Changes

==Session==

==Session==

===Opening===

===Opening===

TOMAS:  Good evening, [[friends]] and [[neighbors]].  I am Tomas.  I am glad to be here.  As you might say in your [[culture]], “It is good to see and be seen.”  Social [[intercourse]] takes two and so we have a forum here; indeed, we have a [[party]], a [[dance]] hall in which to [[circulate]] and exchange vows and [[prayers]] and messages which serve to uplift and [[encourage]] you in your daily path. Yes, there are [[frustrations]] along the way.  It is not always easy.  But the important [[thing]] is that you continue to try, that you don’t give up, and so let us commence.

TOMAS:  Good evening, [[friends]] and [[neighbors]].  I am Tomas.  I am glad to be here.  As you might say in your [[culture]], “It is good to see and be seen.”  Social [[intercourse]] takes two and so we have a forum here; indeed, we have a [[party]], a [[dance]] hall in which to [[circulate]] and exchange vows and [[prayers]] and messages which serve to uplift and [[encourage]] you in your daily path. Yes, there are [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frustration frustrations] along the way.  It is not always easy.  But the important [[thing]] is that you continue to try, that you don’t give up, and so let us commence.

 

===Lesson===

===Lesson===

===='''''[[Experiment]]''''', '''''[[Diversity]]'''''====

===='''''[[Experiment]]''''', '''''[[Diversity]]'''''====

Greetings and [[welcome]] to you all again.  I am Tomas, your [[teacher]].  I have [[thought]] that I would like to talk to you about [[experimental]] life stations, just to [[focus]] on the [[concept]].  As you know, those of you who are students of the [[Urantia text]], [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_36#36:2._THE_LIFE_CARRIER_WORLDS every tenth planet is an experimental world].  The others provide [[continuity]] throughout the [[universe]]; they don’t have the [[adventures]] and glitches that you have here that make your life so very rugged and such a [[challenge]].  They have challenges, of course, but not to the extent that you have here [where] there are so many [[variables]] and so many unscheduled [[developments]] -- unscheduled as far as your [[perception]] is concerned although they are of course quite in hand, quite under the [[control]] of those who take care of the living [[laboratories]] of [[time and space]].

Greetings and [[welcome]] to you all again.  I am Tomas, your [[teacher]].  I have [[thought]] that I would like to talk to you about [[experimental]] life stations, just to [[focus]] on the [[concept]].  As you know, those of you who are students of the [[Urantia text]], [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_36#36:2._THE_LIFE_CARRIER_WORLDS every tenth planet is an experimental world].  The others provide [[continuity]] throughout the [[universe]]; they don’t have the [[adventures]] and glitches that you have here that make your life so very rugged and such a [[challenge]].  They have challenges, of course, but not to the extent that you have here [where] there are so many [[variables]] and so many unscheduled [[developments]] -- unscheduled as far as your [[perception]] is concerned although they are of course quite in hand, quite under the [[control]] of those who take care of the living [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laboratory laboratories] of [[time and space]].

   

   

The [[idea]], though, of life [[experimental]] stations, or experimental life stations, whichever way you [[choose]] to consider it, is an [[opportunity]] to [[think]] about the [[flexibility]] that life provides. When you go beyond here, when you leave [[Urantia]] and enter into the greater [[community]] of [[Mansonia]], you will meet with many people who have no [[idea]] what it’s like to be from a [[sphere]] such as this.  The very [[fact]] of your [[experiences]] here, even without the [[rebellion]] and [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_75 the default], would render you [[unique]] and [[different]], but I have some question in my [[mind]] as to whether you truly [[appreciate]] what it is to live in an experiential life station such as [[Urantia]].  

The [[idea]], though, of life [[experimental]] stations, or experimental life stations, whichever way you [[choose]] to consider it, is an [[opportunity]] to [[think]] about the [[flexibility]] that life provides. When you go beyond here, when you leave [[Urantia]] and enter into the greater [[community]] of [[Mansonia]], you will meet with many people who have no [[idea]] what it’s like to be from a [[sphere]] such as this.  The very [[fact]] of your [[experiences]] here, even without the [[Lucifer Rebellion|rebellion]] and [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_75 the default], would render you [[unique]] and [[different]], but I have some question in my [[mind]] as to whether you truly [[appreciate]] what it is to live in an experiential life station such as [[Urantia]].  

   

   

Let’s bring it down to a manageable size so that you might consider it more [[immediately]].  Take your [[society]], for example, your [[global]] society. It is organized into different countries with [[different]] [[governments]], and they handle themselves differently accordingly.  Different [[cultures]] have their ways, their climates, their [[languages]], and each one is its own life [[experimental]] station.  

Let’s bring it down to a manageable size so that you might consider it more [[immediately]].  Take your [[society]], for example, your [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_society global] [[society]]. It is organized into different countries with [[different]] [[governments]], and they handle themselves differently accordingly.  Different [[cultures]] have their ways, their climates, their [[languages]], and each one is its own life [[experimental]] station.  

   

   

Perhaps when you were a child you [[understood]] what your experimental life station was – your [[home]], your [[family]], your [[culture]], your ways.  You were familiar with the foods you ate, how your relatives looked, more or less what they wore, how they smelled, how they [[laughed]], how they talked, how they [[worked]].  And then visiting another [[culture]] might have introduced you to people of a different [[color]], or people who dressed funny/[[strange]] compared to your [[family]].  Perhaps their food smelled [[different]] and strange, foreign/exotic, and you reacted or [[responded]] to that difference.  The same will be true on [[Mansonia]] when you encounter people from other worlds.  And you will have similar reactions and responses.  One of the [[things]] that you can learn now and save yourself and everyone else the trouble later on is to [[recognize]] that there are [[inherent]] [[differences]] at different levels of [[development]] … and for a [[good]] [[reason]].  

Perhaps when you were a child you [[understood]] what your experimental life station was – your [[home]], your [[family]], your [[culture]], your ways.  You were familiar with the foods you ate, how your relatives looked, more or less what they wore, how they smelled, how they [[laughed]], how they talked, how they [[worked]].  And then visiting another [[culture]] might have introduced you to people of a different [[color]], or people who dressed funny/[[strange]] compared to your [[family]].  Perhaps their food smelled [[different]] and strange, foreign/exotic, and you reacted or [[responded]] to that difference.  The same will be true on [[Mansonia]] when you encounter people from other worlds.  And you will have similar reactions and responses.  One of the [[things]] that you can learn now and save yourself and everyone else the trouble later on is to [[recognize]] that there are [[inherent]] [[differences]] at different levels of [[development]] … and for a [[good]] [[reason]].  

Furthermore, in your lifetime you might look back and see that you yourself have enjoyed several different life experimental stations.  As a [[child]] you lived with your [[family]], likely a nuclear family; in college you may have lived in a dormitory; as a newly married couple, you shared [[space]] with your [[wife]]/your [[husband]], and it expanded to include [[children]] -- another experimental life station where you dealt with the vagaries of [[Parenting|child-rearing]]; and perhaps as an elder you find yourself in a nursing home, yet another life experimental station – each one providing [[purpose]] and [[value]], accommodating the needs and the [[temperaments]] of those they serve.

Furthermore, in your lifetime you might look back and see that you yourself have enjoyed several different life experimental stations.  As a [[child]] you lived with your [[family]], likely a nuclear family; in college you may have lived in a dormitory; as a newly married couple, you shared [[space]] with your [[wife]]/your [[husband]], and it expanded to include [[children]] -- another experimental life station where you dealt with the vagaries of [[Parenting|child-rearing]]; and perhaps as an elder you find yourself in a nursing home, yet another life experimental station – each one providing [[purpose]] and [[value]], accommodating the needs and the [[temperaments]] of those they serve.

   

   

I meant to also point out that in your [[culture]] you recognize apartment living as well as residential [[neighborhoods]], [[rural]] environments and [[urban]] communities, and each of these provide their own flavor and their own [[challenges]] and to some extent they are each an experimental life station.  Some people never [[change]] their station.  They just grow up in it and really never move from it.  And there are some who move willingly and eagerly from one to another.  In some ways it could be said that [[Jesus]] did that. He enjoyed going around seeing how other people lived.  He was [[investigating]] their experimental life stations, helping them improve upon it by bringing a new [[dimension]] of [[truth]], [[beauty]] and [[goodness]][http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_56#56:10._TRUTH.2C_BEAUTY.2C_AND_GOODNESS] to that station where people had planted themselves, where they lived.  

I meant to also point out that in your [[culture]] you recognize apartment living as well as residential [[neighborhoods]], [[rural]] environments and [[urban]] communities, and each of these provide their own flavor and their own [[challenges]] and to some extent they are each an experimental life station.  Some people never [[change]] their station.  They just grow up in it and really never move from it.  And there are some who move willingly and eagerly from one to another.  In some ways it could be said that [[Jesus]] did that. He enjoyed going around seeing how other people lived.  He was [[investigating]] their experimental life stations, helping them improve upon it by bringing a new [[dimension]] of [[truth]], [[beauty]] and [[goodness]][https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_56#56:10._TRUTH.2C_BEAUTY.2C_AND_GOODNESS] to that station where people had planted themselves, where they lived.

 

And yet another [[observation]] along this [[concept]] of experimental life stations is to be found within your own [[mind]], in your own [[character]].  Because the way you behave around some people under some circumstances may or may not be the same way you would [[speak]] and [[act]] in yet another experimental life station as [[relationships]] tend to be.  If [[friendships]] are an end in themselves[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_112#112:2._THE_SELF], they too have [[created]] an experimental life station.  And they can be moved in and out of, just as on a bigger [[scale]] you move in and out of neighborhoods or nations and, cosmically speaking, you move around … not [[galaxies]] so much as life stations, [[morontia worlds]] -- hundreds of them -- and later on, other areas and worlds for you to [[explore]].

===='''''[[Change]]''''', '''''[[Goodbye]]'''''====

===='''''[[Change]]''''', '''''[[Goodbye]]'''''====

It is [[difficult]] to let go of an experimental life station once you have adapted to it.  “Breaking up is hard to do.”  Saying [[good-bye]] is never easy.  [[Change]] is difficult.  And yet, it cannot serve to stay forever in one [[paradigm]].  “Welcome to change” is the motto of this [[movement]]. And so, in order to effect [[change]], you need to know what you are trying to build, what you [[hope]] to construct, what you are leaving and what you seek to enter into.  Or, in [[faith]], simply step forth and [[realize]] that one will be provided for you.  Such is always the case.   

It is [[difficult]] to let go of an experimental life station once you have adapted to it.  “Breaking up is hard to do.”  Saying [[good-bye]] is never easy.  [[Change]] is difficult.  And yet, it cannot serve to stay forever in one [[paradigm]].  “Welcome to change” is the motto of this [[movement]]. And so, in order to effect [[change]], you need to know what you are trying to build, what you [[hope]] to construct, what you are leaving and what you seek to enter into.  Or, in [[faith]], simply step forth and [[realize]] that one will be provided for you.  Such is always the case.   

Because you have been reared in an [[environment]] that has reinforced the sense of [[isolation]], your quarantine, you tend to consider yourself an island, an experimental life station out in no-man’s land somewhere, and many of you in your [[fear]] of isolation surround yourself with [[busy-ness]] and [[noise]] and [[activity]] in order to soothe that sense of isolation … while many of you have learned to go within and seek solace and [[Partnership|companionship]] in the [[Thought Adjuster|citadel of the spirit]], the most [[sublime]] of all experimental life stations.  Your [[personal]] [[experiment]] with your own [[God]] [[fragment]] is truly the [[adventure]] of the ages.  It knows you well.  It knows you better than you know yourself and it [[provides]] for you.  It holds your hand as you [[ponder]] the [[things]] of [[Present|today]] and [[reflect]] on those of [[Past|yesterday]] and anticipate that of [[Future|tomorrow]]. You are truly in God’s hands, in His care.

Because you have been reared in an [[environment]] that has reinforced the sense of [[isolation]], your quarantine, you tend to consider yourself an island, an experimental life station out in no-man’s land somewhere, and many of you in your [[fear]] of isolation surround yourself with [[busy-ness]] and [[noise]] and [[activity]] in order to soothe that sense of isolation … while many of you have learned to go within and seek solace and [[Partnership|companionship]] in the [[Thought Adjuster|citadel of the spirit]], the most [[sublime]] of all experimental life stations.  Your [[personal]] [[experiment]] with your own [[God]] [[fragment]] is truly the [[adventure]] of the ages.  It knows you well.  It knows you better than you know yourself and it [[provides]] for you.  It holds your hand as you [[ponder]] the [[things]] of [[Present|today]] and [[reflect]] on those of [[Past|yesterday]] and anticipate that of [[Future|tomorrow]]. You are truly in God’s hands, in His care.

   

   

I [[personalize]] that by saying “his,” using the [[word]] His and using the pronoun and speaking of God as if he were a [[personality]], for He is, but I am comfortable with that.  There are those, too, however, who are more comfortable with God being [[energy]] – [[omniscient]], [[omnipotent]] [[energy]] – and they have found [[peace]] in that, for there is [[order]] in the [[universe]], and so again we come back full [[cycle]], to the [[universe]] filled with [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_49 worlds] that are peppered with experimental life stations, so as to constantly improve upon the existing [[paradigms]] of evolving life.  

I [[personalize]] that by saying “his,” using the [[word]] His and using the pronoun and speaking of God as if he were a [[personality]], for He is, but I am comfortable with that.  There are those, too, however, who are more comfortable with God being [[energy]] – [[omniscient]], [[omnipotent]] [[energy]] – and they have found [[peace]] in that, for there is [[order]] in the [[universe]], and so again we come back full [[cycle]], to the [[universe]] filled with [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_49 worlds] that are peppered with experimental life stations, so as to constantly improve upon the existing [[paradigms]] of evolving life.  

   

   

It’s an interesting [[concept]].  It causes me to admire our [[Creator]] even more for the variety of [[opportunities]] available to those of you who do [[endure]] the [[vagaries]] of life on an experimental life station such as [[Urantia]].  It is not boring here! You don’t really have [[time]] to [[grow]] dull.   

It’s an interesting [[concept]].  It causes me to admire our [[Creator]] even more for the variety of [[opportunities]] available to those of you who do [[endure]] the [[vagaries]] of life on an experimental life station such as [[Urantia]].  It is not boring here! You don’t really have [[time]] to [[grow]] dull.   

Jerry:  And a whole lot of fun.

Jerry:  And a whole lot of fun.

   

   

TOMAS:  Indeed it is a lot of fun.  It is not only amusing but it is [[gratifying]].  It is not only [[singularly]] [[joyous]], it is socially vitalizing. Sharing the [[inner life]][http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Doing_the_will_of_God] could be called “fun.”  It is certainly, I would [[suspect]], fun for our [[Parents]] to [[observe]] us engaged in [[work]] and [[play]] [[harmoniously]].  I have not been sent to the corner lately so I expect I am doing something right in their eyes.

TOMAS:  Indeed it is a lot of fun.  It is not only amusing but it is [[gratifying]].  It is not only [[singularly]] [[joyous]], it is socially vitalizing. Sharing the [[inner life]][https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Doing_the_will_of_God] could be called “fun.”  It is certainly, I would [[suspect]], fun for our [[Parents]] to [[observe]] us engaged in [[work]] and [[play]] [[harmoniously]].  I have not been sent to the corner lately so I expect I am doing something right in their eyes.

   

   

Jerry:  If I know myself when I seek to ask of [[Michael]] or [[Mother Spirit]], the answer I get back is affirmation of “Do what you think best, my son.”

Jerry:  If I know myself when I seek to ask of [[Michael]] or [[Mother Spirit]], the answer I get back is affirmation of “Do what you think best, my son.”

   

   

TOMAS:  Well, that is how you learn.  That does  not mean that what you are going to do is [[wise]] or even right, but that is how you will learn, and there is really [[virtually]] nothing you can do that will damage the plan.  There are fortunately build-in [[limitations]] so you cannot go too far, and furthermore it has been [[promised]] that you shall not have any more [[rebellions]] now that [[Michael]] is our [[Master Son]], and so no matter how dire it may seem, it is not as bad as it could be.

TOMAS:  Well, that is how you learn.  That does  not mean that what you are going to do is [[wise]] or even right, but that is how you will learn, and there is really [[virtually]] nothing you can do that will damage the plan.  There are fortunately build-in [[limitations]] so you cannot go too far, and furthermore it has been [[promised]] that you shall not have any more [[rebellions]] now that [[Michael]] is our [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_21#21:5._RELATION_OF_MASTER_SONS_TO_THE_UNIVERSE Master Son], and so no matter how dire it may seem, it is not as bad as it could be.

   

   

Yes, go ahead and [[enjoy]] yourself.  By this [[time]] you have some [[degree]] of [[wisdom]] to know when you have gone too far into recklessness or self-destructiveness and wouldn’t [[choose]] to go there.  This is how it is that we can have such [[faith]] in you.  Still, it is only fair to say that there are casualties.  And yet we do [[proceed]] in [[good]] [[faith]].

Yes, go ahead and [[enjoy]] yourself.  By this [[time]] you have some [[degree]] of [[wisdom]] to know when you have gone too far into recklessness or self-destructiveness and wouldn’t [[choose]] to go there.  This is how it is that we can have such [[faith]] in you.  Still, it is only fair to say that there are casualties.  And yet we do [[proceed]] in [[good]] [[faith]].

Mike:  Thirty-one.

Mike:  Thirty-one.

===='''''[[Opportunity]]'''''====

===='''''[[Opportunity]]'''''====

TOMAS:  Yes.  You have a tremendous [[future]] ahead of you here … for yourself and for those you will impact.  You have an [[opportunity]] to be a hero.  And I say this fully [[understanding]] that you think in terms of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman Superman] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiderman Spiderman] or one of those superheroes when I mention hero, or even [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses Ulysses], but really I mean the kind of hero who will stand up and [[represent]] what is right, not what is popular, who will do the right thing by [[women]] and [[children]] and his fellow-men, even if it is not going to put [[money]] in his pocket or earn him an award.  These are the heroes that are needed for the [[work]] about to commence … and in some cases, already having commenced.

TOMAS:  Yes.  You have a tremendous [[future]] ahead of you here … for yourself and for those you will impact.  You have an [[opportunity]] to be a hero.  And I say this fully [[understanding]] that you think in terms of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman Superman] or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiderman Spiderman] or one of those superheroes when I mention hero, or even [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus Ulysses], but really I mean the kind of hero who will stand up and [[represent]] what is right, not what is popular, who will do the right thing by [[women]] and [[children]] and his fellow-men, even if it is not going to put [[money]] in his pocket or earn him an award.  These are the heroes that are needed for the [[work]] about to commence … and in some cases, already having commenced.

   

   

Mike:  Well, thank you very much for that. That is incredibly [[inspirational]] to me, and it helps to boost my [[confidence]] in my own abilities to do just that.  That has definitely been on my mind as well.  Just to [[do the Father’s will]].

Mike:  Well, thank you very much for that. That is incredibly [[inspirational]] to me, and it helps to boost my [[confidence]] in my own abilities to do just that.  That has definitely been on my mind as well.  Just to [[do the Father’s will]].

   

   

TOMAS:  That’s right, and to be the best that you can be, [[understanding]] that you will make mistakes but you will [[learn]] from them, and no matter what, it will not be so off-the-wall as to not be useful.  “The act is ours; the consequences God’s.”[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_48#48:7._MORONTIA_MOTA]

TOMAS:  That’s right, and to be the best that you can be, [[understanding]] that you will make mistakes but you will [[learn]] from them, and no matter what, it will not be so off-the-wall as to not be useful.  “The act is ours; the consequences God’s.”[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_48#48:7._MORONTIA_MOTA]

   

   

Mike:  Well, I thank you from the bottom of my [[heart]] for your [[words]] as a reminder to me because you know, we all have to keep reminding ourselves.

Mike:  Well, I thank you from the bottom of my [[heart]] for your [[words]] as a reminder to me because you know, we all have to keep reminding ourselves.

Mike:  In times of [[difficulty]], especially, and I thank you very much, Tomas.

Mike:  In times of [[difficulty]], especially, and I thank you very much, Tomas.

   

   

TOMAS: You are welcome, Mike.  And I would like to add that in a construct of the kingdom such as this world will become when it [[matures]] as an experimental life station, you will find much [[encouragement]] and [[support]] and camaraderie from and with your [[peers]].  Right now there seems to be a tremendous amount of vying for position and much of the old competitive paradigm is still imbedded in your [[collective]] [[consciousness]] [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Collective_unconscious], but this is passing away, and an era of [[cooperation]] and mutual [[support]] is on the [[horizon]].  Not a negative support, not as in ‘enabling’ or ‘rescuing’ or ‘coddling’ but in real support: in speaking man-top-man, working shoulder-to-shoulder, loving face-to-face.  This is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit_(novel) true grit].  This is the real fun.  This is the kind of stuff that makes your [[soul]] smile.

TOMAS: You are welcome, Mike.  And I would like to add that in a construct of the kingdom such as this world will become when it [[matures]] as an experimental life station, you will find much [[encouragement]] and [[support]] and camaraderie from and with your [[peers]].  Right now there seems to be a tremendous amount of vying for position and much of the old competitive paradigm is still imbedded in your [[collective]] [[consciousness]] [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Collective_unconscious], but this is passing away, and an era of [[cooperation]] and mutual [[support]] is on the [[horizon]].  Not a negative support, not as in ‘enabling’ or ‘rescuing’ or ‘coddling’ but in real support: in speaking man-top-man, working shoulder-to-shoulder, loving face-to-face.  This is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit_(novel) true grit].  This is the real fun.  This is the kind of stuff that makes your [[soul]] smile.

 

===Closing===

===Closing===

We are indeed coming up at the end of our hour, the hour that was extended because of the delay getting started, but I will pause for one more [[opportunity]] to [[share]] if there is what you might call a “burning [[desire]]” [Pause] In that case, my [[friends]], I will close the session with my [[thanks]] and the thanks of my [[TR|T/R]] for being here and sharing this [[liaison]] [[experience]], this experimental life station that we have created and enjoyed this evening.  Go in [[peace]].  [[Amen]] and farewell.   

We are indeed coming up at the end of our hour, the hour that was extended because of the delay getting started, but I will pause for one more [[opportunity]] to [[share]] if there is what you might call a “burning [[desire]]” [Pause] In that case, my [[friends]], I will close the session with my [[thanks]] and the thanks of my [[TR|T/R]] for being here and sharing this [[liaison]] [[experience]], this experimental life station that we have created and enjoyed this evening.  Go in [[peace]].  [[Amen]] and farewell.