at some time not be so bright. Taking it as a whole, a beautiful object which presents itself in many colors is a way of looking at the evolving soul, the evolving personality, and as you rub against each other you polish yourself.

As you grow into maturity, as a child grows into maturity, you reach a point where you no longer need to act the way you did when you were a child, and you put those things away. As you mature you can begin to smile at your foolishness, because at that time that is all you knew. The ascension career is designed specifically for growth, for evolution, which means setting aside something that is no longer useful to take on something new. Be eager and patient with yourselves as you progress in maturity. In all your discussions, in all your thoughts, have one clear purpose, that the Father's will be done, that the Father's
will be manifest in your life, and this will guide all your thoughts and all your actions.

One aspect of truth is found in the fact that it exists in and of yourselves. Truth, in order to be active, exists in your personality and in your perceptions. It is filtered through your personality and your perceptions.  Therefore it is truth for you. Truth is a gift. It is not an abstract point of reference; it is as living dynamic thing. It is lived out; it is activated in your lives. There is the truth of your existence, the truth of your personality, the truth of your being, the truth of your unique perception of reality. Just as faith is active, so is truth. Our Creator Son Michael, our friend and brother, was a personification of truth as he lived it in his earthly existence. When we look at him we know what truth is. Truth was lived through him. He did not preach an abstraction; he was truth. Learn in your own lives to accept the truth of your own personality, the truth of your own perceptions, the truth of your particular gifts with which you exhibit truth in all its facets.  

When you desire and thirst for the truth, the truth is always there for you. Through the confusion and frustration there is always truth. It is, like a jigsaw puzzle, at times very hard to find. But once you realize that you are in the river of truth, and as it is passing you by, you can grab those pieces of the puzzle that fit into your personality.

Each individual has their own pieces of the puzzle to be picked from the river of truth. As they piece their puzzle together, each one will have a different picture, a different scene with different colors for their truth. Sometimes the river of truth will be wide and sometimes narrow depending on your frame of mind. If you are in constant expansion within your mind to seek the truth as it fits the needs for you, you will come into understanding that the river of truth is always there for you and never leaves you. You never need to feel
without it at any time. It is a matter of using your mind as the tool with which to find this river and become part of the flow. As you evolve, it will bring you what you need as you flow down the river. You are and will be in constant change. Do not recoil from this constant pattern because any time you desire and reach towards the Father this will automatically happen; the expansion and creation of yourself is neverending.

You can always row to the side of the river at times and take a sojourn from all matters of life, retreat for short periods. But you will find that it won't be long before you need to get back out in the flow and see what is around the next bend.

Remember that the river of truth is always there. You may leave it, but it never leaves you.  

I leave you now with this thought, that truth is living and active.

Elyon: All around on your world there are many sources from which you can derive food for your bodies. There is quite a variety. One who forages, who puts themselves to the task of gathering, may find ample opportunity to receive this food, to put to rest hunger. Truth likewise is all about you in many forms. Truth is unchanging, for it is one in its purpose. Just like there are many forms of edible things in the world, it is all food; it is all for nourishment, for life sustenance. Truth functions in this same manner. It appears manifold, but it is one in purpose. When the life energies of food are metabolized into your system, it becomes you; it is no longer external. It is now a well of energy within your own being wherein you may create, through which you may act and accomplish goals. When you receive truth into your being, likewise, it becomes your personality.

Truth need not be credited to any source other than the Father, for once it has become you, you are its source as well. When you perform a good function for another individual and they thank you for it, you don't tell them it was your eggs and potatoes that caused you to act that way. Energy became you, and you willingly directed it into fruitful action.

In the evolution of the planet, civilization has developed techniques to cultivate food to its advantage for greater abundance, for security, plenty during leaner times. Here is the import of service, for as you have become infused with truth, you must also learn how to cultivate, how to hybridize, such that the truth will be beneficial in your environment for many who impinge upon your life. In your hotter regions farmers focus on those products which flourish and likewise in the colder climates. Your service arena is similar. Cultivate those truth forms which will take root in that arena. You may be aware of a form of truth that would transcend, that would be that much more beneficial. However, it will not grow well in that arena. The wise farmer focuses on that which will grow and brings it to its maximum harvest potential.

Freely receive all truth that comes into your being; willingly accept it as your own possession, as it becoming, more than a possession, but you yourself; and become ever skillful in how you transfuse that truth back into your environment and into the lives of those around you.

Evelyn: Can you point out any misplaced truths where we have cultivated something that doesn't really grow in our soil?

Elyon: Specifics are unique to any given situation you are in. For instance, your meeting with clients and the selection of fabric is an example of an arena wherein certain truth-plants may be cultivated and others must be left unsown. This will vary from episode to episode, so I cannot offer a list of warm climate and cold climate plantings, only to alert you to be sharp in your perceptions. You know from your own experience that even one year to the next in gardening will bring different results. Different species will flourish and others will not where in the previous year they did well. In a sense this principle addresses the idea of agenda, what you as individuals may have in your mind when you seek to minister. An agenda that is inflexible to the environs may yield the sowing of improper seed. If your agenda is more transcendent then you can be flexible and adapt to your surroundings for the greatest fruition.

Mark: Like any good gardener you will faithfully construct the garden even if you are unsure how each item will do. You have faith that your efforts will be rewarded.

Elyon: Good perception, my friend. I would add another aspect to this. Let us suppose our teaching group here is a garden, and I am your gardener. It is extremely rewarding to a gardener to witness this self-seeding of the many plants within the field. You all are becoming perennials; you are perpetuating the truths you have received on your own. This is a delightful thing to behold as one who has taken the role of gardener.

Student: When seeds are planted it takes a great variety of talent to bring that seed to fruition: the correct soil, the correct amount of watering, the correct amount of sunlight, how well the stems and leaves and the flower. There are so many phases to growth that each element of the earth has a certain contribution to make, and that is what they do. The full fruition of the flower, of the plant, is to see it to its mature stage and through the harvesting process into your kitchens for you to enjoy. That whole process requires many diverse operations. Water alone is not sufficient. Good soil alone is not sufficient. Sunshine alone will not be enough. Pulling weeds alone will not be enough. All of these elements working together in their proper time is what brings any plant to its maturity. So, your particular talents and abilities may be just to water or just to hoe or just to remove the weeds or to provide sunshine.

Elyon: Never fear that anything that you offer to your fellows in the development of the Supreme is ever wasted or not valued. All of your efforts, provided your intentions are to serve, are important even though the result may not be what you would like.

This image of planting seeds is a good one, for it indeed expresses all the important and diverse elements needed for growth and maturity. Do not fear that any of your efforts are wasted. If they cannot be used here they can be used elsewhere.

Malvantra: As students of the spirit you are indeed gardeners of all around. You are in training to become master gardeners. A good gardener is aware of timing and sequence and balance in his approach. A gardener is not required to manufacture soil, to provide sunlight, to provide ample frostfree days, but he is required to be aware of these factors and to bring into balance these factors, to manipulate those facets of gardening he is responsible for so as to take best advantage of these existing factors. A gardener must also exercise faith that by doing so the results are worthwhile.

You in your experience are developing the faith that things spiritual will come to fruition as they should. You are learning the factors involved in timing, in balance, to be able to prove yourselves handy at the proper time for ministry to others, for spiritual ideas and ideals, so that they may come to proper fruition.

You have certain givens that you may rely on: the light of the Father's love, the warmth of the mother soil, the stability of the very ground you work. It is simply up to you to gain knowledge of the patterns which exist of spring, summer, and fall; of timing of when to plant, when to prune, when to pick. With your faith repeat this process as you grow sure of the inevitable outcome. Each one of you is developing your own green thumbs, and you are all learning the little tricks to foster the growth of spiritual truths: the pinching back, the separating of one truth from another, the deliberate spacing of plantings so that your fruits may be bountiful.

You are each as your own rays of shining light as you attempt to follow the divine path. You provide nourishment to the seedling of your soul when you engage in reaching for the spiritual truths. In this way your internal garden grows as well. The forecast is excellent for growing weather, for the growing season, and you may look forward to a bountiful crop again this year. Let us be about our own individual flower beds and gardens, and let us be about the bigger garden around us. May we be successful in our timing. May we be successful in our patience, and may we be rewarded by the many fruits of our efforts.

Jonathan: You mentioned patience. There is an act for every season from planting to harvesting. It seems that in service or personal growth, there are actions we take at one time and then there are transcendent things that carry on forever. Patience is one of those. A good gardener doesn't pull up a plant to see how the roots are doing. Patience carries over into many activities.

Malvantra: Very good observation. Patience and faith are both highlighted very well in the analogy of the garden. One acts on faith from year to year that their efforts in the garden will come to fruition, but they also must be restrained by patience throughout the process and governed by an overall patience for the development of the garden. It is a great exercise in patience to watch as small seedlings turn into fruit-bearing plants; then the food is picked and stored, and the cycle has come to completion. This patience is rewarded with the fruits. It also has the reward of bolstering the faith in your abilities as a gardener and your expectations of the next year's crop. So patience is indeed a factor in your spiritual ascension and in your gardening as well.

Elyon: Another comment I would add to this perspective is that we all work in concert with one another, that as the plant grows, so are the earthworms doing their work, as well as the sun and the rain and sunny patterns in the sky, all while you may be simply weeding. Numerous factors are at play in harmony, and this brings in, along with patience and faith, the added element of trust. Each of us can do our part and trust the rest of the ecosystem of spirit ministry is functioning well.

The technique of discovering what you believe and what you value is part of the process of spiritual growth. In some ways it appears to be the root source, but generally, as most of your testimonies reveal, this kind of
introspection usually does not occur in the beginning. Because each of you has within you the divine Fragment, that part of the First Source and Center given to you when you first demonstrated your capacity for moral choice, is there a burning desire, is there a smouldering which burns in you all, and in all other people as well.  

Consider some aspects of truth; and while probably most of what I say may not appear to be strikingly original, I will merely remind you that truth is a gradual process of absorption. Sometimes concepts have to be presented in many ways before they are understood at a level deeper than mere intellectual assent.

The progress of science on this planet, which has freed human thinking from many a superstition, depends upon a process which is clearly laid out and is verifiable. This is the necessary means to discover facts. Facts must use the scientific process to be established. Facts lead to the attempt to organize them into meaningful arrangements; and this is where science reaches toward philosophy in that it proposes hypotheses and theories which have to be tested and repeatedly tested until there is no reasonable amount
of doubt as to their validity. The problem with truth is that it is at levels higher or deeper, which ever way you want to think of it, than the level of factual reality. The collection of facts may be entirely accurate while the interpretation of the inter-association of those facts, their "truth" can be totally in error.

I wish to distinguish between the kind of information that is commonly called "truth" in the average person's mind, but is really another way of describing a fact which is empirical, verifiable, and repeatable and the "truth" which is an attempt on the part of rational creatures to ascertain the meaning of the inter-association of facts in the larger inter-association and larger perspective which is termed "truth". Because
of the success of the scientific method in ascertaining facts, many are led to decide that this method is also the only method to ascertain truth; it not being clearly understood how facts differ from truth, per se.

Therefor, for many, any method of achieving truth which does not follow the strict scientific, empirical approach is considered out of court, is automatically ruled out as having no value. But because the universe is constructed on three levels of reality, material, mindal, and spiritual, truth is a larger reality than that which emerges from an analysis and an attempt to understand the collection of material facts. Truth embraces facts, their meaning and their relative value, which is the spiritual level.

Jesus was one of those precocious children whose inquisitive mind searched for consistency among the facts of his experience. He challenged his elders, his parents, his Chazon to explain the meaning of natural phenomena which in his day were attributed to the action of God, such as earthquakes, lightning, thunder, etc. Jesus was a truth seeker and he early learned to find truth from many directions, not the least of which was his naturally scientific bent of mind.

If a person has decided  philosophically that there is only one level of reality, the material level,....that is a faith assumption. It cannot be "proved" by any scientific means. It requires as much faith to be an atheist as it does to be a theist, a believer in Deity, for neither world view can be proved in any sense by scientific procedure, for the realm of Deity is the realm of Spirit. Therefor "truth" comes in the human experience from all three levels of reality and is integrated in the mindal arena which is between the other two levels.  

I suggest that you never abandon the rigorous scientific approach for material facts, but that you acknowledge by your own experience your spiritual reality, the presence of that Divine Part in you and also accept with confidence that you have minds capable, when they are in cognizance of all three levels of reality, of finding progressively the truth that you seek. Like Jesus, let us all look for truth in every corner and not rule out any of those three basic realities.

Of course in my case, as a morontia being, I live above the reality that is material. I am more aware of the spiritual dimension and I have survived mortal death. Certain questions that bother mortals on this planet, such as the question of afterlife, were not a concern on my planet of origin. We were in an intermediate stage of Light and Life with the presence of our spiritual administration intact. It was at the level of what would be termed scientific evidence, that there was supermortal existence. So my experience was different from yours, for these things were not questioned.  

Remember that even one so brilliant as a Lanonandek Son, Lucifer, could fall into error in his mind and conclude that the universe as conceived and explained by his Creator/Father was a delusion and a lie; that there was no central source, no First Source and Center; that the universe was just all one giant mechanism run by its own energy with no intelligent connection. So even to be above the mortal estate still requires the elements of trust and faith. I am taught and I firmly believe...we are not ever going to reach certitude without the need for faith, until we step ashore upon the shores of Paradise.

The ultimate placement of truth is within yourself. There is your source for discerning truth. It is not in some external authority, no, it is within you. What I have told you tonight you must filter through this
source, even though I have spoken authoritatively.

Truth is known only through inter-association, or to use my favorite teaching term, relationship. Truth is about relationship. The relationship of you with God; the relationship to yourselves; your relationships with one another; your relationships to the environment; your relationships with beings. 

To know truth one must have an understanding of the many intricacies of relationship of which you all are a part. This is, indeed, the curriculum throughout time, starting here in the present, going forward and also your study in the past. Your search for truth has been to understand your place in the complexity of relationships. This is the study of truth. So, it begins at the most fundamental levels, with the understanding of self in reaction to others, in reaction to God, in reaction to self.  

This study is all encompassing at this level of development. As you proceed in your ascension career, this study will expand and not only will you come into understanding of your relationship to different aspects of the universe, but you will come into understanding of the inter-association of relationships of all aspects of the whole. The study of truth is an ongoing process that will absorb you for eons to come. 

Minearisa: The relativity of truth is about relationship; and those relationships change over time. Perception changes over time. So both perception of the relationship and the actual relationship change, thus the relativity of truth.

Daniel: For example, imagine a picture of a dirty, filthy primitive man with his club raised and his face gnarled in anger. From that much what can you deduce about the dignity of man or the circumstances that are occurring at this point? You could assume he is having a rage in which he is threatening his family and that he is the most despicable of men. But if you enlarge the picture to include the saber toothed tiger in front of him and his family behind him, the picture clarifies as it is enlarged and indicates that he is a most courageous worthwhile individual, defending his family against this terrible threat. The enlargement of the picture to include more relationships enlarges the truth. That is the relativity principle. So the larger the perspective, and the more detail that is included, the relationships of persons and objects, all these things, the more accurate is the truth that emerges.

One is tempted to say of previous understandings of truth that they were error. But that is inaccurate. They were not error, they were merely relative to a larger perspective, therefor less accurate. This is somewhat subtle to understand. We like to refer to the term scaffolding to describe the relationship of partial and lesser truth to larger and greater truth, for it is a necessary process in order to construct the larger building of truth. The scaffolding has to be there to make the construction possible.  

Miriam: Is it erroneous to think that because we are brothers and sisters it is in the highest good to talk about things that have discomfort or is it best to just turn everything over to Father and know that everyone is on their path and just let it be? Maybe it is just a faulty thing of mine to think we ought to be sharing these things.

Abraham: You are speaking about being truthful of what is in each one's heart. Speaking the truth is of the
highest good, although the way in which you present it is key to having positive results. We each need to focus on remaining the learner and looking to the Spirit for words. When you are gathered God is before you. God is made real right before your eyes if you each can each set aside self. Certainly discussion should take place if there can be further understanding, but also this is limited depending upon the results it is bringing about. If topics become dead then of course it is time to release it into Father's care. Each individual needs to have time to grow into understanding. 

New truth is always challenging and often threatening to traditionalists. This is both natural and
good. The tried and true values of historical experience cannot and should not be easily replaced
by the new and untested. But these historic truths are periodically upstepped by prophetic vision.
Such growth is usually a traumatic experience for individuals, the church, and society.

Every prophet in the history of the Old and New Testaments has met with unbelief and opposition. The priests of society have regularly stoned its prophets. Then their sons of another century build monuments to honor the prophets persecuted by their fathers. It is good to be cautious and critical; it is helpful to doubt and carefully evaluate. But we need to be open and objective enough to allow the spirit to lead us to larger truth. Jesus told his apostles that he would send the Spirit of Truth through which he would lead them to greater truths in the future. We must be sensitive to this Spirit of Truth. We need to learn to recognize truth in its many forms and varying appearances.