Inspirational Living

As I prepare to focus on this issue's High Lights, the collective consciousness of our world floods in. The anniversary of the 9/11 WTC incident reminds us of our grief and anger, the threat of war is with us daily as we debate the age old dilemmas of defense and aggression. Newscasts and newspaper items astonish and amaze us that the human animal can be so base as to do the things he does to his fellow creatures. As fear presses in, anxiety rises. As anxiety rises, we become even more combatant, battling with our own demons and projecting this mental illness out into the world until Armageddon is upon us.

Wow. How did we get to this point? How do we get out of it? How do we take the unhappy state of the world and find within it a place to experience the joy of living? How do we even dare to experience joy when people all over the world are suffering, starving, and killing each other - and they might be doing that very thing right next door! Isn't it reckless to enjoy "Fun in the Son"? Isn't it naïve to promote "child of God" precepts when we know how inherently imperfect we all are and how selfish and cruel we can be? How do we live inspired lives in the face of the difficulties of this existence?

INSPIRED LIVING 
TEACHER WELMEK
The Bay Area August 1, 2002 T/r: Donna D'Ingillo

Good evening.

This is your friend and teacher Welmek. I do so look forward to our weekly sessions together, and I hope that you have had a fruitful week in spending time with the Father and in incorporating some of the previous lessons into your daily living experiences.

Daily living is quite a challenge on your planet, is it not? How many of you, had you known what you were in for, would have signed up to come to Urantia for your human life?

That was a jest.

Perhaps you did not find that humorous.

But we do understand some of the difficulties that you have here, for some truly are consequences of the divergence in your evolutionary workings of the divine plan. And some of the difficulties are manifestations of your own human mind: rampant thoughts, unspiritized belief systems, improper communication between your body and your spirit that would enable greater ease in your thinking.

Some of these things are under your control, and I wish to address these tonight as part of the discourse on "Inspired Living." For it is your choices now in how you live your life, and how to stay inspired to overcome these habits that keep you from achieving all that you wish to as a child of God.

So I ask you to go into the Stillness now, and ask your spirit to help you understand what is the one habit now in your being that is holding you back. And I will not ask you to share this with me as much as I will ask you to share with me how having this habit makes you feel. So go now into the Stillness, and when you feel ready to share your feelings about this particular habit, please offer it.

Student: I didn't hear the nature of the habit.
Welmek: In going into the stillness, you ask your spirit to show you, to whisper to you, what is that habit that is holding you back now. Each person will have a unique habit. (Pause.)

Student: Welmek, for me, the habit, if I might mention it, is I am not practicing stillness conscientiously. I have wonderful moments throughout the day, spontaneous communications of a spirit nature, just a feeling of thankfulness and worship, like "Thank you, God!" But in not doing a regular program of meditation or stillness, it's a feeling of guilt, of not doing my share, my half, you might say, of the work.
Welmek: And do you find that this guilt hampers a feeling of connection that you share with the Father?

Student: Yes, very much. Guilt is like being driven, with somebody behind you with a whip, rather than somebody out in front of you kind of teasing and coaxing you along. And I've done my best in one way to devalue this sense of guilt, because it is a waste of time and energy. The trick for me now seems to be coming into a heightened sensitivity, moral sensitivity, and yet using it as we talked about as a compass, simply pointing out the right way and not to worry too much about how short my will is always going to be from that perception of what would be nice, what would be better.
Welmek: We will move into another phase of the exercise to help you overcome this guilt when everyone who wishes to share has done so. Thank you for your comments.

Student: For me the habit which I think holds me back is being scattered and not in focus and ˜stick-to-it-iveness" in one area that would be fruitful to me. My mind moves very rapidly from one idea to another. So I feel if I could somehow practice the Stillness and get really into it, it would make a big difference. But I have this business which I have trouble in harnessing.
Welmek: And when you feel yourself in this rhythm of busyness, what effect do you feel within your body? Could you articulate what it is you experience at that point?

Student: I think when the lack of focus occurs, I'm not even aware of my body. I think I'm probably out of touch with it. There is a feeling of anxiety in my chest area. (Thank you.)

Student: I find it hard to pinpoint one specific blockage; and perhaps that's the blockage. And the effect is that I don't always catch and grasp and follow through as fully as would be useful -- the optimum choice in the moment. I feel less connected at those times with inner guidance and, therefore, my results are less than I would otherwise, could otherwise, accomplish. (Thank you.) 

Student: Yes Welmek, this is D. I, too, had a hard time pointing out any precise habit. But I do dwell a lot on, at least at this time, my financial situation, and the debt that I owe. And the feelings that I get from time to time are a feeling of despondency, and feeling limited, especially in this world. (Thank you.)

Welmek: Each of you has shared something very real living inside of you. It is actually a living thought energy that prevents you from achieving all that you can. It grates against your potential, and it diminishes the relationship that you should share with the Father. This is an important idea to be aware of now, as you are all on a very serious and concerted path of rugged spiritual growth. And I say "rugged" because you all have challenges in life to face in exercising and developing greater depths of faith within you.

So now, as a continuation of this exercise, I wish you to take this feeling that the habit produces within you into the Stillness. See yourself feeling this in your being -- guilt, anxiety, loss of connection -- whatever it is, feel this. And when you feel this, ask the Father to give you the feeling that He wishes you to experience; to exchange what you feel for what He wishes you to feel. And when you have ascertained or intuited or felt what the Father wishes you to feel, please share those with me as well. (Pause.)

Student: Welmek, this is J. I think I'm just realizing this sense of guilt leads to a kind of depression. It's a kind of numbness. And I think the Father wants more than anything else, for me to feel. Just that: just simply feel the life within me and all around me.

I'd like to thank you, Welmek, and my friend here, and this community now, the Church of Jesus -- Christ Michael, because more than anything else, it leads me to feeling. That is both a trial and a wonder! 
Welmek: My dear friend, you have been blessed with a richly sentient form. And I know that the difficulties on your world can be numbing to the bone, because the pain can be so great, and the despair such a wide gulf to traverse. But in staying connected to your Source, by going into the Stillness, by communing with the Father, the feelings that you experience are ones of connection -- connecting you to peace, connecting you to hope, connecting you to strength and courage and everything that you need to surmount the difficulties that you face in your life. Put the guilt aside, my friend. No longer settle for this numbness as a means of being or living. Come into the world and experience the variety of feelings that are yours as being a child of the Father. You will experience emotional pain at times; you cannot avoid it on this world. But now you know where to return when you do feel those bitter pangs of daily life, and asking to exchange that for which the Father wishes you to experience. And when you do this, you will find a depth of emotional riches within you that will feed you and replenish your soul and give you new inspiration to live your life each day in cooperating and in partnership with the Father and with your spirit within. Live each day with this in mind, and you will find new joy and new dimensions of love coming your way many, many times over. Do you understand my meaning?

Student: Yes Welmek, very much. It is something I am experiencing more and more. And if I could share one final thing -- it is an understanding to go through our day-to-day life sometimes in contact with dozens of people. There's a social contract of being self-contained, of not expressing one's feelings more than what the other person or persons want. And this social contract is not a cynical thing, but sometimes, actually, love. And it is this restraint of feeling in a general social sense that makes it wonderful to have a community of deeply feeling friends, that is a respite from this other social contract, that makes the Church of Christ Michael so very, very important to me right now. This is another social contract within the church; I cherish it very much.
Welmek: As we observe the humans on this planet, we are quite stricken by the emotional numbing that we see here. For truly your world is a veil of tears, and for some that is the only true escape. And so while this social barrier of sharing feelings exists in your culture, and you have found a new community with whom you can share your feelings, I encourage you to be more forthcoming in sharing your love with those who you sense are in this state of numbness. In addition, you do not have to do this in an overt way or way that would distress them. I would say to amplify your kindness and compassion. Amplify your patience and understanding to the degree that they can sense that there is something different about you -- you do not respond to them as other people do. And this will serve to whet their appetite, particularly if you can be around them on a day-to-day basis. It does not take much in the way of bestowing love to reach your brothers and sisters. There is so much starvation that a little nourishment makes a great impact. Do you understand?

Student: Oh yes! Yes, Welmek, I'm working on that, and I can just say with a great, great delight, it works! One of the best tools of all is to tease: a little smile, a little unexpected joy or whatever. I never let myself be fooled by another person that the other person also feels necessary to put on, because every person is an infinity, and that is sensitive, and that responds. I would just disagree that this is a "vale of tears" but again, I don't know exactly how callous I am sometimes, until I come into the contrasting love of other more overtly spiritual people.
Welmek: You are doing your best, and that is all that is ever asked of you. And you are growing. And you are experiencing more and more each day; and that is good. And that is as it should be.
Student: Thank you, Welmek.

Student: I feel, if by focusing on the feeling of anxiety, I can bring things together, and to notice the feeling in my body. I will practice that. I, too, as my friend J pointed out, I'm very grateful for the Christ Michael community. It is a very remarkable context in which I can live and have my being. And it is taking me on a journey I never would have anticipated. And I'm grateful for it, and your participation in it!
Welmek: We are all brothers and sisters in the same universe family. We share a common spiritual heritage, and we are all here to learn and to live and to love. In your Stillness time, I encourage you to look beyond the anxiety you experience, and to ask for those places in you where you feel anxious to be filled with the Father's peace and steadiness. Let your mind relax into the idea of being upheld by the arms of the Father. Imagine that when you are rising from your chair there is someone behind you, lifting you underneath your arms, and actually standing you up in security and in strength. Anxiety often short circuits certain bio-chemicals in your physical body, and it is important now as part of your healing to ask the Father to help you diminish those anxious places within you. So when there is this sense of anxiety in you now draw on His peace, call in the idea of being steadied, call on his ability to actually balance you and strengthen you; and that each part of your being retain that quality within it, so that your cells can mend themselves in accordance to his will for you. Do you understand my meaning?
Group: Yes.
Welmek: This is very important to remember. This is very vital now for your continued progression, and so I encourage you to keep this in the forefront of your consciousness, so that there is something within you to serve as this constant reminder to be steadied and balanced throughout your day. You have a challenging path ahead of you in restoring your body to health. And your spirit must be nurtured so that it provides you the foundation of the faith you need to keep you moving forward, and to use this as a reminder will stimulate your faith and keep you inspired to attain that level of healing you so desire. Do you understand this?
Student: Yes, I do. I think that I need to carry the image in me, in peace, as much as possible. 
Welmek: What will you use as a reminder to carry that with you throughout your day?
Student: I think I'll carry a picture of a dove, and that will remind me to center myself.
Welmek: I think that is a most appropriate symbol picture for you, and I would encourage you to keep this with you; and perhaps even to get a figurine of a dove that you could stroke and feel, and allow that feeling of peace to come into your body as you stroke this dove. It could be a soft and smooth symbol figurine that will help you to feel in your fingers, in your cells, in your body, that which you wish to evoke in your emotions. Does this help? Student: Thank you, that fits.

Student: Well, I would like to speak up now. Earlier I said that I was not in touch with a feeling and that was my blockage. I realize now how accurate that was, that the blockages were a protection, has been a protection from feeling. I feel all too much, and that this feeling, or set of feelings, the sadness, the sorrow and grief in particular -- and that I feel too much of all that is going on around me, and that I have had to deliberately, consciously, avoid acknowledging the reality of those things.
And yet, I still felt on another level that has been debilitating and keeping me from acting more effectively. So the way to go somehow is to open up to feeling in a way that acknowledges the reality of what's going on around and not assuming responsibility for it. And yet, taking a stand that all of the things that need to be different are well on their way to happen. And that whatever the will of the Father for me is clearly and fully happening too.
Welmek: Use the pain of the world as a catalyst for greater light and levity and love to enter into your being in a way that transcends the immediate difficulty that you experience, into a greater perspective of what awaits you and what you can experience now by being with and in the Father's love for you. It is almost as if you will sense a duality of feeling. It will be somewhat of an emotional paradox, I daresay, for it is a heightened sensitivity of the difficulties and the pain at one level, but on the other end of the spectrum there will be a heightened sense of joy and a sublime recognition of peace. Just as you feel these deeper, sad emotions, you have an equal capacity to feel the heightened spiritual feelings that are yours as a child of the Father.

God understands the pain of this world. And you have within you access to a Creator Father who had intimate personal human experience of this pain and knows how to handle those human emotions that you are so well experienced in feeling.

So, my brother you have many spiritual resources within you that will help you overcome, and understand, and put into perspective that which you have felt; and will actually give you a heightened sense of perspective and compassion in your emotional range, and make you more useful in loving service -- for you will be able to empathize with those individuals who come from the depths of despair. And you will be able to show them how to find the love that lives within them, as you have experienced it, too. It has worked within you, to transcend you from sadness to joy.

Let yourself experience these feelings. Do not fear them! They are not the end in and of themselves. They are a means to find that which the Father wishes you to experience. And in so doing this you will find the liberty and the release that you need to continue life more successfully. Do you understand this? 
Student: More or less. I think I need a lot more of the joy part.
Welmek: What do you do now in your life that produces joy within you? What activities do you find particularly uplifting to you?
Student: I'm not sure what to say at the moment. I feel somewhat disconnected to the knowing what the answer is.
Welmek: I would encourage you to go out and play more. Find some recreational activities that reestablish the feeling of mirth and childlike glee within you. Laugh, be playful, ask your spirit to move you into those activities that will foster this joy for you. It is not good to be in this state of blockage, as you say; and while you may find yourself somewhat cautious about feeling the sadness, you will have more incentive to move through this when you have immersed yourself in joyful activity. So I encourage you in the coming weeks to do this to your soul's content. Does this help?
Student: It sounds like a good idea. I am willing to do that.

Student: Yes, Welmek, this is D. The initial word that I intuited was the idea from the Father, the idea of freedom: spiritual and material and fiscal freedom. Because of my present financial situation, or my material situation, I feel a sense of entrapment and limitedness. But when I go into the Stillness, I commune with our Father, I do feel this sense of expansiveness, within and without. So I am learning to perpetuate this habit, a new habit of freedom, of being free in the moment, no matter what my outward situations might be.
Welmek: Always in your life on this planet will you sense those attachments which try to bind you and to inculcate within you a sense of obligation. Your choice, my friend, is to determine how much you wish to be dominated by these attachments. And there are certain attachments in the realm of material stability that you must in your own mind come to determine how much they will affect you. And so it is your choice. Some people will live, not realizing they have a choice. But you, my friend, have realized that there is another alternative. And that is to look to the spirit realm to find that freedom from these obligations. And now you are in the midst of attaching yourself, as it were, to this idea of freedom in the Father; living in the moment. And this is good and this is encouraged.

You will find that your financial obligations will always be with you, but it is a matter of choice now in how you will perceive these obligations. Will they weigh you down? Will they persecute your soul? Or will you cut your attachment to them and realize that as a child of the Father you have certain privileges of being taken care of, and so that your material needs are cared for. But you must do your share by providing, by working, and setting those financial goals that you wish to achieve.

This is one area where our Master was able to achieve a certain degree of practicality. For he understood the movement of money in the society, and he well understood the overcare of the Father and was able to do those things necessary to meet the demands, the financial demands, of his family life. You only need to ask Him to teach you how to be a good steward of your financial resources, how to meet your obligations, and how to transcend your attachment to them; so that this feeling of freedom you wish to maintain can be more of an inspiration to you in your daily living, and not be overburdened by the considerations of your debts.

He will show you, each time you ask him, for those, I would call them "insights" or "tricks" of dealing with financial obligations in a spiritual way. This is one area that has been greatly misunderstood on your planet. And while we encourage all of you to be good stewards of your financial obligations and know that you must work to maintain your material existence, the Master can give you higher meanings of how you can use this idea of money to work more for you, instead of diminishing your spiritual connection. This is a great challenge, for so much of your culture is rooted in this economy of money; and as you are learning now the economy of faith, you are ready to learn a new relationship with dealing with your material life. And there is one who achieved a high understanding, and you have access to His experience. Do you understand?
Student: Very much so, very much so. I feel this is a great, will be a great leap of faith in me. Even now I feel the knots of the situation slowly unbinding and I can feel in a sense that freedom, that spiritual freedom that will pervade my entire life.
Welmek: A life of freedom is yours, my friend, for there is liberty in the spirit, and the Father wishes you to be unencumbered so that you can achieve your potential. You can do this here and now. Do not wait until you reach the mansion worlds. Let all of your attachments now be made through the Father. Anchor yourself in him, even more fully than you have. Let your spirit challenge you now to go this next step, and let the Father lovingly show you how wonderful, how abundant, how blessed life is, in Him.

There is no lack of inspiration living within each of you. And while much of this is now your choice, there are those habits within you that have worked to prevent you from achieving this. I hope this evening's instruction has been informative and helpful for you to use, to achieve, to find, to experience this inspiration within you.

Your path is assured. You are well on the way. The habits you are overcoming now are losing their grasp on you, each day you spend time in the Stillness and asking for the Father to give you what you need now to make new attachments in your understanding of His will for you. Seek only the inspiration that you need. You do not need to linger in what it is you must overcome. Seek only that which inspires you, and know all the things of the past are fading away. Good evening, my friends.

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KALEIDOSCOPE

TRUST IN GOD -
FOLLOW YOUR HEART -
STAY IN THE MOMENT

Many years ago, a friend shared these words with me. I often find myself coming back to this phrase because it is so simple to remember and I find it so important in my practice of inspirational living.

TRUST IN GOD - In order to trust in God, it is necessary to get to know our Father by developing a personal relationship with him. There are many ways to do this and each of us must find the ways that work best for us. The Urantia Book tells us that the only way we can know God is through personal experience. How can we experience God? We begin by consciously sharing our lives with Father, talking to him as we do with a trusted friend about the events in our lives, our thoughts and our feelings. Forget that Father knows all, and remember that he loves to hear from his children. He loves our expressions of joy at the wonder of his creations; our grateful thankfulness for the many blessings he bestows on us; and our asking for his guidance and help in problems we have; and our prayers to him for others that are experiencing difficulties. There are no one-way conversations with Father, however, we must be/ remain vigilant in awareness of how he answers us. His answers may be resoundingly clear or may show up in our lives in very subtle ways. We need to be everyday constantly looking for his answers in our lives and to thank him. Another friend of mine used to say "Yeah God!" whenever she saw evidence of the goodness and greatness of God.

We also need to know that God loves us with a greater unconditional love than we can imagine. Father knows our trials and imperfections. Father does not expect us to be perfect. He gave us free will knowing that we would at times misuse that free will in our ignorance and innocence. It is through experience that we grow and learn and our Father knows this. Father knows our potential and is ever working to help us discover and develop this great unique gift he gave each one of His children.

Spending ten minutes each day in stillness with Father is perhaps the best way to develop a relationship with him. It does take practice to learn to still the mind, but with practice the mind does settle down and open to listening. Our society is so busy talking that we have developed few good listeners. True listening is an art form. Let us practice this art form with Father and all our brothers and sisters.

As we develop a relationship with Father, listen, and look for his answers, we become much more aware of his presence in our lives. As we experience his loving presence in our lives, we begin to trust him and know that whatever happens, our lives are unfolding perfectly. We are experiencing exactly what we need to teach us what we need to learn. So, we learn to trust Father and give thanks for everything.

FOLLOW YOUR HEART - Our minds are very valuable for learning, gathering and organizing data, but it is our hearts that know. As Michael one time told me, "Follow your heart and you will never be led astray." Another time he said, "Follow your feelings. You can't think your way out of this." As we learn to trust in God, this becomes much easier and in time as we look back, we can see the wisdom in these words. One of our beloved teachers, Aflana, often said, "You know that you know." Yes, if we center ourselves and silently go within we do know because a part of God lives in us. This is what we need to get in touch with to receive the guidance we need. We often feel a "nudge" to do something, which to me is a call for action to do the will of God.

STAY IN THE MOMENT - There is only the eternal now. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not yet arrived. There is only NOW. It is a waste of precious time to look back with regret or to look to the future with apprehension. I am reminded of the statement, "What I feared came upon me." We can reverse that to be "What I looked forward to with joy and thanksgiving came upon me."

May we all learn to always TRUST IN GOD, STAY IN THE MOMENT AND FOLLOW OUR HEARTS.
Allene Vick
Associate Editor

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Teacher ABRAHAM on EMOTIONS
Teacher WELMEK's reference to Emotional Riches resumes in this lesson from the October 6, 2002, Woods Cross, Utah, TeaM:

I am ABRAHAM. Greetings. With each week we are to meet, I am with more love, hope and inspiration. Your spiritually daring ways are the catalyst to change, for not only yourselves, but the many who know you. Yes, the spiritually courageous are helping to move the masses forward into Light and Life. Courage does not necessarily mean strength mindally or physically. Courage moreso means the endurance to carry on -- no matter what. You, my children, coworkers, friends, definitely draw me out to be spiritually daring and bold. Being divinely outgoing is not a matter of force, no, but a matter of recognizing opportunity to do the right thing. It is opportunity to drink from the Master's living well, to become empowered and inspired to be about the Kingdom business.

Of the Master's many attributes, I so admire His self-forgetfulness. During His Mission on Earth He worried not about Himself, for He fully trusted in the Father's watchcare. In this state of mindal freedom He could grasp the Father's living will and move about with that spiritual courage that set in motion a great many changes on the planet. The Master sought not fame nor even personal well-being. In this there was His divine power, His ability to work with the hands of God. In keeping with the theme of mastering the self, we will this evening discuss emotions. Jesus knew full well on the day of that momentous wedding at Cana that His many associates, family and friends expected a great occurrence to take place to prove that He was indeed the expected savior. Fully trusting in Father on that day, He set out to join in the festivities. The Master's heart was light. He was looking forward to a day of joy and fellowship. His joy lied mostly in the trust that His Father would be in full control. He felt burden free, even knowing full well His family and associates expected Him to perform. For a time, the Master was indeed safe within His divine mind. He expected not His human emotions to have such a heavy hold on His desires. His desire was to always do the will of the Father.

Human emotions are indeed a mystery to me, for one half of emotions lies within conscience and the knowing of good and evil, while the other half lies within the ego and the need to preserve personal well-being. While emotions are certainly a part of the human experience and the divine plan, they do tend to interfere with the attainment of self-mastery. As a man thinks, so it becomes his reality. Your emotions have helped to shape where you are now. Even the Master was drawn away for a time by emotions. The compassion He bore for the women who raised Him was enough of a window opened to allow His own desires to override the Father's will. This is not sinful, no, not iniquitous, no, just a portion of the mortal experience. The Master does quite understand the power of human emotion. He knows your discomforts that lead you to react without allowing the God-mind to participate. Without a firm spiritual diet the emotions become stronger than the divine mind.

Emotions are similar to the domino effect--one always leads to another. Even the Master, upon realizing His emotional side led to the production of the wine, He then was somewhat angered by His seeming weakness. He was also saddened by His associates needing to be shown in a material way, instead of simply practicing faith. Those with a firm spiritual foundation can arrest these emotions before they take a firm hold and cause more drama. The story of the wedding at Cana was a prime example to mortals that the Master truly understands the mortal makeup, our mental and emotional systems. Children, if you can truly feel the love of God, that is a need that is truly satisfied and there is really no need for extra drama in your lives. It is understandable that life can sometimes be mundane and the smallest things are enlarged to make life appear more exciting and productive. This is however not much more than an emotional roller coaster ride. This does not assist in attaining self-mastery. Granted, Urantian's are emotional creatures, but they are also spiritual and have within their grasp self-mastery.

This week think about if you are driven by your emotions. Contemplate the sides in which the emotional system lies--the conscience and the ego. How did the Master's emotions serve at that eventful wedding? What the son desires and the Father wills--is. What lessons were learned out of this particular story? Contemplate your dramatic levels. How do they serve? How can you determine the difference between feeling passionate about something versus emotionalism? A few questions.

Simon: Abraham, this lesson brings up a myriad of questions relating to balance and using the faith time intervening between applying faith and the balance of just letting go. Maybe not even caring until the Father's will is done. Sometimes I seem to feel like--okay, whatever--letting things happen and planning those layers and being too busy or escaping from the faith process altogether. Is that escaping or applying faith? How best to see the balance of it all?
ABRAHAM: In my understanding I see ideas as perhaps a seed, and you being the gardener, tend to the seed with good soil, water and sunlight. The seed either sprouts or it doesn't. It takes root and grows or it doesn't. You exhaust your human resources and yet remain flexible to the Father's will. This is where mindal reconciliation will come into play. Father knows of the seed and He can see it in it's full potential. If it is to produce good He does aid in its growth. At times the growth is delayed to another time for greater impact to be made. Yes, my answer is exhaust your human resources and remain flexible to the will of God. Does that help? (Yes. Thank you.)

Azsuray: Abraham, in my journeys since I have been studying the Urantia Book many, many people ask me, and which I ask also, how do I know I am doing the Father's will. Must I be directly in contact with my Thought Adjuster to tell me when I am doing the Father's will? Could you give me some type of examples or statement on how I can be sure I am doing the Father's will.
ABRAHAM: First: What the son desires and the Father wills--is. If your efforts come into fruition, then that is a good indication that you were well within the will of God. Second: I do truly believe that most children of God have a soul-knowingness if they are self-serving or God serving. Of course, Father wants you to be happy and He considers that in His divine plan. Many mortals go to great lengths to convince God that their personal happiness will bring about great things and certainly that is not necessary, but if you are feeling an imbalance toward working for self, then yes, that is an indication that you are leaning away from God's will. Is that helping? (Yes. Thank you.) You're welcome.

Dave: Father Abraham, I am having trouble with my ability to listen. Might I have a personal assessment and my spiritual name also?
ABRAHAM: Certainly. My son, you are known On High as Lanceson. My son, I see you as an anchor in a stormy sea. It seems that many things are drawing away your attention and it would seem that you are somewhat slipping in spiritual connection. I say no, this is the building of spiritual muscle. You believe you are expected to be this pillar of strength and you are wanting to be more expressive of your feelings, and yet you feel not welcome to because you fear the repercussions therefrom. You have a gifted way with words and should assert yourself a bit so others can better understand you, and realize that you also become exhausted and need rest and space. To be a bit more assertive with your words is not cruelty, but expanding understanding. You have a gentle heart indeed and have worry that others may not have understanding. A good focus for right now would be to find that courage to be your complete self. You know very well what is right and you sometimes hold back that light that you could shine forth. Overall, Lanceson, my son, you do well. Have not worry. One more question.

Anthony: Abraham, I guess I would like some words of encouragement and guidance about being patient with our friend, Oriah. You know she is very trusting and confident in her personal meeting, but she is a little fence-sitting as far as reading the Book or participating. Do you have some words for her or guidance about patience for me?
ABRAHAM: Let her be. The decision is hers and one size does not fit all. She has had a great deal of turmoil and must go slowly. You however, my son Anthony, are a well of enthusiasm for the Urantia Book and the spiritual life. You are overflowing with desire to be helpful and this is to be commended, but certainly we remember our brother Ham said, "too much light can be blinding."- A plate of food is more appetizing when offered than when forced--ask any child. You are a wonderful friend and helpmate to her, my son. Yes, well done. With that I will take my leave. Know that as each week goes by my love grows for you all. Look for me during the week. I would enjoy a moment with you each. Until next week, shalom.
***

OUR GREATEST INSPIRATION
It seems only appropriate that, as we look for that which will give our lives inspiration, we look to the Master for his counsel. Enjoy this, for example, from the S.E. Idaho TeaM  October 11, 2002:

Klarixiska's Prayer: Father, Who loves us all the same, Who knows all about us and understands, we ask that as we come together tonight to appreciate one another, to enjoy one another, to learn from one another that we might also appreciate more what You are doing in the Universe. Encourage us. We thank You for Your love that is constantly patting each of us on the head, both the seen and the unseen here tonight. We thank You for the Spirit that continues to draw us to You. Open our minds, our hearts; curtail our emotions and egos that we might hear what You have to say tonight. Help us to use it to live in the now, to serve our brothers and sisters wherever we walk. May we be a true ambassador of love for You. Amen.

CHRIST MICHAEL: Peace be upon you, my dear friends. I am Michael, your Brother, as well as your Creator/Father. I come tonight as your brother, as one who has shared, and continues to share your nature, as who knows you, perhaps even better than you know yourselves. I am not a man of sorrows. I am a man of joy! Yes, I had some moments of sorrow ... you know that. My heart was torn when my family rejected me and thought I had lost my mind. I did not enjoy the ordeal of crucifixion or anticipate it with joy, no! But, for the most part, I was, as I am, a joyful person. My gospel is joyful for it is simply a statement of truth: that you are sons and I am a Son of the Source of all overflowing goodness and love that designs, upholds, and culminates the loving plan of Universe development and expansion.

Your fine teacher, Daniel, took you on a most efficacious walk into the wonders of your beingness in connection with your animal origins. We did not design the universe so that "animal origins" would be a lowly and humiliating status, no. We, your Mother and I, designed this universe so that you could fully experience the pleasure of living in the flesh, of being bone and muscle and blood vessel, of having an organic computer as your brain, of being able to touch each other [TR touches people on both sides of himself] and know that you are one in connection of that animal reality.

Yes, I enjoyed living in this mortal body that I had created! Imagine the wonder that I experienced in my adolescence, as it became clear to me that I was actually the designer and creator of this world that I was living in! Only at first did I have faint thoughts of this, which I dismissed as megalomaniac tendencies. I was careful, very careful not to tell anyone of these thoughts. But, as I grew older I became more and more aware of Who I was before I had incarnated as a man, as a baby, as a man to become. You will never know that particular experience; you are not Creator Sons becoming aware of your status. Long before I knew that I was dwelling in a body of my own creation I was happy to be a joyful kid, full of questions. But always did I know that profound love which I recognized in my parents as a reflection of something that I knew even more deeply. That is why by the time I was twelve I knew that my father's religion was flawed, that the God of their understanding was not my Father. Yes, I knew that early on. So, tonight, I want you to know how completely I understand you, my dear friends, my dear brothers and sisters! I am not some sorrowful figure hanging on a crucifix, overwhelmed with the sin of the world, a sacrificial offering to an angry God to compensate for the innate evil of human nature. No! I am your brother. I am your joyful brother. I am your triumphant brother. I am your older brother. I do know the way, for I am the way in human flesh. Can you feel our common humanity, my dear friends? Can you feel it?

Group: Yes!
MICHAEL: Thank you. Thank you. I did not achieve my divinity by human effort, but I did achieve my perfected humanity status by my efforts. Yes, I had an advantage over you. My Divine Monitor was none other than the One that indwelt Machiventa. was very skilled. My Divine nature as a Michael Son was not something that you share either. But even though I had these advantages, my human achievements were always done without the help of my divine nature. Not all my acts were solely from my human nature, no. I did act as a combined personality. But the achievement of my humanity was done as an animal-origin being like yourselves.

Yes, this world really needs joyful humor, not cynical humor. It needs the pleasure of seeing one's own progress and using that progress as a background to then laugh at one's previous immaturity, just as you laugh at the things children say when they do not understand what the words mean. Humor, that is healthy, appreciates progress. It does not make fun of self or others, as you know. So I want to say to you, "Keep on lightening up. Keep on lightening up!"

Our Father will have His way in the end. That which will not cooperate with Him will not continue. Evil, sin, and iniquity are time limited. They will not persist. I know it's hard living on this planet. In some ways I think it is harder for you than it was for me, for things are more complicated. I know some of you want to wave magic wands that would eviscerate free will choice among those whom you deem to be unworthy by virtue of their behavior. Be careful with that thinking, my friends! For you are all a mix of levels of maturity. You all are capable of error. Do not judge your brothers and sisters. No magic wand will be provided for it is contrary to my Father's prime directive. I was tempted with the magic wand, remember? I was very strongly tempted to use my power, to summon legions of angels to my side, to do things my way. Oh, yes, I was tempted in my human nature. That was not an unreal imaginary experience. I understood my brother and sister Adam and Eve better after I was in this flesh. I could understand how frustrated they got and how they thought that they knew best. When I said to my Father, "If it is possible take this cup away from me", of course I thought there might be that possibility. I didn't see why I had to die in such a manner until I was reconciled to my guidance. Then I was truly able to say, "Never-the-less, not my will but Yours be done". My basic unquestioning trust in my Father triumphed. I knew that even though I couldn't understand it, at that moment, He had never let me down; that I was completing my bestowal experience on a broader canvass than many of my brothers of my order; that it was not a mistake on the part of my Father and your Father. So, my friends, I say to you as I said to my apostles of old, "Be of good cheer!"

Be of good cheer. Do not become discouraged. Do what I did. Turn, all the time, to our Father and listen to Him. He will say to you, "You are my son, you are my daughter, in whom I am well pleased". Yes, He will say this to you. Of course, our kinship goes deeper than our humanity, which we share, for we are Spirit sons and daughters of the First Source and Center. But our humanity is not a small thing. It is not an accident of time. It is essential in the progress from animal origin to Spirit perfection. You and I get to know it all! We get to know it all, the experience from the lowest to the highest. Welcome to this amazing and wonderful adventure, the adventure of the completion of Supremacy and the beginning of Ultimacy! (You can look these words up in the Urantia Book. I will not explicate them at this time). Yes, my friends, the adventure! Let us be joyful. The outcome is certain. Good evening.

[Editors Note: After hearing from Michael, the group discussed passages in the Urantia Book, which related to his lesson. The following passage pertained as is quoted here] "By the end of the twenty-ninth year Jesus of Nazareth had virtually finished the living of the life required of mortals as sojourners in the flesh. He came on earth the fullness of God to be manifest to man; he had now become well nigh the perfection of man awaiting the occasion to become manifest to God. And he did all of this before he was thirty years of age."

***

Stay inspired by
REMAINING HUMBLE
09/08/2002 Nashville, Tenn. T/r: Rebecca

HAM: Greetings, children, I am Ham and I thank you this evening for coming here to be part of this mission teaching. Each of you is making progress in your lives. You are working, striving, progressing and yet you remain children of God, students of the Melchizedek schools. Yes, it is wise to ever remain humble, obedient, and willing to change. Human beings often tend to find something that works for them and remain stuck in that rut. You may even change many aspects, but the core understanding will not change but will remain the same until some rather drastic occurrence alters the landscape for them. It is very difficult for people to remain students of life. For it seems that it is easier to narrow your options to a manageable few and stop taking big chances, stop stretching your abilities.

Your culture is obsessed with remaining young and I will give you a great secret for maintaining a youthful
attitude. Keep challenging yourselves. Allow life to be a challenge and adventure. Keep stretching your abilities and reaching a little further than your grasp. The excitement of life is in the new directions and new challenges, win or lose. Humility is hard to find among those who have reached a pinnacle and are coasting there. But, humility is easy to find in those who struggle and try and continue to allow themselves to win and to lose.

Growing in the spirit means growing completely. It means growing in flexibility, tolerance, understanding, patience. It means that every new challenge in life is a new start, a new beginning. As you continue in your lives and you grow in the spirit, your minds naturally crave to be challenged as well. Those who become experts in certain fields should not forget the wonder and the questions that sparked that first quest for knowledge. No human field of endeavor remains static for very long. All are challenged, all are forced into change eventually. As you grow in the spirit also, there is a growing love for other people. Each person must eventually come to terms with that fear of others which so plagues one's heart in the early stages of life. As you grow in the spirit, that fear of people starts to diminish and is replaced by sympathy, understanding, and a kind of loving tolerance that allows for all manner of ill behavior on the part of others.

What have these erring children done that you have not done? Have you not been dismissive or intolerant of others just as they are with you? Have you not been rude or angry with others as they are with you? Have you not been gruff or unthinking and made some kind of social gaff in your lives as others have with you? You know the reasons why you exhibited such objectionable behavior, so it is easy to sympathize with someone else who is feeling that same way. The person who desires to be the most God like must be the most humble, the most kind, the most generous, understanding, and sympathetic among you. The higher you climb in the hierarchies of your professions, the more important it is to exhibit these qualities to those coming up behind you.

Rather than holding a position and bludgeoning those around you with the arrogance you are allowed just as you have seen those before you do, be the opposite. Be entirely kind, open, generous and loving with the most humble petitioner. Many people find a false arrogance which they feel gives them the aura of power. But how brittle, how shameful this posture is in the eyes of men of God. Maintain spiritual grace. Remember that as you grow in the spirit, you are spiritually fragrant to others and they will be drawn unto you. Having spiritual grace is that confidence, that spiritual essence which does not allow for intimidation but rather allows for a gracious manner with all.

Remember as you grow that you are blossoming and this blossoming is attractive to many different types of beings and, like bees jostling for nectar, sometimes these beings can be unthinkingly hurtful. But, it is your job to give as the flower gives, to give like a pure spring of water gives, disregarding that there is nothing given to you from those who drink, for you are replenished in the spirit. That's where you receive, the rest is all giving. Fully comprehend this understanding and you will go very far.

* * *

The Coeur d'Alene, Idaho TeaM brings us
Inspiration from The life of Jesus

MICHAEL: Greetings, friends. I come in your midst as your sovereign and your friend. It gives me great joy to witness the yearnings and aspirations of your spirits in trying to accomplish the will of our Father. It is indeed a sight to behold, not only to me, but to all who are in attendance.

As mortals you have your struggles, but you are doing well in your striving to become more and more spirit filled and God conscious. It is indeed true that the more time you spend in this rarefied atmosphere, the easier it becomes for you to make decisions to speak, to offer help that is supportive and spirit filled, that comes from a loving heart and a willing mind. Each day as you make your small attempts to illuminate your environment and to share the light of God, you become more adept and more relaxed at your performance. Any frequent practice always makes the performance easier.

I come today to encourage you to continue in this manner with your desires and your attempts to become more and more luminous, and to become more and more effective in your ambassadorship. Be assured that I am with you always and continue to serve you even as you wish to serve. I give you my blessing, my love, and my peace. I take my leave.

TEACHER ELYON: Hello, my good friends, this is Elyon. I am going to share with you some reflections about Michael. It eases Jonathan's mind to know that I will speak about Michael, that it was not Michael to speak through him on this subject.

You have delighted our Master Son with your open discussion today regarding the needs of your fellows and your own abilities to minister to them and your reflection upon your own growth in regard to the needs presented to you by others.

You have studied enough to know that Michael underwent a series of bestowal incarnations at various levels of creature life in Nebadon, and you are aware of his final bestowal on Urantia as a human. Being the Creator Son he is, he has all the qualities of the Father. As Son, he carries these divine qualities into his universe and begins to manifest them as he brings about the creation.

You each strive sincerely to understand your fellows. You struggle with the conflicts inherent in the fact that each of you is dual-natured, both spirit at the core and housed in animal form, and that you are distinct and so is another. In that state you may not always see exactly from the same vantage point.

Michael has created a wide range of creatures, orders of beings of differing temperaments, aptitudes, and inclinations. Within each order, again this diversity reveals itself from individual to individual. Being the Creator, the Source from which all these variations of creature being derive, he does understand these multi- faceted manifestations, yet it was and still remains of vital importance that he underwent being each creature, for it revealed to him a perspective of living not found even by a creator who oversees creature life.

Imagine the experience of growth that Jesus under-went as he sat in a circle around a campfire with his apostles and looked into the eyes of Peter as he was troubled, as Judas struggled, as John rose up in enthusiasm, as Thomas doubted the efficacy of their actions. This experience was received by the human Jesus. Michael, the Divine, suspended intrusion into their inner beings so that the complete Creator could encompass the experience of a creature, one who needed to extract the feelings and thoughts of another, to wrestle with understanding, to compare ones own experience with the experiences of another.

Though this Creator Son is the origin and source of the Spirit of Truth, as Jesus he too did not have that Spirit of Truth bestowed upon him just as the apostles at that time did not. Now having experienced this state of otherness, being a creature among creatures, and coupling this experience with his divinity as a creator, he has accomplished a feat that I can describe only as experiential power in order to distinguish it from the inherent divine power of a Creator Son.

Today you have expressed the very emotions, you have undertaken the very investigations, that Michael did when here on earth. Today you are blessed with his spirit presence. As you minister to your friends and as your friends provide opportunities for your own growth, remember always his presence with you and within another. This is a bonding force for unity.

Your country experienced an act of aggression, and for a time you all felt some togetherness, a coalescing sympathy and a temporary unity which, over time, appears to fragment into the diversity of all your own individual opinions and sentiments. The unity is not gone. The diversity is the mosaic of your unity. The variety of creature types is precisely the will of Michael. If any one creature order were more important, that would have been his only bestowal incarnation. But he incarnated on every level. The Truth Spirit of Michael is a combined force of the divine nature and the creature experience. This is why his good spirit was not spread abroad in Nebadon until he completed his creature bestowals. You, though you live centuries after his visit here, are as much a contribution to his Spirit of Truth qualities as is anyone else, for he truly was human. Aligning yourself with his presence, you receive, as well, the experiences that he underwent in all his bestowals. You will however not gain a direct awareness of any episode, but you will be able to draw upon the resultant wisdom; you will be able to receive Michael's insight, for, as he just told you, he is with you always. When his apostles fretted, when they were overcome with zeal, this became the experience of our Sovereign Son.

Today as you adjust to the trials of others and as you acknowledge and act upon your own struggles, carry it in your faith always that supremely Michael fully understands. He understands you; he understands that other one. When you reach in compassion toward your fellow, Michael reaches back to you in his Spirit of Truth. Michael reaches to the other from you, and this is your unity. Another may hold entirely different opinions than you. You may never fully understand your orientation. Michael has experienced both, and every shade of variation between you, to every side of you, above you, and below you.

Unification in spiritual harmony is had in the experience of the presence of Michael in his Spirit of Truth. Even the Father's presence, the Thought Adjuster, does not have this same coalescing effect, for as you have understood, this divine spirit is the Father Fragment; each distinct, discreet, and your personal gift. However, Michael is spread abroad encompassing you all collectively. Your unity in the Father is in the fact that you each have received His divine presence. You are Father blessed equally. Your unity in Michael is the fact that you share in community his divine presence, the Spirit of Truth. The Father indwells you; Michael permeates you. The Father is your Father, and you are all His children. Michael is your brotherhood; he is your togetherness. When you seek to understand your fellows, you are acting in the realm of the Son. When you seek to understand yourself, you are pursuing the Father.

Be light upon yourselves as you mature in your spiritual dimension. Rest assured that there was many a night that Jesus spent awake wrestling with the perplexities of human relationship, stirring to understand how another thinks and feels and what his relationship would be to another. Michael knows. Michael understands and is fully capable and ever present to assist you in your discovery of solutions and your refinement of your talents. He has placed his arm upon your shoulder. As you place your arm upon the shoulders of your fellows in need, the circle is complete, for his arm is upon them as well. This is the manifestation of his Spirit of Truth. I have completed my discourse and would receive your questions if you are holding some at this time.

Evelyn: We were talking earlier about giving advice, how and when. It was pointed out the time when Jesus was sensitive to the yearning look in someone's face, which told him that advice was welcome. How do we develop that talent, to know when our advice is welcome without asking? Maybe we should just ask.
ELYON: My advice is that you assume a position of equality and that you make that known to the other person. The difficulty with advice is its tendency to verticalize the relationship, to put the one giving advice above the one who is receiving it, willingly or not. This is the reason for the admonition that you give advice only when asked for, for in the asking the element of sharing enters in. It is wise of the one who has advice to give to make an effort to tip the vertical tendency over into a horizontal level of sharing.

The art from which you may better accomplish this is to be found in your choice of words and, even more importantly, in your expression of compassion and in your humility. A guideline that I offer is that you further develop your discernment of another's signals that indicate a request for advice, for they may not be verbal. Secondly, watch your own motivations. Ask yourself: is your desire to present the advice sincerely to help fill the needs of the other? Or is it on some level only gratifying yourself? It is not so much -- for I know you all … well -- that you are looking to make yourself appear holier and more accomplished and attained than another, for I do not see that. But a little more subtly, is the pleasure derived in expressing … wisdom? And this is not wrong. It is a joy to have attainments that we call wisdom, and it is a passion to express these insights, and it is love that seeks to give them. But it is the human who often does not under-stand these mechanisms, and so simply remind yourself that you are seeking to be of assistance entirely for the other individual's benefit, and that may require saying nothing at all. It may require waiting weeks, months, or years until the advice may be offered.

Now I wish to play with this word "advice" -- take a knife to it and cut it up. Let us split the word into "ad" and "vice" and put an extra "d" in there for under-standing. You know that a vice is an external act, item, that is used inappropriately to give one a sense of well being or gratification. Vice stands in contrast to virtue. If you are moved to advise another, ask yourself how you may add virtue, to demonstrate, to present, in your own composure, qualities of being that another would wish to assimilate. They will readily then seek your advice. I hope this helps.

Ginny: Jesus affected people without saying a word. There must be many ways we can develop ourselves to be more effective. There must be inner qualities that are much more attractive than words.
ELYON: Indeed.

Evelyn: When brainstorming in the leisure after the moment it's easier to come up with alternate ideas than right when something is happening. It isn't the same situation.
ELYON: No, however, this reflective interval is beneficial and is a technique Jesus used with his apostles after any encounter with the masses. It allowed them to orient those events with higher teaching and to reconcile any feelings of failure or displeasure from what may have happened. These sessions of clarity derivation, though they make the prior experience seem so clouded with misunderstanding, they step you forward to a more effective approach at a subsequent time. You have done that today in your discussion, as you have shared with each other your own shortcomings as well as your successes in offering help to another. One day you will receive a morontia form, and this vehicle for morontia manifestation will be a thrill to you. You know the joy of driving a brand new car.

Some in group: No, we don't!
ELYON: Everything works. This will be similar but greatly magnified when you resurrect and take on a morontia form. Everything works. And your ability to discern another's expressions will be clearer. Languages improve. The crude forms of hearing apparatus you have now will no longer be. Sound is augmented with vibrations your ears cannot hear. Your vocal expressions will also be expanded with tonalities you cannot express through your throats. Your eyes will see more deeply into the soul of another than they do now as they gaze upon your fleshly forms. And advice will be more appropriately timed and more likely well received.

Ginny: We need to learn to allow people to do their growing. It may be hard to watch someone suffer, but it's a growth time for them. They may not see it as they are experiencing it, but they will see later on. We might interfere with that growth.
ELYON: This is profoundly insightful. Any parent knows that repeated admonitions to a child to refrain may fall on deaf ears. When a child does actually engage in the activity which they were counseled to avoid, they suddenly and finally realize the truth. But it was not truth in the admonition; it was truth in the experience. Though that does not mean you let them stumble blindly into their calamities, for any parent seeks to protect their child. But stages of growth require certain episodes of experience to build a true foundation for their growth to continue to ascend upon.

I may add on this topic of advice that, since sometimes, as you have indicated, they must undergo an experience that rather than providing beforehand a "you ought to" or "you ought not to", you could provide, rather, options. This may be undertaken. "Or this." "Or another action." You have then provided the potentials for decisions on their parts rather than limit the freedom of their experiences.

NEBADONIA: This is your mother, Nebadonia. My associate Michael has told you that he is with you always. This word "always" is a time word. Forever and always. I, likewise, am with you always, and my always is an "All Ways" all ways, for every element, dimension, every situation, any manifestation of being and things in this universe I give.

Go with Michael, and as you travel with him, it is my presence that you travel through. This may be hard to understand, my little ones. You know me as your Mother Spirit. You know Michael as your Creator Son. We are the apex of all there is in Nebadon, and we are not only source and origin, we are your destiny within Nebadon. Given origin and destiny, it goes without saying that all that transpires in between not only has our full attention but has our full participation.

I embrace you. I embrace you in the crudest forms such as dirt, which gives you the sustenance of food. I embrace you in breath, which sustains your life. And I embrace you on levels far more subtle than this. In all ways I am with you. We are with you.

***

INSPIRATION from the S.E. Idaho TeaM Sepember 20 2002
ENJOY YOUR HUMANITY

TEACHER DANIEL: From a higher perspective, from the perspective of the Universe, you are all one: biologically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Indeed, your hands connect the visible portion of your oneness; but far greater is the spiritual, emotional, and mental. So enjoy this reality, my friends, and know that your war torn, strife-ridden world will someday know this reality. Be at peace and enjoy your humanity. I am Daniel, your teacher. Let us pray.

Eternal God, we are finite creatures of Your making and sharing Your heart of love. May we be so aware of the goodness of the moment, the joy of now, that it may submerge our anxieties and fears, that it may wash away our bad memories, that it may bolster our self confidence in our inherent worthiness. Let these, my friends, enjoy our company together. Amen.

Once again my greetings, my friends. I am Daniel, pleased to be among you and especially with your "little one" present. You have been discussing the reality of faith as it undergirds life. You have talked of loss of faith and lack of faith due to promises that were not fulfilled, and attempts that were made to explain away those disappointments. You have talked of the mantle of living faith that repels the arrows of doubt, fear and anxiety. You have correctly discerned the difference between the basic trust of a child for its parent and the promises of hucksters of religion and con artists of culture.

I wish to talk about how you can improve your truth- testing mechanism so that you are not credulous and subsequently skeptical to the point of cynicism. First of all I wish to point out the obvious, that skepticism is a virtue, that the mind who is disciplined in the understanding of the difference between facts and fancies, between illusion and reality, between lies and truths is a mind that can make progress in the acquisition of wisdom.

You live in a world that is fraught with antisocial mechanisms, that is imbued with a wide spectrum of shades of grey. The facts of life, the material facts, are not the greatest problem, since, for most people they are fairly well agreed upon. But the interpretation of the facts, which is in fact the "truth" of the facts, is quite another matter. Therefore, it is usually true that skepticism of interpretation is the more appropriate place for skepticism. For the challenge of the evaluation of others' interpretations of facts is absolutely necessary to achieve one's own interpretation of reality and to test the validity of other people's and culture's conclusions.

So skepticism, as a technique of truth discernment, is essential to any higher functioning search for truth. You have a saying, "Don't throw out the baby with the bath water". This reflects the need to make a distinction between truth and error while being careful to not so entwine truth and error together that truth is thrown out when the error is rejected. Some people, usually through emotional devastation, have lost faith in humanity in general and in the possibility of arriving at a satisfying philosophy of life. They have, indeed, thrown out the proverbial baby with the bath water.

Since Urantia is in recovery from rebellion, it has a huge indebtedness in this direction. Many, many were the people who trusted the brilliant Calagastia, your first Planetary Prince. The majority of angels were led astray and followed him, only to find out that they had made an enormous mistake. So your world has a history of being led astray, of being led down the primrose path, of being seduced and traumatized. It is almost, you could say, the natural state of affairs on this planet which has inherited this quarter-of-a-million-year history of betrayal and bitter legacy of rebellion.

Do not think that when a Creator Son comes as a Bestowal Son to a planet, that they usually meet with the reception that Jesus of Nazareth was party to. No! Normal planets welcome their Bestowal Son with open arms. Urantia and the other rebellion planets are vastly different. So this background explains the tendency to just "en carte blanc" regard everything as questionable. It is a struggle, given this kind of history, to believe that the Universe is different than the way this planet is ordered.

You have to make the decision (which you have already made) to believe the words of hope, love, and joy that have been coming to you from these sources, from us teachers, from the words that are still recorded of Michael in your ancient manuscripts and now especially to believe the words that are recorded in the fifth revelation to this planet in the Urantia Book.

But you do not have to make this decision as though you are listening to two parties debate the politics of a presidential election. You do not have to merely make a judgment intellectually. You have another component. That is, you have within you the Spirit of Truth which is your internal "measurement meter" that you can rely on. This "measurement meter" is partly intellectual but also has the feeling component-- the intuitive aspect as well

There is a sense of "knowingness" associated with this truth measurement instrument, the Spirit of Truth that I am referring to, with this mechanical analogy. You will hear -- either in audible words or strong impressions -- "This is the truth". "This is the way, walk in it".

We teachers fully and completely endorse the scientific method to discover facts. We do not endorse scientism, the worship of science. Scientific method is a constant search for enhancing truth by understanding how things fit together. Scientism goes beyond this to explain why things are and how they got that way. When it does so, it oversteps its boundaries. Religion does talk about the "why", but when it becomes dogmatic about the "how", it oversteps its boundaries, as well, and interferes with the work of science. So, then, scientific method is something you need to follow to throw out the superstition, the illusion, the fabrication, the con artist and all of that sort, the dirty water. But let the baby of truth grow into a young child of enlarged truth.

The second method of truth discernment is within and I have already attempted to describe how it functions. It is partially intellectual and it is partially intuitive and emotional. Truth always includes a moral dimension as well. Indeed, do the adjutants that operate in your mind instill the hard-wired parameters of the "categorical imperative".

To sum up ... when we say you need living faith, we do not mean credulity. We do not mean intellectual laziness. We do not mean cynical skepticism either. We mean the willingness to commit - in your own minds - to the highest truth that you know, to commit in the sense of living it and not merely thinking about it, putting it into practice in your lives.

Always remember that you can be dead right about the facts and altogether wrong about the truth. Let your interpretation of the facts be guided by your Indwelling Divine Fragment and then your interpretation will expand and grow and become more and more unified and satisfying. I have completed my comments. I would request that Klarixiska lead in us in prayer to close our meeting.

Klarixiska: Eternal Father, we do thank You that You have made us as we are. We thank You that You do not ask us to be fools for You but rather that we might be intelligent, capable people that know how to discern that which is Your reality. Help us to be followers of truth, beauty, and goodness no matter the path it might take. We know that those three things should define our lives and should define how we relate to our brothers and sisters. Give us hope. Give us help as we wait for Your instruction. Help us to ask of You and then to listen and not act until we do. May Light and Life come to this planet with this realization as we teachers and our students, one by one, live Your love.
In Michael's name. Amen.
***

Inspiration comes from the Northern Colorado TeaM, in the June 21, 2002 session with T/r:Daniel Raphael.
Light and Life CREATING A BRAVE NEW WORLD

RAYSON: We gather many of our lessons from practical events that are occurring in your society and your communities and your families, your home, as you speak with others, as you read your newspapers, as you shake your head and think, "this could be better," or, "this is wonderful." And tonight, we will discuss the aspect of teaching ethics, social ethics. This is the infrastructure of moral and ethical belief.

In your communications infrastructure of a community, you would have fiber optics, you would have copper wires and you would have microwaves for your cell phones, television cabling and things like that. You would have a supply of water for each house, you would have garbage disposal, highways, streets, public lighting, ambulance services, fire services, police services, things of that sort that hold the community together functionally, operationally, at the material level. Yet, a society with all these things, even advanced technologies in the neighborhood, will all be for naught, if the infrastructure of belief and ethics and morality is not present.

We have spoken to you briefly about this in the past, and we are not on a pulpit, we are not preaching, we are not giving you the "thou shalts," or the "thou shouldst," or the "you shouldn'ts," but simply giving you the dictums for a long-term society, a society filled with thousands of communities and neighbor-hoods and families that survive intact, rather than falling apart due to lack of internal fortitude on the part of the individual.

Once again, the foundation for ethical conduct and indoctrination is in the family, in the home, where the parents are. And that is why parents must learn and have within themselves, the basic core of ethical conduct as a part of their behaviors intrinsic to them on a moment-to-moment, minute to minute basis, that is part of their thinking, part of their words and part of their behavior, that it finds expression each moment in that person through those three media.

In a procreative family that is raising children, it is very important that parents take a directive approach towards indoctrinating ethics, and social conduct in their children. I know that you are aware that your older generations, the ones even that Daniel and the older members of our group were raised in, that you were raised with "shoulds" and "should oughtas" and "should nots" and "thou shalt nots"-those rules which were just given to you to obey. But more is required of parents today of their children, for these children that are coming into your world now, are most enlightened, and most willing to accept these ethical instructions, easily, and to incorporate them willingly.

Oh yes, we know that there is a difference between individuals and even between the genders of children, but this nurturing ground of ethical, social conduct in the home will be ingrained in these children, (even children who are resistant,) to the point where they will be able to choose accordingly, when they are adults. When parents do not share these guidelines, rules of ethical, social conduct, then the children are left without inner guidance. This is the basis of the "social conscience," what is right and what is wrong.

And in today's society, this culture across the world, whether in technologically advanced nations such as this, or in less technologically advanced nations, children are coming into the world who are ready to receive these instructions. The individualism of this society offers a disparate position for the child, for they do not know what may be right or what may be wrong, and most importantly, they would not know "why" of the difference, whereas in older generations you were taught, "obey these things," "do as I say," and you did (or you didn't, and you were punished.) Children today, are easily accepting of explanations of why they must do something and why they must not do something.

I have spoken in generalities about ethical conduct and that is the nature of the discussion tonight. I am not offering you a textbook of this instruction, though one must be prepared soon for advanced families, with children who are enlightened. Social conduct that is productive has inherent in it an "ethical backbone" that gives it strength to endure many ups and downs of social change. When this is absent, your society, a society, will lose its form and will not be able to hold itself erect and move forward in time. It will become dis-eased, morally and ethically.

It would be easy to point out many ethical breaches in your society today. Your society is particularly having trouble, difficulty, dealing with financial matters at this time, whether it is corporate accounting, whether it is corporate profits, whether it is hiding expenses, whether it is spending too much money in the household, or in the nation, of having material goods to "look good" when these goods cannot be paid for, when one of the parents goes to work because they feel they have to live in a certain neighborhood and that their children go to certain schools, where it might be most productive if the parent stayed home to raise the children and be there when they came home from school to help guide them during the waking hours and prepare them for the sleeping hours, reading them bedtime stories of ethical/moral natures. Aesop's Fables certainly were good, very simple. They weren't "Game Boy," were they? No, they were very simple, and with these children today, it's not enough just to read the story and say good night, but to have a time of inquiry of examination of those simple stories. What is the moral of the story? Can you remember or see in your mind the pictures of some of those characters in those stories, such as, "The Crow and the Fox," and many more?

A society's ability to endure, to move forward as a whole is only as capable as its individuals are morally and ethically able to sustain that. There is a time to teach children to be rugged and individual, but there is a time to teach children to be nurturing and caring and cooperative and supporting of their fellows, of each other. Not everyone is strong and capable of being alone and surviving and doing well. Being strong does not mean making others look small, for the truly strong are those who are like your Creator, Michael, when he came here as Jesus. You know that he was a strong individual and he was able to say, "No, not this way; there is another way." Strength does not emanate from the ability to be calloused, cold, but to be true to character, to be ethical, moral, to exude an inner strength of rightness, rightness that endures, not rightness by position, religious position or political position, but from the interest of others, for the strong need others to lead, and those who are less strong, need leaders who are strong, to lead them well. What are the ethics of successful leadership? How does one sustain successful leadership? How does one sustain successful parenting? How is one to be an ethical parent? And it is not only deciding for yourself what is right, it is not only deciding what is right for your child, but it is also teaching your child to know and to behave and to think in right terms. It is one thing to be "righteous;" it is quite another to be "self-righteous." Right living is always successful. It does not jeopardize the individual or others, but upholds self and upholds the self of others.
***

ENCOURAGEMENT
N. Idaho TeaM August 11, 2002 T/r: Jonathan

ELYON: Dear friends, this is Elyon. I greet you with love. I am here to encourage, to provide support. I wish to say a few words on the subject of strength. It is a necessary component in life. Without strength no work, no force, can be exercised. Life continually challenges all organisms by the contrast of ease and difficulty. Were it not for resistance, no organism would struggle, no gains would be made in the building of character and the accumulation of wisdom or even in the health and strength of body.

Heaven is a concept in the human mind of a realm of bliss, peace, and joy. It is true you will experience these elements of the heavenly estate, but you will soon discover that struggle continues, not as an apparent force to thwart your ambitions, but as a counter support to the attainment of your goals, to the development and maturation of your personality. When you mix flour with water you have a mess. As you knead the two together, at first it appears to be quite a jumble, a distortion, a wrenching and tearing. At first the beauty is not seen, yet the struggle yields the necessary combinations and extractions needed to bring about that wonderful loaf of bread. Life, not only biologically but morontially, is full of kneading that yields the spiritual gluten which strengthens you, maintains your composure, your composition, when the fire of testing arrives and when the realities of hardships confront you. You have been in the exercise gym of Michael's teachings for many years. You have developed strength. There is no finish, no final stage wherein you may say, "I am strong", for it is a continual process. Strength is lost if not worked. However, through your studies, through your application of truth as you live, you have developed a spiritual muscle mass, and it is through this mass that you are able to climb, to lift, to ascend. It is our purpose to encourage you to be bold, enduring, and strong. It is likewise our purpose to encourage you to enjoy rest, to worship, to reinvigorate yourselves with that frictionless sense of the Father's presence.

No athlete can endure continual exertion. Periods of repose are required to renew, to build energy sources, stores. This cycle brings about endurance and strength, exertion and rest. So it is with your spiritual pursuits. Life will provide numerous opportunities for exertion; you as a spiritual athlete must also provide opportunities for stillness, for worship, for refreshment. That will develop your character, the strength that the Master exhibited when he stood before Pilate, when he was confronted by the thoughtless soldiers, when he hung from a cross. I extend my compassion, my care and love to each of you and to your loved ones.
***

THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH
S.E. Idaho TeaM 10-18-02

Unknown celestial: Listen to these words from a brother from afar. Shall we pray. 

To Him Who is able to keep you from falling, reach Your hand down to touch the lives of these, our younger brothers and sisters, who, in their immaturity fail to see all that is before them. We seek, oh God of all,Your words of wisdom, Your truths of the universe, Your example of examples, so that we may all one day be before You as personages who have accomplished all that You have set before us. Amen.

TEACHER DANIEL: Greetings, my friends. I am Daniel, your guide, your teacher, your friend, and your companion. Ah, indeed, is the mortal life a struggle on a planet such as this one, despite the fact that it is always an arena of difficulty for all spheres in all realms! You are stalwart students, my friends, for you persist to struggle with words which, while they make sense in your minds, do not always strike a resonant tone in your souls. But you haven't tossed in the towel and turned and left the ring.

You haven't surrendered to the temptation of doubt, discouragement, depression, pessimism, or cynicism. Yes, I know that you are somewhat familiar with these moods, but, I say, you do not submit. You are, indeed, an inspiration to many, not only among your friends and acquaintances, but to many high beings who observe the behavior of this group and others as you strain against the negativity of your culture to press forward and constantly increase your potential by displaying it in actual terms.

You are like a runner who is running the marathon, and instead of slowing down as the miles fly by, you strain harder and continue to improve your time. Thoughts were expressed tonight which made it clear to us that it is hard for you to accept encouragement, at times. Your self appraisal seems to disagree with the words of encouragement which come to you from your teachers and in particular, your Master Teacher, Michael.

It is difficult to swim upstream against the currents which constantly buffet you and sap your strength. Your faith is tested when we tell you things that contradict what you really believe about yourselves. So we are back on familiar ground, my dears. We are back on the ground of the fundamental reality of God's love as a Parent.

All of you, when you are parents, are a reflection in a dim mirror, as it were, of the Parental love of the First Source and Center. But even that dim reflection, the reality of love which you experience as a parent, is powerful and is of the same nature as our great Parent's loving kindness. Think about how you feel toward your children. When they err and make mistakes, is it your first instinct to condemn, to criticize, to sarcastically rebuke them? No, it is not your first instinct. Unfortunately, there have been parents who were not properly parented themselves who continue to share this discouragement mode. But it is not instinctual. It is learned. Your instinctual reaction is to admire your child, to understand that growth and progress inevitably involves making mistakes. Your instinctive reaction is to lift up the little child who has fallen in an attempt to walk and say, "It's okay. You're doing so good. Keep trying. You'll get it." Your instinctive reaction is to be proud when your child masters a milestone, develops a courtesy of manner or begins to show altruistic inclinations as they grow older. Well, I could go on, but you know what I am saying. Our Father and our Mother are great Parents, having the same quality of encouraging love as you experience, only at unimaginably greater intensity and purity.

You hear me say these things, you hear Michael describe his humanity, and yet you hear the conditioning of the culture, which eagerly focuses on the mistakes of other people and makes headlines out of their sins and errors. So I say, my friends, it is like swimming upstream. I know you all desire to love yourselves better. Yes, we all need to love ourselves in the same way that God loves us. Any person who admits to a mistake or even to sin and repents, that is, changes their mind and wants to go in a different direction, is completely supported and encouraged by God and His servants. There is no condemnation for mistakes or even for sin forsaken. None! The only tragedy is the person who does not repent, who does not turn around, going his or her own way into self-oblivion and non-existence.

So, why do you struggle so much with this issue when there is an answer and a method to change your self-appraisal from the shame and guilt, consequent upon the Lucifer Rebellion and Calagastia debacle, to an attitude which is of the same quality as the divine attitude of the Creator of all? Yes, there is a way. In a manner of speaking, it is very simple! It entails "stop listening" and "start listening". "Stop listening" to the negative messages of your culture. Limit your expo-sure to negativity. As much as possible, reduce it.

Challenge, when you have to listen to this sort of thing, challenge the authenticity of the message. Ask yourself, "Is it really true that people are basically evil, born under a racial guilt? Is it really true that most people ..., etc?" Challenge those messages when the balance between good media presentations and negative ones are so heavily in favor of the negativity. Challenge them and ask yourselves whether this is the way most people live: killing others, cheating others, committing all of these acts that have caught the attention of the media.

But most effectively you need to start listening to your Thought Adjuster...and, yes, you can hear. Hearing is at several levels. For some it is just an unconscious impression, a very vague, on the edge of consciousness, sense of the value, beauty, and goodness of some person, situation, some concept. But as you grow spiritually those thoughts become more conscious and whole concepts come through with either visual impressions or possibly word by word communication. I know that it scares some of you to think you could actually hear from your Thought Adjusters. But, after all, that has been our goal with you all along! To be able to hear a teacher is wonderful. But it is no more difficult to learn to hear your Indwelling Mystery Monitor, as I said, at several levels. No more difficult. Your reluctance, if you have it, could be due to the fact that there is always the possibility of fanaticism, of mistaking the voice of God for one's own unconscious mind. Yes, this is a concern. At the same time it should not stop you from listening to the encouraging words. Again, we are talking around the general theme of stillness and where you focus your attention.

When Jesus had difficulties, (which he had virtually all the time), he did not consult with the opinion of the public. Instead, he retired to a private place where he was not disturbed and talked it over with God, his divine Adjuster. He learned that practice early in his childhood and he carried that on throughout his life. It is simply a fact...that if you ask, you shall receive! If you knock, the door will be opened. If you truly desire to do God's will (and I know you all do) then trust that you will get the guidance, however that comes to you, so that you will be doing God's will.

Jesus had so much confidence in people because he had the same mind as God the Father. He had the confidence that a parent has in their child; and when he exuded that supportive confidence to people, they felt it. They knew it! They knew they could do what this man said they could do. They knew his estimate of their ability was more accurate than their own.

I suppose I sound like a coach before a game, trying to pump you up and get you to believe that you can win. Well, if I do, so be it! Only this is not a mere football game. This is reality. We are not "playing" here. We are living. I am not putting medicine into your mouth laced with sugar. (Maybe I am putting medicine into your souls, but it is not artificially sweetened). I tell you the truth. No one who gets up after they fall and keeps on walking is ever criticized, demeaned, or put down. Everyone who strives forward is cheered on by an innumerable host, invisible to your eyes, but nevertheless surrounding you. Haven't you felt at times that you were not alone; that the room was filled with encouragement? At some point, haven't you had that experience?

When the writer of Hebrews [Ed. Note: The New Testament letter of Hebrews] said that we are surrounded by an innumerable host, he meant just what he said. He was right in that regard. You are surrounded by innumerable hosts. This room is filled like an auditorium during a sporting event. The bleachers are crammed! They are all cheering for you, my friends. They know you will win the race. You will become the victors over all the difficulties that you struggle with. I desire to close this time without questions and have you repeat in unison the Serenity Prayer. Let us conclude our meeting.

All:
God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
***

High Lights from the Melchizedek University
PUBLISHERS PAGE

"The TeaM Edition" is a Light and Life Publication dedicated to the spiritual upliftment of the mortals of the realm and the advancement of civilization. It has been especially developed from the format of the transmitting/ receiving relationship between celestial helpers and mortal associates. This process of transmitting/ receiving has been an integral part of our movement. The saga of the Teaching Mission Movement can be reviewed in the pages of the Journal and visited in many of the Teacher Bases established