# Religion # Group Religion - Social # A new gospel {{@628}}

A new gospel

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive August 23, 1997. Teacher Machiventa T/R Ginny

Tom: Machiventa, you spoke of a new gospel. Can you expound on that? Machiventa: The new gospel is simply and creatively the old gospel reexpressed. Many of the same truths, the same exact parables, may be simply restated. But many, having endured the trials of time, stand in need of some fine tuning and revision. It is desired that you play editors at this time. You, who have been given the original statement of the gospel by the Master, have internalized this gospel. It now has become a personal issue with you. Therefore you are in the best position. You, living here and now in this world amongst your brothers and sisters, knowing the tendencies and desires of those around you, you now are in the ideal position to restate the truths of thousands of years ago in modern phraseology and with modern application. As I said, much of what was stated would stand on its own even now to this new generation, this highly technical, critical generation that you live in. But very much needs slight editing for reapplication. This can be done quite effectively without sacrifice of the basic truths. Simply changing the parables slightly or the story to encompass scenarios of modern day life would make accessible much of the gospel now cloaked in olden times. It is desired that each of you internalize this gospel so that when your brothers or sisters come to you to discourse on any matter of spirituality, you are then a fountain of information, of restatement of gospel principles according to the perception you have of this individual's capacity and reference framework. Therefore we continually return to you and empower you and commission you and charge you and intently direct you to seize the opportunities before you to freely give away this gospel truth which now I term the "new gospel" as it is your gospel at this time among these people. If it is new and fresh and a matter of your own personal experience, it will be far more accepted by those around you and far more effective. So never be afraid to restate, to paraphrase, to offer your own observations as to the impact this gospel has had on your own personal being. The new gospel is a personal gospel passed from mouth to mouth, person to person, as a matter of personal experience far more than a matter of recitation of the old gospel.

# Brotherhood of man {{@628}}

Each and every individual is a child of the living God.

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive March 27, 2000. Teacher Abraham

With growth there is pain. Religious leaders need to evolve with the changing times and be open to diversity. A religious organization who claims to have the only 'true church' asks for stagnation and upheaval among the members. Each and every individual is a child of the living God. It matters not personal beliefs. What truly matters is having respect for everyone's right to believe in the way they see fit. It is so difficult for man to allow difference, and each church is guarded jealousy from other churches. Many religious people believe that other religious people are less enlightened and ignorant. There is always intentions to convert one another over to a correct path. This is indeed erroneous and only negative can result. It is the attitude of Brotherhood which will bring about acceptance of diversity and a desire for a common good for the whole.

Brotherhood in relation to self-mastery

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive December 01, 2002. Teacher Abraham

Abraham: You must admit that your relationships are probably your greatest challenge while trying to attain self-mastery. During the traditional holiday season many attempt to focus on kindness and goodwill, some donate material goods, some volunteer hours of time to certain charities, many over spend on gifts to show love. While this is striving for a higher good, can you see how this season does tend to bring out a baser side in individuals? What is normally supposed to be a season of goodwill is very much a challenge to those who are making effort to attain self-mastery. During this time it is common to have higher stress levels to meet demands that are set by tradition, and all the while attempt to fit the good feelings of knowing the Savior was born at this time on your world. What a season to challenge those who are attempting to master their lower tendencies and embrace a higher mindedness. There are always good intentions of course, but those intentions are not backed by reality. The feeling of goodwill toward men becomes buried by material obligation, stress from pressure, by tradition. My first recommendation is taking a look at the person you truly are. Are you that person with everyone you meet? Note how those issues you have with others may be a particular lesson Father is trying to arrange. Next I would recommend that you see all others as a parent would see them. See yourself as the Father would see you. Know that all struggle, all have need to meet demands, all have need for love and a freedom from fear. Also when you come into a discomforting situation with another, be observant like a third party. Rush not into these situations with unbridled emotion. Think about that deeper meaning that would chance to come to you if you are indeed open. When dealing with your fellows who seem to be in emotional upheaval, plant a thought in them: 'What is the lesson here? What are we supposed to be learning from this situation? What is the real reason behind emotional outbursts?' Many individuals meet with circumstances that have attachment to past painful events, and maybe not consciously act out their frustration, but certainly there is pain that magnifies the present situation. Anyone anywhere at anytime could be a potential lesson for you and you for them. You are one anothers teachers, one anothers reflection of good or evil. With combined love and unity there is an unstoppable energy that promotes healing and well-being for the individual, as well as for the whole. Many people do not understand the power they possess to either help or hurt another. You are definitely directors of destiny and can change any situation to good or bad. This week let us concentrate on self-mastery techniques concerning our fellows. Can you bring out a higher good in those you know? Can you be your true self without fear? Can you be honest and yet tactful? During trying situations can you remain observant and open to spirit connection? Father gave you one another not to be a burden, but a source of abundance.

# Confession {{@628}}

Confession

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**SOURCE:** Rayson & Friends

Note: this reference deals with confession between two or more people, not private confession between yourself and the God of your belief.

Confession Question: Can you comment on the relevancy of any of the confessional styles of dealing with remorse and guilt. Some of us have been through 12-step programs, which instruct us to examine ourselves and admit the exact nature of or sins to God, ourselves, and another human being and humbly ask for forgiveness. That's also the style of the psychotherapeutic technique that's currently used. I have to admit it - it seemed at the time I went through it that it was very helpful to me, although maybe primitive compared to other techniques. Answer: It is a useful emotional and psychological technique to be self-reflective and aware of one's life-actions in a spiritual light. It often helps one to recognize patterns of negativity and areas that need improvement. It is also emotionally a release from the past-guilt cleansing - to discuss this with another human who is non-judgmental and unconditionally accepting - loving of the present self. Confession is a more psychological tool than spiritual. Confession is not part of prayer, it is not a spiritually pure tool, but it does lead to more spiritual growth. It is not harmful, it is helpful for the human psyche and often leads to great periods of spiritual growth, but it is not a purely spiritual tool in and of itself.

# Evangelism {{@628}}

Do not let your evangelism descend into arguing the point

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**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

Question: Rayson, you speak of being active and not passive. And I've been trying to do that recently when I find opportunities to speak of my faith in conversation with friends and without, well, proselytizing - without being overly preachy, I've tried to open doors when I can. And something happened recently with a friend. I felt a lot of resistance, and a feeling from her that she wanted to intellectually argue. I felt the need to protect my own faith - not that she could convince me otherwise - but just that it was disheartening to come up against that skepticism. And rather than continue the conversation, I feel that maybe I shouldn't even discuss faith with her any more. Am I being a coward? Am I being passive? Or is it sometimes a good idea to back off from a person whose skepticism seems stronger than their inclination toward faith? Answer: Our master did not allow himself, when he resided here as Jesus, to be drawn into useless debate and argument. Words are wonderful tools for communication among humans. However your life is much more effective - a much more effective argument for the role of faith. When words fail, your living experience as a faith filled daughter will not. Others are drawn to you because of who you are, based on the bedrock of your faith. Do not descend into arguing the point. Only negative things will come from that: divisiveness, differences, polarization. Rather stress the commonality. Love, it is hard to resist love. And shine through this (easily?) and in many ways you are unaware of your love. Others are not, and wish to be close to you. So, you are not a coward. It is wise to drop talk, which divides friends. Ask questions and leave your lower associate to the feel of social growth, like your questions, that will not threaten the intellectual defense. Question: In other words, ask questions that I still have? Answer: No. Ask questions to teach this being. Ask questions about.. Question: What they believe? Answer: No. What they need to get them through disappointment. Or sadness. Or, when they feel joyful, what does that feel to them? How does that affect their lives? Those kinds of questions where you are the student - but really you are the teacher.

Put yourself in the arms of the lord of the dance

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive February 25, 2001. Teacher Tomas T/R Gerdean

Tomas: I see a picture here of an amusement park and in the amusement park there is a game of strength where the player picks up the mallet and smashes hard on the weight and in his thrust a gauge rises which indicates the intensity of the impact. In some cases it rises all the way to the top and rings the bell. In this feat we see his strength, his accomplishment. Many times when you seek to preach the gospel you are like the strongman who wants to hear the bell ring when in truth the entire procedure is far more like a dance. Both you and that mortal you would minister to are the feminine figures who follow the lead of the male, the male being the Indwelling Spirit. They know what they want to accomplish. You want to help them accomplish their purpose, thus there is a certain amount of graciousness and even seduction involved. It's a conscious cooperation with something that has more direction than you can realize; you just follow. The fact that you are a willing participant, that you put yourself in the arms of the lord of the dance is an indication that you will step when he steps, dip when he dips, spin when he spins. He will see this appropriate pattern emerge when he consults with the lord of the dance of your friend, the other mortal participant in this game of give and take; for in the game of give and take, that is, the gospel, the dignity of the mortal must be upheld, and his intelligence needs to be upheld, and his experiences need to be validated. His perception needs to be honored. It's a problem in administering the goals of evangelism when you have so much previous conditioning to go by. What counts in the spirit world is often not what works in the material world. This is why you are cautioned against attempting to coerce or overwhelm with logic. For example using shorter sentences can also be a useful part of the dance. It is necessary that we dance at the same time. In this there is harmony. In the end it is still true; the bell will ring, but the ring of truth will come in the form of the revelation that has been fostered by the power and strength of that divine spark that lies within. I will add that it is true that culturally the men often have a hard time putting themselves in a position of allowing someone else to lead. It's just not part of your composition to allow yourself to be submissive or adaptable as is necessary in order to be a fluid font for others. In my gender remarks it is only fair for me to remark that women who have learned how to lead often lose a certain quality of grace that is an essential aspect of a child of God. These matters will be resolved in time, and they are not insuperable difficulties, just observations on my part.

True evangelism does not to be coerce, scare, or entice

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive May 06, 2001. Teacher Elyon T/R Jonathan

Elyon: It is admirable that many are motivated toward evangelism, the desire to help another realize the importance of the relationship with God. However, I would hope to see as the years progress that this evangelistic approach would adopt the attitude that the one being sought evangelically is already considered one of the family of God, not to be coerced, scared, or enticed into becoming a member of the family, but rather that it is revealed that they already are, that trust and faith are all that lack. Every child who grows up in a healthy family already knows they belong, and this is true throughout the universe.

# Fatherhood of God {{@628}}

Reality of the Fatherhood of God

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**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

I have chosen a seemingly simple discourse on the reality of the Fatherhood of God which many, being used to this idea, realization, have grown accustomed, and therefore are taking this great truth a little for granted. I feel extraordinarily privileged and overwhelmed, still, at this momentous truth: that we who are so insignificant, and yet - as small children needing a wise parent - that this parent is the Great Creator, stupendous and magnificent Lord of all creation, past present and future. There is none beside Him, so powerful and almighty is He. And to ponder the truth that He is also our loving FATHER and ever-present guidance and friend, never ceases to overwhelm my limited mind. What we see of His glory is so tiny and small! There are no word expressions to enable our minds to comprehend more than a grain of sand in the sea of what He is. His vast material creation should cause you to ponder and humble yourselves at His vastness and incomprehensible reality. He is the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega, of all reality comprehended now or ever to be comprehended by mind. He has deigned to give you use of all the mind energy you can use. You are limited, and this is well understood. But by mind you may reach for the unlimited. You are endowed with a part of the Infinite Mind which knows no boundary or finite mental limitations. You need to know your minds are free to expand in comprehension, and to grow and be seasoned with wisdom by, in, and through your souls. Though you be dust, you have within you the spark of the Infinite FATHER of all who bestows His greatness, infiniteness, goodness, mercy, and Fatherly love upon each person to the greatest extent possible. He wishes for all His children to find Him, to come forth from the darkness into His loving space, light, mercy, understanding. He wishes all of His children to grow in their own space, light, mercy, love and understanding. He desires for all of His children that they love each other to the fullest extent of their understanding - as they love Him. He desires that - as His children grow toward Him and become more of Him, realize Himself in they - that they, in turn, bestow this Fatherly love and brotherly understanding and mercy upon their fellows to the greatest extent they are capable. This may require a letting go, a letting go of old prejudices, a letting go of inner anguish and stress, a letting go of inner turmoil and emotion, a letting go of the worries of life, and many of the little cares which can weigh so heavily when multiplied. Allowing this, abandoning the old and embracing the new is not an intellectual exercise, it is your lives. It is not a moment's thought, it is the robust and vigorous exercise of true faith. Courage is required to abandon the old and embrace the new. The old is secure, the new is unknown. But I say unto you, abandon the old and do it gladly. Embrace the greater realities of the kingdom and do it courageously. Live your lives as if in His presence, always, and I say “as if” for a reason. Before the full realization is upon you, by faith reach out for it first. His presence is always with us. In Him we live, move, and have our being. He is our ever-present guide and companion. Where is the insecurity in that? By faith you grasp this reality, and by faith you are transformed by it. The true Fatherhood of God, His loving presence ever with us, an open ear ever ready to hear His children, to know their hearts and minds, and to understand, and guide, and teach: these are the ways of The FATHER. You must take His hand willingly.

Experiencing the Fatherhood of God

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**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

There have been many questions on the Universal FATHER, some vocally and some in your mind. There have been questions about how we can feel the love of The FATHER more. Some find it easier to feel the presence of the Infinite Spirit and the Creator Son, but find it difficult to feel directly the love of The FATHER. This is understandable because of the mortal status in which you exist. The Infinite Spirit is the God of Action, and so when you do things, when you act according to the will of God, you feel His power, His presence, and His outworkings of the actions of your daily life. The Creator Son is spirit. When you relate with others, other beings including celestial, you feel the presence of His spirit. Through your relations you manifest love, mercy and good will which are the foundations, of your connection with others. And so when you do this you feel the Creator Son. When it comes to feeling The FATHER, the Universal FATHER is personality. He is more than personality, but for your comprehension He is personality incarnate. How can you feel His personality? You will not be able to when you act or when you express yourself. Expression is in the realm of personal relationship, so that would be with the Creator Son. So when you act or you express, you will not necessarily feel the presence of the Universal FATHER. You must remember that the Universal FATHER is the I AM. He is. He does not necessarily talk or do. He is. So for you to understand The FATHER, you must understand what it is just to BE, without expression, without doing or acting. This IS the stillness. This stillness may come to you not only when you are worshipping but in your daily activities between expression, between acts, you may just feel the awe, much as you do when you take in the breathtaking sights of a natural wonder such as a forest or the ocean or a sunset. You sense the beauty and it is. When you do this you ARE the beauty. You do not express it you do not act it but you are. The Universal FATHER is in that way self existent and self manifest in you when you become still. Stillness means to quiet your senses, the input and mind, the thoughts which are generated by the senses through the brain, memories, all these must he put on hold and your consciousness must be on The Universal FATHER. When you do this you become - for a short length of time - the I AM. And that is the presence and the love of The FATHER. Soon as you reflect on this you will have lost the essence. There must be no reflection, no comments on this, it just must be. You can also experience this when you perceive a truth, a beauty or a goodness and you do not comment on it, you just accept it and it becomes you and you become it. Then also you are experiencing the love, presence, power, the I AM of The FATHER.

# Fellowship {{@628}}

There is much power in fellowship

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive January 23, 2002. Teacher Abraham

In the busyness of everyday living we tend to become somewhat lost or disconnected from Spirit. Your fellowship is a tool for rallying each ones personal faith, and becoming strengthened for the week ahead. Your willingness to share experience always helps somebody. To be open and honest about life's realities aids those who hear you, and helps us all to feel a part of the Kingdom. You each have gifts that tend to the wellness of the whole. Perhaps one of you is a good listener and shows compassion, and yet does not enable one to be weak, but become strengthened and inspired to carry on. Perhaps one of you may be quite skilled in the sharing of wise counsel and is able to impart wisdom to aid in life circumstances. There are those of you who have a heightened sense of justice and can bring about group solution in a non-biased manner. There are those of you who emanate a peace and calm that is contagious to those around you. In this peaceful example you help others to find their own God within. There are those of you who are wonderful organizers and instigators of new projects. You help to bring high ideals to a human useable level. There are those of you with the gift of speech and often do well as a group spokesman. There are those of you who are deep thinkers and always have a wonderful perspective to share, that guides towards logic and practicality, straying away from mysticism and perhaps self-deceit or denial. When you add up these gifts just there is definitely a great deal of power and influence that can be found in a group. There is so much good that can come from just one group. You are each strengthened by one another and your dedication to gathering regularly confirms your faith and strengthens your collective foundation. You heal one another. You inspire one another. You minister to each other with Spirit guidance. That is spiritual power. That is intentional living. That is growth promoting and creating hopeful feeling that you are really living this mortal life, not being dragged through it. The group is your tool — just as the Book is. You have a great deal to gain from one another — not to say that there is not much to gain from outside the group, no. I am speaking of where there is something lacking you can find fulfillment here. Those that have not known a loving parent may perhaps meet such a role model here in the group. Where one has not been a parent, there is experience to be gained from those in the group. Where there is lack there is fulfillment here. One who has not known a true friend will most likely find one here. One that does not know how to be a true friend will most likely find a wonderful example of one here. My friends, many of you have not experienced a typical childhood and have a great many issues to be healed. Through your willingness to share, heal and be healed, there will be fulfillment and satisfaction; there will be experience to be gained from one another; there will be tools to be shared in experiencing everyday life. There is such power in fellowship. There is such feelings of confidence being part of a family unit. Where one may be imbalanced in spiritual thinking, there is balance to be gained from the group. Where there is low self-esteem, there is acceptance and love to be found within the group. Where there is pain, there is consolation. Where there is depression, there is light. Where there is doubt, there is faith, all within your weekly meeting. You sleep when you are tired. You eat when you are hungry. You communicate with your brethren when you feel empty. There is powerful wisdom to be gained in your unity. It is most likely here in this group that your gifts will be fostered to use in everyday living. If you can compare the Teaching Mission to other church organizations, you find that all feel equal with one another in the Mission, wherein an average church setting there is hierarchy. In the average religions there appears to be some closer to God than others. In the Mission we know all have ability to be equally close with Father. Our message is positive and uplifting, not guilt promoting and teaching atonement for being your natural selves. Our message is tying spiritual and mortal life together in harmony, not having one or the other to prove your worthiness to enter into Heaven. We teach the power of the Spirit of Truth, shedding light on those dark places, discussing it, learning from it and finding solutions, not covering over with so-called spiritual ecstasy that can be found in some religions. You, the people, make up this Teaching Mission. There are many good qualities about today's churches, but there is so much for people to learn. One of those things is that God is a fair and loving Nurturer, not a stern and angry, jealous Parent. It would be quite beautiful to behold when the churches can teach that experience is valuable, not to believe it is a smile or a frown from Heaven. We are always in a state of growth and very much loved beyond our own comprehension.

# Harvest {{@628}}

A harvest of souls

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**SOURCE:** Lightline Teleconference 2024-12-19

Teacher: Amanson

T/R: Mark

Amanson: I would speak this morning on ' The Harvest'. The harvest is when the seeds have been sown, they've grown, come to fruition, and those fruits have been gathered and put to their ultimate purpose: the nourishment of the human race. That is the harvest. It happens, of course, in the planting industry (what one thinks of when one hears the term 'the harvest') but it applies equally to any endeavor that requires a time of germination, a time when the necessary nutrients are gathered together, allowed to work their amalgamational magic, let to mature as the ingredients complete their final setting-to, and then, when the planting/ growing/ maturing cycle has run its course, the mature product is gathered and placed on the docket so those in need of this freshly emerged wonder might partake. It is as true of humans and their maturing process as it is of herbs, plants and vegetables. You now face — are involved in — a harvest of sorts. A harvest of souls. A harvest of carefully curriculated persons armed (grown) with a knowledge not known prior to this epoch: that your Interior Spark, your fragment of God consciousness, can be contacted, communicated with, and made a friend of. This was so rare a practice in the times before this one that it was considered... perhaps 'freakish' is the word; certainly a miracle, or fodder for ridicule — a notion beyond the general populace's understanding. But now it has been made \[to be\] quite accessible. Not necessarily easy in your overly loud, underly sympathetic world, but both doable and necessary. For these are the times, times in which the Interior Light, the light of God, the embodiment and purveyor of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness can be — must be — sought out and found. Found where? Within. Not pointed to in a book, not guessed at in the various rituals designed to place the mind and heart in an accepting position in the desperate pursuit of the notion of God; but the actual God, His (choose your pronoun) very Presence within the souls, hearts and minds of His children (which you all are). This is the harvest that is being readied, that all the workers in the field have been struggling so mightily to bring about; workers among you who have been very visibly doing so, and those of us unseen who have been working equally as diligently in the invisible but no less real world to bring this about. Roll up your sleeves, oh joyous worker in the fields, the time has come to gather, prepare, and enjoy the harvest. Turn to your fellow worker and say, "Let us be quiet now. Let us retreat to our inner sanctum and hear the voice of our Father's representative, so we in fact may serve as that very thing." "By your fruits you shall know them." Let us be bearers of those fruits, those sacred fruits, that all may see and benefit from the Good News echoing out from this much anticipated golden Harvest. It's here. Let us grow silent now and celebrate.

# Holy {{@628}}

Father's will is that we become holy, just, and great

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive September 9, 1999. Teacher Jessona T/R Mark

Tom: I have a question. Reading in our text there is mention that the Father's will is that we become holy, just, and great. As I understand it, "great" is the equivalent of good, and I have a fair concept of what "just" means. But "holy" I tend to associate with solemnity and piety. I know the Master was holy and he was a jolly soul. Is this something we can develop, or is it something we are? Please expand upon the word "holy" and how we may aim ourselves with it. Jessona: May I indicate that this phrase you cite incorporates the three reality responses that you have read about in the Urantia text. Greatness in this case refers not simply to status, to the recognition of expertly performed deeds, but it can be thought of more likely as the enlargement of being, a quantitative growth, the expansion of soul, the accumulation of broad experience, and an ever-deepening penetration into spiritual reality. This is that 'causative' response. "Holy" springs from the reverential tendency of the mind. Where "justice" deals with a quality, "holy" involves a totality. You have worked with an understanding of the phrase, "practicing the presence of God". This is that holiness. To be always engaged in embrace, aware, and working in association with the Father is that holiness. Not the holiness of a religious ceremonial piety but rather a very familiar, down-home, friendly association with God Himself. It is inclusive of deity in one's creature life to the point of blurring the distinction.

# Images of God {{@628}}

Mental images of God

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**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

Question: I am not able to follow the admonishment of many of the teachers to think of The Father as a friend, as someone close to me or accessible. I don't know if that's my Catholicism background, or what. I feel very far removed, and although I believe that there's a benevolence and a connection of some sort, I don't know how to get to - I don't know how to cut through all of the layers I have in my mind between me and The Father. Answer: If you were to succeed in cutting away the layers immediately, you would not be able to handle the energy input into your physical-mental organism and system. Yes, this is quite usual. It is easier for you to relate to the Creator Son than it is to relate to the Universal Father. That is because your Universal Father is so distant from you in levels of attainment, although he is very close to you in actuality. For you to understand, to conceive, to grasp, and to relate to The Father, do so with his fragments, which indwell others, for when you can relate to a Thought Adjuster in others you are relating to The Father. And so gradually you will have a better understanding and you will feel more in touch with the First Source and Center. Is that helpful? Student: It scratches the surface. Rayson: Yes, I will scratch the surface, but you must do the work of experientializing that. In other words you will not be given a simple answer. I will give you a lead. You must work on it. Question: The lead was: to look for God in other people? Answer: Yes, and within yourself. Student: OK, I'll work on it. Rayson: If you cannot grasp this in other people, this fragment of God in other people and in yourself, how can you even think that we can directly commune with the Universal Father? Student: That's the crux of it. Rayson: So, keep on trying, you are asking the right question. Just proceed in that direction and you will eventually attain what you seek. I encourage you. You are much connected to where you should go.

# Inclusion {{@628}}

Inclusiveness is essential for faith

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive May 31, 1998. Teacher Tarkas, Elyon T/R Jonathan, Mark

Inclusion means helping all the people you encounter on this world to realize they are family. You are learning better what family, from a spiritual perspective, implies, and you are each learning more effectively how to apply yourselves in creating this sense of belonging in those around you. Commonality, inclusiveness, is essential for faith-ers as yourselves on this world, for the isolation of this world has created the effect of isolation in individuals. Herein lies the importance of the proclamation of the brotherhood of man, for it is important that you all gain the ability to love one another. Though it is natural for many of you to be loving towards the Father and endearing among yourselves, many have trouble with their relationship with the Father because they have encountered so little love from others. So, I stress again the importance of accommodating everyone. With that said, I would also encourage you to become skilled evermore in encouraging your brethren to rise to their highest. Though we teach brotherhood and your common connection, we also are teaching you how to better ennoble yourself, to elevate your standards of virtue, what you hold as your ideals and to incorporate them into your actions. I simply ask you to foster this reach toward higher virtue and spiritual nobility in those around you. The caution I throw your way is that some will have difficulty in receiving this encouragement because of the human tendency to take sides, to be positioning oneself in the order of right and wrong, attained and unattained. So it falls in your lap the need to be able to develop clever skills, to develop tricks, in a sense. I use "clever" and "trick" in a mild manner; the meaning I wish to convey is that the individual receiving your encouragement has the paradigm in which he functions. The trick is not upon the other but in your ability to change your position to meet their viewpoint and arouse in them the awareness of their next level of attainment. Here is where you need to exercise cleverness in discernment and discovery of the other's perspective. So, while we are endeavoring to reach a spiritual plateau of familial brotherhood on this world, we also would like to draw all of you into ever-higher standards of behavior. Evelyn: Can you give us an example of a trick? If you encourage someone to do better, they might get defensive or get into one-upping. Is that what you were saying? Tarkas: In some sense I am playing with wording that has a double reaction in the human mind. To be tricky or clever appeals to one's ego sensibilities as it also does stimulate an individual to increased skill. However, I also realize that you are oriented toward affectionate regard of one another and respect for another, and these words "clever" and "trick" seem to be manipulative. So, I do emphasize my lighthearted use of these words to stimulate in you the responsive awareness that you are, by necessity, required to shift from your perspective in order to allow another to shift their perspective. By meeting them where they are they are better able to make their next step forward, rather than you addressing them from where you are. Mary: Maybe "creative techniques" would be better than "tricks"? Evelyn: I don't have a problem with the word "tricks". To encourage someone to strive for higher goals, you don't want to sound condescending. Demonstrating that you can shift to where they are suggests that they could also shift. Tarkas: You have expressed your appreciation of the Master's ability to translate spiritual meaning into the occupations of the individual to whom he was speaking. You have each now expressed similar patterns of approach. One way of going about this would be to inquire of another how they perceive their progress in a particular field, such as art or career, and engage them in the flight of fantasy, that is, to help them indulge somewhat in what it would be like to fully attain their goal, then to subtly draw them into viewing their entire life through this same drive to attain, thereby bringing them into the spiritual arena with the very mechanisms of thought they have been applying in a circumscribed way. Mary: So much of our wisdom comes from experience. It's hard to have a plan until we have tools attained from success in working with someone. Tarkas: Exposing oneself to a broad array of your fellows increases your library, your tools, the instruments in your studio. Again I draw you back to the Master as the profound example of this method. Mary: He made an amazingly concentrated effort through knowledge, book learning, as well as actual experience with people. Learning about all different kinds of people and their religious beliefs will help us be more inclusive and versatile in reaching out. Tarkas: Expertly expressed. Imagine encountering another and striking conversation about, say, their religious orientation. Without having any understanding of the particular religion they adhere to, your exercise of drawing them out with questions would be initiated with rather superficial inquiries such as, "What is your religion?" Whereas having studied something about the concepts, you are better prepared to ask a deeper question, for instance, how would they reconcile the statement that the hand of God functions in the world when all about them they see chaos? Now you have begun to delve deeper rapidly. Mary: During mundane interactions, if we maintain the goal of learning about others, we'll learn how to approach them in a more parallel, less oblique manner. If we can keep this in mind we will become more versatile in ministry. Tarkas: Yes. Good. Elyon: I would throw my two cents into this discussion, as well. I would offer to attempt to remove you from your concept frame, or alter in any favorable way, the stigma that discussion on your part of spiritual matters is somehow inappropriate. I point out that in your basic, daily contact with your fellows, most of the exchanges that occur are based on your personal experience, whether it is your personal experience with the weather, with your neighbors, with your friends, with what you recently viewed on television. Nevertheless these constitute your personal experience and your reaction to your personal experience. I declare to you that it is equally as valid for you at any point in the conversation to simply state your perspective without fear that breaching new territory of spirituality is somehow taboo, not to be approached without your partner's full consent. An individual you have a conversation with may choose to interject a variety of thought patterns which they would engage you in. You, from your perspective, are not insulted or put off or taken back by the desire of another to introduce discussion. You should adopt a similar philosophy when it is your turn to produce topics for discussion. You should not enter into this with the apprehension or preconception that perhaps this subject matter is inappropriate. Rather, if it is your personal experience, if it is your topic of interest, then it is equally as valid as any other topic. I realize that much of your hesitancy is contained in not wanting to force any concept on another. Realize that you, in your daily exchanges, are not forcing your concepts on anyone. If another brings up the subject of automobiles, they have not forced this on you. If you choose not to discuss it, you simply do not reply or do not further the conversation. You are not insulted or challenged by them wanting to discuss automobiles. You simply determine whether or not you will engage them in this. Likewise, should you decide to introduce spirituality in any form, it is their option to choose to engage you in this or to simply let the ball drop. Either way you have done no harm in this. Your perspective has been made, and the door has been opened for further discussion. It simply takes the door being opened sometimes before the whole realm of possibilities becomes open. This is perhaps where you have the greatest leverage in your daily ministry, to simply crack the door. Do not attempt at any time to thrust the door wide open and force discussion if unsolicited. However, always be ready to twist the handle and unlock the door so it may be swung gradually or abruptly as reaction dictates. Mary: We need to avoid pigeonholing people, assuming they wouldn't be interested in any subject. Spirituality isn't any more unusual to bring up than the weather. Hopefully, they are all interested to some degree; we may just speak a different language on the subject Elyon: Very well stated. This brings me to my next comment; you touched on it briefly just now. It would be helpful if you would, each one, make active and conscious attempt to alter this conception in your mind that this subject is somehow not as freely accessed or is uncomfortable or forbidden. The times we live in are changing rapidly. You have been told that channels are opening; communication is increasing. These are times when dialogue of this sort needs to be introduced. Do not make the mistake of being so respectful of what you perceive another's position to be that you decline to even be engaged for the possibility that you might be out of line. If you are unwelcome in your solicitation, you will immediately become aware. When you become aware, simply back off. In the meantime try assuming the very opposite; just imagine people freely and willingly desiring to engage you in conversation of a spiritual nature. Try this in your perspective with individuals. I realize that this is almost 180 degrees from where you reside in your approach to this scenario. Nevertheless, I encourage you to be bold, to remove the concern that you are overpowering, because you are not. It is no more overpowering for you to suggest some aspect of spirituality than is for your neighbor to suggest the weather is pleasing. They are merely facets of your personal experience. You could argue that your spiritual perspective is of far more enduring quality than the transient nature of the climate. Therefore, be not afraid to drop the hint, to crack the door, to at least let the other individual know that this is part of your experience. If the other shows no interest...you leave it be; you talk about the weather, the automobiles, and the grass. On the other hand, if they do choose to engage you with it, then you have made the first step to crack the door wherein you may both enter into that bastion of spirituality where you can both grow from the experience. It is far better to take the remote chance of offending another or making another uncomfortable than it is to decline to ever enter that domain of spirituality with them. Realize that they may very well be equally as apprehensive about discussion of their spirituality with you. If you make the first move, you open the arena for both of you. You may be surprised at those around you who are in search mode and at a stage of consideration of these issues. This is occurring more frequently as a consequence of the opening of the circuits and the work done behind the scenes by the many spiritual helpers. Many individuals are searching for meaning. It would take but a word from you or any other for the floodgates to open. Individuals would greatly appreciate having someone who they consider a friend, a neighbor, an acquaintance to simply discuss these issues with. Never forget that it is equally important to be as good a listener as you are an instigator of conversation, that many individuals simply desire to share the experiences they are trying to assimilate into their repertoire. So, once again the command, the calling, to be bold and step forward. Do not fear that you will be shunned or regarded as fanatical for merely suggesting the spiritual side of your nature. It is, indeed, fully half or greater of your entire nature, yet, it is rarely discussed except in settings like this. That, my friends, needs changing. You are in a position to change that scenario by merely dropping the hint, opening the door. It is a simple matter to do, but I realize it takes some courage on your part. I bid you the courage and the strength to do that. Jonathan: All paths lead to God; it sounds like all conversations lead to God. We illustrate not that all we can talk about is spirituality, but that in any conversation we can provide patterns of thinking that can help another later in applying that pattern in an entirely different context. In being a good listener, we can rise when others open the door for us. Elyon: I will also offer that you reflect in your dealings with our brethren, when you are in discussion on any given topic, you are basically sharing your values, whether it is the value of a good day, of a good automobile, of the interaction you had with another. You, in bringing any conversation to the forefront, are offering something of your value system to be shared with others. They are doing the same; they bring forth things of value to share with you that they have in their lives. It is incumbent upon you to point out to them, softly, maybe, that one of the aspects that is of value to you is your spirituality. This can be powerfully effective, especially to individuals who you have come to know on a different level. They have witnessed you as a friend, a neighbor, an acquaintance, as someone they see in the course of business. They have formulated a relationship and opinion of you given this exposure. Now you can add one more thing to the equation; you can add that in your life you hold of value and significance your spiritual connection, your spiritual reaction to the world. This may open many eyes in that they thought they knew you, and now they learn another side of you, that there is more to you than met the eye, so to speak. Mary: Not all people interested in spirituality are fanatical. It might be enlightening to know that you can be involved in religion without begin offensive. Elyon: Again, very well said, an excellent perspective. You are dealing with a common perception of what religion is and does. It is your fortune and privilege to show those around you by your actions and demeanor and receptivity that you are a breed apart from the stereotype they may be thinking. You are quite normal and average in many regards, nothing to be afraid of, simply a fellow human being.

The value of other cultures and religions

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	G	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive March 23, 2001. Teacher Daniel T/R Bill

Bob: I did have one thought: that in the darkness of the history of this planet, if a person can figure out how important \[physical\] life is and treat it as such, that person has certainly learned something that gives them a leg-up or perhaps insight into other avenues that would encourage them to get more serious with their spiritual development, and might motivate them to open the next door when it comes along. Daniel: Indeed, this enlightenment is a process, as you describe it, the opening of one door and walking down the path to the next, and so forth. You see, one of the things that Christian culture is woefully ignorant of is the value of other cultures and religions. Christian culture has assumed that it has, if not all the answers a large majority, that it knows more and is in better favor with God than the rest of the planet. This is totally erroneous. It is true that Christianity embodies more of the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth than other religions, but there is so much value in other religions which is only now being understood, for example the \[earth\] stewardship concept which Native Americans have understood for centuries. This time of enlightenment is seeing the bringing together of truth from throughout th eplanet, and technology, the Internet, the possibility for travel worldwide, for some at least, these things are having a significant, positive effect. The biggest problem that Western culture faces is preoccupation with the trivial, with an inversion of values, so that the least important is often exalted as the most important. You who know better, are salt to preserve that which is good. You are also the light to show the way, to lighten up the dark corners, to focus on that which is important. You know all this. I don't say these things because you are ignorant. I say them because your are beginning to really believe this.

# Parables {{@628}}

The effective use of a parable is to stop short of making a conclusion

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	G	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive April 22, 2001. Teacher Elyon T/R Jonathan

Tom: Jesus used parables as a defense against the Sanhedrin. Upon reviewing the list of criteria, parables seem to transcend mere stories. Is this means of communication still effective today? Where does one go to find parables? Are your examples actually parables in themselves? Elyon: You have in your reference source, The Urantia Book, a well displayed, portrayed, list of elements that make up a parable worth reviewing. I would contribute more to that expert list of qualifications that define a parable, and that is that a well crafted parable intuitively speaks to the soul in a manner which is adapted to the efforts of the divine indwelling Thought Adjuster. Holding this in mind with a parable, if you are the one uttering such a story, you are speaking to the spirit within the other individual knowingly cooperating, providing external input that has a junction with the internal efforts of the Adjuster to speak to the mind and soul of the creature who is hearing. A parable may contain the element of entertainment that a story does, but it also contains this principle of kinship, if I may use that word, with the efforts of the Adjuster. Few of you are in a position like Jesus where you address large multitudes of diverse backgrounds, even languages and cultures, at one time. You will have less opportunity to demonstrate truth in a parable form. More often than not you will encounter smaller situations and opportunities to convey truth tactfully to another so as to not raise the ire of the Sanhedrin, in a sense, in the individual. You can apply the principle of the parable by addressing issues using a "for instance" format. One can bring to the forefront of the mind of another a truth to be considered by relating the story of a third individual, what they encountered, how they reacted, and what they have done based on a similar experience. The effect of the parables the master taught was to allow the listener to identify the key element in the story and to identify with a key character. By relating your own story to another they may likewise draw into sympathetic affiliation and conclude from your portrayal a possible course of action for their own situation. In your desire to discover a presentation in parable form or to even create one yourself, I advise that it is important to not directly convey the moral of the story, the point to be made, but to develop a picture/context, a visual, imaginatively tangible arena, series of episodes, that in their portrayal uncover the point. The effective use of the parable is to not get to a conclusion and say, "The point of the story is...". The effective use of parable is to stop short of making that conclusion and allow the Indwelling Spirit to work with the one who hears to draw the conclusion. How often does one recoil from a friend who says, "You know what you ought to do...", "You should...". A parable does not seek this end. Its effort is to create a scenario with key elements which can contribute to the one hearing the story the ability to compose a conclusion. This conclusion developed within their own minds is far more acceptable than is advice directly given. If you wish to experiment with such compositions, become skilled at identifying contributing elements, compose them into a sequential story line, and leave the conclusion for the listeners to create themselves. Tom: How does humor qualify in there? The punch-line is still vague and allows a listener to participate. How does humor differ from parables? Elyon: Humor can disarm another from the tendency to guard against being told what is right by another individual. Humor can draw camaraderie to the surface. The parables of Jesus spoke of events that happened elsewhere, happened to other people than those to whom he was relaying the story. It draws the teller and the hearer closer together as they share in an experience about another. Humor, likewise, draws the humorist and those who are listening into the camaraderie of laughter. Its drawback is the potential that the truth that is lying dormant within the message will be overlooked because of the light heartedness, the potential for it to be trivialized or (rendered frivolous). Seriousness does help to emphasize the import of the lesson to be gained. But that should not rule out the use of humor as a means of creating a comfortable environment through which the lesson may be learned.

Effective parables are about ordinary associations and ordinary actions

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive May 06, 2001. Teacher Elyon, Helena T/R Jonathan, Ginny

Elyon: The Master's parables were commonplace events. They did not describe a religious ceremony, nor were they directly addressing a philosophic or spiritual principle. They were mundane life situations of commerce, of family. They were about ordinary associations and ordinary actions, yet their effect by way of the Master's description illuminated a universal truth, a truth that could be found regardless of the common, earthly context. To be of greater service to your fellows, to provide a meaningful form of ministry which illuminates the reality of the spiritual family of God you have to wisely discern the variety of attitude and receptivity inherent in the many people you encounter. Some willingly approach the subject; others are resistant or guarded. Here is where the value of a parable comes in. But the best parable is a living parable, one in which you compose from the specific context of the individual to whom you are seeking to present a universal truth. To become a better righteousness recommender it is worthwhile to practice translating your daily, apparently mundane events into a principle that has eternal qualities. How you develop it does not need to conform to any rule, any method, so I will not give any sort of approach. It is as variable as it is for any artist who walks up to a blank canvas to see what picture may unfold. However, the relevancy of the context of the story will have its best impact if it is current, personalizeable, and immediately able to be put into practice. The Master often began a parable by saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like..." and then proceeded to describe a quality of the kingdom that could be comprehended by the following who stood to hear. This conviction of the Master drew forth the attention of the listeners. He did not say, "I think perhaps the kingdom might be like..." By addressing with such certainty others who are truly desirous of grasping the truths of the kingdom will be that much more attentive. Your conviction is what is convincing. If you make the gospel your sustenance and apply it with persistence, you will meet with little resistance. Jesus during His life on earth often needed to retreat from the throngs that gathered around him for personal peace and quiet and time with the Father. You also know from the study of his personality that he was not one to pursue celebrity status, and yet ever more people would gather to be about him. He knew the value of enriching the value of another human being by considering them, whether they believed it or not, to be his brother or sister. To feel so readily accepted is magnetic and will draw another into your presence for that soothing enrichment that the soul of one who is uncertain so desires. By inquiring of another what their dilemmas are at the time, what their triumphs are at the time, you begin to discern a framework wherein you may compose a relevant parable for the illumination of truth. "He who has ears to hear let him hear" applies to the one also who is composing the parable to be portrayed. Discerning relevancy is a major element to the success of the story. One's conversion into a trust that one is truly a son or daughter of God often is brought about by the simple conversation that you share with them, not as much the content, as that you willingly, caringly, and openly spoke with them inclusively, accepting their status as a child of God in spite of the doubt of the one with whom you are sharing. Believing in another breaks down many barriers of doubt, of insecurity and uncertainty. To be of value to the spiritual advancement of your fellows, "teacher" is not as appropriate a term as is "coach", for athletes know how a coach's confidence in them has brought them to excellence in performance. It is admirable that many are motivated toward evangelism, the desire to help another realize the importance of the relationship with God. However, I would hope to see as the years progress that this evangelistic approach would adopt the attitude that the one being sought evangelically is already considered one of the family of God, not to be coerced, scared, or enticed into becoming a member of the family, but rather that it is revealed that they already are, that trust and faith are all that lack. Every child who grows up in a healthy family already knows they belong, and this is true throughout the universe. Ginny: I like what you mentioned that when one knows they are a member of the family of God there's a magnetic confidence that pulls people. Also that one of the attractive parts of Jesus on this planet was his authority, which attracts people to speak and act with authority. Elyon: True, indeed. His authoritative approach was genuine and compassionate rather than militaristic and forceful. This authority, this substantial conviction, is what is so hungered for in a truth-seeking soul. It is noticeable and irresistible and will be sought after. There have been abuses of this mechanism within the soul of followers by leaders who use authority for their own personal gain. You should not desire to be leaders but to point to the Creator as the one who leads and who we all follow. Evelyn: I am reminded that if you are trying to convince someone by brilliance of argument or loudness, your success will be inversely proportional to just relaxing and letting conviction show itself. Elyon: Indeed this is true, and it often requires a stretch of time to be convincing. Argumentative defense often is given with a sense of time pressure, that the convincing must be immediate or nearly so, where truth often must be repeatedly displayed or portrayed before one realizes its significance and its reality. Herein enters the virtue of patience and that fatherly perspective. It may require repeated encounters wherein you leave feeling as though you had made no progress in demonstrating a spiritual truth only to find that over time inroads were made, insights gained, and belief begun. Helena: Speaking of parables, spring is a good time to use as a subject that is so close to you and so familiar to most of you, as you all have your hands in the dirt a fair amount of time and are occupied with this season in your efforts to encourage plants to grow. As you dig and you till your soil you understand that certain plants need more care, more prepared soil, more delicate watering, more careful choosing of sun or shade. Some plants grow anywhere. As with the souls that you touch, some are more delicate and need more attention and more careful planning of how you will present your lessons. Other souls who are hardy will be able to handle more simple ways of approach, will be able to handle rougher treatment in the sense that less preparation and less carefulness is needed. It is well worth your while to fully understand the soil that is needed for these plants to grow. It is well worth your while to understand the soil that is needed for your words and your actions to be fruitful. As you play and dig in your gardens you might want to think of this parable. As you gaze upon each plant and its own personal beauty, you might want to think of all that is necessary to help it grow. As you deal with our Father's children, you will need to think as a gardener does of all these circumstances that may be necessary to help them grow and to be healthy souls.

# Reincarnation {{@628}}

Is there such a thing as reincarnation?

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R	P	O	1

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**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

Question: You said there was no such thing as reincarnation on this planet. There are those who claim to have lived previous lives and I am wondering, number one, if there is any reality to their beliefs, and second, what is the explanation for them? Answer: There is no reality to their beliefs. Explanations are speculative. Access to Adjuster eternal memory, even if the Adjuster is virgin. Adjusters share eternity. What has come before, what exists now, what will be, is in their realm. Group consciousness of the planet does exist in a very philosophical or ethereal realm. Physically it exists through DNA, electro-chemical genetic line. Some people can access memory, bodily memory, through a physical mechanism. Those who are sincere, we speculate get this through those three channels. And then there are - of course - many insincere people who make money on this belief.

# Religious evolution {{@628}}

Is there discernible evolution is going on in our religious institutions?

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R	G	O	1

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive March 20, 1989. Teacher JarEl

Student: I would like to know if discernible evolution is going on in our religious institutions and if there's much hope and effort in that direction. JarEl: There is tremendous hope. There is a direction. And, there is some progress. Religion is not going to take the place of spirituality for man and religion is not necessarily at this time going to bring man into a state of spirituality. The ability of the spiritualized mind and the ability of a spiritualized religion to become dynamic as a movement on Earth is quite possible. Such a movement is not very different from we are prescribing here in our lessons to spiritualize your mind and begin to bring it out into the world through acts of loving kindness and service to one's fellow. The best at this time that can be hoped for is that the major religions and religious institutions on your world begin to take into account their relationship to the service of their congregation at large rather than trying to dominate and direct the ethical and so called moral social behavior of their constituents. But what I think you are asking and what I am attempting to answer, is yes, there is a tremendous amount of celestial help and influence within the institutions of religions all over the world. And, like any human and celestial relationship the majority of the outcome depends upon the ability of the human side of the relationship to acknowledge and therefore respond. In the face of so many religions, the tremendous arrogance at this time inhibits a lot of the celestial help. But, there is hope and there is progress and many times you may find that people can be moved not so much by an authority of religion as much as through one of their own kind, someone who is closer to them. This is why the religion of Jesus strongly urges you as individuals to grow and change yourselves and therefore go out amongst the many.

Spiritual liberty is yours for the taking

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	G	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive March 19, 2001. Teacher Abraham

Abraham: Many churches have taught its members to not trust in themselves. They have taught they are bound by the animal-self (the sinner), and if they do not perform certain acts, then surely they will not be received in the afterlife. To really know Father is to be truly liberated. Many experiences you had as a child have bound you to take certain actions in life events. As one experiences and matures spiritually you do find spiritual freedom. In spiritual freedom the mind and heart are opened to divine information. A couple, whose marriage is sanctified in a religious institution, may find out years later the marriage was a mistake, and they live in daily turmoil and unhappiness. The religious laws of their church keep them bound in their unhappiness, but is this really God's law? Does Father wish for you a life of inner turmoil and unhappiness? No. Father does want us to have experience, be open to his divine leadings, use all your mortal resources. In trying times and when you have still not succeeded, then does He want you imprisoned to an unpeaceful life? No. Spiritual liberty is yours for the taking. It is not about religious traditions and life sacrifice, but about being free to experience, learn, make mistakes, make corrections. Go within and ponder those things that keep you imprisoned, that keep you from feeling free to experience the universe firsthand. The rules of integrity still apply, but they are not to bind you but to cause you to be responsible as a cosmic citizen. We have discussed the [integrity of spiritual liberty](https://glow.pikapod.net/link/1078#bkmrk-%C2%A0-%C2%A0-classification-a) and being at ease to enforce spiritual liberty in your own life. I would also like to add allowing others to also experience spiritual liberty. Several debates have always come from differences, whether it is politics or religion. You have every right to your thoughts and opinions and to seek out your own inner guidance, as does your fellows. Allowing a brother or sister their liberation to think and feel as they will keeps the lines of communication open, in that there are opportunities for spiritual ideas to take root and grow. Should you always shake a finger at your fellows saying, "You are not understanding this topic. Please look at it my way." causes defenses to arise. Really no one has any right to minimize your experience, your opinion, your personality, your way of thinking, and with the law of spiritual liberty you have not the right to take it from them. Yes, this does tie in with the [lesson of acceptance](https://glow.pikapod.net/link/800#bkmrk-acceptance-of-others). All of us, from the lowest to the highest, wait upon the will of God. Allowing spiritual liberty and natural evolution gives Father a chance to minister. It gives ascending souls the right to experience and choose for themselves. It keeps a natural flow of spiritual current pointing towards the good.

# Service {{@628}}

Service is instrumental in effecting change

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	G	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [x] Sea	- [x] AIR

**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

R = Rayson the teacher, S = students.

Today's lesson is on the subject of service. This is a lesson that is best given to a group once it has reached a certain threshold level of knowledge, because the concept of service is instrumental in effecting change - not only on your material world, but in all phases of universe existence. Service seems such a simple concept, and yet it is very much misunderstood, most particularly in the material existence. Therefore, we will start with some basic definitions. Service, in the purest sense, is that action which the Father continuously performs. All acts of the Father are service oriented, constitute service, in fact. The incarnation of Michael on Earth as Jesus was service. And in His life in the flesh, His every behavior personified service. If you would serve, do as He would do. When in doubt ask yourself: “How would Jesus handle this? What would He do?” He set down a basic guide for conduct which some of you know as the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. Where then, comes the confusion? Much confusion regarding service has been introduced by those who are strongly motivated by the desire to gain profit. The profit motive has been instrumental in the civilizing of man. It has served a much useful purpose. However, service and profit are not the same. When profiteers present the notions of service to those whom they would enslave, the concept is transformed to become one of servitude rather than service, with the main idea being that so-called service consists in relinquishing one's material goods and efforts in order to improve one's self spiritually, and of course, the material goods and efforts received go on to improve the profits of the presenter. The most compelling use of this logic has been put forth by certain persons in the organized religions on your planet. I need not enumerate the examples, for they are most plentiful. But for anyone who has doubt, I must remind you that the way to highlight behaviors and the performance of service have not to do with material goods, gifts, bribes, or the like. Motive is extremely important in understanding the true nature of service. Once you pass from your life in the flesh, your perception will be greatly increased with regard to the motives of others. And, in fact, some mortals possess an increased awareness of this. To the seraphim and other assistants, motive is readily ascertained. Service, when performed, eventuates in spiritual growth. There is in the offing a great step forward to be taken by the peoples of Earth, awaiting merely the motive and desire. This is because presently mankind is driven by profit motives. The addition of service motives, true service motives, to the existing profit motive, will enable mankind to take this great forward step toward Light and Life. Many of the proverbs of Michael, Jesus, are guidelines for you if you wish to be more service oriented and service actuated. For example, “it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.” What good, truly, for a man to pursue profit throughout his life - disdaining goodness truth, beauty, and love - amass a great fortune in material goods, and then make large charitable contributions shortly before his death in the name of service? Each of you, each individual, is unique and different, a created personality with a specific mission in the universe. The ultimate in service is to develop your skills and perform them to the best of your ability with each day that you live, whatever your skills may be, to be honest, to be kind. Would you deprive others of the adversity that they require for their own experiential growth? If not, then why would you give a man goods he has not earned? Jobs he does not deserve? Honors he does not merit? The rewarding of inferior performance, even though it may be well motivated, is not correct. It leads to mediocrity, and holds your planet back rather than advancing. Inferior performance, if left alone unrewarded, will either improve or will extinguish itself, because it will not succeed. If rewarded it will persist and detract from the superior performance of others, others who are rightfully motivated and service oriented. Pity is not the same as compassion. Service has not to do with the gratification of ego needs of mortals, which is another area of confusion, and incorrect motivation. Doing good is not the same as what you refer to as making another person feel good. How could you possibly know what really makes them feel good. To do such a thing is to attempt to enter into ego-seeking of the other. It is not service. However, service is not the pursuit of one's own selfish goals, either. If anything, service takes you outside of yourself. It has been said in a previous lesson that it is most important while living on this world to be in the world yet not of it. That is part of service. In closing, let me remind you that, as you - each of you - grow spiritually, becoming more and more service oriented in your actions, you will experience a greater measure of energies and a lesser concern with material needs. And - interestingly - you will find that your material life will become easier, with far less conflict. That is not to say you will not continue to experience adversity, with battles. You will find it less onerous. That is the end of this lesson. Are there questions? Question: I think, when I work, that the best thing for me to do, is to do service in my work and make money, in other words, to gain material benefits plus do my utmost to be of service to whoever I work for. Is that an ideal situation? Answer: It is ideal if service leads and profit follows. It is most ideal under those circumstances. Both are quite powerful. If you are service led in your activities, profit will certainly follow - cannot help but follow - not as a reward, rather, in consonance with the flow of the Universe - when your behavior is correct and all goes well. Question: Does that mean that - for instance - if I cannot be of service to people doing things that I cannot do well, then the most ideal work for me in this life is to do those things I feel I can be of the most service? And that as a result of this my material needs will be taken care of? Answer: You and all other mortals have many many skills and abilities, beyond your comprehension even. You cannot even begin to fathom your true potential during your brief time in the flesh. However, in answer to your question, you will find that in your strongest areas the work will be facilitated, it will be easier; it will not be quite so difficult. You have areas of ability that remain dormant, many areas. I cannot tell you to only develop along one direction that would not be correct. You must work on this during your quiet times. Do not misunderstand and assume that great wealth will necessarily follow upon your efforts along skilled lines. Closer to the truth would be to say that if you do what you do well with clear motive you shall not be poor, you shall have enough. Not necessarily will you gain great material wealth, but you will have enough. Question: Yes. I wasn't really concerned about the material end. I was just thinking that I would be more of service to others doing things that I am more capable of, than doing things that I am lousy at. Answer: That is one way of stating it. But do not stop trying in some of the areas in which you feel uncertain. Question: You mentioned in the lesson that focusing on spiritual well-being results in a lessening of material worries and needs. Can you explain why that is true? And possibly explain what the morontia mota counterpart is of that principle? Answer: As a mortal with a particular brain structure and certain physical limitations, your attentions, your efforts, your focus, each are divided in three ways. There is the attention and care directed toward the maintenance of your physical self. There is the attention and care directed toward your intellect which includes emotion and ego, and the third area is the spiritual with your Thought Adjuster's presence and guidance of seraphic and other attendants. Because of mortal limitations, as more attention is placed in one of the three spheres there is simply less for the other two. So, as you increase your spiritual awareness and efforts toward soul growth and God consciousness, as you become increasingly service oriented in your thoughts and actions, you will necessarily become less physically and intellectually oriented. The benefits that will accrue as a result of following your inner guide will be so compelling that you will simply pay less attention to the material cues that had heretofore been your guide. This is in keeping with a principle of the universe. The mota statement would be something like this, restated for your comprehension: “That which is exercised grows strong, that which is neglected or not exercised grows weaker and weaker.” Like your material muscles, if you exercise a muscle it grows strong and large; if you neglect a muscle it atrophies and wastes away. So will be your experience with your material concerns. Spirit leading will satisfy your needs so very well that you will continue to follow it, and you will prosper materially and become increasingly less concerned with material worries. Does that answer? If not, please ask. S: I'm a little short of understanding, in that, if you are exercising your spiritual focus and increasing that strength, and therefore neglecting your material or mindal areas because you are so attracted to the spiritual areas, then you might think that those areas would rather weaken because of neglect. Whereas you have instructed us that - to the contrary - those areas are taken care of even though we neglect them. So I guess that confuses me still. R: The confusion comes because you believe that there is only one way to attain a goal that a material goal is only attained by material means, and the lesson is that material goals as well as spiritual goals can be attained through purely spiritual means. Michael, during His incarnation as Jesus, certainly fulfilled his own material needs, but He led a spiritual life. Perhaps the word “neglect” was not the best. Perhaps a better word would be inattention. Question: Regarding the lesson, you spoke about putting oneself in the service of the Father's will. I feel a little lost about what form that would take. I know that in my cognitive mind I feel that if I'm always as honest as I can be, if I maintain my integrity at all costs, if I try to help and do right, that I'm working in that regard. But I personally feel - especially this last week - very lost about the higher aspects of that. I don't feel like I've been doing my best very well at all lately. Could you expound on what is service to the Father in the greater form? Answer: First, you would not be here in this room had you not committed yourself to serve the Father. You are not being paid in monetary terms. You do not gain socially from this. There are many other experiences you could be engaged in at this time. There is no material reason for you to be here. You are here only as a seeker after truth and on the basis of your personal faith in the Father. Your feeling of being lost is most likely due to an increased awareness of your spiritual self which has been submerged in the past from conscious knowledge. It is perhaps analogous to a blind man suddenly gaining sight. Of course a blind man who gained sight would find the world to be a confusing place, and so would a spiritual sleeper find sudden awakening to be somewhat disorienting. I sense that you are a service oriented being with a wonderful mission in store and that you are firmly committed to follow the Father's will. Do not be fearful, but have joy and good cheer for you have some wonderful experiences awaiting.

Service benefits from greater depths of expression and cultural evolution

**CLASSIFICATION**
H	G	C	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [x] Sea	- [x] AIR

**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive 12 Jun 2002. Teacher Welmek T/R Donna

Welmek: There is so much information to share with you my dear friends - my wonderful brothers and sisters - who are carrying forth the important and amazing work that is now beginning to unfold on this beleaguered planet. And so, let's explore the idea of where is your focus on your life now pointed. As we have observed human life on this planet, there has been a steady thread of the unfoldment of human life. And that is: you are born, you are educated, you learn skills and ideas, and fit them into career paths that have been pre-identified and traditionalized so that you can enter into certain jobs to earn a living wage to meet your material needs and raise your families. And all of life is so structured. This is, from our perspective, a limited way of life, for it does leave little time to enjoy those things that uplifts and ennobles the spirit, and fuels the imagination of the spirit to greater depths of expression and cultural evolution. This is about to change. You are the first generation to bear witness to planetary transformation and I ask you, have you thought about what role you would desire to play in this - in being of service in your own way to further the course of planetary transformation? The role and unfolding of planetary transformation is something that will proceed now for many succeeding generations, and life will change with each generational imprint and become more harmonized with the divine plan for this planet. Your lives, as you are beginning to see, are changing. You are emerging from the consciousness of earning your living and being fundamentally rooted to the material needs and requirements of fulfilling just your basic living needs, and emerging into the consciousness of making the world a better place. So how is it that you move forward in this new direction, while the very nature and condition that you find yourself in of meeting your material needs, is changing right in front of your eyes? What can you do, if you choose, to allow yourself to venture into the direction where you can be of highest service in this unfolding transformation? Student: I've been trying to do what you are talking about for some years now; trying to find a way to work for the benefit of the community, and for the benefit of the planet, and it's really been a struggle, and I have not felt supported, particularly, financially. And recently, all financial support has disappeared. I don't really feel supported in this, spiritually or financially. Welmek: Transitional times are difficult, particularly when you do not feel, nor see, where your support is. This is the time to make the commitment within your heart that speaks to your soul's desire to serve in this capacity. And I encourage you to extract the material needs that you have from your sheer, honest, and sincere desire to work in this capacity. This may not always be the easiest undertaking. Have you found anything else in your life to be as satisfying as working in this endeavor, if you were to extract out, the notion that you have not been financially supported? Student: Well I haven't found the work to be that satisfying, in the end, which is troubling also. I feel like it's useful work and it's service, but it isn't soul satisfying to me, and that's been disturbing too. I feel like I haven't been able to feel the form of contribution that will be the most soul satisfying for me, and so I've been stabbing around in the dark, trying to do things that make sense, but I don't connect with them in a way that's very satisfying - it just feels like work, that's service oriented and useful. Welmek: And would you say that this lack of connection is due to the conditions in which you were doing your work? Student: Yes, I think partly it's because I'm isolated and working alone a lot. I think I would be better off working around people more. I also feel as though in some way it's not my work, that it isn't the thing, that somehow there's something untapped that I'm unaware of that would be more what I'm here to be doing. And that has been a lifelong issue-puzzle. Welmek: And so would you say that it is possible that the connection that you seek has not been made or found because the appropriate pathway has not yet shown itself to you? Student: Yes, I think of it in terms of my not feeling connected to myself in a particular way, so I don't even know what my hearts desire is. Welmek: I would say that it is very vital at this time to spend some time in asking to see yourself from the divine perspective; that you are, as a child of God, a very beloved daughter with exquisite talents and innate gifts that will be well put to use. Spend time in asking to see what your gifts are; what your talents are. Ask to see yourself the way God sees you. During these times of transition the pathway may not always emerge right at that moment when you feel you need it, because there are certain depths of awarenesses within you that must pierce your conscious mind in order for you to choose where you want to go. And it is very normal in the human mind to think that you are not getting any help when the venue you have been doing your work does not produce fruitful and satisfying results. And so, the tendency in human thinking is to think that you are doing something wrong, and to feel disconnected, and then to become even more frustrated and despondent. And I say to you tonight, that you are deeply loved, and you are cared for and watched over in a very devoted fashion. You may not feel this at the present time, but if you continue to go into the stillness and ask to see yourself from your Divine Father's and Mother's eyes, you will be given a greater vantage point to view your life and yourself, and to see more of who you are and more of what your gifts are. And then a new awareness and new opportunities present themselves to you so you can continue to move forward in life. It is important at this time, also, to spend some time in extracting in your heart the idea of what the financial support should look like, and just ask to be guided into those places where you can earn your material living to hold you in a state until your new path begins to emerge. How long will this take? I cannot say. But if you follow the leadings of your inner spirit and open yourself even more now you will be guided, and you will find that which you so honestly seek within you. Student: I'm poised to truly have my life changed as I desire to serve Michael as it has been consecrated and valued for some time now. I'm finishing up some things that sort of needed to be finished, and I am grateful for the teaching and the empowerment that I have, and I am looking forward to fulfilling my commission. I'm very unsure about what form it will take. I feel pulled in several directions in terms of ministry. I was wondering if you have any advice that would be edifying for me? Welmek: Your desire to serve is vast. And as vast as is this desire are your gifts. Spend time in looking at your gifts. Spend time writing down what it is that fills your soul with love, with joy, with lightness of being. Spend time after you have written these down looking at these words carefully. Take them into the stillness. Offer them to the Father, and ask for an expanded awareness of who you are and what that gift means in your life. You will have time in the new life that you are moving to; opportunities to do this. And I encourage you now, as you make your life adjustments, to spend some time in contemplation of this. The myriad threads of your personality are all being woven together in a harmonious and very beautiful dressing that you present to the world. There will be many opportunities that will come your way to give of your talents, to show your beauty, to be of true service. As you come to appreciate yourself more, you will naturally feel the inclination to share it more. And the more you wish to share of yourself in loving service, the more opportunities will come your way to fulfill them to your hearts' content. Student: The idea of forming our resolve to live in God's world and to be about our Father's work, because this is what Jesus talked about being in the world but not of it, in the sense of our personal, or our being more of altruistic service rather than simply working for material gain. Trusting that our needs will be taken care of. Needs will be provided for, at least this is the direction I've been going toward for some time now. It seems to be the message that has been coming through on lots of levels. Welmek: It is as if your sights are focused on the spiritual unfolding of the ideal divine plan. And in keeping your sights focused on this, you are more free to enjoy - while you would use the word work, but it is not work, it is a joyful undertaking. And in this deep awareness of your needs are being met, and seeing that they are met, gives you a higher level of motivation, and the capacity to see the plan with clearer vision. And that continually affords you increasing levels of faith and courage and hope to keep you moving forward. Seek first the kingdom and all things lesser will follow. This is the idea. And you are resolving yourself to stay true to those ideal potentials within you that are now activated deep within your soul. It is a matter of refocusing and refocusing your gaze on the spirit until the spiritual realm becomes so real and so highly identified within your being that to see other than this would seem to be strange or foreign to you. And this does grow in time. It progressively increases within you, the more you consciously choose to see this. And the way to begin to do this is to ask to see all things - those things that you need to see - from God's perspective. And you are taken into that realm of deeper and broader spiritual awareness, and increasing your capacity to love, to be loved, to serve, and to be served. And this is what you are now actively allowing to unfold in your life. Student: I keep on getting this same message that I am at the threshold of experiencing my own magnificence, who I truly am. And it seems like I've always had this vision of how human beings ought to be living on this planet - in our true divinity. And I know I have so much to give and to share with others, both silently and verbally. And I know I have these gifts that I have been holding on, constrained to express, or have others experience. I also understand there's a time and a place for everything. It seems like with each new challenge that I get nourished, I expand, I evolve. I become more centered or focused in the vision of who I am, as an expression of God. Welmek: And this is the unfolding of your true self, and you will continue in your own unique way of showing our Father's love in the world, as you develop your awareness of who you are as a child of God, to fashion you into a stream where you can be of more service throughout the day. This is an expanded awareness of yourself; for as you know, when you align with the Father, He grows who you are, and He moves you into different streams of life so that you can express more of the beauty of yourself in different avenues, to broader ranges of individuals. And I ask you to take this idea now and to merge this into your awareness of what it is that you wish to do in life so that you have more opportunities to be of service. Student: I feel constrained by obligations and sense of duty. And my physical work that I do in order to make ends meet, so to speak. I can't think of the right word, but just this cycle of - I work to pay bills, and then I keep working to pay - that kind of thing. And I'm just tired of that. I want to move on to be who I am, to live, to uplift this, not only just myself, my little universe, but this whole planet. Welmek: You will find yourself being separated from the idea of your financial obligation. And I say this carefully: the more you separate yourself from the idea of being obligated, the more you will free yourself to be of service, and the more opportunities for service will come your way. You will be supported. You will not fail to meet your financial obligations, but you must begin in your mind's eye to see the bigger picture, so you can naturally be separated from the idea of the obligation. I would add this note, as an observation of human nature. Strive for the ideal instead of focusing on what you need to let go of. For in striving for the ideal, you naturally allow your mind to attach itself to this. And when you attach yourself to a new idea, the old idea becomes easier to let go. And so, growth becomes gentle and more simplified, and this is the way we encourage you to always pursue your life, in this ease, in this flow. That is not to say that you will not be given challenging circumstances, but in always seeking the ideal, always will you be given the tools to meet your challenges and obstacles with hope and courage and strength and fortitude and perseverance, and every other good thing you need to be victorious. Student: It is, in my experience that, and often times in my life, I have not felt that I have been given what I need, and that I've been led very close to the edge of the abyss, more than once, to the point where I felt that, that was something that I'm meant to use later on - that experience of nakedness and shame or terror or vulnerability, confusion, to force me to rely on myself, without any help. So I was wondering if you could comment on that, because I notice that I'm, I have a quality of vigilance. It's starting to lessen now with church connection, but yeah, it's still there. Welmek: I say this with the utmost gentleness and compassion for your condition, and of who you are as a brilliant child of God. The abyss is not a place of fear, it is a place of unknowing. And in the unknowing, when you allow yourself to be in that darkness, and calling out for your Father, you will be embraced; you will be upheld. But the human mind does not naturally lend itself to being in the abyss, especially when it feels dark and terrifying. The human mind resists with forceful will, and does everything it can within the psyche to create that feeling of, "No! I will not go there." But I say to you, that this place is the place to go, for this is the only place where your faith can really be activated, and catapult you to a higher of understanding, a higher vision of who you are and who God is, and how God loves you and supports you. The shame, the degradation is illusory, but it is a real feeling in human experience, and therefore the mind fights it because, at the level of your soul, you know that this is truly not who you are. But there is this vast chasm between total surrender and abandonment in this unknowingness and the comfort seeking desire of the fundamental animal nature. And so I say to you, my friend, ask for courage. Ask for faith. Ask for hope, and take a deep breath, and jump, and see where that takes you. Student: I guess the only thing I might add to it is that there have been, during these times I've prayed, repeatedly, before I even knew the church now. And so, I felt nothing, really! So it's interesting that there is this relationship, and yet one can feel quite cut off at times. It's confusing to me - that to get a response from God is not as simple as asking, sometimes; there's more to it. Welmek: God responds to every sincere petition of the human heart. It is not always an experience that you will be consciously aware of, however. And there are those mis-connections of mind and body that are perceived that circumvent the conscious recognition of God's presence within you. It is at this time of being in the unknowingness, where your capacity to have your being re-encircuited is the greatest, for your mind and your body are no longer resisting, and it can be reintroduced with those spiritual endowments that are necessary for the conscious recognition of the presence and love of your Creator Father/Mother-God. And as I said, the human mind does not relish being in that place of unknowingness very much. And so when you feel disconnected, what impetus do you have to staying there? But I say to you, my friend, that if you stay in the unknowingness, and accept it, and be comfortable in the unknowingness, you will have greater awareness growing within you. And it will open you, and connect you in the way that you desire, and will feed your soul with joy and love and gladden your heart for many days to come. You do not have to do this alone though; Jesus is with you. In your mind's eye, take His hand and ask Him as a brother to lead you into that place of unknowingness and to sit with you while you are becoming more familiar with what that means. Life means change, means transition, and sometimes upheaval. And this is why it is fundamentally vital for you to spend time in stillness and asking to see yourself from God's perspective, and in seeing a broader picture of the divine plan. This is your foundation, this is your anchor, and this is your safe home while you are in the midst of this tremendous change that will happen to you individually, and as part of being a member of society. I cannot emphasize how important it is to seek the stillness and to stay in this place for as long as you can each day, and even several times a day - taking those breaks of five to ten minutes and to be still and to re-anchor yourself. You are undergoing dual energy forces, a deeper anchoring while you are in the very midst of change. And this paradox will be with you for many years to come. So I encourage you to practice this, over and over, this idea of being in the stillness. Spend time in being in the unknowingness, so that when change comes, you are not restless in your soul, but firmly anchored in the source of peace, love, safety, comfort and security that will keep you strong, no matter what life brings to you.

# Spirit Realm

How the wisdom coding system works

**WISDOM CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM Type of wisdom** (purple box) **E** = Evolutionary wisdom **R** = Revealed wisdom **H** = Hybrid wisdom (evolutionary + revealed mix) --- **Target audience** (green box) **P** = Personal **G** = Group (non-personal) --- **Type of content** (yellow box) **C** = Curated content (paraphrased, re-written, enhanced, translated, etc.) **O** = Original unedited content from external source (direct excerpts, complete content, etc.) **M** = Mix of both curated and original content. --- **Reliability factor of content** (blue box) **1** = High **2** = Average **3** = Low **X** = Cannot be determined. --- **APPLICABLE JURISDICTION(S)** \[ \] soil \[ \] Land \[ \] Sea \[ \] AIR - Check boxes indicate to which planetary jurisdiction the contents of the page is applicable. - Can apply to one or more jurisdictions simultaneously. - All the applicable jurisdictions will have a check mark. - For additional information about the scope of these jurisdictions please refer to this [chart](https://tbg.pikapod.net/books/the-rules/page/light-and-life-categories-by-planetary-jurisdictions "Light and Life categories by planetary jurisdictions"). - For additional information about the properties of these jurisdictions please refer to this [chart](https://tbg.pikapod.net/books/the-rules/page/4-jurisdictions-flow-matrix "4 Jurisdictions Flow Matrix"). --- **SOURCE:** This row is used for recording useful information about the source of the wisdom entry.

The Spirit Realm

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	G	O	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [x] Sea	- [x] AIR

**SOURCE:** Lightline Teleconference 2025-02-20

Teacher: Amanson

T/R: Mark

Amanson The Spirit Realm is our topic tonight and its ramifications are immense. The Spirit Realm is the beginning of all things material. There is nothing that does not have its origin in Spirit. Not rocks, not trees; none of what seems a purely physical phenomenon would have existence without first the domain of Spirit, from which all things spring. So you ask me about the Spirit Realm and its power, where it fits into a material world seemingly adrift on its own, at the mercy of random events and what seems a diminishing consciousness on the part of the people involved in those events. I can assure you that above and beyond the world of cacophony and mayhem you're witnessing of late, the Spirit world stands ever vigilant with an eye on the stream of events unfolding. Can it (the Spirit Realm) interfere? No. But you can - you can force the Spirit world's hand; you can set the working parts in motion from within this unseen realm, direct them to apply Spirit values and layers of Light which would otherwise - because of man's absolutely sacrosanct free will - be forced to sit unutilized on the sidelines. But when Light is harnessed and \[consciously\] placed in a position of perfect compliment to an otherwise loveless area of being, the Spirit Realm can then transform the situation - any situation - and render it fruitful, even though, to the naked eye and for the present time, it seems dark and hopeless. When the Spirit Realm is given room to breathe it will show itself a mighty partner in the affairs of Man. But it must be consciously brought to bear, otherwise things tend to drift. Not forever ultimately, for all things are within the purview of Spirit, but the lesser habits of the human animal, without the guidance of its Spirit partner, will dig a hole for itself that only Spirit can bring to a halt. When man, with his material tendencies, partners with the Spirit Realm all things are possible. But your question is about actively seeking out (diving into) this dimension of Spirit and applying it to this or that situation for the good of the whole. Yes, the bringing of Spirit Essence to troubled situations as they arise on your world is what is missing from much of what you see. Is this prayer? Yes, but it is not the usual 'asking', what is considered the conventional process of prayer. No, this 'prayer' is a command, a conscious setting-to; bringing Light to a situation in need and applying it, just as one would apply any salve to an infected wound. Some will ask, "Is this all just in our heads?" No, although it is accomplished through the medium of Mind, which connects the Heart's intention to Spirit frequency, and upon those frequencies (which are spirit) your Loved-based intention is brought to bear on the situation in question. All unseen. ("They never knew what hit 'em!") Spirit has been recruited and put into action. And Spirit knows what to do. You request its help, point it in the direction you would have it go and allow it to do what Spirit does. You have done your part. Spirit has now been given permission to take what had been a very parched atmosphere and transform it with the Water of Life. And you, knowing the situation is in good hands, may now look elsewhere and call out to your invisible colleagues, "Next!" Do it! Charge these abhorrent situations with the electricity of Love. It is unseen but it is transformative. How could it not be? Circumstances are being altered from their place of origin. All things comes from Spirit. You're just reminding the situation that this is so.

# Spiritual Teachers {{@628}}

What is a spiritual teacher?

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	G	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

Spiritual teaching is not talking, or preaching, or dazzling others with verbal skills, mental agility, intellectual knowledge, cleverness, memory of factual things, quick responses, attractive phrases, charismatic presentation, emotional passion, personal charm - magnetism, or the weight of others who believe it - peer pressure. That is not what a spiritual teacher does for it. Human beings so often, make the grave error of listening to other humans when they should be listening to the spirit within. These emotional intellectual personality factors lead some humans to believe they have more truth than others. And they are followed and listened to with very little questioning by large masses of humans, and they begin themselves to believe they have additional abilities over that of their brothers and sisters. Their egos become quite inflated, and - rather than making spiritual progress - they are, in fact, regressing. The humans who follow them often adore them to the point of error for no human is above any other. Spiritually you are all equal in the kingdom. God is no respecter of persons. Some have gifts in some areas and some have gifts in others. But all spiritually have access to the same God, to the same guidance, to the same spirit, beauty, goodness, wisdom, as any other normal-minded person who has a burning desire to know God. So, then, brothers and sisters, if religionists by and large have made the mistake in this area of “what is spiritual teaching,” we must discover what it is and how we can do that, and how to correct organizational religions on the somewhat distorted course it is on. Memory and rote is not knowledge. Fact is not truth. Much that is taught by religionists is a manmade concept, which is in fact not spiritually correct in all their applications. They are more rules than truth. Society does need rules to live by, but this should be the area of government and social mores rather than what you call religion - which should encompass the concept of God as a Father and all of us as true children of this loving benevolent Father and the concept of brother and sisterhood in the kingdom. Religion has failed, by and large, to accomplish this simple task, and instead has erroneously developed rules of conduct, which are filtered through a moralistic time-bound, culture-bound, consciousness that is not real. So, how then - faced with a world whose spirituality has been replaced by mere morality, whose leaders have swollen egos by and large, whose followers are sincere and yet unaware of their own free will nor of their personal relationship with God - how then are we to become spiritual teachers? First, we must examine our tools. Mindally, intellectually, we must simplify what it is we wish to teach. That is the only mindal level of spiritual teaching that should be applied: what is it that we wish to impart? It is simple, and I will repeat: that God is a benevolent parent, that we are all equally His children, that because we belong to the same family we should love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves - and as our God loves us. That is the rule: love one another, worship God, recognize God in other humans, and respect it. That is the greatest and simplest truth in all of Creation. That we have free will, that we may choose God, and when we do we have the potential to be eternal, that our Creator son Micheal was indeed incarnated on Earth as Jesus of Nazareth, these are the simple truths. For each of you there might be others, which feel important. So first, clarify mindally what concepts you wish to teach. Then use your spiritual tools of higher mind: Thought Adjuster-Controller, angelic guidance, mind adjutants, Spirit of Truth - through prayer, worship, and quiet times of receptivity - to enlighten your being and deepen your commitment to teach these truths. For while they sound deceptively simple, brothers and sisters, they are the most resounding concepts that you will ever learn in all your entire ascension career. What sounds simple to you - with what's only your child-like simplicity of your level of beingness - but these are profound. You are simple at this stage, and therefore can only see them in a narrow band. So you must pray to expand your own understanding of these things. You must also maintain your physical mechanism well so that your teaching abilities will be enhanced without chemical stimulants which can reverse energies in your body and have a retrograde effect on your ability to teach. Emotionally you must keep balance as our beloved Jesus did as human here. Your emotions must be mastered and must be under the control of higher mind. This probably your greatest challenge. So, we know what you wish to say. We have prayed and asked for spiritual guidance and illumination. We are fit and healthy and have done our best make our material mechanism clean. And we have controlled and balanced our emotions. Now what? Do we stand on the street and quote the book or Jesus to people? No. Do we solicit others in other ways? No. We live the truth. We produce spiritually through the fabric of our everyday life. We allow our spirituality to shine forth as we live it. The greatest complement that you can get is for another human to approach you and say, “What is it that you have in your life? Can you help me? Because I would also like to possess that quality. I have thought of your life and it is just as hard as my own. It is just as ridden with problems and challenges. It its just as tragic in many ways. And yet through the valleys of despair, through the hours of depression, through the darkness of fear, through the heatedness of anger, through every trial that life has thrown in your path, you have not tripped.” If another were to say that to you it would be the highest complement to your spiritual teachingness, for that is what a spiritual teacher does: inspires others to faith. And what would you answer? Would you say, “I have read every great work written in every religion or every philosophy.” Or “I have taken courses,” or “I have prayed for months on the mountain top.” No. No. For that would not ring true nor impress nor inspire anyone to such an empty existence. You will say “I have lived fully - with my faith, with my God, with my angels - and I have actually rejoiced for every blessing of adversity that I have conquered and grown from. What you see, brother or sister is the shininess of my soul, which has grown through the hard times of my life here on Earth. What you see is the transformation of true faith in the positive, ultimate, wonderful, outcome of this adventure that no man or circumstance can take away form me, for it is a part of my very being and my existence.” This is spiritual teaching. Not the concepts or the words. The faith, the depth of faith and the growth of soul are what attract others to God. Truth responds to truth. Faith fosters faith. Godliness fosters God in others. It's all about the personality commingling - which you crave - of greater faith. That is spiritual teaching. Question: Rayson, could you elaborate on personality commingling that you referred to? Anaswe: You may sit alone and read the truth in The Urantia Book. You may have a thought of truth on your own. But when another personality imparts this truth or thought to you and you are there to receive it, to catch it, your personalities commingle and if the truth or thought is carried on a circuit of love it will hit its mark, and that is the power of what happens here. You are listening to my words but you are feeling the depth of my love for you as I say them, and this is unfathomably more powerful than reading these truths. Think of the Apostles, for in truth the message of Jesus is no different than the message of The Urantia Book. Both have taught us that God is a loving FATHER and that men are all brothers. To have received this lesson at the foot of the Master would be much more impactful than to have quietly discovered The Urantia Book on your own and read by yourself. Personality is the gift of The FATHER. When two personalities participate in give and take, a new facet of the Supreme Being is born. It is an act of creation as well as an act of learning. Question: I was thinking about how much more meaningful and also how much more difficult the application of goodness and beauty and truth are in my life now than when I was a child and first learned about such concepts. You mentioned in the lesson about how - because we are simple - these seem like simple concepts now, but they are very fundamental. It seems to me that as life grows more complex, the application of these principles becomes more complex. Is that a right idea? And difficult? Answer: Right and wrong. In a limited sense you are correct, the limitation being your life on Earth. You are born without negative experience, and as the babe who is potentially perfect grows and lives through negative life experiences, many defenses and lower emotions come into play. Later as an adult, much of the mortal adult life is spent weaving through this morass of subsequent pain from these negative influences and the reactions thereto. That is how the concept is more complex. How do you love when you are angry? How do you love when you have been hurt? These things make it more difficult. However, freed at last from these entrapments, resurrected on Mansonia, you will discover again these high values of truth, beauty, and goodness, and how to live in them comfortably and easily. And you will discover them again as a babe in their fundamental consistency. In a grandiose way of thinking these are difficult and complex concepts. Because, can you imagine that love is the foundation of the entire universe? That is complex. And that is also so simple. So, the real task is to rediscover these high values as we once felt them in their pure unadulterated state. The search is not to master the complexity but to rediscover the simplicity. Question: When we rediscover this simple truth we've been talking about, and we do that with another person of whose knowledge is commingling, a lot of it is like a creation at that moment, isn't it? Or did I misunderstand what you said? Answer: You understood perfectly. It is like the creation of a cell in the body of the Supreme Being. Student: Thank you Rayson. That's why it’s so exciting. Question: Does this personality commingling have anything to do with the fact that a person can help to heal himself by association with another person who simply cares for him and has a positive relationship with him or her? Answer: Yes of course. There is no hurt that - there is no boo-boo that is not made better by a kiss. There is no great mystery here to personality commingling. It is simply talking to each other, relating. It is simply one unique child of God with one other unique child of God interacting through love. The greatest lesson is learned there. The greatest love is felt there. Its simple. It happens all day, all the time, to every one. Question: I'll flip it over, then, and look at the other side. If I meet a stranger and proceed to be positive in my interaction, and this stranger is full of hatred or fear or other negative feelings, is that a bad thing for me? Is that an interaction that I should withdraw from? Is it a bad thing? Answer: There is no formula to follow, which is why you struggle with this question. Every individual is different. You cannot catch negativity, if that is what you are afraid of. You cannot catch fear if you are fearless. Jesus did not turn away from those who were frightened or in darkness. However, all of us not yet being Jesus, we must learn to guard against energy drain, waste of time, and you must evaluate each circumstance for yourself. It is not for you to decide the level of spiritual reality understanding of the other. Question: Could you elaborate a little for me on the morontia mota which - I am paraphrasing - says “many truths are lost because they are not shared, and many sadnesses are not lightened.” I think its morontia mota, its somewhere in the Urantia Book, where they talk about the negative effects of isolation. And how much sadness in our personal human conditions can be alleviated by sharing it with a friend. And how truths are actually lost if we don't have personality relationships with others. Could you elaborate on that a little bit more for me? Answer: These are two separate ideas, not one. Truths are lost for lack of being shared. Truth, itself, is not lost. The opportunity for it to be experienced is lost by one holding the truth and the one or ones missing out on hearing the truth. We are forgiven and experience being forgiven the moment we forgive. This truth of Divine forgiveness or mercy is only made real when practiced one to another. So, as a concept forgiveness does not exist in a bubble of availability. It cannot become part of the real life experience of the mortal until given away. This is the foundation of all truth. You can know that you are loved by The Father. You can know it here (pointing to the head). You will not have a full experience of The Father's love until you turn it on another. That is why the gospel is two fold that you are loved and you must love. It is the same with becoming a teacher. You will not learn fully until you teach, until you apply. This is part and parcel of being - part of the Supreme. Were you absolute, this would not be so. Every burden is made lighter when shared with a friend. I spoke earlier of a circuit of love. We talked about how effective teaching is when it's sent from teacher to student on a circuit of love. That is what helps it hit its mark. This love between personalities is powerful, and when experienced, can and has many times changed the entire emotional and ultimately spiritual-life of beings, of people. If one is burdened and holds those burdens to himself, he carries their full weight. If a friend is present and expresses love, the circuit is affected and the burden travels across the circuit to the friend who - in a moment - shares the load and the weight is lifted. The Father also provides you with this circuit, but more readily accessible to you mortals on Earth at this time are the circuits created by your personality commingling. You must learn to lighten your burden by allowing your brothers and sisters to love you and carry their weight.

# Worship {{@628}}

Should we worship as a group, or do group worship?

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	G	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive February 15, 1998. Teacher Malvantra T/R Mark

Jonathan: Is worship something we can do in unison? Malvantra: An excellent example of unity and not uniformity in that you collect together of one intention and one mind, but each one of your prayerful attitudes is entirely personal and distinct. However, they all contribute to the exercise of the whole. It is extremely beneficial to have diversity in the mix of group activities to derive the maximum benefit in worship, in service, in prayer. In most all group activities diversity is a valuable characteristic. While you all come bringing your own perspectives and your own motivations, the sum total of your collective is far greater because you assemble your motivations and your perspectives in a collective pot from which to make the most enticing stew. Jonathan: So, it's better to say we worship as a group than we do group worship. The latter implies a formality we conform to. You're indicating we bring our unique qualities to the time of worship together. Malvantra: Excellent observation! This clarification may help many to understand the value and benefit of your own personal experience and interests. No one would ever suggest that each one in the room has the same interests, the same experience, the same attitude of prayer. It is refreshing and helpful to each throw your contribution into the potluck to make for the widest satisfaction to all. If each of you were exactly the same, the potluck would be but one dish.

# Personal Religion - Private # Angelic Contact {{@628}}

Angelic contact may occur

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

Question: Rayson, is it common that the angelic realm, specifically the Guardian Seraphim, ever communicate with us metaphorically, or through symbols or through coincidences, or synchronicity? Or is that a function of the human mind/psychology, or wilful thinking as opposed to actual contact? Answer: All of the contacts you mentioned do occur and may occur. And as you become more spiritually attuned you may well perceive such things. Some people who are particularly gifted may be especially aware of the workings of the angelic helpers. Of course, superstitious persons may attribute many accidents or coincidences to seraphic beings or other sorts of entities and be in error, but this is not important other than as an observation at this point in your existence. I would not be troubled by it, but rather gladdened, if your inner sense is that you are being guided in such a way.

Do angels put others in our pathway?

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive December 01, 2002. Teacher Elyon

Kirk: Do the angels or other celestials put others in our pathway who are either going to help us or who we can help with their problem to evolve? Elyon: They take great delight in this undertaking and will do what they can, acknowledging the sanctity of freewill sovereignty. Not to devalue their work, it is a thrilling game for them. Important as it is each of these humans you speak of bringing you lessons or you to them, is of vital importance to the growth of souls. This is of great value in the efforts of the angels. If you could see the joy the angels have as they make their efforts to bring about these opportunities, you would see a group of beings who are having a wonderful time. Just as you may undertake a game on earth such as your game of tennis and take delight in a score and likewise laugh at a misplaced ball, these angels do enjoy even the failures, for every undertaking improves their skills and reveals to them the nature of mankind. Kirk: We could improve the whole process if we had faith in the angels, faith in the process, faith in whatever is happening in our lives; that we are being helped. Elyon: Yes, and particularly when you feel resistance to stop yourself and say, "This is an opportunity brought my way perhaps by the angels themselves that I best listen and discern." While you might not recognize it, you may trust the angels will try again.

# Ascension {{@628}}

Your errors and failures are all stimulants for future growth

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive November 2, 1997. Teacher Lantarnek T/R Jonathan

We all exist as the creation of God simply because that was the choice of the Father. In the magnitude of His being we find much that is complex, confounding to the creature mind. The immensity and absoluteness of this Being is quite unfathomable. But He is experiencible for one simple reason: the Father wills it. So He makes available the revelations of Himself that a creature soul can grasp. The primary act of the Father was His decision that creation be. Subsequently the orchestration of the universes you inhabit is the work of his Creator Sons. Your own Creator Son Michael does the will of the Father, for he replicates the perfect creation of Havona. When the Father chooses and acts He does so perfectly. Michael is faced with the challenge of imperfection. When you ask yourself how may I do the Father's will, be not concerned over the content of the will of the Father but the process of willfulness and enactment. Philosophically you can postulate that the universe could have been made in many ways different than the universe you are in today. Indeed, you are aware of the levels of reality presented in your text that do exist, alternate forms of God expressing Himself creatively. But the value of creation to the creature is that God did act. Were it not for His will and His subsequent action, I would not be here with you today; we would not be in fellowship. The Father is penetrating the extremities of creation through you. Being in the realm of imperfection, you are granted the freedom to choose incorrectly. But to provide the proper perspective for this freedom, you need to understand that the exercise of choice and imperfect decision is to attain the ability to choose perfectly. When you choose, you do the will of the Father. When you enact, you succeed or fail in the attainment of becoming perfect. When you choose and act in error, you have not functioned badly; you have created the potential to function better, for better is relative to poorly and well. Michael never hesitated to be about the Father's business in the creation of Nebadon. He knew the difficulties of the assignment, and he wishes all his children likewise never hesitate to enact the choosing of the personality and soul that seeks the Father, knowing full well the difficulties of such an endeavor. In seeking to do the will of the Father, do not be concerned so much that you know beforehand what the will is as that you, by faith and trust, know that your engagement is His will in the hour, that your comprehension results from the imperfect - or even perfect - enactment of your choice. Time and space for an ascending creature demands fault and error and the necessity for correction. This is the secret of the line "judge not". Judge not the results of your action but rather investigate the causes and effects and project a new course. All results are stimulants for future growth. In the agelong ascent to be in the presence of the Father who does act with perfect results, you will have undergone such transformation that your evaluation of the appropriate and inappropriate acts of today will have taken on significance that you at this hour are unable to even conceive. Though it is the quest of the mortal creature to know the specifics of the Father's will, at this point in your evolution, your only successful approach is that you understand the method of His willing and His enactment. The specifics of what He chooses will become evident as you ascend through countless levels of personality attainment.

You are at the helm

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive November 2, 1997. Teacher Elyon T/R Mark

Throughout your entire ascension career you are firmly and completely at your own helm. You demonstrate to your teachers what you desire to learn, the depth at which you desire to learn it, your level of commitment to any given topic. This is how the parameters are formed on your learning, by your very will to demonstrate them to us. You have learned that nothing is ever forced upon you or asked of you if you are not prepared to freely give it. Therefore it is incumbent upon you to stretch your limitations and to demonstrate to whoever your teachers happen to be at the time that you are prepared and willing to learn the next step, the next level, because no teacher you will ever have has the authority or the desire to take you any place you do not desire to go as a student. Your lessons are an indication of your willingness to accept them. Your level of spiritual growth is a direct indication of your desire to embrace that level. We as teachers are ever willing to dangle the carrot in front of you to encourage you to take that next step. But we are never willing to circumvent your freewill choice in this regard. Therefore, we follow you; we follow your desires, your interests, your deep seated intents as the indicators for where we will go, how far we will go together. We would forever encourage you to stretch your boundaries, to reach beyond your normal perceptions to embrace what is outside of these realms.

# Born Again {{@628}}

Being born of the spirit

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** Rayson and Son

Each of you have — deep within your being — sought God. A commitment, a prayer, a quest was begun. For some, many years ago. For others, more recently. When man reaches a hand Godward, God has already downreached to that being. God had already found each of you. This will-decision is enough for you to enter the kingdom upon mortal death. It is enough to spiritualize your human life. But it is not what Jesus taught, for we understand “to be born of the Spirit.” Allow me to elaborate. Born of the Spirit, born again, these words are often used by your religionists. They think to bathe in water, to commit in words, is being born of the Spirit. That is incorrect. Many think to make a commitment to The Father is born of the Spirit. That is also incorrect. It is too intellectual. What is birth? Birth is action, physical action. Some births are long and hard and painful. Some births involve some injury, or perceived injury, to the participants. Some births are easy, but not the majority. As it is with childbirth, physical birth, so it is with spiritual birth. Spiritual birth involves physical action. Born of the Spirit is action, spiritual action. When one embarks upon spiritual birth there is a period of dormancy. The conception is your commitment, survival commitment, to the will of The FATHER. This will-decision should grow during the pregnant period. Then comes the birth in the Spirit, of the Spirit, to the Spirit. If you think that this will be painless you are incorrect. It will involve much ego bruising, pain, depression, disappointment, all of the things, which you humans are so adept at avoiding. This is why most who hear the truth push it away. They dismiss it. “Oh, this is not for me.” “Oh, I have heard this before.” “Oh, I do not need this now.” Etc. Because, being born again means changing. It is a birth. But always will your evolving soul thank you if you undertake this action here. You must have courage and commitment. You must have valor. You must realize that this is - this will repercuss on all levels of your being. Many who are involved in the spiritual birth go through doubts, spiritual uncertainty and confusion, even rejection of the Godward life. It is difficult. It is easier to live as a raging heathen than as a committed spiritualist. Why? Because there are more rewards for the worldly attributes, the lower emotions, than rewards for the higher values in action. Why? Because it is easier for the human temperament to embrace negative qualities and act on them than to go against one's own inherent animal nature and modify the clay from which you are built, by higher minds an values. The long dark passage through the spiritual birth canal can be terrifying. You lose sight. The safety after your commitment to God's will has been left behind. The light of emergence into a new way of life is not yet seen. You are surrounded by darkness, feeling contractions, fear, aloneness, and self-doubt, God-doubt. Why venture on out? Why not stay safe in the womb of intellectual commitment? Read your books? Reward each other's goodness in study? Which are all good things to do. But what I am talking about, and what we gravely miss on this planet, is the application. You, as a species, are lazy and indolent, and pleasure seeking. You do not yet have the vision to see the spiritual pleasure at the end of the birth passage. Many holy men and women have gone through periods of great soul darkness while they were being born in the Spirit. This is an active fight. This is not passive. You are at war with your lower nature. Ah, but the victory for your Adjuster, for you, and your soul. It may last in human terms years and years. This is what born again really means. It is an actual occurrence, a transmutation of nature that is not won without much struggle. Very few humans have the inherent spiritual capacity for receptivity to be born again without bloodshed. First, sit in the silence with prayer. And rededicate your will to The Father's. Examine your commitment, and then pray for life to force your spiritual hands. The waters of adversity will pursue each one, but you will all reach tranquility one day on eternal shores. This is the war of time versus eternity, of material versus spiritual, of the imperfect versus the perfect, of the finite versus the infinite. One does not become one's opposite without what you think of as pain. Death of the animal is birth of the spiritual. Does the animal not suffer? Does the spiritual not empathize? An enigma created by the father is evolution. But if you choose not to go though this and most choose not to - you are not giving to the Supreme. You are cheating your soul growth, and not understanding the process. Think of John the Baptist, alone in his cell, abandoned by his fellows and his Messiah, so he thought. His struggle was necessary. He assumed he was born of the Spirit. But truly his birth came shortly before his death when he accepted and understood that his earthly mission was over, that Jesus was indeed the incarnation of God, and that he would leave. Only then did he attain serenity. Only then did he see with an eternal perspective. That was the moment of his birth-day. You will all see a spiritual birth-day like John. He was blessed with much adversity. But each of you will face your own struggles. But Jesus beckons to you. He asks you to be born into the brotherhood. And your rewards will be great, personally. As a species you are mandated or asked to do this, to begin this process so this planet may grow toward the light. Your species, your planet, will benefit from transformed individuals. That is an active attitude - being in light. Cowardice is not for the spiritually committed. Indolence is not for the spiritually strong. You must have the same passion in this area that you bring to your profession, your political commitments, your emotional relationships, your financial gain. Where is your spiritual passion? Jesus was not a weakling. Jesus was not a man of sorrows. Jesus was not passive. He was active. He was courageous. I would like you all to pray — if it is your will — for your spiritual birth process to begin. I have been through this same storm, and I speak not down to you but speak to you with much love and empathy as one who has gone through this when I was like you. My sense of self was much inflated and I had much pruning to do of the dead branches in my own being. With all humbleness I tell you it is worth it. As your angels draw near to you, as Jesus himself has promised to walk through the waters of adversity with you, as your Adjuster points northward as your soul expands, you are not alone although aloneness is a feeling, state, you will go through. Question: If we see ourselves as warriors to do the will of God, and we rush out with energy and courage, and with a great desire to do the proper thing, what is the role — if any — of self protection? Even a warrior will protect himself to a certain extent, and I don't mean shirking responsibility, or running away from doing the right thing, or anything else. But there is comment in the Urantia Book about protecting oneself. I wonder if you could expand on that? Answer: First, let me say that your role as warrior must begin with yourself. Why assume you are ready to rush into the world when you have not conquered your own inner being? Of course this may be done simultaneously, and should be. Self-protection comes from the continued evolution — growth of the fruits of the Spirit. A truly evolved spiritual being housed in a material body who exudes genuine love of fellows tolerance, understanding, empathy, friendliness, warmth, kindness and true service will not need protection. Who could harm such a loving being? Point: Jesus himself, while brawny and strong, rarely was involved in any encounter, physical or emotional, because he was so full of love. Protection comes from wisdom, the wisdom to clearly see what the other person needs. If it is something — of course it will be something that a spiritual being can give — for if the person feels they need money, we know that is not their need. As Jesus saw — as He passed by in so many — what they really needed, and gave it to them: the spiritual goal, the spiritual tools, — he spoke to their heart, soul, mind, deep deep prayers. As you grow in wisdom and your own spiritual heart expands, you will be able to easily see what another needs and provide this. Very little self-protection is needed as one grows. However, much of your life will not be at that point — for any of us. So, what can be done? When one is assured of one's survival very few things can hurt you. Jesus ignored his critics. There is something in human nature, which wishes to test the good, smear the truth, mar the beautiful. If this is a horrible strain, there will always be those willing to push so that they can say “They are not so good. They are not so full of truth. They are not so beautiful. Their message is false. Their lives are a sham. They are hypocrites. Therefore our dedication to temporal pleasure is fine. There is not a higher way. There is not a better path. There is no God.” Yes, there will be those. When we are so sure and anchored in God, even if we cannot see or hear or feel, in our hearts we know. This cannot truly harm you. Ignore the criticism. Reach for the commonality of truth. Stretch, and when you do, you will find less hostility than you think. It is hard to resist love, even for the most unloving. Question: How do we know if we have already been born of the Spirit? A: None of you have completed this process yet. Question: Is it correct to think of the product of the new birth to be your own soul? Answer: Expanded soul. Souls are already in formation, but the conception, yes. Question: The development of the embryonic soul? Answer: Correct. Question: Does this happen suddenly? In an hour? In a day? Or is it a long, gradual process? Answer: It is rare that it happens suddenly. Even for Jesus it was a long process. It is most often decades. Question: Have we already undertaken this process, some of us? Everything you said sounded kinda familiar to me. I'm not saying I've been born of the Spirit, but I think I've begun the process. Do you want us to be more conscious of this process? Is that what you're saying? Answer: Yes. You have all begun the process to greater or lesser extent. And at some earth periods you cruise, sometimes you go quicker. What I am asking you to consider is a conscious effort to take the harder path. When there is a choice, choose the higher. It is often the harder. Truth, illumination, loving service, kindly tolerance — fruits of the Spirit — are all difficult to act in your life. So easy it is to avoid, ignore, table, but you get no growth from it. I am asking you to not idle so much. It will not be easier. There will be pain, death of ego, much shock, but it would be better. Question: Jesus is quoted as saying to Nicodemus, in effect, “are you not a ruler in Israel and don't know that you must be born again?” What happens when this new birth process is interrupted by physical death? Answer: It continues on the Mansion Worlds. There is still human ego felt on the Mansion Worlds. If it is completed here, one goes to a higher Mansion World. You need not so much correction. Question: I get this image that when you are born of the Spirit you wear your soul on the outside instead of on the inside. That's what you do first. Everything we do comes from that. Is that correct? Answer: That is a wonderful image. Thank you. Question: In the process of being born in the Spirit and the struggles to achieve that, as one makes progress, would there be an effect on the physiologic functions of the body? For example, the ability to become well from a chronic disease process? Answer: Yes. Increased spirituality always eventuates in upstepped physical health. Absolutely. Question: Am I correct in believing that this is the basis of all spiritual healing, right along this line, that inherent in spiritual growth would go improved bodily function? Answer: It is not the basis of all healing, but most. There are actual outward celestial beings that work through some healers among humans. And the combination of the two, of course, greatly speeds physical development and health. Question: I wonder how energy transformations change in accord to spiritual experiences? Answer: Spiritual growth is the invisible energy, which motorizes the physical, mindal, emotional, material being. It connects all systems. Spiritual growth affects, on the physical level, the molecular structure of the material being. It is an actual energy. As a child grows bigger you see formation of material mass, energy, etc. So, as you grow spiritually, and it transforms actuals — the physical — and upsteps the systems, the system coordination working of the material beings. There is an actual spiritual gland of receptivity. There is a definite crossover. Just as an impaired physical brain or disease, pain, affects spiritual receptivity, so does spiritual growth affect physical health. It is a marriage, intertwined, but you are unable to discern this medically now, but some day you will. Question: Am I correct in believing that this is the basis of what I seem to perceive in people that I know to be transmitter-receivers as well as some other people that are seen to be like holy people? There seems to be almost a glow coming from them. I don't know how else to describe it but there's just a difference that I get from such people. Am I right in thinking that its involved in this business? Answer: That is correct. Question: And, am I also correct in believing that it's visible to almost all human beings at some level, that they know there is something different, its almost like a smell in the air? Answer: That is correct. Question: Am I correct in surmising that in our spiritual growth process, when we are in the process of being born, that we might need a little special attention such as a spiritual obstetrician? Answer: Correct. That is what my role will be and has been. Question: Is there something daily we can do in a quiet moment to actually assess were we are in time and space, spiritually? Answer: That is interesting. I think assessment is an ego function. Be not concerned with what place you have at the table. Be in the silence and pray to be guided by your Divine Mystery Monitor. Even if you cannot discern guidance, you have your signposts. You know the spiritual versus the less evolved. Pray to be more spiritually active. Be full of gratitude and thanksgiving. And of course, worship God. Assessment is not a function of spirituality. It is a function of human ego.

# Communion with the Father {{@628}}

Prayer and silence

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive April 26, 1998. Teacher Lantarnek T/R Jonathan

Lantarnek: I am motivated to elaborate on your conversation regarding prayer and silence. I observe that each of you makes efforts in your own way to commune with the Father as He resides in you. Each of you has developed methods that facilitate making this embrace more recognizable to you. You know the Father has no need for technique, but it does serve well his mortal associate. In your practice you are acutely aware of both external and internal distractions while you seek to quiet your mind, to still the actions of your body and focus on Him. The midwayers have said of Michael, when here on this world, that he ministered the most when he said the least. This is the time when the receiver becomes expanded in the desire to access enlightenment, understanding. When you are in stillness the Father speaks in silence, for much that you understand in mind, that you feel in your heart, is amplified through this receptive state. There isn't a need to further educate when you are so positioned to receive His presence. It is acknowledgment of God that energizes your soul, that illuminates your mind; not further instruction, but simply the recognition of that which you have already attained. I would expand this recognition to that which you will attain, that being the Father Himself who awaits your eventual fusion. Even when you are eternally united with the spirit, you will still remain unknowledgeable about events and actions and information that lie in your future, even though you are united completely with God Himself. So, your time alone in your soul chamber is a time for embrace where words dissipate. I convey to you that in your pause even today to be receptive to our ministry, many have joined you in this receptive attitude that you are now conveying to us, for we know that we, ourselves, are only conduits for divine ministry. It is a privilege for all to function in this way. You minister to yourselves when you allow yourself to be a conduit for the Father's love as it wells up within. It is upon this foundation of stillness that the activities of growth may build into a ministry for others. All too often the rush to attain, the desire to accomplish, distracts the seeker from that subtle foundation residing within you. Every painting begins with a white canvas; every song begins with silence. Every communication rides upon receptivity. You have rightly discerned our encouragement to be willing and to be active. You are also encouraged to be willing to be receptive.  One direction results in the reciprocal aspect coming to its fruition. We of the order of melchizedeks are self governing. We have no external rules of government. We have no need, for we are naturally able to focus our willpower to the Father and with sincerity enact His will. Then we freely have established our own mechanism for social and cooperative interaction. It is because of this primary focus that we can independently regulate ourselves and interdependently function as a large body of teachers throughout a rather immense array of planets. So, this can hold for you, as well, who seek to evolve yourselves spiritually and leave behind you on this world a greater sense of the reality that you are so diligently striving for in your short life. It is all a matter of focus on God. Then it is a matter of following this focus by focusing with God on your activities. So, again we endeavor to remind you of this practice of communion, this feeling the presence of the Father even when you have nothing to convey to Him, even when you are not distraught, even when you are not elated, simply realizing your coordinate association. This communion is beneficial for, if I may illustrate today, your carrot juice was separated, and a simple stir blended it into a delightful drink. Communion with the Father aids in blending you with Him, that you may be His radiance. I would hope to encourage each of you to continue to deepen your experience in this manner. Ann: In seeking the chamber of the soul, is it a matter of sitting in silence and spiritually going to that place? Can we know when we are there? Lantarnek: My advice to you is that technique and method for situating yourself in this worshipful state, though beneficial, are best approached in a regressive manner. I mean to convey that the techniques you use to help enter into this condition are best if they are removing, that is, if they remove the distractions around you, remove the agitations within you. Rather than adopting techniques that may distract you from eventually attaining the silence, it is best to use methods that clear the way. However, we know enough about the material mind of man to realize that you will have to invent many tricks to aid you to, in a sense, lead the horse into the corral. In some respects I could liken this to your practice of physical cleansing. It is important to remove your attire before the process can have its benefits. Rather than adopting more artifacts that can be placed upon you to prepare yourselves, this is the best approach. Ann: As we clear and sit in silence, then what is received spiritually in silence will, in time, manifest in our lives and through us. Is that correct? Lantarnek: Most definitely. You illustrate how you are able to pass the Father's ministry through you. Your time in stillness is not a time for study or construction of argument or method for service. That is more appropriate in times of prayer and in times of educating yourself. As you know, any ball player whose arms aren't open isn't able to receive the ball when it comes his way. It can only be passed on if the arms were open to begin with. This receptivity will bring up within you a perceivable array of understanding that is not describable sequentially. This panoramic experience will infuse itself throughout your being. As you live, you are benefited from the ability to pan across this field of insight and use fragments of it at appropriate times in your life. Ann: So, we not only have the study of the mind but the inner awareness, knowledge, that flows through us as we live in accordance with the Father's will. Lantarnek: Well said, my sister, for you indicate how even in years past each of you had this inner awareness of the Father when, at that time, your understanding of cosmic reality was less than it is today. The sense of communion with the Father has really not changed; only your enlightenment has changed. You have summarized my point that even following fusion there will still be study; there will still be mistakes to be made. Then - and even now - you are not alone. Mary: I know that stillness should be a time of embrace. I realize that as sometimes you can experience a good hug. There's usually no words involved. You feel a flow of energy between your two persons. In stillness that is what we are seeking with the Father. Thank you also for, in our desire to be active and get something done of value, to not let that desire and the activities that result distract us from communion with the spirit, which is foundational to enacting and getting results from our desires. Lantarnek: I would add one point. You mentioned the human activity of hugging. I would play with you and say that "H" stands for your human self and "G" for your God-self. What is in the middle? The real "U". It is in this relationship that the profound implications reveal themselves of what the Father is doing in creating creatures who inhabit bodies like yours and live lives under conditions like this world. He is revealing a remarkable miracle to all of us when he created creatures who can not only know God but become one with Him. It is the Supreme hug. Mary: I thought you were going to say the "U" stands for union. The union of the human and God-self is the real you, your soul that you are growing together. Lantarnek: Excellent. Mary: Not all human hugs are good ones where you feel that transfer of loving energy. In stillness time, too, you don't always hit the mark you're shooting for. Lantarnek: This illustrates how you can be at ease, that your approach to the Father need not be evaluated as to better or lesser effectiveness or appropriateness, for the Father receives every gesture, even if it is frail in its attempts, with just as much acceptance as the most polished and refined worshipper.

# Consecration {{@628}}

If you are consecrated spiritually you are also concentrated

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	O	1

**JURISDICTION**
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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive January 06, 2002. Teacher Lantarnek T/R Jonathan

How does one create habits? I offer two words that are effective in fostering the development of the habitual reflex, that is, concentration and consecration. It is easy to note that in the physical realm to concentrate is to make strong, to eliminate superfluous elements such that an item becomes boiled down to its essence or is more potent. In the realm of mind concentration it is the act of focus to push aside distraction, unnecessary inputs that stir and steer the mind away from focus. It is a one point view. The term concentration is better transformed into consecration when we look at the spiritual life, for consecration is a dedication. It is a focus and a boiling down to the most vital and important values and personalities in your life. I have said in order to concentrate one must remove the many things that distract. This is the simple approach. However, as you have witnessed, a juggler can concentrate while doing many tasks simultaneously, although I daresay he is unlikely to drive a car while juggling. There are limits even then. To the consecrated soul the entire life is focused on those eternal values while juggling the temporal affairs. Here is the interface of habit; no one becomes an expert juggler by picking up a few balls and tossing them in the air. It requires diligent practice, habitual play and development. If you are consecrated spiritually you are also concentrated, as the example would be of your tomato paste where a little goes a long way. When you enter into the lives of others the potency is recognized. You aren't dilute; you are powerful. But a strong concoction can be unpalatable without its dilution making it more applicable to the needs, to the task at hand. When you spend your time in stillness, you are concentrating your spiritual life; you are focusing on the greatest value of all, your relationship with the Father. You are boiling down to the essence. This increases your octane, makes your spiritual life more flammable in that you are now able to burn brightly; you are able to dispel those elements that would distract. You are also able to infuse those activities that would have distracted you with the potency of spiritual reality such that they are incorporated into a sense of progressive and uplifting experience. A consecrated individual can juggle and drive a car at the same time, for you are not just a single being; you are a partnership. When you are coupled consciously with Father, you have expanded you abilities beyond the range of a single entity.

# Revelation {{@628}}

Living Revelation

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

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**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive March 29, 1998. Teacher Mother Spirit T/R Jill

Mother Spirit: Revelation of spiritual truth is misunderstood by the peoples of Earth. You have learned somehow that spiritual revelation is for the chosen few, for the prophet. This, my children, is not true. Each of you is capable of having truth revealed through you. That is what revelation means, the process of revealing. Our Father does not choose any above another. If it is your desire to know your Father and to know that He can speak directly with you, that opens the door for daily revelation. Revelation is not something only for the prophets to have, only for the various saints to have. The reason they receive is because of their sense of complete oneness with God. Anyone may have this when they choose it. I encourage each of you to change that tape in your head and trust the beautiful revelations you truly do receive every single day. Look for them; listen for them; feel them through your five senses. God speaks in miraculous ways and reveals truth, not always with concepts of mind or words in the head. Look for His revelation each day and know that greater sense of oneness that is your birthright.

Do not become cemented in old ways

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** tmtranscripts teamcircuits email archive October 29, 2001. Teacher Abraham

Abraham: "Wait upon the word of the Lord" was a simple saying from the days of old, but doubt not that its meaning was quite significant. In the days of old, time seemed to be quite slowed, even though many tasks were more difficult without the technology of today. People were more focused. They were focused in each moment, whether it was hunting for food or educating children. This focus opens many spaces in the mind for divine interjection. There was room for creativity, and time to really feel and enjoy the task at hand, no matter the significance of the task. With evolution the times of simplicity are fading away and the spaces in the mind are becoming crowded with many meaningless things. The focus is lost to a point, yes. Waiting upon the word from Father is hard to practice with such an overfilled mind. With the awareness benefits we are receiving from the Supreme Being, we are experiencing a mindal expansion, so to speak. We are finding spaces to receive new concepts about the divine way on the mortal path. New information is rapidly approaching and it is time for us once again to become focused. Allow those spaces, allow the worries, fears and non-reality thinking to fade away. Most things people fear really never happen, but to focus on these fears chokes out the new possibilities, these new benefits from our Supreme Being. How can a mind crowded with the old receive up to date living revelation? How can a fearful or obstinate mind grow in the light of the new evolution? What beliefs may tend to cause you to lose your focus? Why would you hold so dearly to them? This was the mistake of the apostles of old. They had their long cherished expectations and acted from that standpoint. They found it difficult to be patient and wait upon the word, wait for new revelation. Unfortunately most of their expectations fed their desire for ego fulfillment, so to speak, a seat next to the Master. These times call for those individuals who are not cemented into their old ways, but open to ever renewing and updateable divine revelation. Things are happening in this world now that have not happened before. You were once on your way to receiving such wonderful spirit connections before the Rebellion, but now with the Supreme's growth these connections are even greater. They are different, yes, enhanced and believe me, the universe is watching this small experimental planet that has fully entered into a Correcting Time. Back to revelation. Yes, we have discussed receiving personal correction through revelation, and how that does benefit the whole. You may be more aware now of the various forms of revelation that you can receive. It is not only found as the small whisper of Father through the mind, but messages can be received from your fellows. With this mindal expansion, and the discarding of old in favor of being open to new, you can very well give divine messages, or receive them, from your fellows. This does not make you a prophet or a chosen messenger of God, no. This is not to have mystical overtones or be used to inflate the ego. This is a sure way to extinguish this form of ministry. This is not cause to force your opinion, no, but to find compassion to aid your fellows, or even open yourself to receiving a simple message that would bring you solutions, yes. This is not so much new as it is now enhanced by these returning benefits from the God in time. The damage that occurred during the Rebellion and the Default is being corrected, and with the enhanced benefits from the Supreme, you will find yourself a new well of divine information. There are new concepts that are being discovered. There are new possibilities to bring to your consciousness. You will find yourself with gifts that you never knew about. With this new awareness, new focus, new ability to receive revelation, the mortal senses are enhanced. Those who felt they could not transmit/receive before will find themselves with a new gift. Remember, children, this must remain balanced and uncontaminated with old ways of thinking. You have your intellect to filter all these new things through. Be cautious with ego involvement. This could surely lead to disappointing results. Practice patience and waiting for the word from Father. Practice being open to receive, to minister to your fellows. The correct words will be there for you. Be observant in receiving any messages from your fellows. Journal your thoughts on the many ways we may receive revelation and the benefits it will bring to the Correcting Time.

# Sin {{@628}}

Evil sin and iniquity

**CLASSIFICATION**
H	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** tmtransctipts teamcircuits email archive June 19, 1998 Teacher Aaron, Daniel T/R Bill, Bob

Aaron: Lucifer became fully convinced of his ideas after he refused to turn back from his distorted thinking when he was aware that he was sliding over the edge, and permitted himself to move past that point to where he sincerely was self-deluded. Evil, when it is contemplated consciously becomes sin, and sin if it is not forsaken becomes iniquity; and iniquity is virtually impossible to reverse. The recognition of evil as evil, as error, as misjudgment, is that point at which a person can return to the truth and enlarge their perspective, can admit that they have erred, and keep themselves from moving into deliberate embrace, which is sin. This explains why some of the lesser celestial beings involved in the Rebellion repented and were willing to admit their error, while the major perpetrators, Lucifer, Caligastia, Daligastia, and others on other planets persisted in their rejection of the truth and their refusal of mercy. The truth shall set you free: free from error, free from sin, free from delusion, free from guilt, free to love, free to expand the boundaries of your souls, free to see the enlarged landscape of the Father's love embracing multitudinous universes, with multitudinous free-will creatures embracing each other in joy. Sin and iniquity are painful and death-dealing. Both are able to be forgiven, for God's mercy is infinite. But in order for forgiveness to be effective it must be received, and this is the tragedy of the Lucifer Rebellion. Its self-deceived high personalities refused to admit their errors, continued deliberately to choose them until their personality status was near vanishing, and they were unable to change. But those who choose to halt their thinking along erroneous lines while they still had their sanity, and while they still knew right from wrong, turned and changed their minds and were offered not only mercy but rehabilitation and further universe service. Difficult as it may be in the midst of painful situations to refrain from judgment and condemnation, remember my dear friends that while you need to know truth it is not up to you to determine another's eternal destiny. You do not have to be the judge and the arbitrator of any one's life, including your own. Try to understand how Michael could forgive His murderers while He hung on the nails through His hands, his body supported crudely at the crotch and the pressure on the nails through His feet and yet looked upon these men and women and said 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.' It is God like to forgive and human to err. Embrace your total human experience; look at all the dark crannies and corners of your life with the searchlight of truth. But do not become stuck in judgmental, conditional thoughts. None of us knows another person in the entirety of their experience so that we could be competent to judge. Only God, through His agencies, has that wisdom. I am not suggesting that grief be pushed under the rug, no. I am saying that over time, healing will come, even as in the Rebellion. Far more good has come from permitting its existence than in squelching it immediately. Daniel: Regarding the nature of the discussion this evening that Aaron put forth, I would like to ask of you to take a few moments and ponder your concepts of self-will and God's will, and how they relate in your lives. So often self-will is put forth as God's will, and these terms are not so easily identifiable. I would welcome any questions or thoughts each of you may have regarding how you perceive these influences within you life, the struggles you may have to achieve the higher in place of the lower. Virginia: I think the biggest issue that is in the forefront of my thoughts are probably my tongue. I think of the verse in the Bible that says 'he who bridles his tongue is stronger he who might take a city.' So often my self-will says 'man, I'm going to get the last word in here.' And often I am muttering to myself, help me keep my mouth shut because I know that this is really the better road to take rather than always having to prove an issue or to show someone something they really don't want to know anyway. So, I think the biggest issue that I am working on and dealing with is simply to control my tongue. It doesn't necessarily say mean things, it just says things that are not necessary. Daniel: This my friend is a deep insight on a soul level, to recognize that the careless or perhaps useless usage of language certainly does not fall within the realm of God's will for you. Of course, we struggle and do not always attain such levels, but you recognize your desire to become more willing to allow those realizations a place in your actions. When you differentiate between the words you may utilize with another, in how you may speak with another, if we set these aside and look more to the inner motivations that guide you, not simply in conversation but in life, do you find that the road of self-will is a valueless path whereas the divine will holds all value? How do you see the role of self-will and God's will in your life?" Ken: My self-will at this point is dominant with respect to the Father's will, trying to understand Him, trying to make my will His will, trying to understand, to be honest and true, to overcome my fears that I may step out and speak the truth. Daniel: A quick question which I would ask each of you for a simple yes or no answer regarding, would be do you find, or do you feel, that there is value in expressing self-will? Group: Yes. Daniel: Of course, this is probably an obvious question that I'm leading to ask you. By the expression of self-will as a person, what value do you see being gained from a person who has the ability to express their own needs and wants freely? Pat: Funny you should ask me that! I have trouble doing that. I have difficulty expressing my thoughts and my views, and I know that there is much value in expressing yourself, and growth. And I'm trying to learn to do that. I guess that's my will and not the Father's will, that I'm dealing with. Daniel: I would take a moment before moving on to mention some key points about the expression of self-will. The ego gains its most dominant status through repression, for here it finds a need to run counter to the repressive influences by building an overinflated view of itself. And here the ego plays masterfully in disguising its efforts for it is not always the loudest voice or the most boisterous personality who seems to be ego-filled. Quite often does the ego manipulate its way into dominance through creating reinforcements, anything to protect the self. If one cannot see a means to boost its image then the ego may manifest more in building sanctuaries where the personality cannot manifest due to the over-protective environment of the ego that has fallen into fail-safe protective measures. Self-will is any decision made by the self, regardless of negative or positive influence. Therefore, self-will in and of itself is not a negative thing. The self can choose the higher or the lower, and therefore, by learning to express one's self, you become more able to understand the various influences, learning where the protective boundaries may have been a little too tight, where the perceived dangers may not have been so threatening after all, where the animal instincts and the divine will clash, offering numerous opportunities to make choices, to align one's self with the higher will of God. And so therefore through expression of the self you become more able to function healthily to make choices, either higher or lower. The place of stagnation where the lack of choices are is almost more dangerous than to have the opportunity to make incorrect, negative choices. Gwen: I think for me I'm having trouble discerning self-will. I'm struggling with it for the most part I think its because I have an ego that needs to be in control of everybody around me as far as how they see me, and how they act, and if they're happy, you know, and so for me, I guess I'm struggling with what I feel is self-will for myself, and I can, a few times, see this light at the end of the tunnel on occasion when I leave everyone else out of the picture and just see a clear self. And I guess right now I feel that in order to feel God's will I need to address this struggle with my own self-will, and I feel that may be in itself be God's will. Daniel: Let me reinforce your conclusion. This is indeed so. Gwen: I guess I need to just clarify it for myself by saying it again. Self-will for me is when I'm walking down the street on my own two feet, and the cracks in the sidewalk or the hazards that are in the way, don't affect me walking down the street in the sense that ... I'm trying to explain this, but I'm getting too abstract .... that I'm unaffected by other people's thoughts and can have my own thoughts, I guess is what I'm trying to say, I mean, everyday I tick and I feel myself ticking based on my boss and what she thinks of me, and my co-workers and what they think of me, and my dog and what he thinks of me, and on occasion all those clouds just clear away and I honestly feeling that I'm doing something, just me walking down the street and not having all these things affect me. And so I think that that's the self-will I'm struggling for. Daniel: It is a difficult endeavor to break through the hold that ego has on the will. Let me define this as ego not being negative, but protective. Honest self-will is much as you describe this capability to focus upon the self and your own needs. The ego tends to endeavor to protect you by giving you these perspectives on what everything else requires of you. Therefore, you may manipulate and try to please the various influences. Rather in a more healthy view to be able to break through the clouds, as you say, and recognize just yourself and your own needs offers the opportunity to become more in relationship, to not only yourself personally, but also with the Spirit indwelling you. It offers you an opportunity to in more clarity have God's will present and more conscious in your life. For you may choose more effectively based on those inclinations rather than the bombardment of the various influences. And so, as you recognize these glimpses of selfhood, realize these are healthy manifestations, trying to bring you into a more definitive state of selfhood. Recognizing yourself as distinct from the wishes and machinations of your environment. In short, the progression is healthy to find this state you speak of more consistently. Barbara: When you first asked your initial question which was self-will and God's will and how do you know the difference or how do you differentiate between them, the first thought that came to me was I needed to understand self will better. And it's been discussed, but my first thought was that there are ego needs and then there are, for lack of another term, non-ego self needs. And I certainly want to align those, the non-ego self needs and will closer to God's will, and my question that came to my mind when I first thought about this was how do I know that they're becoming somewhat more aligned more frequently? And the answer than came to me was that I have to look at intention. And if I look at my behavior and my needs, and my wants and my wishes, if I can identify them as ego needs, I don't come down hard on it but I recognize that there is something in my environment, there's something in a situation, there's something in my fears, there's something that is triggering ego defenses. And I need to understand those. So if I look at my behavior and say, and can honestly say, that my intention is to win, or the intention is to hurt someone, or the intention is to be praised, or the intention is to garner something from another person, then I can identify that as an ego need. And if I look at the intention and determine that it's not one of those things, and therefore, by default, it's in another category, it's to help another person or to give love to another person or to be supportive or to make a decision that will benefit me in the long run, those kind of things. Then I see those as self will that's becoming or more closely aligned with what I think is God's will. But I really don't know until I analyze the intention. Because I think that I'm behaving in a way that's compatible with God's will, or making decision, but I don't always know until I look at it, and look at intention. And I don't come down on ego. I hear so much negative discussion about ego, and maybe I'm being naive, but for me ego is also God given, it's God given to protect the human organism from real dangers and from imaginary dangers. But I think it's important to be able to recognize when ego is out in front and driving behavior, and that occurs for me when I'm not secure in myself. When I'm secure in myself ego can take a rest; it doesn't have to be there all the time. So sometimes I don't know what God's will is. But I try to look at the intentions now of my behavior. Those are my comments and my thoughts based on your questions and based on the discussion." Daniel: Yes, ego is a definite part of the cosmic plan of evolution. In this sense it is God given. Ego is not a negative factor seen from spiritual view in and of itself. Ego is self, the protective mechanism for self. When the negative aspects are placed and commented upon regarding ego, generally it is about the manifestations that are unhealthy, rather than exclaiming the entire ego to be a negative part of the human being. Intentions are key in all things. It is a way for one to understand where the will is acting from, by seeing the need, whether it be to hurt, to bring joy, to bring understanding, anger, to any situation. By seeing these motivations, one can more easily recognize the source of will that is guiding the actions. Some actions are not so easily recognizable, for there are many opportunities where humans do things that would appear to be kindness and gracious and loving that are based more in self will and ego need than in God's will. An example would be the need to please another, not so easily capable of discerning that this is where the need arises. But for the most part the capability to discern motivations and intentions aids immeasurable in bringing self-consciousness to the individual. By having self-consciousness the individual has brought a sense of selfhood to themselves, thereby offering the opportunity for the divine will to manifest itself, again much as I communicated with Gwen. Bringing consciousness to the self offers the opportunity for the self to make choices based on the higher good, not only of itself but of all. And in long-term evolution this recognition of self becomes more and more undiscernible from a healthy perspective, selfless. It is difficult for a being to be selfless until it first knows itself. For many actions appearing selfless, do not necessarily have a base in selflessness, more so the integrated individual has the capability to lose consciousness of itself because it already understands itself. And losing the self-consciousness is then due to a healthy regard for the capabilities of oneself, such that ther is not an ego need that needs to be fulfilled. All of these aspects are healthy in your perspectives tonight. Each of you have added great insight to the pot. Isaac: Well since this has moved from person to person and you've asked several questions, my thoughts have also traveled over a road here, similar to Barbara's, I think. I'm also keeping in mind the earlier comment of Aaron, the part that I can remember, where self will appears to have been a deliberate choice of evil and a deliberate continued choice of evil. So I guess I would have to say that it seems clear that self will is of great importance to God, because He has ordained that each of us have free will to choose good or evil. It in itself then has to have the highest value, self will. That is the ability to make choices, and the fact that there is a choice between going in a direction of error and then choosing to continue in error when you know it's error, that is contrasted then with the opposite choice. That is, to choose the truth, and to choose to do the right thing, and to continue to do the right thing. And I feel that when self makes a choice to choose the truth and do the right thing, that is synonymous with doing God's will. So, I think I'll have to agree that self will is a wonderful endowment, that God's decided to make a universe where people could really choose to go against Him, shows His incredible trust and grandeur of character that he would share that ability, which is free will choice, of His own, which He has innately as deity, with His creatures...and I'm grateful that I can choose to do wrong, for it implies that we do have free will. I'm not happy when I choose to do wrong, and I've done some of that in my life. I'm much happier when I choose to do what I understand to be the right and truthful thing. Daniel: Your insights are greatly appreciated, my friend, for they do underline the neutrality of self will and the influences of good and evil, negative and positive, right and wrong. The self, in itself, is not negative. The choices one makes regarding self identify with higher or lower, correct or incorrect choices. It stands to reason that the higher choices would, of course, be in alignment with God. And therefore, the healthy recognition of self brings the initial capabilities to become a willing participant in the journey toward higher human development. Let me say before I close that simple insight from the Urantia Revelation that states that doing the will of God is really nothing more or less than the individual creature's willingness to share their inner life with God. In this perspective, particular choices are not necessarily as important as the desire to be a part in life with God, which brings the opportunity for higher enlightenment.

# Spirit of Truth {{@628}}

The Spirit of Truth is a mighty teacher

**CLASSIFICATION**
R	P	M	1

**JURISDICTION**
- [x] soil	- [x] Land	- [ ] Sea	- [ ] AIR

**SOURCE:** Rayson and Friends

Today I shall give a short impromptu instruction on the post resurrection period as illustrated for you in The Urantia Book. In particular, on the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of Truth, as you know, was bestowed upon Urantia (Urantia being the cosmic name for planet Earth) on the day of Pentecost in the year that Jesus ascended to morontial form on this planet. In that time - although the Apostles had lived with the Master for years - they gained more spiritual growth from commingling with the Spirit of Truth than they did from the actual physical presence of Jesus, who was the incarnated Creator Son, Michael. Although you find this hard to really believe as evidenced by your own failure to access this Spirit more often, it is true. The Spirit of Truth is a mighty teacher, indeed, and a tool to be used by every mortal in your quest for spiritual illumination and growth. Although the human heart longs for more physical or palpable contact with teacher personalities, you have present amongst you the greatest teacher of all, which is this mighty Spirit of Truth. This Spirit speaks clearly when sought. You do not have to go anywhere to be in touch with this spiritual force. You only have to pray to be shown and the Spirit will beckon to you in ways that are clearly understood. Confuse not the framework of your questions - which are often erroneous - with the clarity of the answers. You often fail to heed or hear this spiritual teacher because your questions are unreal. The answers, however, are not, and are always truthful and sure in the path to the Father. Sometimes the simplicity of the signposts leads you to believe that you have not been heard or answered. Trust in the simple things, for they are often the most, the closest to God. Remember, Jesus taught with many parables, to learning as children learn, to seeing as children see. Simplicity is not simple mindedness. Simplicity is often the purest form of spiritual insight. Because great revelations as you expect them to come do not happen, you think that you have not heard guidance. So perhaps your first rule should be to disregard not a simple answer, to expect not the Red Sea to part, but to take instructions for building a simple canoe to cross the sea. Your life consists in much energy spent on activities which will not be important in your spiritual growth career, not the activities themselves, but the motivation behind, is where the reality lies. Earning a living is important to keep you physically alive and as a functional member of your society. But, the motivation of hard work, of honesty, and perseverance, of toil, of living faithfully as a tadpole, these are the realities which survive beyond this planet's stay. The social interactions that you have are not so important on the day-to-day conflicts and joys, but viewed more as teamwork and learning to resolve or live with inherent personality conflicts, to outreach your understanding of your fellows, to include a more spiritual view of your brothers and sisters which can extend into a sense of love and family. These day-to-day activities often take precedence over, or crowd out, your main activity, which should be your soul growth. The Spirit of Truth can help you wend your way through the maze of distractions that consist of Urantia life to the higher path of spiritual growth. So, your first commitment should be to remembering that the Spirit of Truth is here, and to remembering that the Spirit of Truth exists only to show you how to use your daily experience to further your soul growth. He points the way to the path of higher values and more loving actions. And as you engage in higher values and more and more loving actions, you ascend - even while you stay in this material form - closer to God. The fruits of the Spirit grow in your own life, and you grow in your own capacity to understand and know God. Your communication with your Adjuster increases, you ascend the psychic circles, and perhaps the possibility of even fusion exists for each of you. But you must call on this teacher who is here only to show you how to live in the world while being dedicated to the spiritual. The Spirit of Truth straddles both spheres. Unlike the Adjuster which only lives in the spiritual realm, the Spirit of Truth is very much in the world. This is the closest you will come to living with Jesus. This is the gift of the Son. I fear that many forget to use this tool, to use this helper, as you go about your day-to-day life. So, one, do not forget. Two, I urge more frequent remembrance suppers where a powerful experience spiritually will occur, and has occurred, as I am sure many of you are experientially familiar with, which is the commingling of your Adjusters with the Spirit of Truth, the fraternization of these two mighty spiritual gifts. And when this happens your higher mind is indeed upstepped and the effect is eternal. This should be engaged in much more frequently. It should not be a special occasion thing, but you should seek the company of this spirit whenever possible. Your growth will be mightily enhanced if you do. The reason I have changed the lesson is because of the discussion. You asked, must we go to certain places to see certain celestial teachers? The answer is “no.” You have with you access at all times to the mightiest teachers in existence. You need but ask. The Spirit of Truth is wherever you are. As we say in the prayer that begins our lessons, “Wherever we are, God is.” That is real. That is not a fancy phrase which sounds nice. That is a truth. As is the truth that you have access to every spiritual tool. They come to you. We come to you. The fellowship is wonderful. Group worship is wonderful. But these are not necessary conditions for growth, or even for revelation. Jesus did not leave Urantia, a planet which is a special one to him, abandoned. He bestowed the great gift and we wonder why you don't use this more. The Spirit of Truth teaches individually and generationally. It is here to always reinterpret spiritual truth to the mortals of time. This teacher communicates clearly, does not mask himself in obtuse forms that need experts to interpret. This is not the point of spiritual communication. Communication is just that, communication to be understood by both parties. You do not have to go to a special place, or be in a special condition, or do anything in preparation. You need only to ask for help and you will be answered.