2024-08-19-Machiventa Mission Urantia 18

Session

Opening

Jerry: I’ll just mention a website called Daynal.org--by Rob Davis--which has been up and archiving since 1982 pretty much the complete Teaching Mission, with well over 100 T/Rs; since about 2004 myself.

Greetings everyone. It's always good to be still and see what the spiritual community has to suggest. We can always ask our dear Heavenly Father what he too has for us this particular morning. Now let me invite Michael and Mother Spirit to be with us as they always are—Mother Spirit being a part of our minds, and Michael's Spirit of Truth being our faithful guide.

Dear Michael and Mother Spirit: welcome! Come be with us in this special way. Through this wonderful electronic venue we can share your message and broadcast it abroad in faithful transcripts. Many can appreciate how you two delight in having conversations with us at the end of your lessons.

Today, Michael, as we are in the midst of an election season here in the United States, I recall that you and Mother Spirit have very deliberately avoided giving emphasis to a particular party or person. But could you perhaps give us some general considerations to help us choose those who will come to represent us in our democratic/constitutional republic? Thank you.

Lesson

Michael: Good afternoon, my dear children. Mother Spirit and I are always glad to be with you in any way you choose to start. It is the very essence of spirit--both of God’s, and ours, and hopefully yours too—not to impose upon others, but always respect their free will--their need to be an autonomous being in the midst of their lives. Most fundamentally, we encourage you to get a feeling for the unique beings you are, right from God. This is both a truth and a blessing for you as my dear children, yet also quite a challenge not to feel desperately lonely in your very uniqueness, your inability to share all of yourselves with another.

But across the enormously broad spectrum of enjoying one of God's greatest attributes—the ability to share your lives with others—the more you know and feel yourselves secure in God, the easier it is to give yourself away. So while it is absolutely necessary to have some feeling for who you uniquely are--to perceive and respect this in others, it also enables the paradoxical blessing of self-forgetfulness. You can let yourself go entirely with someone else, trusting in our Father that you will simply pop back up again to yourself, all the more delighted.

Today, in your election season, I would invite you to read that chapter in your wonderful Urantia Book on The History of Government. It starts with the beginnings of organizations beyond simply co-sanguinous families, to the first tribal groups based largely on territory. In these early times of such enormous mortality and short lives, these early tribes were mainly directed by a Council of Elders consisting of those who had the greatest life experience and acquired practical wisdom. While in the midst of incessant warfare there was always a male War Chief, often the oldest and wisest person was a woman respected for her longevity and wisdom.

Then, for much of later human history, with the establishment of royal families, there were hereditary leaders, hereditary monarchies. Think how recent it was that the divine right of kings, following father to son, was challenged and overthrown by councils of lords or elected congresses. Now unlimited sole authority persists only in political systems headed by what you call a dictator—someone still with the absolute power of life and death, if not overtly then covertly through secret police. In modern times these are individuals who have worked their way up through totalitarian parties or religious organizations to be supreme leaders. Contrasting this are those societies that engage in regularly held elections for their constitutionally defined representatives. This is what you are involved in now.

Very early on in the United States the folks who created the constitution soon realized they needed to enumerate and set down individual rights that, in the first three articles, they just assumed everybody was aware of. But soon they saw the necessity for specific articles. The very first of these was a recognition that the people who did the electing needed freedom of information. A well-educated population was the fundamental basis for a democratic republic seeing that, historically, such enormous power could be maintained by keeping the people ignorant of true social and political realities. This is why one of the few things Mother Spirit and I have commented upon politically was the virtue, the need, for the quality of transparency in government.

People need to know what is truly happening and who is making what specific decisions that so directly affected their lives. In this light, one of the gravest dangers to a truly democratic system is any kind of covert censorship—not only denying viewpoints from being expressed, but as much as possible, keeping this censorship hidden behind an illusion of openness and transparency. Because there is so much power in this, it is up to the individual to do his or her best to penetrate this. The greatest tool to use is to open yourself to the widest variety of opinions and viewpoints from opposed sources.

Recognize that just naturally, not always purely cynically or maliciously, there is an enormous variety of viewpoints coming from different ways of living, all in one country. Is someone living in the heart of a big city, or out on the broad, open farmlands? Are they encountering hundreds of relative strangers on a walk to get some groceries, or, in a relatively small town, are they mostly meeting those they have known since school days? There is the broad spectrum of wealth, from those living day to day barely scraping by and dependent upon welfare, to those individuals whose wealth is measured in the billions of dollars, and the political influence that flows from it. Consider your media and literally who can buy what, who can afford getting their particular message out to the folks. Again, here is the need to avail yourselves of the broad spectrum of opinion available through your television and internet, and discover who is financing whom.

As for your candidates coming up for office, Mother Spirit and I have always emphasized that part of a human being that comes directly from God—their unique personality, and their most fundamental creative spirit—their ability in the moment to originate something right out of themselves. How creative does your candidate appear to be? For this evaluation, in recent times you’ve put an ever-greater reliance upon live debates devoid of notes and teleprompters. They help you assess what creative ability will this person have at three o'clock in the morning in some terribly fraught situation? How creative can they be in that critical moment?

Along with personality and creative spirit comes a living soul of worldly experience. I'm sure this is very familiar to you, since your wiser candidates advertise their having done many things, encountering a broad range of people of all different occupations, faiths, and knowledge. For all of them, as with you, a wide breadth of experience is what a person’s present creativity is based upon, to correlate and rise above. Soul is that part of everyone that is co-authored by God himself--the spiritual story, if you will, of life. It’s wonderfully available to you in the kind of meditation Mother Spirit and I have taught and recommended for so long—being still for a while in your busy lives to give your soul’s life experience a chance to make suggestions on what to do next on this particular day.

And so, my children, these are things you feel for. What's the soul experience of this candidate for office? And how much is he or she a truly creative individual, not just presenting themself as a member of some group? There is a terrible thing called groupthink where individuals associate themselves--not as a unique being directly from God with a unique God co-authored soul-- but only as a member of some group which may or, so often, may not have respect for its members. It may instead have the utmost cynical disdain for those who can be so blindly led.

If you read your Urantia Book on The History of Government, or The Family, or societies in general, individuality is a hallmark of evolving civilization. Think of your present-day societies and those that have a no tolerance for, or ability to welcome, individuality. On the other hand, they demand an enormous uniformity of thought and behavior, even of clothing and outward public appearance. Think how this reflects on the inability of their supreme leaders to handle God's great gift of variety of individual uniqueness. This is why it's visually obvious which societies not only allow but even encourage a variety of individual expression, as a great wealth you all can have of each other's personal creativity. The wealth for each soul can be enhanced by such a variety of other individuals.

My dear ones, these are tools with which to evaluate those who are applying for your public offices at whatever level, from the city to the state, to the nation; and even worldwide how to evaluate individuals at the head of different societies. How much individual freedom is each strong enough to acknowledge and welcome? Choose wisely feeling for individual creativity, individual ability, and individual soul. Broadly experience and keep open- minded yourselves, open to what a candidate promises, and then what they deliver. What happens as a consequence of their authority? Choose wisely; and be in my peace. If you have any questions or comments, go ahead.

Dialogue

JT: Thank you, Michael, and thank you, Jerry.

Bob: I've been trying to keep track of media. I’ve found that the majority are either influenced or controlled by corporations or very wealthy people. This makes it difficult to understand the policies of third parties and independent candidates who are running. How can we better find out information on those who would give us more variety of candidates to choose from?

Michael: Yes, my son. You're fortunate insofar as today you have the greatest ability because of your internet. In fact, it's not that expensive for different candidates of third, or even fourth or fifth parties to make themselves available--compared to the past. Then there were only two major parties with their big conventions where the decisions were made in your classical “smoke-filled back rooms.” The amount of information available today has never been greater. So go exploring. See what is available, if not on your broadcast networks, then on your internet with all their different websites.

Bob: That's good advice, but even some of the internet is owned by large corporations who influence things as well. It’s very difficult to find very much that's not biased or influenced by wealth somehow. It’s kind-of discouraging sometimes. Maybe there is alternate media whose sites can give opinions that are different than on the internet. Maybe they’re out there somewhere.

Michael: Yes, my son, you're right. There has been a lot of censorship in the websites controlled by just a few individuals. Hopefully there are always new websites with different political viewpoints in their own internet space. So keep looking. Don't be discouraged.

Bob: Right. You know, I think if people vote with their hearts, they’ll find someone on the internet they like. If they vote their hearts instead of going blindly with traditional parties, there'd be a whole different ball game. Since independents are the largest group of voters, they could make a big difference in what happens with our country. What do you think?

Michael: Well, as much as possible, my son, vote with your whole being--your intellect, your heart, and your soul—your whole life's experience. What kind of individual have you found who makes the best political leader? I’ve emphasized looking for a broad extent of experience, not a life of nothing but politics removed from so-called ordinary people.

Bob: Thank you so much.

Steffen: Michael, It's a pleasure to be here with you. Thank you for being with us. You said that a truly democratic republic depends on having educated citizens with unfettered access to information. Yet right now our information sources are so influenced by advertising, they do nothing that's going to lose them their sponsors. Once again, it’s large companies and wealthy people who control the message. On the other side of it there are paywalls that completely block people without means from getting access to information. Oftentimes it's a combination of both. This can't be the best system. I can't imagine this would be normal throughout the universe. How is it done on other worlds?

Michael: Oh yes, my son. This is where your wonderful Urantia Book has a chapter on a normally evolved “Life on a Neighboring Planet.” Also keep in mind the other planets like Urantia that went into such an enormous default from the divine plan, by the spiritual heads of these worlds. Imagine still having a living Adam and Eve on your world, to visit and talk with. In your Local System, out of over 600 planets, only 37 joined the Lucifer Rebellion and are in a spiritually deprived state like your own.

On worlds with a continuing divine Planetary Prince and Material Son and Daughter, think how much more democratic and well-informed their societies are, resulting from such longer-lived celestials. It’s why Mother Spirit and I tease you with basic information on things like diet and exercise. It concerns the great percentage of populations around the world who are so short-lived with terribly stunted lives because they don't have the spiritual guidance for things so fundamentally important as these.

The worlds that didn’t join the rebellion are doing wonderfully well. If you were suddenly transported to a world about the same age as yours, say about a million years from the time of their first human beings, you would think you had been transported to some kind of heaven on earth. Perhaps the one surprising thing is that most of the individuals choose to be farmers—however technologically advanced--recognizing there's nothing so spiritually rewarding as to be close to life, both plant and animal.

Steffen: Thank you, Michael.

Recca: Thank you, Brother Michael, for being here with us in this forum. I can only refer to us in this group with the reminder that we have your own bestowed Spirit of Truth here as of Pentecost. We are also imbued with the mind of Nebadonia--Mother Spirit’s cosmic mind, and her three inherences of duty, worship, and causation. When we take the time to be quiet--as you instruct us to be--and demonstrated to us in your mortal life--by going apart to be with the Father--we have the inherent tool to make our choices. In spirit we join our brothers and sisters in our local community, local state, local country, and planet. I can only suggest to the rest of us that we put our trust and our faith in the spirit and the intentions of the Most Highs who rule in the kingdoms of men. Thank you.

Michael: Yes, my daughter. Thank you so much for your faith. It's obvious it has served you well—your love for Mother Spirit and me. It’s such a blessing for us to have our love returned so fully. So keep up the good work, my dear one. Stay close. We are ever with you. You have great wisdom--that other fine spirit along with worship. Comee visit us often.

Recca: Thank you.

Michael: Mother Spirit sends her love. Continue to be in my peace.

JT: Michael. Is there anything else you want to add to before we close the T/R session?

Closing

Michael: Only this, my dear ones: the importance of open-mindedness in a rapidly changing and evolving situation. It’s the wonderful blessing of genuine curiosity, of really, truly, deeply wondering what is happening this day, because things are enormously dynamic. Just keeping abreast is a real challenge and requires the courage to give up past associations, even previous loyalties, to be loyal to your own self. But it's truly in your best interest, and theirs. As I said before, use your whole-self curiosity, your interest in things, then the wonderful, creative mind you have to sort through it all. So after you do take it all in, just let it settle down awhile. Take your time. Sit and think. Wonder about what seems to emerge as the truth all by itself. That's how you keep in touch with Mother Spirit and me. My Spirit of Truth is nothing but a great blessing of curiosity, and the courage to follow where it leads. Mother Spirit sends her love. I bid you: Keep abiding in my peace.