Difference between revisions of "1998-11-05-Balanced Personality"

From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to search
(One intermediate revision by the same user not shown)
Line 8: Line 8:
 
==Session==
 
==Session==
 
===Opening===
 
===Opening===
TOMAS: Good evening, Ambassadors. I am your friend, Tomas.
+
TOMAS: Good evening, [[Ambassadors]]. I am your friend, Tomas.
  
 
GROUP: Good evening, Tomas.
 
GROUP: Good evening, Tomas.
 
===Lesson===
 
===Lesson===
TOMAS: I appreciate the attention you focus on what is important, and what is important is adaptable from one moment to the next depending upon the given needs of the moment, as you find it in your arena, your environment, in your service to your fellow men in your daily life. I also appreciate it when you recognize in yourself a call to order in and through the authority of Our Father whose spirit speaks and you listen. This is a phenomenon of the spirit reality, that when you are sensitive to divinity, you WILL hear its call and respond when it calls to you to respond.
+
===='''''[[Balance]]'''''====
 +
TOMAS: I [[appreciate]] the [[attention]] you [[focus]] on what is important, and what is important is [[adaptable]] from one moment to the next depending upon the given needs of the moment, as you find it in your arena, your environment, in your [[service]] to your fellow men in your daily life. I also appreciate it when you [[recognize]] in yourself a call to order in and through the [[authority]] of [[Our Father]] [[Ta|whose spirit]] speaks and you [[listen]]. This is a [[phenomenon]] of the spirit [[reality]], that when you are [[sensitive]] to [[divinity]], you WILL hear its call and respond when it calls to you to respond.
  
In your sharing this evening, Leah, you told of a spiritual experience you had when you lay on the green grass of the coast, hearing the surf in one ear and the trickle of a brook in the other. You can do this as an integrated personality walking through your life here, hearing the Father in one ear, and the call of humanity in the other. Mothers are gifted in this also. They can hear for the baby's whimper in one ear, and hear for the husbands key in the front door with the other ear, and yes, Hester, it is true that you can hear angels in one ear and the mew of a kitten with the other.
+
In your [[sharing]] this evening, Leah, you told of a [[spiritual]] [[experience]] you had when you lay on the green grass of the coast, hearing the [[surf]] in one ear and the trickle of a brook in the other. You can do this as an [[integrated]] [[personality]] walking through your [[life]] here, hearing the Father in one ear, and the call of [[humanity]] in the other. [[Mothers]] are gifted in this also. They can hear for the [[baby]]'s whimper in one ear, and hear for the [[husbands]] key in the front door with the other ear, and yes, Hester, it is true that you can hear [[angels]] in one ear and the mew of a kitten with the other.
  
It is wonderful to be so well balanced as to be able to identify with your materiality and your spirituality. To deny either, as I have said many times, is to invite disaster, inasmuch as you are material creatures and you are called upon to be perfect in your sphere as the Father is perfect in His. And so I would like to ask you this evening to focus for a moment on what you regard as perfection for you in your sphere. You, Celeste, in your sharing indicated a prayer given by a young woman: "Father, create me to be the woman you would have me be." And this is a prayer of a sane person, who would say, "bring all of my faculties to the fore; help me be all that I can be, human and divine in one". An excellent prayer. An excellent example of a unified personality.
+
It is [[wonderful]] to be so well [[balanced]] as to be able to identify with your [[materiality]] and your [[spirituality]]. To deny either, as I have said many times, is to invite [[disaster]], inasmuch as you are material [[creatures]] and you are called upon to be [[perfect]] in your sphere as the Father is perfect in His. And so I would like to ask you this evening to [[focus]] for a moment on what you regard as perfection for you in your sphere. You, Celeste, in your [[sharing]] indicated a [[prayer]] given by a young woman: "Father, create me to be the woman you would have me be." And this is a prayer of a sane person, who would say, "bring all of my faculties to the fore; help me be all that I can be, [[human]] and [[divine]] in one". An excellent prayer. An excellent example of a [[unified]] [[personality]].
  
It is also true that a unified personality can become so comfortable in this identity, that it can function fully in both realms at one time. You can with one hand josh and caress, while on the other you can praise and counsel. You can become a dignified son or daughter of God in the flesh. I bring this to your attention this evening to enable you to be comfortable with yourself in the face of the anticipated increased insurgence. You have discussed/ we have discussed/ you are aware of the snowballing energies as we approach the calendar millennia.
+
It is also true that a unified personality can become so comfortable in this [[identity]], that it can [[function]] fully in both realms at one time. You can with one hand josh and caress, while on the other you can [[praise]] and [[counsel]]. You can [[become]] a dignified son or daughter of God in the flesh. I bring this to your [[attention]] this evening to enable you to be comfortable with yourself in the face of the [[anticipated]] increased insurgence. You have [[discussed]]/ we have discussed/ you are aware of the snowballing [[energies]] as we approach the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_millennium calendar millennia].
  
We have now been mindful of how far we have come in these recent years toward opening the circuits on Urantia to everyone who is interested in connecting. And at last we have your forerunners paving the way through the media to bring to you Ambassadors, readied now, practiced, balanced, integrated, loving, joyous, helpful, happy individuals, prepared for the progress which we have awaited in the term "Urantia hovers on the brink." You each, at this moment, are hovering on the brink, and you may well ask yourselves, "Am I ready? Am I ready to manifest the fruits of the spirit in my life in such a way as they will know that I have been with Michael and I have sworn my loyalty to him, that I have consecrated my will to serve him, that I have been reborn of the spirit, that I AM a child of God, and that, as a faith son/daughter, I AM astounded by the miracles of life and the opening of light and life before me -- all the while, able to comfort and counsel those behind you who are also advancing in their ascension.
+
We have now been mindful of how far we have come in these recent years toward opening [[the circuits]] on [[Urantia]] to everyone who is interested in [[connecting]]. And at last we have your [[forerunners]] paving the way through the [[media]] to bring to you Ambassadors, readied now, [[practiced]], [[balanced]], [[integrated]], loving, joyous, helpful, [[happy]] individuals, [[prepared]] for the [[progress]] which we have awaited in the term "Urantia hovers on the brink." ([[195:9|195:9.2]]) You each, at this moment, are hovering on the brink, and you may well ask yourselves, "Am I ready? Am I ready to [[manifest]] the [[fruits of the spirit]] in my life in such a way as they will know that I have been with [[Michael]] and I have sworn my [[loyalty]] to him, that I have [[consecrated]] my will to serve him, that I have been reborn of the spirit, that I AM a child of God, and that, as a [[faith son]]/daughter, I AM astounded by the [[miracles]] of [[life]] and the opening of [[light and life]] before me -- all the while, able to [[comfort]] and [[counsel]] those behind you who are also advancing in their [[ascension]].
  
Look at your arena now, and make it as perfect as you can. Not on the surface, particularly, but inwardly. In your own integrated reality, so that you call wheel and deal effectively with man and with God, so that you yourself can be a living channel between the material and the spiritual, so that you do not get stuck in the circuit, and that your message does not become lodged in your throat. Allow yourself to be perfect as you are.
+
Look at your arena now, and make it as [[perfect]] as you can. Not on the surface, particularly, but inwardly. In your own [[integrated]] [[reality]], so that you call wheel and deal effectively with man and with God, so that you yourself can be a living [[channel]] between the [[material]] and the [[spiritual]], so that you do not get stuck in the [[circuit]], and that your message does not become lodged in your throat. Allow yourself to be [[perfect]] as you are.
  
You all feel quite perfect at this moment. You all feel quite at peace, to me. It is because you know that you are loved. It is because you realize that there is order in the universe and everyone is doing their job to make it move forward in harmony and grace. You also are standing with your right foot forward, prepared to go forth into tomorrow, with the knowledge of His companionship, that when you open your mouth, His truth will come forth. He will speak through you as human and as divine.
+
You all feel quite perfect at this moment. You all feel quite at [[peace]], to me. It is because you know that you are loved. It is because you [[realize]] that there is [[order]] in [[the universe]] and everyone is doing their job to make it move forward in [[harmony]] and [[grace]]. You also are standing with your right foot forward, prepared to go forth into tomorrow, with the [[knowledge]] of His [[companionship]], that when you open your mouth, His [[truth]] will come forth. He will speak through you as [[human]] and as [[divine]].
  
Behold the woman. Behold the man. Not suffering, not beaten, not dysfunctional but empowered and liberated. Envision yourself thus. Know that you are thus. Identify with yourself thus. You cannot ignore the legacy that you come from, but you can rise above it, as you can rise above your heritage, appreciating, in fact, how far you have come, as we appreciate how far you have come and how far we have come together in consciousness of our yearning to become more Godlike, to be relieved of the density of your earthly existence. Soar! Soar even in and through the vagaries of human existence. When the doors open, when they come to see what you are like, you who represent this Book, you who are the living testimony of this epochal revelation to your planet Urantia, how will you represent the Father?
+
Behold the woman. Behold the man. Not [[suffering]], not beaten, not [[dysfunctional]] but empowered and liberated. Envision yourself thus. Know that you are thus. Identify with yourself thus. You cannot ignore the [[legacy]] that you come from, but you can rise above it, as you can rise above your [[heritage]], appreciating, in [[fact]], how far you have come, as we appreciate how far you have come and how far we have come together in [[consciousness]] of our yearning to become more [[Godlike]], to be relieved of the [[density]] of your earthly [[existence]]. Soar! Soar even in and through the vagaries of human existence. When the doors open, when they come to see what you are like, you who [[represent]] [[this Book]], you who are the living [[testimony]] of this epochal [[revelation]] to your planet [[Urantia]], how will you represent the Father?
  
 
ABRAHAM: This is Abraham.
 
ABRAHAM: This is Abraham.
  
 
GROUP: Greetings, Abraham. You were our first contact.
 
GROUP: Greetings, Abraham. You were our first contact.
 +
===='''''[[Spirit]]'''''====
 +
ABRAHAM: I have been [[devoted]] to you for a long time. I have been devoted to [[the Master]] even longer. I have been trying to come and [[visit]] you, but I have been assembling troops elsewhere. All things occur in good time, in the Father's time.
  
ABRAHAM: I have been devoted to you for a long time. I have been devoted to the Master even longer. I have been trying to come and visit you, but I have been assembling troops elsewhere. All things occur in good time, in the Father's time.
+
I AM always astounded at the [[power]] of the [[spirit]]. I AM even more astounded by the spirit now that I am no longer restrained by my [[mortality]]. I can see from the vantage point of the commander of a large army, an army that [[functions]] efficiently, that is [[disciplined]], that lends itself well to appropriate [[uniformity]], even in its individual [[diversity]]. Such is the advancing army of our Creator.
  
I AM always astounded at the power of the spirit. I AM even more astounded by the spirit now that I am no longer restrained by my mortality. I can see from the vantage point of the commander of a large army, an army that functions efficiently, that is disciplined, that lends itself well to appropriate uniformity, even in its individual diversity. Such is the advancing army of our Creator.
+
In you, there is a [[Ta|divine spark]] that I am privileged to recognize, that I work for. That divine [[spark]] is part of that which has created you and me. In due [[course]] that WORD which resides within you will speak and we will move as one vast army, bidden by The [[Universal Father]] himself. The [[pattern]] is already established. It only remains for us to develop our [[perfection]]-[[hunger]], for in that perfection hunger is the key, the answer to the mobilization of the troops. Advance.
 
 
In you, there is a divine spark that I am privileged to recognize, that I work for. That divine spark is part of that which has created you and me. In due course that WORD which resides within you will speak and we will move as one vast army, bidden by The Universal Father himself. The pattern is already established. It only remains for us to develop our perfection-hunger, for in that perfection hunger is the key, the answer to the mobilization of the troops. Advance.
 
  
 
MERIUM: Well, if I ever saw a need for fluffy pillows, now is the time for me to come in and soften your corners.
 
MERIUM: Well, if I ever saw a need for fluffy pillows, now is the time for me to come in and soften your corners.
Line 42: Line 43:
 
ELYSSIA: Great.
 
ELYSSIA: Great.
  
MERIUM: It is always true that Father Abraham gets us to sit up straight in our chair. I always appreciate our elder brothers who are able to instill in us a respect and an awareness of their maturity such that we have someone to look up to. It is very unfortunate, at this phase in your world, that you have so few heroes, that there are so few heroic personalities, and so it is such a privilege to have -- not as heroes, necessarily -- but as strong characters that we can emulate and look up to in such beings as Abraham and Melchizedek and even our Teaching Corp. I am beginning to notice certain heroic personalities among you mortals of the Teaching Corp as well. You of Reserve Corp status have been able to function, even unconsciously, in certain moments of emergency and crises, as a result of your willing to do so. This has given you added strength, added experience, which gives you heroic "stuff". Heroic feathers, for your pillows.
+
MERIUM: It is always true that Father Abraham gets us to sit up straight in our chair. I always [[appreciate]] our elder brothers who are able to instill in us a [[respect]] and an [[awareness]] of their [[maturity]] such that we have someone to look up to. It is very unfortunate, at this phase in [[your world]], that you have so few [[heroes]], that there are so few heroic [[personalities]], and so it is such a [[privilege]] to have -- not as heroes, necessarily -- but as strong [[characters]] that we can emulate and look up to in such beings as [[Abraham]] and [[Machiventa|Melchizedek]] and even our [[Teaching Corp]]. I am beginning to notice certain heroic personalities among you [[mortals]] of the Teaching Corp as well. You of [[Reserve Corps]] status have been able to [[function]], even unconsciously, in certain moments of [[emergency]] and [[crises]], as a result of your willing to do so. This has given you added [[strength]], added [[experience]], which gives you heroic "stuff". Heroic feathers, for your pillows.
  
I mention this about our elders, not just because we have so many of them, and not because one was just here, but because, as children, as youngsters in this eternal career, you need to know that you are looked after and that someone can come in and tell you lovingly to shape up and you will do so willingly. Your human minds are peculiar. Your conditioning and your intellect may tell you that you will not automatically obey, that you have independence and you will think about it first. This is a result of your long sought-for liberation as well as your inherent right as an ego personality with will; your free will status confers upon you the right to make decisions, and for someone to come along and tell you what to do, is possibly a concern, a potential problem, unless you can honor that authority, that outside authority, that voice which compels you to obey. Our Father has that kind of voice. Our Father has the kind of voice that can speak to you in such love and authority at the same time, that you focus everything you have and everything you are on satisfying that desire of His.
+
I mention this about our [[elders]], not just because we have so many of them, and not because one was just here, but because, as children, as youngsters in this [[eternal career]], you need to know that you are looked after and that someone can come in and tell you lovingly to shape up and you will do so willingly. Your human [[minds]] are peculiar. Your conditioning and your [[intellect]] may tell you that you will not automatically [[obey]], that you have independence and you will think about it first. This is a result of your long sought-for [[liberation]] as well as your inherent right as an [[ego]] [[personality]] with will; your [[free will]] status confers upon you the right to make [[decisions]], and for someone to come along and tell you what to do, is possibly a concern, a [[potential]] [[problem]], unless you can honor that authority, that outside authority, that [[voice]] which compels you to obey. [[Our Father]] has that kind of voice. Our Father has the kind of voice that can speak to you in such [[love]] and authority at the same time, that you [[focus]] [[everything]] you have and everything you are on [[satisfying]] that desire of His.
  
And so, in my way, I will confirm and confer upon you an appreciation of your ability to respond when it is required of you, and also to fluff your pillows and let you know that we have confidence that you can do it, that there is a part of you that can and will respond to this eminent challenge. Are there any questions this evening?
+
And so, in my way, I will [[confirm]] and confer upon you an [[appreciation]] of your [[ability]] to respond when it is required of you, and also to fluff your pillows and let you know that we have [[confidence]] that you can do it, that there is a part of you that can and will respond to this eminent [[challenge]]. Are there any questions this evening?
 
===Dialogue===
 
===Dialogue===
ELYSSIA: Well, I was going to ask again -- I'm marveling at the fact that we have this president that we have. If -- we read in scripture that power comes from God, and we pray for those in authority in our church, which seems to say that they've been put there, and I wonder: Have they been put there by God or by mammon? I'm trying to figure it out.
+
===='''''[[Greatness]]'''''====
 +
ELYSSIA: Well, I was going to ask again -- I'm marveling at the [[fact]] that we have this president that we have. If -- we read in [[scripture]] that power comes from [[God]], and we pray for those in [[authority]] in our church, which seems to say that they've been put there, and I [[wonder]]: Have they been put there by God or by [[mammon]]? I'm trying to figure it out.
  
TOMAS: There is not much to figure, Elyssia. They are evolved religions. If they are evolved religions, they are what man has created out of his need for religion, and so it is by the authority of man in search of God that these positions exist. They are secret only inasmuch as and to the extent that these positions are fulfilled by men who are close to the Father, and this requires NOT a philosophy or a theology, but a personal spiritual experience. That is the personal relationship between the mortal and the Father. In both cases, in church and state, these being man-made institutions, evolved in your societies . ...
+
TOMAS: There is not much to figure, Elyssia. They are [[evolved religions]]. If they are evolved religions, they are what man has created out of his need for religion, and so it is by the [[authority]] of man in search of God that these positions exist. They are [[secret]] only inasmuch as and to the extent that these positions are fulfilled by men who are close to [[the Father]], and this requires NOT a [[philosophy]] or a [[theology]], but a personal spiritual [[experience]]. That is the personal [[relationship]] between the mortal and [[the Father]]. In both cases, in [[church]] and [[state]], these being man-made [[institutions]], evolved in your societies . ...
  
ELYSSIA:  We have a hero in Thomas Jefferson, they are shooting him down because he was a lonely widower on a plantation and had a relationship with a slave and they are not even representing him, I feel, with any degree of accuracy, in order to make this president seem acceptable. And so we had a hero and they are shooting him down....
+
ELYSSIA:  We have a [[hero]] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson Thomas Jefferson], they are shooting him down because he was a lonely widower on a plantation and had a [[relationship]] with a slave and they are not even representing him, I feel, with any degree of [[accuracy]], in order to make this president seem acceptable. And so we had a hero and they are shooting him down....
  
TOMAS: I am not going to discuss heroics in terms of your evolved society, your evolved civilization. These are human heroes. I am not going to discuss human heroes. I am discussing spiritual reality. You seem to want to stay in the evolving spheres. I am trying to live in the revealed spheres. Your definition of "hero" must change. You have had heroic figures in the past, but not many, and not for a long period of time because we are talking about a temporal reality, and so the value of temporal heroes is limited to the role they play in the time they play them. The status of the Reserve Corp, those who function very much as heroes and heroines in time of emergency of a spiritual nature may never be mentioned. It is possible that one would never know that they existed, but they have impacted on the development of your spiritual reality. This is the facet of heroics I refer to -- the quality of heroics. Your president does not attain to that level. None of your presidents have attained to that level.
+
TOMAS: I am not going to discuss heroics in terms of your evolved [[society]], your evolved civilization. These are human heroes. I am not going to [[discuss]] human heroes. I am discussing [[spiritual]] [[reality]]. You seem to want to stay in the evolving spheres. I am trying to live in the [[revealed]] spheres. Your [[definition]] of "hero" must [[change]]. You have had heroic figures in the [[past]], but not many, and not for a long period of time because we are talking about a [[temporal]] reality, and so the [[value]] of temporal heroes is limited to the role they play in the time they play them. The [[status]] of the [[Reserve Corps]], those who function very much as heroes and heroines in time of [[emergency]] of a spiritual nature may never be mentioned. It is possible that one would never know that they existed, but they have impacted on the development of your [[spiritual]] [[reality]]. This is the facet of heroics I refer to -- the [[quality]] of heroics. Your president does not [[attain]] to that level. None of your presidents have attained to that level.
  
ELYSSIA: Now, for instance, we cannot even have Van as a hero because the description of him in the Book is simply very, very incomplete. There is simply no way you can get wrapped up in him as a hero. He must have been a hero. He must have been a great hero of great moral stature, but you know, how can you even work it up because The Book doesn't do enough on that. Could you perhaps tell us about him? and help us to connect with that picture of him?
+
ELYSSIA: Now, for instance, we cannot even have [[Van]] as a hero because the description of him in [[the Book]] is simply very, very incomplete. There is simply no way you can get wrapped up in him as a hero. He must have been a hero. He must have been a great hero of great [[moral]] [[stature]], but you know, how can you even work it up because The Book doesn't do enough on that. Could you perhaps tell us about him? and help us to connect with that [[picture]] of him?
  
TOMAS: Van's claim to fame, if you will, was his steadfastness. It doesn't speak to his moral stature. It speaks to his steadfastness over hundreds of years, and it is evident that you have no one to compare him to in your world because your circumstances are not the same at all.
+
TOMAS: [[Van]]'s claim to [[fame]], if you will, was his [[steadfastness]]. It doesn't speak to his [[moral]] [[stature]]. It speaks to his steadfastness over hundreds of years, and it is evident that you have no one to [[compare]] him to in your world because your circumstances are not the same at all.
  
ELYSSIA: Well, my daughter Nancy has a lot of these heroes that she seems to have found who were moral authorities in history. She seems to have found a lot of them. John Guest, our rector, has found a lot of these people and talks about them and wants us to study their lives and they are very real to him but they are all preachers, and I don't relate with them that well.
+
ELYSSIA: Well, my daughter Nancy has a lot of these [[heroes]] that she seems to have found who were [[moral]] [[authorities]] in [[history]]. She seems to have found a lot of them. John Guest, our rector, has found a lot of these people and talks about them and wants us to [[study]] their lives and they are very real to him but they are all [[preachers]], and I don't relate with them that well.
  
I am going to suggest that you regard them very much as you would biographies of great people. They are certainly to be admired for their contributions. Indeed, in a philosophic sense, Elyssia, everyone can be regarded as heroic if you want them to be. The heroic stature that I am insisting upon focusing on, is that which responds to the call forward into this next dispensation. The power pull that elevates you and lures you into greater reality, not into a more sophisticated civilization, not into a more successful church, but into a greater reality. Perhaps . ...
+
TOMAS: I am going to suggest that you regard them very much as you would [[biographies]] of great people. They are certainly to be admired for their contributions. Indeed, in a philosophic sense, Elyssia, everyone can be regarded as heroic if you want them to be. The heroic [[stature]] that I am insisting upon [[focusing]] on, is that which responds to [[the call]] forward into this next dispensation. The [[power]] pull that elevates you and lures you into greater [[reality]], not into a more sophisticated [[civilization]], not into a more successful church, but into a greater [[reality]]. Perhaps . ...
  
ELYSSIA: I guess, my friend Lillian said Socrates was looking for one honest man and Jesus was that honest man.
+
ELYSSIA: I guess, my friend Lillian said [[Socrates]] was looking for one [[honest]] man and [[Jesus]] was that honest man.
  
TOMAS: He is certainly the finest example of a hero I have ever seen. And he was able to live an integrated personality with the human and the divine, much like you can, much like each of you can -- and do on a regular basis.
+
TOMAS: He is certainly the finest example of a [[hero]] I have ever seen. And he was able to live an [[integrated]] [[personality]] with the [[human]] and the [[divine]], much like you can, much like each of you can -- and do on a regular basis.
  
ELYSSIA: Well I remind myself of one of the apostles that -- I mean, if I may be so bold as to do that in the first place, but they were very, very human and fell short so much of the time -- but then of course they gloriously gave their lives at the end.
+
ELYSSIA: Well I remind myself of one of the [[apostles]] that -- I mean, if I may be so bold as to do that in the first place, but they were very, very [[human]] and fell short so much of the time -- but then of course they [[gloriously]] gave their lives at the end.
  
 
TOMAS: Do you find that that is some kind of compensation for their humanness?
 
TOMAS: Do you find that that is some kind of compensation for their humanness?
  
ELYSSIA: Well, I can get involved in thinking of them as heroes when I read the way they sacrificed their lives without a single thought.
+
ELYSSIA: Well, I can get involved in [[thinking]] of them as [[heroes]] when I read the way they [[sacrificed]] their lives without a single [[thought]].
  
 
TOMAS: They were certainly heroic, yes.
 
TOMAS: They were certainly heroic, yes.
Line 80: Line 82:
 
TOMAS: Yes.
 
TOMAS: Yes.
  
ELYSSIA: ... so if that would help me to be more heroic, then maybe I ought to concentrate more upon that. What can you do to . ..? Now, I have a book called "The Hero Within" -- maybe I just better read that book. Somebody has been trying to make me read it for the last five years.
+
ELYSSIA: ... so if that would help me to be more heroic, then maybe I ought to [[concentrate]] more upon that. What can you do to . ..? Now, I have a book called "[http://www.amazon.com/The-Hero-Within-Classic-Reprint/dp/B009CMMF00 The Hero Within]" -- maybe I just better read that book. Somebody has been trying to make me read it for the last five years.
  
TOMAS: That might be a good idea.
+
TOMAS: That might be a [[good]] [[idea]].
  
ELYSSIA: I think it is a good psychological study of how to find some greatness within yourself. I think that's the idea behind the book.
+
ELYSSIA: I think it is a good [[psychological]] [[study]] of how to find some [[greatness]] within yourself. I think that's the idea behind the book.
  
 
TOMAS: I know you have greatness in there. I have been addressing it for three years now.
 
TOMAS: I know you have greatness in there. I have been addressing it for three years now.
  
ELYSSIA: I think reading about Jesus was about the closest I ever came to being inspired/
+
ELYSSIA: I think [[reading]] about [[Jesus]] was about the closest I ever came to being [[inspired]]/
  
TOMAS: Let me give you an assignment for this week. Since we have discussed what we have discussed, and we graciously ourselves now on He who was the Greatest Among Us, look to yourself and see what you have that compares to what Jesus had. Compare your life with Jesus', given the difference in your status as ascending son as compared to Creator Son, of course, but that within him which made him heroic, was his devotion to the Father, and to those values which made him a fine, mortal human being -- the father of his brothers and sisters, a neighbor to be admired, a man to be loved by Rebecca, a merchant admired by his comrades, a creative worker, an inventive person, a teacher, a preacher, a jokester, a good guy. All of these things are part of the human Jesus, and while he was this human being, he was also the Son of God and he remembered his loyalty to His Father.
+
TOMAS: Let me give you an assignment for this week. Since we have [[discussed]] what we have discussed, and we [[graciously]] ourselves now on He who was the Greatest Among Us, look to yourself and see what you have that [[compares]] to what [[Jesus]] had. Compare your life with Jesus', given the [[difference]] in your status as [[ascending son]] as compared to [[Creator Son]], of course, but that within him which made him heroic, was his [[devotion]] to [[the Father]], and to those [[values]] which made him a fine, mortal human being -- the father of his brothers and sisters, a [[neighbor]] to be admired, a man to be [[127:5 Rebecca, The Daughter of Ezra|loved by Rebecca]], a merchant admired by his [[comrades]], a creative worker, an inventive person, a teacher, a preacher, a jokester, a good guy. All of these things are part of the human Jesus, and while he was this [[human being]], he was also the Son of God and he remembered his [[loyalty]] to His Father.
  
This is what made him a hero. This is what can make you a hero. This is what could make your president a hero. This is what could make anyone a hero if they were applying themselves to it, if this is what our greatest reality was, if this is what we sought in our leaders, if this is what we looked for in the church and in the state, if this is what we yearned for in every relationship, in every nation, in every country, in every village, in every person; if we yearned for the balance of the human and the divine in each moment, we would be living in light and life. Indeed, we would be in light and life all the way to Paradise And so this is the threshold that we stand before. This is the brink upon which we await tomorrow.
+
This is what made him a [[hero]]. This is what can make you a hero. This is what could make your president a hero. This is what could make anyone a hero if they were applying themselves to it, if this is what our greatest [[reality]] was, if this is what we sought in our [[leaders]], if this is what we looked for in the [[church]] and in the [[state]], if this is what we yearned for in every [[relationship]], in every nation, in every country, in every village, in every person; if we yearned for the [[balance]] of the [[human]] and the [[divine]] in each moment, we would be living in [[light and life]]. Indeed, we would be in light and life all the way to [[Paradise]] And so this is the [[threshold]] that we stand before. This is the brink upon which we await tomorrow.
  
ELYSSIA: In your society, you had access to tremendous truth. You told us how you were conscious of the presence of God almost all the time. Now, could you describe the way some of your contemporaries developed into heroes.
+
ELYSSIA: In your [[society]], you had access to tremendous [[truth]]. You told us how you were [[conscious]] of the [[presence]] of God almost all the time. Now, could you describe the way some of your contemporaries developed into heroes.
  
TOMAS: You have a frame of reference in the Urantia Book that speaks of supermortals. It is this supermortal quality that is heroic. It does not mean that you have muscles like Hercules or money like Rockefeller. It does not mean that you are the world's greatest this or the world's greatest that. Heroic qualities are indeed from within. But in the eyes of the spirit, if they have been all that they can be within the pattern of perfection, then they have met the mark, thus making them -- and you -- heroic. Are you going to be heroic in your moment to moment existence by maintaining your integrity in and through the spirit and in your service to mankind?
+
TOMAS: You have a [[frame of reference]] in the [[Urantia Book]] that speaks of [[supermortals]]. It is this supermortal [[quality]] that is heroic. It does not mean that you have muscles like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules Hercules] or money like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller Rockefeller]. It does not mean that you are the world's greatest this or the world's greatest that. Heroic qualities are indeed from within. But in the eyes of the [[spirit]], if they have been all that they can be within the pattern of [[perfection]], then they have met the mark, thus making them -- and you -- heroic. Are you going to be heroic in your moment to moment [[existence]] by maintaining your [[integrity]] in and through the [[spirit]] and in your [[service]] to [[mankind]]?
  
RACHEL: Well, thank you, Tomas. I'm feeling woefully inadequate after tonight's discussion.
+
RACHEL: Well, thank you, Tomas. I'm feeling woefully inadequate after tonight's [[discussion]].
  
TOMAS: You, I hope, understand that words and lessons along these lines is not to call to your attention any woeful inadequacy, but to stimulate you to accept in yourself those qualities which are inherent in you that are heroic by the nature of your association with the Father and that through Him you can maintain your integrity and that makes you heroic, so to the extent that you live with Father, you are supermortal, superhuman. You can do things that many cannot because they know Him not.
+
TOMAS: You, I [[hope]], [[understand]] that words and lessons along these lines is not to call to your [[attention]] any woeful inadequacy, but to stimulate you to [[accept]] in yourself those qualities which are [[inherent]] in you that are heroic by the nature of your association with [[the Father]] and that through Him you can maintain your integrity and that makes you heroic, so to the extent that you live with Father, you are [[supermortal]], superhuman. You can do things that many cannot because they know Him not.
  
RACHEL: Oh, I know that. I've done many things because of the Father in me that poor little Wendy couldn't do, and poor little Wendy keeps doing more because of the Father.
+
RACHEL: Oh, I know that. I've done many things because of [[the Father]] in me that poor little Wendy couldn't do, and poor little Wendy keeps doing more because of the Father.
  
 
TOMAS: Rachel is doing very well. RACHEL:Yes, I suppose she is.
 
TOMAS: Rachel is doing very well. RACHEL:Yes, I suppose she is.
  
ELYSSIA: Well, actually, we've read that, in our society they've been talking about who is honest and who isn't honest, and all I can say is at least we thought about it, about a year ago, and examined ourselves from that point of view, and some of us, I think, managed to move ahead a little bit, in that area. That was a sort of feeling of satisfaction. Didn't everybody sort of feel that way?
+
ELYSSIA: Well, actually, we've [[read]] that, in our [[society]] they've been talking about who is [[honest]] and who isn't honest, and all I can say is at least we [[thought]] about it, about a year ago, and [[examined]] ourselves from that point of view, and some of us, I think, managed to move ahead a little bit, in that area. That was a sort of [[feeling]] of [[satisfaction]]. Didn't everybody sort of feel that way?
  
 
RACHEL:  I got a lot out of that.
 
RACHEL:  I got a lot out of that.
  
ELYSSIA: Honesty. The media, of course, has been talking about it a lot in view of the recent happenings.
+
ELYSSIA: Honesty. The [[media]], of course, has been talking about it a lot in view of the recent happenings.
  
 
HESTER: Question, sir.
 
HESTER: Question, sir.
Line 116: Line 118:
 
TOMAS: Yes, ma'am.
 
TOMAS: Yes, ma'am.
  
HESTER: Isn't this business of facing honesty and the internal being of ourselves part of the program extended, planed for this earth shakeup that has to come about for this new age to come into full fruition?
+
HESTER: Isn't this business of facing [[honesty]] and the internal [[being]] of ourselves part of the program extended, planed for this earth shakeup that has to come about for this [[new age]] to come into full fruition?
  
TOMAS: Each individual must eventually face him or herself honestly, in order to face his fellows. It is a fact that you have lived a legacy of deceit for thousands of years; we have discussed this. It is so ingrained in you it is a way of life. Remember in Abraham's time they sacrificed as a part of their religious ritual, and when Machiventa told Abraham it was not necessary, Abraham believed his teacher, but he continued yet for many years to sacrifice because he was conditioned somehow to believe that, and part of his mind thus feared that if he did not, he would somehow be punished. It is an indication of your tribal conditioning, and you are all suffering from a certain amount of tribal conditioning.
+
TOMAS: Each [[individual]] must [[eventually]] face him or herself honestly, in order to face his fellows. It is a [[fact]] that you have lived a [[legacy]] of [[deceit]] for thousands of years; we have discussed this. It is so ingrained in you it is a way of life. Remember in [[Abraham]]'s time they [[sacrificed]] as a part of their religious [[ritual]], and when [[Machiventa]] told Abraham it was not necessary, Abraham believed his teacher, but he continued yet for many years to sacrifice because he was conditioned somehow to [[believe]] that, and part of his mind thus [[feared]] that if he did not, he would somehow be punished. It is an indication of your [[tribal]] conditioning, and you are all suffering from a certain amount of tribal conditioning.
  
The human tribe, under Lucifer, lies a lot. It is because your values are completely distorted. Only in and through association with divine perfection can your turn yourself right side in. Only as you begin to recognize God in others, associate yourself with family members that you can trust, that you can be yourself with, can you begin to reveal yourself honestly without being stoned, without being ostracized, without being judged.
+
The human tribe, under [[Lucifer]], [[lies]] a lot. It is because your [[values]] are completely [[distorted]]. Only in and through [[association]] with divine [[perfection]] can your turn yourself right side in. Only as you begin to [[recognize]] God in others, associate yourself with family members that you can [[trust]], that you can be yourself with, can you begin to reveal yourself honestly without being stoned, without being [[ostracized]], without being judged.
  
ELYSSIA: So do we find people that we can be honest with and sort of start there? Is that what we do? Is that how we can improve ourselves?
+
ELYSSIA: So do we find people that we can be [[honest]] with and sort of start there? Is that what we do? Is that how we can improve ourselves?
  
TOMAS: Yes, you cannot expect it from strangers.
+
TOMAS: Yes, you cannot [[expect]] it from [[strangers]].
  
 
ELYSSIA: Oh, okay.
 
ELYSSIA: Oh, okay.
  
TOMAS: You must begin inside with yourself, and then in your intimate associations, and intimate in these terms means the intimacy that you experience with other friends of God, other people who are intimate with Our Father -- not those who study him, or who follow him, but who are intimate with him as you are intimate with him through stillness. You see what I mean?
+
TOMAS: You must begin inside with yourself, and then in your [[intimate]] associations, and intimate in these terms means the intimacy that you [[experience]] with other friends of God, other people who are intimate with [[Our Father]] -- not those who [[study]] him, or who follow him, but who are intimate with him as you are intimate with him through [[stillness]]. You see what I mean?
  
 
ELYSSIA: Yes, I do.
 
ELYSSIA: Yes, I do.
  
TOMAS: Those are the ones who know the Father, who have been embraced in his love, who recognize that they are a loved child, that their human foibles are understood, that their soul is advancing, and that these human things will fall by the wayside in the child's yearning to be more like Father. As this little band of intimate associates mounts and builds, it begins to create a new society, a family first, a family of brothers and sisters under God. As your little family is growing here in the pumpkin patch, there is another little family growing over there in the berry patch, and there is another little family growing up there on the lake, and there's another little patch growing up there on the other side of the falls, and eventually these patches, these families, extend and grow and they connect, and when they connect they create a grillwork, and soon we are holding hands from village to village, and soon we are gaining strength and power, and becoming more honest and accepting of each other, and this is the brotherhood, you see. This is what we are working for. It is a goal. Do not look to the past for the reality of the future. Look within. We have been at it long and hard this evening, my children.
+
TOMAS: Those are the ones who know [[the Father]], who have been [[embraced]] in his [[love]], who [[recognize]] that they are a loved child, that their human [[foibles]] are understood, that their [[soul]] is advancing, and that these human things will fall by the wayside in the child's yearning to be more like Father. As this little band of intimate associates mounts and builds, it begins to create a new [[society]], a [[family]] first, a family of brothers and sisters under God. As your little family is growing here in the pumpkin patch, there is another little family growing over there in the berry patch, and there is another little family growing up there on the lake, and there's another little patch growing up there on the other side of the falls, and [[eventually]] these patches, these [[families]], extend and grow and they [[connect]], and when they connect they create a grillwork, and soon we are holding hands from village to village, and soon we are gaining [[strength]] and [[power]], and [[becoming]] more honest and [[accepting]] of each other, and this is the [[brotherhood]], you see. This is what we are working for. It is a goal. Do not look to the [[past]] for the [[reality]] of the [[future]]. Look within. We have been at it long and hard this evening, my children.
  
ELYSSIA: Well, I was going to ask you . .. It seems to me maybe humor might help one to be honest with others. A humorous approach might help one to, sort of, practice a kind of honesty with others that you care about.
+
ELYSSIA: Well, I was going to ask you . .. It seems to me maybe [[humor]] might help one to be [[honest]] with others. A humorous approach might help one to, sort of, [[practice]] a kind of honesty with others that you care about.
  
 
TOMAS: Yes, it has been elevated to an art form in your society and there is black art and also good art in the comedic fields.
 
TOMAS: Yes, it has been elevated to an art form in your society and there is black art and also good art in the comedic fields.
Line 142: Line 144:
 
TOMAS: Yes.
 
TOMAS: Yes.
  
HESTER: Isn't it true that I have to learn to see everybody through the eyes of love -- no matter who they are, no matter what they wear, no matter what color they are, no matter whether they are thieves or whatever. I have to see the God-ness in that person.
+
HESTER: Isn't it true that I have to learn to see everybody through the eyes of [[love]] -- no matter who they are, no matter what they wear, no matter what [[color]] they are, no matter whether they are [[thieves]] or whatever. I have to see the God-ness in that person.
  
 
TOMAS: You cannot love a person by an act of will. If you love the Father and he is in you and you seek to be like him, then you will see them as He sees them.
 
TOMAS: You cannot love a person by an act of will. If you love the Father and he is in you and you seek to be like him, then you will see them as He sees them.
Line 148: Line 150:
 
HESTER: That's what I'm talking about.
 
HESTER: That's what I'm talking about.
  
TOMAS: Then you have answered your own question. Yes.
+
TOMAS: Then you have answered your own [[question]]. Yes.
  
ELYSSIA: Well, we have our assignment now. So I guess we'll see what happens.
+
ELYSSIA: Well, we have our [[assignment]] now. So I guess we'll see what happens.
  
 
TOMAS: Indeed we shall. Rejoice.
 
TOMAS: Indeed we shall. Rejoice.
Line 158: Line 160:
 
HESTER: Yeah.
 
HESTER: Yeah.
 
===Closing===
 
===Closing===
TOMAS: It is always a joy to be here with you. It was a particular joy to have Abraham come and spend some time with us and it is also a pleasure to feel the ministrations of our sister Merium. It is even more wonderful to feel your loyal presence here, my flock. It is a sublime honor for me to have you as associates and scribes in these truths. You are loved. Be at peace. Farewell.
+
TOMAS: It is always a [[joy]] to be here with you. It was a particular joy to have [[Abraham]] come and spend some time with us and it is also a [[pleasure]] to feel the ministrations of our sister Merium. It is even more wonderful to [[feel]] your [[loyal]] [[presence]] here, my flock. It is a [[sublime]] [[honor]] for me to have you as [[associates]] and [[scribes]] in these truths. You are loved. Be at [[peace]]. Farewell.
  
 
ELYSSIA: Thank you.
 
ELYSSIA: Thank you.
Line 172: Line 174:
 
[[Category: Merium]]
 
[[Category: Merium]]
 
[[Category: Gerdean]]
 
[[Category: Gerdean]]
 +
[[Category: Balance]]
 +
[[Category: Spirit]]
 +
[[Category: Greatness]]
 
[[Category: 1998]]
 
[[Category: 1998]]

Revision as of 23:53, 15 February 2013

Lighterstill.jpg

Teaching buddha small.jpg

Heading

Topic: Balanced Personality

Group: Butler TeaM

Facilitators

Teacher: Tomas, Abraham, Merium

TR: Gerdean

Session

Opening

TOMAS: Good evening, Ambassadors. I am your friend, Tomas.

GROUP: Good evening, Tomas.

Lesson

Balance

TOMAS: I appreciate the attention you focus on what is important, and what is important is adaptable from one moment to the next depending upon the given needs of the moment, as you find it in your arena, your environment, in your service to your fellow men in your daily life. I also appreciate it when you recognize in yourself a call to order in and through the authority of Our Father whose spirit speaks and you listen. This is a phenomenon of the spirit reality, that when you are sensitive to divinity, you WILL hear its call and respond when it calls to you to respond.

In your sharing this evening, Leah, you told of a spiritual experience you had when you lay on the green grass of the coast, hearing the surf in one ear and the trickle of a brook in the other. You can do this as an integrated personality walking through your life here, hearing the Father in one ear, and the call of humanity in the other. Mothers are gifted in this also. They can hear for the baby's whimper in one ear, and hear for the husbands key in the front door with the other ear, and yes, Hester, it is true that you can hear angels in one ear and the mew of a kitten with the other.

It is wonderful to be so well balanced as to be able to identify with your materiality and your spirituality. To deny either, as I have said many times, is to invite disaster, inasmuch as you are material creatures and you are called upon to be perfect in your sphere as the Father is perfect in His. And so I would like to ask you this evening to focus for a moment on what you regard as perfection for you in your sphere. You, Celeste, in your sharing indicated a prayer given by a young woman: "Father, create me to be the woman you would have me be." And this is a prayer of a sane person, who would say, "bring all of my faculties to the fore; help me be all that I can be, human and divine in one". An excellent prayer. An excellent example of a unified personality.

It is also true that a unified personality can become so comfortable in this identity, that it can function fully in both realms at one time. You can with one hand josh and caress, while on the other you can praise and counsel. You can become a dignified son or daughter of God in the flesh. I bring this to your attention this evening to enable you to be comfortable with yourself in the face of the anticipated increased insurgence. You have discussed/ we have discussed/ you are aware of the snowballing energies as we approach the calendar millennia.

We have now been mindful of how far we have come in these recent years toward opening the circuits on Urantia to everyone who is interested in connecting. And at last we have your forerunners paving the way through the media to bring to you Ambassadors, readied now, practiced, balanced, integrated, loving, joyous, helpful, happy individuals, prepared for the progress which we have awaited in the term "Urantia hovers on the brink." (195:9.2) You each, at this moment, are hovering on the brink, and you may well ask yourselves, "Am I ready? Am I ready to manifest the fruits of the spirit in my life in such a way as they will know that I have been with Michael and I have sworn my loyalty to him, that I have consecrated my will to serve him, that I have been reborn of the spirit, that I AM a child of God, and that, as a faith son/daughter, I AM astounded by the miracles of life and the opening of light and life before me -- all the while, able to comfort and counsel those behind you who are also advancing in their ascension.

Look at your arena now, and make it as perfect as you can. Not on the surface, particularly, but inwardly. In your own integrated reality, so that you call wheel and deal effectively with man and with God, so that you yourself can be a living channel between the material and the spiritual, so that you do not get stuck in the circuit, and that your message does not become lodged in your throat. Allow yourself to be perfect as you are.

You all feel quite perfect at this moment. You all feel quite at peace, to me. It is because you know that you are loved. It is because you realize that there is order in the universe and everyone is doing their job to make it move forward in harmony and grace. You also are standing with your right foot forward, prepared to go forth into tomorrow, with the knowledge of His companionship, that when you open your mouth, His truth will come forth. He will speak through you as human and as divine.

Behold the woman. Behold the man. Not suffering, not beaten, not dysfunctional but empowered and liberated. Envision yourself thus. Know that you are thus. Identify with yourself thus. You cannot ignore the legacy that you come from, but you can rise above it, as you can rise above your heritage, appreciating, in fact, how far you have come, as we appreciate how far you have come and how far we have come together in consciousness of our yearning to become more Godlike, to be relieved of the density of your earthly existence. Soar! Soar even in and through the vagaries of human existence. When the doors open, when they come to see what you are like, you who represent this Book, you who are the living testimony of this epochal revelation to your planet Urantia, how will you represent the Father?

ABRAHAM: This is Abraham.

GROUP: Greetings, Abraham. You were our first contact.

Spirit

ABRAHAM: I have been devoted to you for a long time. I have been devoted to the Master even longer. I have been trying to come and visit you, but I have been assembling troops elsewhere. All things occur in good time, in the Father's time.

I AM always astounded at the power of the spirit. I AM even more astounded by the spirit now that I am no longer restrained by my mortality. I can see from the vantage point of the commander of a large army, an army that functions efficiently, that is disciplined, that lends itself well to appropriate uniformity, even in its individual diversity. Such is the advancing army of our Creator.

In you, there is a divine spark that I am privileged to recognize, that I work for. That divine spark is part of that which has created you and me. In due course that WORD which resides within you will speak and we will move as one vast army, bidden by The Universal Father himself. The pattern is already established. It only remains for us to develop our perfection-hunger, for in that perfection hunger is the key, the answer to the mobilization of the troops. Advance.

MERIUM: Well, if I ever saw a need for fluffy pillows, now is the time for me to come in and soften your corners.

ELYSSIA: Great.

MERIUM: It is always true that Father Abraham gets us to sit up straight in our chair. I always appreciate our elder brothers who are able to instill in us a respect and an awareness of their maturity such that we have someone to look up to. It is very unfortunate, at this phase in your world, that you have so few heroes, that there are so few heroic personalities, and so it is such a privilege to have -- not as heroes, necessarily -- but as strong characters that we can emulate and look up to in such beings as Abraham and Melchizedek and even our Teaching Corp. I am beginning to notice certain heroic personalities among you mortals of the Teaching Corp as well. You of Reserve Corps status have been able to function, even unconsciously, in certain moments of emergency and crises, as a result of your willing to do so. This has given you added strength, added experience, which gives you heroic "stuff". Heroic feathers, for your pillows.

I mention this about our elders, not just because we have so many of them, and not because one was just here, but because, as children, as youngsters in this eternal career, you need to know that you are looked after and that someone can come in and tell you lovingly to shape up and you will do so willingly. Your human minds are peculiar. Your conditioning and your intellect may tell you that you will not automatically obey, that you have independence and you will think about it first. This is a result of your long sought-for liberation as well as your inherent right as an ego personality with will; your free will status confers upon you the right to make decisions, and for someone to come along and tell you what to do, is possibly a concern, a potential problem, unless you can honor that authority, that outside authority, that voice which compels you to obey. Our Father has that kind of voice. Our Father has the kind of voice that can speak to you in such love and authority at the same time, that you focus everything you have and everything you are on satisfying that desire of His.

And so, in my way, I will confirm and confer upon you an appreciation of your ability to respond when it is required of you, and also to fluff your pillows and let you know that we have confidence that you can do it, that there is a part of you that can and will respond to this eminent challenge. Are there any questions this evening?

Dialogue

Greatness

ELYSSIA: Well, I was going to ask again -- I'm marveling at the fact that we have this president that we have. If -- we read in scripture that power comes from God, and we pray for those in authority in our church, which seems to say that they've been put there, and I wonder: Have they been put there by God or by mammon? I'm trying to figure it out.

TOMAS: There is not much to figure, Elyssia. They are evolved religions. If they are evolved religions, they are what man has created out of his need for religion, and so it is by the authority of man in search of God that these positions exist. They are secret only inasmuch as and to the extent that these positions are fulfilled by men who are close to the Father, and this requires NOT a philosophy or a theology, but a personal spiritual experience. That is the personal relationship between the mortal and the Father. In both cases, in church and state, these being man-made institutions, evolved in your societies . ...

ELYSSIA: We have a hero in Thomas Jefferson, they are shooting him down because he was a lonely widower on a plantation and had a relationship with a slave and they are not even representing him, I feel, with any degree of accuracy, in order to make this president seem acceptable. And so we had a hero and they are shooting him down....

TOMAS: I am not going to discuss heroics in terms of your evolved society, your evolved civilization. These are human heroes. I am not going to discuss human heroes. I am discussing spiritual reality. You seem to want to stay in the evolving spheres. I am trying to live in the revealed spheres. Your definition of "hero" must change. You have had heroic figures in the past, but not many, and not for a long period of time because we are talking about a temporal reality, and so the value of temporal heroes is limited to the role they play in the time they play them. The status of the Reserve Corps, those who function very much as heroes and heroines in time of emergency of a spiritual nature may never be mentioned. It is possible that one would never know that they existed, but they have impacted on the development of your spiritual reality. This is the facet of heroics I refer to -- the quality of heroics. Your president does not attain to that level. None of your presidents have attained to that level.

ELYSSIA: Now, for instance, we cannot even have Van as a hero because the description of him in the Book is simply very, very incomplete. There is simply no way you can get wrapped up in him as a hero. He must have been a hero. He must have been a great hero of great moral stature, but you know, how can you even work it up because The Book doesn't do enough on that. Could you perhaps tell us about him? and help us to connect with that picture of him?

TOMAS: Van's claim to fame, if you will, was his steadfastness. It doesn't speak to his moral stature. It speaks to his steadfastness over hundreds of years, and it is evident that you have no one to compare him to in your world because your circumstances are not the same at all.

ELYSSIA: Well, my daughter Nancy has a lot of these heroes that she seems to have found who were moral authorities in history. She seems to have found a lot of them. John Guest, our rector, has found a lot of these people and talks about them and wants us to study their lives and they are very real to him but they are all preachers, and I don't relate with them that well.

TOMAS: I am going to suggest that you regard them very much as you would biographies of great people. They are certainly to be admired for their contributions. Indeed, in a philosophic sense, Elyssia, everyone can be regarded as heroic if you want them to be. The heroic stature that I am insisting upon focusing on, is that which responds to the call forward into this next dispensation. The power pull that elevates you and lures you into greater reality, not into a more sophisticated civilization, not into a more successful church, but into a greater reality. Perhaps . ...

ELYSSIA: I guess, my friend Lillian said Socrates was looking for one honest man and Jesus was that honest man.

TOMAS: He is certainly the finest example of a hero I have ever seen. And he was able to live an integrated personality with the human and the divine, much like you can, much like each of you can -- and do on a regular basis.

ELYSSIA: Well I remind myself of one of the apostles that -- I mean, if I may be so bold as to do that in the first place, but they were very, very human and fell short so much of the time -- but then of course they gloriously gave their lives at the end.

TOMAS: Do you find that that is some kind of compensation for their humanness?

ELYSSIA: Well, I can get involved in thinking of them as heroes when I read the way they sacrificed their lives without a single thought.

TOMAS: They were certainly heroic, yes.

ELYSSIA: So I could think of them as heroes . ..

TOMAS: Yes.

ELYSSIA: ... so if that would help me to be more heroic, then maybe I ought to concentrate more upon that. What can you do to . ..? Now, I have a book called "The Hero Within" -- maybe I just better read that book. Somebody has been trying to make me read it for the last five years.

TOMAS: That might be a good idea.

ELYSSIA: I think it is a good psychological study of how to find some greatness within yourself. I think that's the idea behind the book.

TOMAS: I know you have greatness in there. I have been addressing it for three years now.

ELYSSIA: I think reading about Jesus was about the closest I ever came to being inspired/

TOMAS: Let me give you an assignment for this week. Since we have discussed what we have discussed, and we graciously ourselves now on He who was the Greatest Among Us, look to yourself and see what you have that compares to what Jesus had. Compare your life with Jesus', given the difference in your status as ascending son as compared to Creator Son, of course, but that within him which made him heroic, was his devotion to the Father, and to those values which made him a fine, mortal human being -- the father of his brothers and sisters, a neighbor to be admired, a man to be loved by Rebecca, a merchant admired by his comrades, a creative worker, an inventive person, a teacher, a preacher, a jokester, a good guy. All of these things are part of the human Jesus, and while he was this human being, he was also the Son of God and he remembered his loyalty to His Father.

This is what made him a hero. This is what can make you a hero. This is what could make your president a hero. This is what could make anyone a hero if they were applying themselves to it, if this is what our greatest reality was, if this is what we sought in our leaders, if this is what we looked for in the church and in the state, if this is what we yearned for in every relationship, in every nation, in every country, in every village, in every person; if we yearned for the balance of the human and the divine in each moment, we would be living in light and life. Indeed, we would be in light and life all the way to Paradise And so this is the threshold that we stand before. This is the brink upon which we await tomorrow.

ELYSSIA: In your society, you had access to tremendous truth. You told us how you were conscious of the presence of God almost all the time. Now, could you describe the way some of your contemporaries developed into heroes.

TOMAS: You have a frame of reference in the Urantia Book that speaks of supermortals. It is this supermortal quality that is heroic. It does not mean that you have muscles like Hercules or money like Rockefeller. It does not mean that you are the world's greatest this or the world's greatest that. Heroic qualities are indeed from within. But in the eyes of the spirit, if they have been all that they can be within the pattern of perfection, then they have met the mark, thus making them -- and you -- heroic. Are you going to be heroic in your moment to moment existence by maintaining your integrity in and through the spirit and in your service to mankind?

RACHEL: Well, thank you, Tomas. I'm feeling woefully inadequate after tonight's discussion.

TOMAS: You, I hope, understand that words and lessons along these lines is not to call to your attention any woeful inadequacy, but to stimulate you to accept in yourself those qualities which are inherent in you that are heroic by the nature of your association with the Father and that through Him you can maintain your integrity and that makes you heroic, so to the extent that you live with Father, you are supermortal, superhuman. You can do things that many cannot because they know Him not.

RACHEL: Oh, I know that. I've done many things because of the Father in me that poor little Wendy couldn't do, and poor little Wendy keeps doing more because of the Father.

TOMAS: Rachel is doing very well. RACHEL:Yes, I suppose she is.

ELYSSIA: Well, actually, we've read that, in our society they've been talking about who is honest and who isn't honest, and all I can say is at least we thought about it, about a year ago, and examined ourselves from that point of view, and some of us, I think, managed to move ahead a little bit, in that area. That was a sort of feeling of satisfaction. Didn't everybody sort of feel that way?

RACHEL: I got a lot out of that.

ELYSSIA: Honesty. The media, of course, has been talking about it a lot in view of the recent happenings.

HESTER: Question, sir.

TOMAS: Yes, ma'am.

HESTER: Isn't this business of facing honesty and the internal being of ourselves part of the program extended, planed for this earth shakeup that has to come about for this new age to come into full fruition?

TOMAS: Each individual must eventually face him or herself honestly, in order to face his fellows. It is a fact that you have lived a legacy of deceit for thousands of years; we have discussed this. It is so ingrained in you it is a way of life. Remember in Abraham's time they sacrificed as a part of their religious ritual, and when Machiventa told Abraham it was not necessary, Abraham believed his teacher, but he continued yet for many years to sacrifice because he was conditioned somehow to believe that, and part of his mind thus feared that if he did not, he would somehow be punished. It is an indication of your tribal conditioning, and you are all suffering from a certain amount of tribal conditioning.

The human tribe, under Lucifer, lies a lot. It is because your values are completely distorted. Only in and through association with divine perfection can your turn yourself right side in. Only as you begin to recognize God in others, associate yourself with family members that you can trust, that you can be yourself with, can you begin to reveal yourself honestly without being stoned, without being ostracized, without being judged.

ELYSSIA: So do we find people that we can be honest with and sort of start there? Is that what we do? Is that how we can improve ourselves?

TOMAS: Yes, you cannot expect it from strangers.

ELYSSIA: Oh, okay.

TOMAS: You must begin inside with yourself, and then in your intimate associations, and intimate in these terms means the intimacy that you experience with other friends of God, other people who are intimate with Our Father -- not those who study him, or who follow him, but who are intimate with him as you are intimate with him through stillness. You see what I mean?

ELYSSIA: Yes, I do.

TOMAS: Those are the ones who know the Father, who have been embraced in his love, who recognize that they are a loved child, that their human foibles are understood, that their soul is advancing, and that these human things will fall by the wayside in the child's yearning to be more like Father. As this little band of intimate associates mounts and builds, it begins to create a new society, a family first, a family of brothers and sisters under God. As your little family is growing here in the pumpkin patch, there is another little family growing over there in the berry patch, and there is another little family growing up there on the lake, and there's another little patch growing up there on the other side of the falls, and eventually these patches, these families, extend and grow and they connect, and when they connect they create a grillwork, and soon we are holding hands from village to village, and soon we are gaining strength and power, and becoming more honest and accepting of each other, and this is the brotherhood, you see. This is what we are working for. It is a goal. Do not look to the past for the reality of the future. Look within. We have been at it long and hard this evening, my children.

ELYSSIA: Well, I was going to ask you . .. It seems to me maybe humor might help one to be honest with others. A humorous approach might help one to, sort of, practice a kind of honesty with others that you care about.

TOMAS: Yes, it has been elevated to an art form in your society and there is black art and also good art in the comedic fields.

HESTER: Another question.

TOMAS: Yes.

HESTER: Isn't it true that I have to learn to see everybody through the eyes of love -- no matter who they are, no matter what they wear, no matter what color they are, no matter whether they are thieves or whatever. I have to see the God-ness in that person.

TOMAS: You cannot love a person by an act of will. If you love the Father and he is in you and you seek to be like him, then you will see them as He sees them.

HESTER: That's what I'm talking about.

TOMAS: Then you have answered your own question. Yes.

ELYSSIA: Well, we have our assignment now. So I guess we'll see what happens.

TOMAS: Indeed we shall. Rejoice.

ELYSSIA: It's great to talk with you Tomas, and great to have Merium pop in!

HESTER: Yeah.

Closing

TOMAS: It is always a joy to be here with you. It was a particular joy to have Abraham come and spend some time with us and it is also a pleasure to feel the ministrations of our sister Merium. It is even more wonderful to feel your loyal presence here, my flock. It is a sublime honor for me to have you as associates and scribes in these truths. You are loved. Be at peace. Farewell.

ELYSSIA: Thank you.

RACHEL: Thank you, Tomas.

HESTER: God bless.