2003-04-20-Solemnity of Trust

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Topic: Solemnity of Trust

Group: Rio Rancho TeaM

Facilitators

Teacher: Tomas, Anatolia

TR: Gerdean, Matthew

Session

Opening

  • Music: Dorenda on Piano
  • Date: April 20, Easter Sunday, 2003
  • Prayer: (Matthew) Let us place ourselves in the presence of Christ Jesus.

Master Teacher, we come before you today on this glorious day of your resurrection—the memory of which will reign forever, with you and with our Heavenly Father -- and we stand like the women who came to address your needs, even in the apparent defeat, on Sunday morning to find an empty tomb—which was the best thing that ever happened and ever will,… other than the communion of Saints rejoining and fulfilling that which is promised. In the meantime we deal with the superficial defeat on earth and despair that still occurs on this planet, but it is superficial because the victory, the glory, the power are Yours and we are a part of it. That was accomplished because of Your will in the Father’s will. So there is ultimately nothing to be worried or concerned or defeated about because you took us beyond defeat and into glory.

We ask for the teachings today that you determine to be of the most appropriate for our on-going development and spiritual nutrition. We pray for all the cares and concerns of our hearts and minds that you know and that we ask for their deliberate dispatch in being healed, cured, or resolved in the time that is appropriate. We give you great thanks and praise for being the son of God and for allowing us to be part of your glory now and forever.

TOMAS: Cherubic children, on this day of joy I convene with you in celebration of the victory of the Spirit, in Life over death, and share with you, in your working out the mortal sojourn that will provide for you that victory which he has portrayed in the resurrection that is celebrated in your world this day. The hosannas On High share with the prayers of mortal believers who lift up their eyes unto the heavens for the clouds to part and the glories of the Son of God to shine down upon them. He shines upon us all. Amen.

Lesson

Trust

I would like today to address with you the topic of Trust, the victory that is Christ Jesus’ even that victory over death.

The culmination of his sovereignty was accomplished singularly through his trust in the Universal Father’s divine will. Trust is the key to your freedom, your path through the maze of mortal incertitude. Trust is like the crumbs laid down that will enable you to follow the path through the forest. Trust is the triumph over doubt that gives your faith credibility in man’s eyes and fruition in your own ascension. Trust is the key. Trusting the Father, that is.

The preciousness of infants and babies is their total Trust and their delight in the realization that their needs will be met. Trust is seen in the wavering steps of the toddler as it reaches out to the parent, learning to make his own way through time and space. Trust is children laughing, playing, unperturbed by the distraction of discord.

If and when a child runs freely into pain or devastation, its Trust falters. Part of this is good. Part of this is a learning experience, that you do not put your hand in the fire. You begin then to Trust your instincts.

While it wise to Trust your instincts, it is also true that as a mortal advances in a realm such as Urantia, the betrayals and disappointments of life might well lead one to embrace DIStrust as a way of life, misconstruing that … having Trust in your fellows is not the same as having Trust in the Father.

I will not bore you with a litany of the betrayals your planet has known and how it is that the fact of betrayal enters into ever fiber of this mortal realm. And with this heritage it would seem foolish for one to find something in which one found faith or that which one would have Trust in.

Those of you who know Jesus, who know that he shares the experience of living with you, know that he, too, knew betrayal—not only Judas but in countless ways the power of the flesh overcame the power of the spirit in the lives of men.

Trusting men, trusting the ways of the world, is not at all the same as Trusting the Father. Remember that Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." He has not asked you to Trust that which is imperfect or those who know him not. He has asked that you Trust the Father, as he Trusted the Father. Implicitly! Even unto the end.

Faith is the victory. The valley of tears that your world often represents is faithless and without Trust of that which is uplifting and eternal.

Faith is given to you, as a Son of God, as a mustard seed. And by your decisions and through your sincerity you begin to nurture this seed of faith until it fills your being. And when you see that your very being is infused with faith you begin to recognize the solemnity of Trust, for within this solemnity of Trust you are able to perceive the Father in all things. As such, it is also possible to see where He is not, as the Master was able to see, even as he lived the life of a man, a mortal man, on Urantia.

There are opportunities abounding at this day and age, and at this juncture of your development, to discern distrust even in your brothers and sisters, for there are degrees of discernment and perception that are part of the human package, the conditioning and the value that is each individual’s composition, where they may vary from one to another; and, thus, it is possible as religionists to distrust one another, even while you are able to love one another, because you can recognize the relative perfection, the relative imperfection of the degree of growth that resides therein.

From the fatherly attitude you can see how the children hold within them the aspects of good and evil, and you can Trust that in the end the good will prevail. The faith will bring victory. But in the process of perfecting, each mortal being wears a mask of unreality. And you are not asked to Trust that which is unreal, or even that which is behind the mask, for it is not established in the heart of that being as to how they will go. This is a part of the perfecting process, an element of the ascension.

It is also here that when you Trust the Father you can sit down with each other and say, "It is this aspect of you that I don’t trust because I perceive it this way." And the other may respond, "I recognize your distrust and, while I find it highly distasteful, I find in you also those qualities which are less than God-like. However, in light of the mutual desire to serve, to rise above the imperfect perceptions of mortal man, by drawing upon the Spirit of Truth and the Perfector of Wisdom, it is possible to work through these entanglements and pass through to the other side, even being able to admire the effort that was necessary within you each to overcome your own bias, in order to see the perception of the other, such that you are able to embrace as brothers in understanding of the nature of the human condition en route to perfection, en route to a unity of purpose in the Way, the Truth and the Light.

The Brotherhood of Man is your potentially greatest attainment, for in the sharing of these fraternal attitudes through Christ Consciousness you are able to elevate yourself from the realm of animal existence into the realm of fraternal relations that are a part of the Eternal Kingdom - the essence of the Paradise ascent – enabling yourself to learn to Trust the Father in all things.

Understanding that distrust is a material component natural to your historical conditioning is a lesson, a perception, which we pray thee find. In the solemnity of Trust your fellowship will be exalted as the Family of Man that lives with God, that has known the Love of Jesus, and that emulates his Trust in the Father in all things, thus reflecting Faith and Grace in all you do.

I have presented you now my Easter Basket filled with the colored eggs of Trust on a bed of Faith.

Let me pass the dais to my companion. For now I bid you farewell.

Matthew: Thank you. (Pause) Anatolia is here.

ANATOLIA: This a grand day here in the halls of celebration. Wherever you look you will see flowers, colors, glory and deep-seated rejuvenation, regeneration and glorification of the thought of humanity having risen to a new level due to the exercise of free will chosen by a Creator Son.

Crucifixion

This is a perspective I wish to share with you that is seldom viewed and widely misunderstood, in terms of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is customary to consider the sacrifice of our Savior as having been a sacrificial rite for the wages of sin. However, this is a consideration which I wish to expound upon, if not expand upon, to include the voluntary participation in the will of a Divine, yet human, Actor taking the place of pure human will in a human drama. Never before, outside of the pagan world, had there been an active participant of the Divine Realms in human events.

There are many ways to perceive or to view, those wondrous acts of intervention, during, before and after, the drama known as ‘Christ Jesus personified in your world,’ for there had never been the opportunity for humanity to have such direct insight and Divine inspiration and guidance. Never had there been an Actor of Divine Heritage that shared the same cell structure, genealogical inheritance, and for all others’ rights and purposes, human existence, as had that of Christ Jesus. So, in many ways, the actual presence and participation of a Divine Son in your world, that became part of the Human Drama, is to a large degree the initial miracle or amazing grace that took place.

How he intersected your world and what was transacted in the process has many dimensions, nearly countless. As you would view them in a kaleidoscope, every time you face the light and turn the end you see a new dimension, a new facet, a never-before-seen dimension that continues to change with how the chips fall into place.

Let me just say that there is nothing defeatism-oriented toward the crucifixion, least of all the resurrection. Even though the demise of a Divine Son in the flesh took place during an entire day in the approximate time of 2,000 years ago, the reality was that Divine Trust was very much being portrayed. Despite what human will seemed to override and squelch—that of what many believed to be the long-awaited Messiah, to be executed like a common criminal. It would appear to be the ultimate in defeat.

But what was not seen by many (but perceived in spirit by some) was that the suspension of Jesus’ will in his human role was relinquished to that of the Father's role in terms of Trust. Jesus knew that by relinquishing his life in the physical world, he would gain for all of us the Trust and the realization that his purpose was truly Divine.

Resurrection

When had it ever been demonstrated before that a human being (thought by many philosophers and otherwise) to be just several steps above animal life … how could that level of life ever achieve that which was achieved by the death and resurrection? When had there ever been such contrasts that could prove the unprovable – that life is everlasting?

It cannot, nor will not, be diminished by anyone’s imposition or supposition that their will prevails. The Father’s will prevails. And it was the Father’s will that life everlasting be clearly demonstrated. How could that have been portrayed any better?

There are many examples or allusions that one could paint or draw that could possibly portray that life has an eternal purpose, but many of those scenarios would be outside of the realm of the human-divine interplay. Any supreme being can perform any function outright and apart from the human will and human drama. But for those to have become one (and for many, all they ever saw in Jesus was his humanity) and from that perspective, for that humanity to have risen on the third day is truly amazing.

There are many ways that I could continue to illustrate this point, but let me simply say that in all that you do in your religious practice and more so in your faith demonstration. I want for you to continue to revel and marvel at this most dramatic moment in time that lives forever in the hearts and the minds of those who are one in the spirit.

This does not mean that you have to become one of the faithful departed, to be separate and apart, and beyond the cares and concerns of this world to have this perspective. This perspective of the resurrection can be yours on a perpetual basis, here and beyond.

For this is truly the message of Easter, the everlastingness of Spirit, as only created by a heavenly Creator with Its creation. That is truly the purpose and the message and the glory of Easter I wish for you to have this be a centerpiece of your faith perspective as it continues to grow. I wish that it not be relinquished for any purpose nor at any time because this is your eternal ticket. This is your payment of admission – your Faith Perspective. This is worth on-going discussion in terms of the mystery of Faith in and of itself, but today it is the Divine Will to unite and to share the glory of Himself withal forever.

Rejoice and be glad, for we are always with you. And I wish for this dimension of Faith Perspective enhanced for now and for all purposes for all times. Peace by with you and be glad, for we are with you always.

Dialogue

(The Q&A session after Tomas and Anatolia's lesson on Trust and Faith)

TOMAS: Thank you, Anatolia, for your chocolate. Can we have some jelly beans now from you (the group)?

Elena: I have a question about what you mentioned about the Perfector of Wisdom. Can you give me just a little 'jelly bean' about the Perfector of Wisdom? I don't understand, exactly, what entity that would come from or who that is.

TOMAS: The Perfector of Wisdom is a Universe Reality. It is personified for your comprehension, as if you were incapable of understanding any live thing without a form. I am reminded of the Living Libraries, which are not filled with books, as you would know 'knowledge' today, but rather an atmosphere without walls that you may enter into and absorb what is available on what you need to know, much as you now go to the library or the internet in order to find information. The 'living libraries' of the cosmos are realities for you to partake of.

Similar, but not the same, is the Perfector of Wisdom. Like the Sanctity of Trust, it is a quality of reality that has no parallel in your mortal framework, but you know when you have entered into its influence. You recognize the reality, the value, that it reveals.

Elena: Well it's easier to understand the Trust that you talk about than the Perfector of Wisdom, for me. When you were talking about Trust I have a very clear understanding of that - at least during the time that you were talking about it. What you said (about the Perfector of Wisdom) helps, but still I'm not clear about it. I can almost touch . .. I can feel the Trust in the Father, but I'm not so clear about the Wisdom.

TOMAS: The Perfector of Wisdom is a ministering spirit (?) - a helper which guides you into a comprehension of the worthiness of that which you seek, and which stretches you above and beyond your current comprehension of what 'wisdom' is. It enables your own wisdom to take on new dimensions and, like Sanctity of Trust, which you can feel around you as if it were a shady place on a hot day, the Perfector of Wisdom is similar to "a cosmic stretch" into a greater comprehension. It leaves you feeling enlarged and invigorated, as if every cell in your body had been innervated. You feel empowered, perhaps, because of the newfound level of wisdom which has been revealed to you through your own efforts - through your own reach into divinity, and this process is assisted by the Perfector of Wisdom.

From your mortal vantage point you may think of it as a study hall that provides the atmosphere that will enable you to focus your mind on a point of behavior or attitude which allows you the "Sanctity of Trust" to see it through to the fullest extent possible, without diversion, without distraction, without the need to change the subject or run away. It provides time for you to make this leap in consciousness.

(Cricket, Paula's cat, meows noticeably in the background)

And good afternoon to you, as well, my four-footed friend. (group chuckles) I have affection for your animals. When I was mortal I had many animals myself. However, my selection was very limited by the nature of the restraints of our habitation. It was not my experience ever to see a horse, Paula. I have never been on a farm. I have been what you might consider a city boy, "a city slicker", but truly I was more like "Eloise, the apartment dweller". Even so, on occasion we were afforded stewardship over one of the many animals of the realm which we had adopted as appropriate for our living conditions and, since they were so domesticated, your pets put me in mind of those days when I was able to enjoy the company of the creatures of the realm.

Matthew: May I ask a question at this point?

TOMAS: Yes, Matthew.

The Teachers

Matthew: What did the mortals of this world look like? Did they look like, for example, humans like us or with some real differences?

TOMAS: My world?

Matthew: Yes.

TOMAS: They were somewhat shorter. They were slight of build. They were racially what you might call "petite" and rather without fur or hair but rather a 'down' that covered the bodies. When my sons were born, they were almost furry, but as they developed, they shed their hair, leaving particles of it in their bed, much like cats or dogs who shed will leave traces of their fallen hair on their bedding.

Our lives were lived within a similar time frame as yours but for us to live to be 75 or 80 was a very long time. However, the planet we lived on was so dense, the global time span was much smaller. The down-pull of the density of the neighboring tribes held us back from (- the word is not in your vocabulary that I am looking for -) what I have seen on other developing worlds where your vitality actually soars. Thus we were - how shall I say, landlocked or grounded from the advantages of advancement that you will find on worlds of Light and Life that includes the entire globe. That is a different aspect of Light and Life. Thus, you see, my experience had its limitations. But to answer your question Matthew, we were of a slight build compared to Urantians.

Matthew: Thank you. I had wondered about that before.

TOMAS: Does this contribute to your spiritual discernment somehow?

Matthew: I can find a reason. I'm curious because I've heard some descriptions of other creatures on other worlds looking like reptiles and other such descriptions. I wasn't expecting something grotesque. I was just curious, if it was almost a direct - in appearance - comparison to what we look like, that's all.

TOMAS: We were similar. I was standard among my race. We all had blue eyes, however, which was a variation from the variety you see with your people. However, this was, very probably, a result of our isolating ourselves early on. It is not as if we had interbred, as there were enough of us to forestall any genetic deficits that inbreeding will bring. But there was such limited opportunity for the racial amalgamation that occurs on a normal planet. We retarded ourselves, in some ways, by this choice. But these deficiencies were made up in the course of time, as all deficiencies are in the path to perfection.

Elena: Tomas, you mentioned before the difference of habitat for your race of people. I don't know if "race" is the correct word to use or not but it'll do. But on your world, was there some kind of mistake or a kind of a change of the plans, comparable to our world, that promoted and continued that separation between you and the other people? Because I remember you talking about that before.

TOMAS: It stemmed from the conditions on our world-the physical conditions of the planet. The course we took was to protect ourselves from the elements, and thus we became more fragile. We lost the ruggedness that our neighboring relatives withstood, sustained, and grew into, and so, after a time, it became necessary for us to continue to separate ourselves, even culturally, for while we were able to develop our sensitivities and refine our lifestyle, we were also made very vulnerable, you would say 'weak.' Thus, to your mind's eye you might think of us as birds in a cage and surrounded by cats on the prowl. However we did not feel imprisoned and we truly did sing for we had great joy in our peculiar society.

Elena: Yours was a planet of Light and Life, too, wasn't it, Tomas?

TOMAS: It was not.

Elena: Oh.

TOMAS: Our portion was very advanced but the planet, in the main, was a brutal place to live. But again, much of that was because of the physical aspects, the extremes of heat and cold that sent us scurrying indoors, whereas the others ran out into it to fend, and they became strong physically while we became strong inwardly.

Matthew: Can the analogy be made between Asian people here and the Europeans? Because Asians are generally more light of build and tend toward more intellectual and spiritual pursuits.

TOMAS: From your perspective that might be a way to understand our difference. But we were not nearly as many as the Orientals here. Our race, unlike the mongoloids of Urantia, were a small race of people. Perhaps the size of Australia, in comparison of the rest of the globe.

Paula: Where was this planet of yours in the scheme of things?

TOMAS: This planet was - and is - in a neighboring system in the local universe of Nebadon, and so we are simply neighbors.

Esmarelda: Are we in the same galaxy?

TOMAS: The galaxy itself, of course, embraces us all. But I'm not in the galaxy that revolves around your sun. We have our own sun ( s-u-n ) and it is rambunctious. Indeed there were two suns and three moons on my world and the weather conditions were altogether different from the weather conditions here. That is what set us apart from our fellows, and to my mind what enabled us to advance, but only because we adapted the way we adapted.

The others are, in fact, intact and evolving nicely on the rest of the planet from which I hailed, and they have evolved, as I have, now presenting a decent face to the Father in acknowledgment of their beings. Whereas in the days of my mortality, the gods outside of our compound were based on what you would know as 'ghost cults' perhaps. They worshipped the elements and this, of course, is why they would run right out into the elements and do battle with them. Eventually they realized that the wind and the rain were not their enemies nor gods but merely climate factors, and they began to develop new ways of invigorating themselves physically and entertaining themselves psychically. Thus they have come along in their evolution and what is left of what was once my world is what you might consider ancient civilization in ruins, and yet maintained as a museum for those to study.

Elena: No more of your race is there anymore?

TOMAS: They have all vanished. We evolved and eventually the need to procreate (long pause) - again there's no word here - (further pause) removed itself from us. You might say we were 'freaks' or a 'fluke,' but that was the experience that I brought with me to my eternal career. And there are times, like when encountering your cats, when remembrance of that way of life wash over me, and my memories, my reflections, are warm and joy-filled. Which is what Light and Life is, after all.

As I enjoy this respite with you from the embattlements of life on your world - even in your lives - the tranquility we share is one we know of as 'peace' resulting from the Prince of Peace. It is the quality of enjoyment that comes from an appreciation of our Higher Nature and the accomplishment of sedating our animal nature.

Elena: Well, I don't know if for anybody else, but for me it's kind of like a continuation of what you were talking about at the start, too. As you learn more about someone else, you trust them more. And I'd have to say I know we've grown to know each other more during the last year, but as we grow to know more about you, it makes it easier to trust you more, too. It's very helpful, I think, and I really want to thank you again for sharing some of what your past experience is. Within the Father we are somehow a piece that fits in the humongous mosaic that we can't even comprehend, but in Him. But as one mosaic piece relates to another - as you know more about that other 'piece of the pie' or whatever - it certainly is very helpful. So thank you.

TOMAS: And thank you for trusting the process of getting to know the facets of divinity which have been generously spread out before you in personalities such as mine and others that engage with you in a refinement of sentiment and an appreciation of the experience of others. It is a testimony to your growth as a conscious citizen of the Universe that your needs can abate sufficiently that you can look around and take an interest in the lives of others. This is not possible for those who are in fear of their lives or in distrust of life itself. It is those, of course, that we have as our assignment, you and I, and yet, in order for us to be effective, it will be to our mutual benefit that we have learned to love each other and trust each other sufficiently that we can see how we are alike - how we compare as ascending sons - how we share in the family of God as fraternal comrades. I have dredged up memories that have been long dormant today and I am glad you found them meaningful to your experience.

Esmarelda: Thank so much for sharing with us Tomas. It just helped us to grow closer.

Elena: And at another time we'd like to really know more, too.

TOMAS: There is an element of your cat, Elena, I would like to mention.

Elena: Oh, Thank You!! (group laughter) I didn't want to ask about my pet. In the past I have asked you about Herby (the beta fish) but I'm all ears. [Editor's Note: Her cat, Tanya, was keeping the household awake with incessant nocturnal swatting of the electrical wires throughout the house.]

TOMAS: You are on the right track about the shedding. It is a part of the peculiar habit Tanya has instituted. Energy runs through those wires, and energy is able to, like a magnet, draw her and stimulate her follicles. If she were brushed, it would have a similar effect. You in this climate understand the electric charge of that shock that comes innately from scuffing your feet on the carpet then touching the door handle. She is "electrocuting her hairs off". It is a process similar to how snakes will molt their skin. It isn't enough to be harmful. It may not even be that effective, but it pleases her to try.

Elena: Then I should brush her!

TOMAS: If she will hold still for it, you might eliminate some of her "itch to seek relief" in electrical wiring. This is just something else for you to put on your "To Do" list.

Elena: I appreciate the suggestions, though. Anything that could kind of help us get some sleep right now would be helpful. So, thank you, Tomas.

TOMAS: There is also an advantage to you, for in the Stillness that is required for you to effectively minister to your feline, you are brought into relationship with her and there are many gifts that can be gained from the association with the animal realm. They have so many things to offer that humans so often overlook. And the truth is, they share them with you, since they too have five (5) of the adjutant mind spirits and thus their nature is so much like your nature. Give yourself up to the luxury of engaging in intimacy with your cat and enjoy the grooming moment.

Elena: Thank you, Tomas. (Phone rings)

Closing

TOMAS: The outside world impinges. And it is just as well, for we must close our session and be about our Father's business. Take what we have enjoyed here today in this Family Gathering, the love we shared, the peace we knew, the trust we developed, the wisdom we imparted, and take it into the world with you. Give evidence to all you see of that which is eternal which has been resurrected within you! The way, the truth, and the light. We will see you next week. Farewell.