View source for 1995-03-31-Limits

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==Heading==
===Topic: '''''Limits'''''===
===Group: [[Pocatello TeaM]]===
==Facilitators==
===Teacher: [[Daniel]], [[Tomas]]===
===TR: [[Rutha]], [[Gerdean]]===
==Session==
===Opening=== 
Opening prayer

DANIEL: (TR#4): 	Greetings friends, I am Daniel. I am most joyed to greet you this [[beautiful]] day, [[spring]] upon [[Urantia]]. Just as the [[natural]] world has its seasons, has its [[ebbs and its flows]], has its [[cycles]] of [[renewal]], and decline and renewal, so do your lives. The good news is that you can be [[assured]] that cycles of decline will forever be followed by cycles of newness, of new [[growth]], of new [[opportunity]]. 
===Lesson===
My [[friends]] I know your lives have been varied. However I would say that the overall [[Tone|tenor]] this week has been one of [[introspection]] and [[questioning]]. When one is in a place of questioning and introspection, it is not always comfortable; but from this, is the [[promise]] of much newness, great strides -- [[love]] and joy abounding. Always you end up in a higher place than where you were before so that when, again, life moves through its cycle with a new time of questioning and drawing within, of [[feeling]] the discomfort of [[growth]] occurring, you are not where you were before but have [[progressed]].
===='''''[[Limitations]]'''''====
My friends, know that you are [[human]], and when I say know I mean that in several ways. Think of it [[intellectually]]. What does it mean to be a [[human being]]? What does it mean to be a [[material]] being? It means that you are subject to material [[law]]. You cannot break free of these laws.  You cannot circumvent them. You cannot move outside of them. You are [[mortal]]. And I would ask you to know this in another way in the sense of [[accepting]] your mortality, accepting your humanness, accepting your limitedness. And this is what Tomas and I desire to [[discuss]] with you tonight.  [[Limits]]. 

You see, some [[limits]] are in [[fact]] real, some limits have their [[existence]] in the [[material]] world, in the laws of [[nature]], while many limits are self-imposed limits.  The great -- (the [[word]] the T/[[R]] and I keep coming up with -- We are searching for the right word and not connecting so we will go forward in PamElla's somewhat slang language) -- the great trick to [[life]] then is to learn to distinguish between [[limits]] that are self-imposed and limits that are real, for one can [[err]] in either [[direction]].

It is error to limit oneself, to say, No, I cannot do that!  No, that would never work for me!  No, the world is against me; that is not possible!  No, I will not even try, as I may be hurt, etc., etc., etc.   Those are [[self]]-imposed [[limits]] that limit your [[experience]] of life, that limit your [[joy]] of life, that limit your [[knowledge]] of [[God]] and limit God in God's [[desire]] to give, [[nurture]] and love you. God knows you as His/Her most precious children and has every [[desire]] for your great [[happiness]], for your material [[comfort]], for your [[physical]], [[spiritual]], [[mindal]] well being, but God is limited by your [[free will]] because God has so chosen to give you the gift of free will.

You may use this free will to build [[barriers]] around yourselves, to [[isolate]] yourselves, to stop [[goodness]] from [[flowing]] in, to stop material wellbeing from flowing in, etc. Or you may use this free will to turn your will over to God's will and allow God to [[love]] and give to you, particularly in [[spiritual]] and [[emotional]] [[support]]. For you see, no matter what your material circumstances are if you do not limit God's nurturance, God's [[support]], God's love and all of God's [[administration]], all the support, all the love, all the nurturance that one could ever [[desire]] is there. Also does God work through your [[brothers and sisters]] and also will you find brothers and sisters available and there for you if you do not impose limits.

To go in the other [[extreme]] is also error. To [[believe]] that somehow this mortal [[existence]] is complete [[illusion]] and that you are somehow [[separate]] from it, above it, or can [[transcend]] it is error! You are [[mortal]] [[beings]]. You, this group, are toddlers in your [[spiritual growth]], in your existence you are [[infants]], you are newborns; and so it is error to believe that you are somehow the equivalent of [[God]]. You are definitely part of the [[I AM]]. You are definitely within God, an [[expression]] of God, but you are not the Creator. God is the Creator. You are the offspring.

And friends, how [[wonderful]] to be the offspring of God, to be God's precious [[children]]! It means that you can let go of [[control]]! You can quit trying so hard to manage things, to make them work, to feel overwhelmed by the [[magnitude]] of the [[problems]] that you see and [[experience]]. You can allow the lightness of allowing God to be God and you to be the [[infant]]. When you were the infant you did not worry about how to fix the world. You did what infants do. You sought nurturance; you sought sustenance. And in that you were fed, you were loved and you were taken care of. And if you can recognize yourselves as infants and turn to [[the Source]] of sustenance you will be fed, you will be nourished, will be at [[peace]].

Of course there are the [[social]] [[problems]] that you will play a role in addressing. But you most successfully address them not by taking over God's job but by recognizing your place in [[the universe]] and coming into [[alignment]] with God's will and letting God work through you. It is not your job to save the world no matter how you define that world, from the very small to the very large! It is just your job to know God, to look for sustenance, to follow that [[guidance]] on a daily basis. How much easier that is! What a relief! You can let the [[burden]] slip from your shoulders. You can let the weight slip from you [[heart]].

So this week I, Daniel, ask you to think about your [[limits]]. What are your true limits and what are the limits that you impose on yourself and for yourself, [[self]] imposed limits? Free yourself of taking on what is not yours. Come into [[oneness]] with our Grand Parent, with our [[First Source and Center]], with our Father/Brother [[Michael]], with our Mother/Sister [[Nebadonia]]. Tomas?

TOMAS: (TR#2): 	Good evening. I am Tomas and I have naught to add to Daniel's [[intriguing]] [[words]] except to say that what has [[transpired]] is that we have an [[analogy]], a [[parallel]] of toddlers in a [[crib]]. A toddler in a crib is confined, is limited by the bars of the crib, which encloses, enfolds, [[protects]] and [[comforts]] it, where all its needs are supplied.  How often you erect walls of your own crib through your [[imaginings]]. You find yourself [[imprisoned]] in the limitations of your [[perceptions]].

Remember also that there is tremendous [[freedom]] within a given [[limitation]], that within, for example, the [[fidelity]] aspects of [[marriage]] the realm of [[mating]] is no longer an [[immediate]] or [[social]] concern providing thus the [[freedom]] to be engaged in the unique trappings of the [[relationship]]. The [[security]] of lifestyles, jobs, careers, addresses, [[neighborhoods]], national roots, these all provide certain comfortable yet constraining restrictions.

How these limitations of [[perception]] affect your doings is a matter for your review as Daniel has indicated. How, in your [[environment]] are your limitations imposed by [[culture]], by [[economics]], by [[tradition]], by your own choosing? How often are you in a position to [[lament]] the limitations which you yourself have established? The release from restriction limitation is to be had in [[appreciation]] for your own [[ascension]] wherein your cycles of [[growth]], your ongoing upswing of [[energy]] is without limitation in terms of [[eternity]] where you may bask in as much [[spirit]] reality as you are capable of experiencing and handling. In your crib, in your [[nursery]] the limitations of your [[human condition]] are not to be decried but to be [[appreciated]] -- for the pillow.

It is [true] in the long view, [[limits]] is a nearly limitless [[discourse]]! Many [[facets]] abound and yet it is constructive to behold how you limit yourself, how you [[perceive]] others limit you and what limits are good and which are evil. My cohort and I open the floor for any [[questions]] you might have, barring limitations of [[shyness]]. [Long pause] Please do not limit yourself in addressing [[the teachers]]. Although there is of course a [[topic]], it is not our intention to constrain you to the topic at hand. Any offering of your searching [[minds]] is desirous.
===Dialogue===
===='''''[[Discernment]]'''''====
Isaac: 		Greetings, Daniel and Tomas.  This is Isaac.  Thank you for the topic tonight. I think my [[silence]] has been because I am [[meditating]] on how significant this very issue has been in [[our planetary history]]. If I [[understand]] the [[Lucifer Rebellion]] correctly it was Lucifer's misunderstanding of his [[limits]] as a Son of God that led to his expansion of [[pride]] and the whole disastrous [[idea]] of unbridled [[personal]] [[liberty]], where his limits and anyone else's limits, as he taught it, were virtually unrestrained. And this has led to a total [[collision]] with the limits of other people's [[freedoms]] and [[rights]]. 

And then I think about the [[fact]] that [[Adam and Eve]] chose a [[method]] that was contrary to the instructions that they had from the [[Melchizedeks]]. They did not abide by the limits that they were given and the result of that was [[Paper 75 - The Default of Adam and Eve|default]]. So I say my [[silence]] has been just [[pondering]] the [[magnitude]] of the importance of this issue. I personally don't have a question that you can answer for me -- well, I guess I do have a question. I think I will have to find the answer as we each will, and that is, where is the dividing line between the [[self]]-imposed [[limits]] and the true limits? And how do we [[discover]] that?  I guess that would be my question.  Thank you.

DANIEL:	Yes, Isaac, thank you for your comments. Indeed, do the misunderstanding and the [[purposeful]] disregard of limits lead to disaster and [[default]] in global terms. And, yes, as one looks at their own lives, I think you will discover these same [[patterns]] of disaster and default when you or others have disregarded limits or have not [[respected]] or even been [[aware]] of the limits of others. Yes. And such is also true of the reverse; to impose limits where they do not exist also leads to disaster and default. 

In addressing this question of which limits are [[self]] imposed and which limits are real, I suggest that you personally spend time in [[the silence]]; in addition, realize that this is not an easy [[answer]], for in the realms of [[science]] and [[metaphysics]] even now are such issues being addressed.  Much that science deemed to be real limits, [[metaphysics]] is discovering are not true limits. Take for example the work of Native America [[shamans]] and eastern [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogis yogis]. They perform many feats that are considered by science to be impossible from science's view of [[limits]]. What I would suggest to you, however, is that indeed there are limits set by [[material]] law. As [[science]] and [[metaphysics]] come together you will have greater [[understanding]] of what those true limits are. But from that side of knowing where true limits exist, I would suggest you begin with the notion that you are [[mortal]] beings, that you are [[infants]] in the entirety of time; and that you consider what it means to be a mortal being when you look for your limits.

On the other side I would suggest that you [[examine]] your [[belief]] structures whenever you find yourselves feeling discouraged, negative, despairing, and etc., and see if it is not, in [[fact]], a belief that is limiting you and not a [[material]] [[law]]. My friends, as you undertake this examination I suspect that you will begin to [[understand]] that many limits are [[self]] imposed; and by examining the other side you will understand more what it means to be mortal beings, to be material and [[divine]].  Isaac, does help in any way?

Isaac: 		Yes. I think you have provoked, in addition to what you actually said, further [[thought]] in my [[mind]] about this whole issue. Yes, it is most thought provoking and I will be thinking about this the rest of the week. And I guess that is what you want us to do. So, thank you, Daniel. I [[appreciate]] that.

DANIEL:	You are welcome, Isaac. 

TOMAS:  	I would ask you all a question. In considering [[limits]], consider whether or not you regard limitation itself as [[negative]] or [[positive]]. Your [[discourse]] earlier indicated a general not being inclined to talk often with your teachers. On the other hand there were remarks about a human mortal doing deeds based on motives and intent. Now let me ask you -- to what extent do you [[feel]] that the effects of the [[Lucifer Rebellion]] are still influencing your own [[appreciation]] of your [[limitations]]? If, in fact, [[Lucifer manifesto|the Manifesto]] spoke of unbridled [[liberty]] then with good [[intentions]] and well rationalized [[motives]] it would seem that liberty can continue indefinitely unless restriction / limitation is placed upon some aspects of your [[thinking]] processes and subsequent [[behaviors]].

Rutha:	Thank you, Tomas. What the lesson was on tonight was quite, appropriate for me for what I had been [[thinking]] about the last couple of days is in regard to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II the Pope] coming out with his encyclical on [[abortion]] and [[euthanasia]] and all of those kinds of [[moral]] issues. This is exactly what you are saying. He is placing [[limitations]]. But I guess what I found myself [doing was] going back and [[feeling]] very [[guilty]], the Catholic religion being my history. I really feel deeply about certain issues but I really feel that people do need pro-choice in all areas.  And it really upset me that he came out this week so against all of these things with so many [[tragedies]] occurring across the globe with [[children]] who are not being taken care of and for him to sit there-- Well, I'm not going to get off on that -- but what I am saying is-- 

At what point do we as people know what is really right and where do we set those [[limitations]]; and where does just plain [[guilt]] for what somebody else has imposed play a part? I really found myself [[vacillating]] back and forth feeling [[guilty]] and badly, and then I -- It's all tied in with a lot of things. And then I saw the [https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117902170?refCatId=32 Life and Times of Jesus on the Learning Channel] last night and here again they were talking about maybe he wasn't even the [[Creator Son|Son of God]], and they had all these different [[viewpoints]]. And I just found myself being very [[confused]] and feeling very limited in my understanding of everything! It seems like, sometimes the more you understand through [[science]] and [[metaphysics]] the more confusing it can become then! I don't know! I just-- I don't know; what's happening but I just feel very confused and in this confusion I am [[feeling]] a lot of limits which I thought had been lifted. And now I seem to be under a real ceiling with a lot of limits! So -- I don't know if that's a question, it's just what is happening with me right now. Anyway I will keep working on, [[thinking]] about it.

TOMAS:	My dear friend, your [[question]] is, as usual, felt deeply, [[thought]] provoking for not only yourself but others.  Your [[selfless]] inquiries benefit many.  Your [[quandary]] here is not necessarily one of [[limitation]] but one of [[loyalty]].  For who among us does not seek an [[authority]] that will tell us how to feel within the certain limitations which are imposed.  How now to answer the question 'who is imposing a limitation?' and for what [[purpose]]. 

Your question is [[social]] and therefore [[political]]. The issue is one in which the evolving [[races]] at this time are [[engaged]] in heated [[battle]]. The points and counterpoints are being reviewed ad infinitum and only when the subject is [[saturated]] will [[truth]] begin to slowly emerge. [It] will not come from any [[authority]] but the authority of those [[individuals]] who must make those [[existential]] [[decisions]] in the deep corners of their own [[soul]]. [[Rest]] your [[mind]], child, as to these social issues except to continue to scratch the many layers of [[belief]] systems, [[noble]] loyalties, and inheritance to find that core of [[truth]] which speaks to you in your ongoing [[relationship]] with your indwelling all wise [[God Fragment]]. 

It is an [[evolutionary]] issue, an [[exciting]] issue which will [[unfold]] in its due [[course]]. It is not a limitation for you, truly. Do not limit your [[appreciation]] for what this [[phase]] of planetary [[evolution]] is [[representing]].  The plight of your world, [[Urantia]], is dependent upon those [[decisions]] which will provide the best [[soil]] in which to plant the [[seeds]] of [[civilization]], and indeed, human beings. The solution is unfolding. Be it peace.

Rutha:	Thank you, Tomas. Those last words you said are very reassuring because this is what Daniel had said to me about the solution being [[unfolding]]. That is very helpful in a time when one begins to [[question]] all aspects of [[faith]]. I appreciate that. I [[appreciate]] both you and Daniel; you know that, very much. Thank you.

Leetah:	I have been in and out tonight, Daniel and Tomas, but I think I have followed the [[sequence]] of what has been asked. I think that this very issue is the thing I have been dwelling on this week. An [[expression]] from my [[childhood]] comes to [[mind]], 'the way to [[hell]] is paved with good [[motives]]'. I think on both sides of this issue there are people who have the good motive that they would swear to and yet to try to sort out the ends and get there with a good [[path]] is a very [[difficult]] thing. So I appreciate so much the comments that have been made. 

The comment that you made about the solution is [[unfolding]] reminds me of something that was said last Saturday in the video we saw, 'A [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_hole White Hole] in Time' -- that [[human beings]] are indeed looking inward, and I see unfolding everywhere if we have our eyes open and we are [[positive]]. I was reminded of a comment that Janet made in that she said that in the [[healing]] [[process]] sometimes the patient gets much worse just before healing begins or completes itself. We see such continuation, it seems, of [[error]] and [[sin]]; and yet we hear the [[promise]] that the [[evolution]] is happening, that the solution is unfolding. I just thank you for these [[encouraging]] words! 

DANIEL:	Leetah, I will answer that. You are, of course, most welcome. And might I add, my dear, that your musing upon [[motive]] will pay off; and yes, you have brought forth a significant [[point]] that -- as is always the case with [[social]]/[[political]] issues -- people on both sides of an issue have good [[motives]], desire what is right, desire what is [[good]]. But what I would have you think about is that one or the other does not have to be right. Part of the limitations of [[this planet]] is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_thinking simplistic thinking]: right /wrong, black/white, red/green. And this in itself can lock solutions to social/political problems. 

It is only in opening up, seeking for [[guidance]], seeking for higher [[understanding]], opening up to the possibility of one's understanding of an issue not being complete, by both sides, that solutions can be had. So, [[friends]], as you [[think]] about social/political situations I ask you to look beyond one side or the other. Find what is worthwhile in both [[positions]]. I [[assure]] you that most always neither one nor the other is correct. An understanding that is in greater [[alignment]] with God's will, will be round as [[evolution]] takes place, as understandings evolve. 

I/we, apologize for the stilted [[commentary]]. Our [[TR]] is nervous in being the mouthpiece for answering [[questions]], particularly questions from a [[family]] member.  Tomas, do you have further words on this matter?

TOMAS:	Thank you. Certainly. I have chewed upon the [[reference]] to [[motives]] and your [[behavior]]. It has been brought up more than once recently. I have [[reflected]] upon the aspect of [[decision]]-making from a genuine [[belief]] that any decision is going to be [[experiential]]. You are human. The [[path]] to [[perfection]] is strewn with petals of imperfect decisions yet the path is clearly that which you want to follow. It is not often that toddlers are in a position to so [[profoundly]] [[impact]] the [[course]] of planetary [[destiny]] that you should worry. Your level of decision-making is, of course, the crux of your endeavors.  But do not [[lament]] that you have not all the answers or all see [[visions]]. Even in your [[appreciation]] for devotedly [[doing His will]], there are so many [[considerations]], colorations, [and/or] ramifications that your [[motives]] and [[intentions]] are taken acutely into [[consideration]]. Indeed the [[celestial hosts]] act upon your [[decisions]], even those which are less than [[ideal]]. Therefore, appreciate that it is [[understood]] that you are limited by fetters of imperfection and that your striving for [[perfection]] is the grand trick. 

I have no further [[commentary]], but I will take the [[opportunity]] to convey again my deep [[commitment]] to you all and to [[this mission]] which we hold dear, which is activated and [[accelerating]] at an incredible yet uncharted [[pace]].
===Closing===
DANIEL:	Thank you Tomas. And now [[friends]], that time of the evening has come in which we open our [[hearts]] wide that you may get the full benefit of the [[love]] that we [[bestow]] upon you. Yes, thank you. Remove your [[limits]] that block your [[experience]] of our [[love]] for you. Love is tangible. If you remove the [[limits]] you will know this. And so, friends, this week consider your limits. I am your [[friend]], [[guide]], and teacher, Daniel, wishing you farewell. Good evening.

[[Category: The Teaching Mission: Dialogues]]
[[Category: Pocatello TeaM]]
[[Category: Daniel]]
[[Category: Tomas]]
[[Category: Rutha]]
[[Category: Gerdean]]
[[Category: Limitations]]
[[Category: Discernment]]
[[Category: 1995]]