2003-09-14-Believing In & Having Faith In

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Facilitators

Session

Opening

MUSIC: Elena on Piano: Mendelssohn's "Song without Words"

PRAYER: Matthew: Let us place ourselves in the presence of Jesus, the Christ.

Master Teacher, Whenever we place ourselves in your presence, we automatically feel your being around and about us, as you have promised, where two or more are gathered, so are you there. And we base our faith in that, in addition to the Spirit of Truth that is with us as well, so all of those are increments of our faith that we place in trust. We also place in trust our sheer belief that we are one with you always, and that whatever we ask for, in truth and in need, it will be provided, for as it has been said, Would your father hand you a stone if you asked for a fish? I always liked that one. It was kind of humorous, but in a real sense, very serious, but in a loving, kind and giving way. We are grateful for that which you have offered as example of truth.

We are grateful for the teachers and for one another who are here. Should it be your desire that the group grows, we are open to that and invite the possibility. For the lessons of today and the teachers you present, we are always grateful, for the intentions of our hearts and minds, and for those who have recently passed from our company, we pray for their quick and true deliverance, and may they share it with you now and always. Amen.

Group: (Amen)

TOMAS: I am here, I am Tomas. Good afternoon.

Group: (Greetings)

TOMAS: A "song without words" is like "feelings that lie too deep for words" (99:5.9), and sometimes a moment of silence is the most effective way of saying what your words cannot convey. The fruit of the spirit "enduring peace" is a song without words.

Whereas Jesus’ life was a prayer, without specific formal structure as to the prayer, so can your lives be a song of psalms which you radiate without necessarily having a formal structure to your song, for without words you can harmonize with the divine and with your lives such that you broadcast to the souls of others that which resounds in the depth of your self -- that "soul self" that you are formulating day by day through your conscious decisions to abide in him and do the will of God.

Lesson

Today I would like to discuss belief and faith as has been presented, again, in Matthew’s prayer. We perceive the gift of faith in your soul self as that light which illuminates the darkness, directly tied in with your essential reality, your spirit reality, that which carries you above and beyond what you are mortally capable of.

Beliefs are often the gridwork or the scaffolding upon which your faith may soar. The belief is the song with words, and there is no greater passion in humanity than the sharing of beliefs with those who share the same beliefs, or fighting for the right to maintain sovereignty in and through the belief you hold over the beliefs of others.

Before we convened today, you were engaged in discussions of politics, and politics itself is a representation of belief – belief of the party platform and of the proponents of these platforms, these beliefs; each individual has a following of loyal patrons who believe in them, based on that which they have in common.

It is said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and you can understand this in your configuration for you have similar tastes and similar representations of domestic bliss and material reality which complement each other sufficiently that you are able to direct attention to your communal beliefs, based on your culture, how you live. In this way you uphold each other, and you reinforce each other’s belief in who they are and what they are doing / in who you are and what you are doing.

By believing in each other in this way, you give structure to your configuration, your community. You validate one another and uphold one another, eventually to have faith in each other, for your similarities, familiarities, and mutual belief systems all point to the outcome of unity in like-mindedness. This same kind of imitation and, yes, flattery, is a part of the political system you enjoy. Those who support candidates are supporting something in themselves that they believe in. Someone reflects Something of value, and so it becomes a very interesting playground wherein beliefs and believers are sent forth as scaffolding upon which your civilization turns.

By the same token, you have among you friends, admirers, associates and affiliates, representatives of values, philosophies and tenets that you have been touched by - philosophically or spiritually or artistically. And this, too, warrants your admiration and attention. You subscribe to certain magazines because they attract you. You admire certain leaders for their messages are songs of sagacity. In this way leadership is made possible. There are those who are held up to the public eye, who withstand or overcome the common criticisms, and shine their light sufficiently that they become icons, then, of that which the populace yearns for and seeks to see realized in its midst, and so you have heroes, and spokesmen.

Spokesmen such as you admire most are those who, like you, are born of the flesh. Of course, this is an essential reason you admire Jesus so much, because you know he experienced the same mortal hardships and frailties you do, and he mastered these problems and reached heights of greatness, even as a humble mortal man. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Ghandi. These were such men. Bill Kelly was such a man in your culture.

The greatness of all these people lies in the fact that they believe in something greater than themselves. Whether it was a political ideology or a spiritual ideology, it was something that appealed to the soul-self of others. To believe in someone is more than flattery; it is a consecration of purpose, shared, and it carries great energy.

There are great things done on the worlds of time and space because of mortal leadership. Leaders believe in something that their followers need, or think they need. Ultimately, all have faith that in the end their beliefs will be upheld as having eternal value, even though a temporary coup is acceptable in many cases.

To not believe in someone or something is poverty. To live without faith in something or someone is to live in a void.

Songs without words are feelings that lie too deep for words.

Matthew: Anatolia is here.

ANATOLIA: Welcome, friends, and more importantly, welcome to what it is to be "in spirit" for as the former lesson had indicated, you are, as you will recall from the Urantia Book, in the unique position to be "believers without seeing" and then, oftentimes, seeing because of belief. One may call this delusion; others would call it presenting facts as you know them, because of your belief in what you are seeing. In other words, if you were to see an angel, it would be a presentation of that which you already believe. If you were to see something else, that is not of your understanding or belief system, does it mean that the latter does not exist or is a figment of your imagination?

What I am getting at is: the discussion of today is very important to your on-going growth and development, for you are living faith here and now. You are demonstrating what it is you believe in your everyday practice of performing that which you are about – both in terms of personality performance and your belief performance, for if it were just left to your personality, everyone would be as miserable or as delightful as their inner life allowed, but with adding the dimension of faith, you bring the dimension of other patterns of behavior into practice because you believe there is a higher truth which predates, predicts, or pre-empts your own behavior or tendency to behave in a different manner.

So, your experience in this world is as great or as little as your belief system will allow. If you believe faith can move mountains, you will literally be able to perform feats that otherwise have no reason for description, definition or understanding. If you believe that nothing is possible other than brute force and determination, you will, to a large extent, be pushing rocks uphill, much like the dung beetle, if you have seen that demonstrated. Talk about an exercise in frustration! To believe in nothing is to be pushing rocks uphill, to never be able to perform the mastery of getting the rock over the edge because it is sure to tumble back where it started, if not beyond.

So my point in presentation is that much as the individuals you have spoken of in your common understanding, that is your sharing and consoling of one another and speaking of the feats and activities that these fine individuals have left you as memories of them, they are now living the result of their faith. Know, too, it is not because of their faith they are living the result; it is by their having chosen to believe that they are now realizing the fruits of their labor. The difference in this is that faith is a choice, although one can say, having been indoctrinated in religious practice, say, from an early age, "Where’s the choice in that?" However, one always has the choice to accept or reject that which they have been given and choose the opportunity to build beyond that and not simply let it stay in the presentation as given.

In other words, one must choose to actively become engaged in faith. This is living faith. It is building upon that which has been given and making it a personal commitment. So, in so doing, to choose faith, which is by many other descriptions choosing a relationship with a higher power. Our Heavenly Father in this case is whom we chose to have relationship with, as well as any and all other dimensions in addition to that primary relationship, knowing that all springs from that Eternal Source.

So be glad and rejoice for your friends who are living the result of their faith. They are seeing, as they have believed. They are being as they allow themselves to become. And as you chose to live your life, what you chose to practice beyond what your personality dictates, is what you make for yourselves and others while you are here and after you go on, for the greatest testament that you live is to leave a legacy of love with those whom you leave behind. If you have not left a legacy of love, you have only left absence for what space you occupied.

It is in the vacuum of your departure that the next world knows you and the world you left acknowledges your passing. But leave more than you were given, and you will find ‘heaven on earth’ as well as in Heaven. Be of good cheer and know that your good intentions and your faith provide the way for heaven to exist both here and beyond what you consider the limits of your world, for they are all one and as it is. Faith is the door through this mystery that allows you to be your best and ultimate self. Welcome to the world of living faith, and may it spring forth as a fountain in your hearts and minds from this day forward, never to ever lose this cycle of regeneration.

Peace be with you, and know that the love and certainty of an ever-present Father and ever-living Minister in Spirit are always with you. Peace be with you. Thank you.

Group: Thank you, Anatolia.

TOMAS: Tomas again, resuming … as if we had ceased our rapport, which is impossible. And this is a truth that can be extended into infinity. Once a relationship has begun, it is infinite in potential, and thus, there are no losses, only gains; no limitations, only expansion in this increasing sphere of reality, which is the gift of the Source of all life, all light, love and laughter.

Lovely ones, what questions do you bring to the group? The lives you have lived this week have been abundantly filled with feelings and growth situations. Are there matters to bring to counsel? (long pause)

Dialogue

Elena: Well, I hate to be always the only one, or at least the first one, so I was trying to get an opening where somebody else would jump right out there, but nobody was really jumping.

This week has been a real different one for me. I mean, the time has been really full for a long time, and I think that is part of it. And then yesterday being full, a little bit of uncertainty about playing (music) again in Santa Fe, and wanting something to be really good, not … I mean really wanting it to be good for Chris's funeral, being uncertain about his family maybe, but I felt unbalanced, and my energy level really low. I think all of it’s a result of having so many things to do for a long time but … I don’t know. I feel like I don’t know where I am right now.

TOMAS: All right then. Let’s take a look at where you might be, and where all of you might be in terms of the influences that are pressing upon you. Not to be overlooked is the full moon that has come and gone, and that always has an impact on the animal being.

Also, in your society you are accustomed to adjusting your energies at the end of summer to apply yourself after the Labor Day weekend in work or school, as if it were a new season, to buckle down and attempt to master the tasks at hand, to learn new lessons in the new class ahead, or to take care of the business you have neglected all summer because of those hazy, lazy days we have enjoyed.

However, the political flavor you are experiencing is making it clear that this is not just another "life as usual" season. The very real threat of war is a pressing concern. The invasion into your sense of safety and security is at every doorstep, with germ warfare and the fear of the material existence in one form or another. The unthinking, automated animal is not interested in attacking new lessons. It does not want to deal with ‘business as usual’ and it will not relinquish energy easily to that spark within, that innocent element of each of you that is delighted to learn new lessons and have new adventures. And so the gravitational pull of the material world weighs heavy on you at this time in the planetary picture.

The difficulties you feel are a part of the collective unconscious. There are many who are opting to leave, and yet a new wave of youthful idealism and energy is amassing underneath the inherited fears of the existing paradigm. There is so much going on under the surface of all things and beings, it would be natural that you would find patterns of behavior altered and full of surprises. Even your own responses are inclined to be askew of what you understand to be your instinctual self or your inherent nature.

It is a turbulent time. And yet it will pass. You must not set aside your innocent childlike wonder. You must not close down your sense of anticipation just because you are pelted with negative energy or finding yourself subscribing to the fear mongering, or even the actual working out of planetary destiny on the unpleasant side of the scales.

Many times when a situation of distress or stress prevails, individuals opt to remove themselves – consciously or unconsciously – from the zone of activity that gives the distress. It is possible such a condition can create disassociation. But without becoming disassociated, experience a little detachment – conscious detachment, and give yourself a break. By having a handle on what’s going on, you are able to manage your lives better. It is the nebulous unknown, in particular the negative unknown that is so unnerving to all life. And much of what you are up against is this dark cloud of the unknown.

The admonition to turn to the light is not a way of saying "disassociate yourself from the current reality", no, but take strength, find succor in the subsistence of those with whom you share a lasting reality. Reach out to your friends and family in confirmation of your affiliation. Believe in that which is true, beautiful and good. Affirm your life and the lives of those you love. Have faith in that which matters. Exalt those realities which will survive regardless of the impermanent and partially perfect patterns of the current material paradigm, accepting that that which is unreal, unfinished, unformed, or even imperfect, will falter, will fool you, will pull the slats out from under your scaffolding, unless you have your foundation based on that which is eternal and divine.

I won’t be so glib as to say "learn to go with the flow" or "roll with the punches" no, because the more aware you are of what comprises life, the more effective you can be in it, even in those situations which would seem to be undermining that which you support and even depend upon. Affirm and confirm that which speaks to your soul self, and let go of that which is impermanent or over which you have no standing. Is this helpful?

Elena: Yes, I think so. Thank you, Tomas.

TOMAS: I am simply trying to help you use your rational mind and not succumb to fears, for they are indeed all around you, and there are many occasions for animal reactions to the simple vicissitudes of life. They need not become "big deals". But when there is so much unsure about life, it’s easier for these "big deals" to come in and take over your serenity.

Thinking rationally does not necessarily entail justifying. You need not make excuses for other people, or even for yourself, but being rational and sane about your configuration of reality is a way of managing yourself, such that you can see your way clear to finding home base, whether that is your physical address or that Core within you, even into the fields, that is in your interior, your sanctuary, your soul-self as it resides with God.

Elena: Thank you, Tomas.

TOMAS: Another way people react to this overriding insecurity is to throw themselves into their work, and thus the work ethic will be in overdrive. But you will find, however, it, too, will run across similar difficulties and so it will not have the same force as it had before. And much of this is because of the dawning of the new age, which seeks the greater reality and that knows the spirit is the dominant and preferred reality. People are beginning to believe in themselves and in their own yearning for reality more than for the artificial and material reality, which has been their pattern from the beginning. The end result of this, in due course, will be an upsurgence of great faith.

These are difficult times for your world. Now that you know that it is engaged in a struggle for supremacy of the spirit over the flesh, of the infinite over the finite, the correcting of the perspectives that have kept you in the darkness, you can whole-heartedly give yourself to the rebirth/ renewal/ reclamation of that which is true, beautiful and good -- consistently, and stalwartly, throughout all of humanity – that spirit which is yearning to be free, that yearns to rise above the fears and petty problems of a "little" life into the spiritual liberty of the freedom of spirit that is the legacy of those who are the Sons of God.

This is the fight worth fighting, the good fight of faith. I trust each of you knows that faith in your soul-self that is worth upholding, as compared to those (beliefs), which are stepping stones to such great faith. Valuable stepping stones, none-the-less. What else is going on in your lives?

Paula: You know, what we were talking about before, or what I was, when I lost my Dad, I kind of went all to pieces for a little bit, and mother was just terribly quiet. Ominously quiet. And I know how deeply it affected her. Now, her sister is an amazing woman. She had four sons. She lost three of them. She had one son left when she died, and somehow she came through that, and I could crown the one she has left. He lives down in Florida and when she was alive, I guess she was lucky if once a month he might have called her. He just was very casual, you know. ‘Life goes on.’ He had lost his brothers, but he didn’t pay that much attention to his mother, for which I could’ve smacked him for she was a great lady. She was! You would have liked her. But people cope with things in different ways. I guess it was because I was so close to my Dad. He was really super.

TOMAS: Yes.

Paula: And it really hit me hard because it all happened so fast. It was totally unexpected and he was only in his 50’s. Just a kid!

TOMAS: Many deal with hardship by disassociating themselves emotionally, as I mentioned before, and whereas in his soul-self he may have deep feelings for his mother, it may be that he has cut off his vulnerability to the human condition that grieves and feels emotions, for it is so hard to live an effective life when you are crippled by your emotional condition. And this is a painful planet. There are gross injustices and much pain and suffering and it is common understanding throughout the galaxy that there are aberrated behaviors on Urantia as a result of the hardships you have endured as a people, as a human race.

It is not such a surprise to us, having studied your world, having seen it from our perspective for awhile, that some of these seeming inhuman behaviors take place, but they are survival techniques. They are also coping mechanisms. And those of you who are well loved and who have come to appreciate, in a high sense, how supremely loved you truly are, are able to gain the perspective then of yours, Janet/Paula, who has known such devoted love between father and daughter as we would anticipate enjoying with our heavenly father. All of his children are worthy of that kind of love and affection, which you were so fortunate to enjoy but not everyone has been so fortunate to experience.

This kind of perspective that you have is a foothold, then, to further serve humanity by the perspective you have that although you have nothing necessarily to make up for, and you have nothing to be ashamed of, even so, as an associate of the divine, and with the perspective that you are able to garner as a result of your association with the Father of all, it becomes a fruitful endeavor, then, for you to commend this kind of love to others where and when possible, to understand that those who are not so fortunate to have enjoyed this kind of rapport, are without the full blessing of those who have and do enjoy such sublime relationship with the father figure, with the mother image, with the ideal, and with the reality.

Making up for the deficits of humanity is a tremendous job, and all of you can help pitch in to take care of this huge burden. The atonement of over-compensating, if you will, of the deficiencies of the Adamic Default and the Lucifer Rebellion, not to mention the backlash that all of your civilizations far and wide have suffered as a result. The need for love on this planet is so great; and yet, the fear of love is also great, for knowing how to love and owning love has responsibilities, and immature people who have not known how to be responsible and manage even their own existence are terrified of being their brother’s keeper in any meaningful context.

Closing

Stick with me, kids, and we will go places. We will become a driving force. Perhaps we will learn to believe in ourselves and in each other. Perhaps we will come to have faith in ourselves because of our association with the divine, and thus we will have faith in one another as a result of understanding in our soul-self of the relationship we all share with the Divine. And when there is such faith in one another, there is energy that is like a light that is set upon a hill for all to see. Let us pray that our light shines for all to see and that the song we sing is not too deep for words but is a high Hosanna forevermore. Amen. Farewell.

Group: Thank you.