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, 22:17, 9 January 2010Created page with 'Image:lighterstill.jpg right|frame ==Heading== ===Topic: ''Languishing in Isolation''=== ===Group: Rio Rancho TeaM=== ==Facilitators=...'
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==Heading==
===Topic: ''Languishing in Isolation''===
===Group: [[Rio Rancho TeaM]]===
==Facilitators==
===Teacher: [[Bob]]===
===TR: [[Gerdean]]===
==Session==
===Opening===
WHAT-ABOUT-BOB: Hello.
Group: Hello.
WHAT-ABOUT-BOB: I’m not wasting any [[time]] … because the [[opportunity]] presents itself so seldom these days, one must strike while the iron is hot.
Group: Thanks for coming.
WHAT-ABOUT-BOB: Thanks for being open to a visitor. This is What-About-Bob and Lady, as anticipated. I heard you rattle off a [[litany]] of [[topics]] that we might like to embark upon, the New Year being fresh on your [[minds]]. It would be nice to suggest that you utilize the New Year as an opportunity to renew your contacts with your [[celestial]] helpers but we hesitate to do such a [[thing]] because you fall short, you fall by the wayside oftentimes in your rush to do life on life’s terms, and when you look around and see you have fallen off your [[pattern]], you feel [[guilty]] and/or as if you didn’t need it anyway, or that it has served its [[purpose]], and so it becomes just another thing to deal with -- like New Year’s Resolutions, we hardly make them anymore.
And knowing that, we observe how many people do make resolutions and how many of them are so short-lived. It is more often an [[exercise]] in frustration and self-defeatism than it is a self-stimuli package. But that said, it is always intriguing to test your own capacities, your own [[disciplines]], your own [[endurance]] levels. It’s always good to challenge yourself, particularly when you have an [[idea]] of what your capacities are and you pretty well [[function]] within those capacities effectively. It would seem “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.” But sometimes, making that extra effort, going that extra mile – just one more push up – will set a new record toward your sense of accomplishment.
Much of the work of the [[spirit]] is being your cheerleader and coach. Inasmuch as [[love]] is the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_100#100:4._PROBLEMS_OF_GROWTH benign virus], it is constantly seeking to infuse you with positivity. Even about yourself. And so when you are vulnerable to [[feeling]] less than optimistic about “[[things]],” the mere reach for higher [[values]], expanded [[consciousness]], [[divine]] [[intelligence]] will help lift you up and over the edge into a plateau of operation that is better than the alternative, which would be that couch potato you referenced. It’s similar to adding a [[dimension]] to [[reality]] that creates [[morontia]] reality over and above mere [[metaphysics]].
===Lesson===
===='''''[[Isolation]]'''''====
I wanted to speak to you a bit today about the tendency of [[mortals]] to languish in [[isolation]], which is a tendency that can be cultivated as a response to the limitations that beset you in a [[cultural]] [[paradigm]]. The more [[populated]] the world becomes, it would seem, the less opportunity you have to feel that pinch of isolation that would lead to languishing, but in [[truth]], a crowd is a very lonely place to be. It is like the [[maelstrom]], the exterior of the hurricane in which you find yourself in the peaceful eye. You really don’t want to hang around in that energetic [[chaos]], [[progressive]] but destructive, any longer than is avoidable, but the alternative is the isolation of self-imposed [[exile]] from others whose [[existence]] is another [[whirling dervish]]. This is the [[manner]] of electro-[[chemical]] [[beings]]. They are able to bounce off the walls and off of each other much like bumper cars until such [[time]] as they have [[Cosmos|order]] and a good orderly direction, which often requires [[rules]], guidelines and [[disciplines]] which most folk are not willing to undertake even to accomplish the [[peace]] which passes all [[understanding]].
Let’s take this a bit further and socialize it. If you can follow my illustration here, think of each of you as that electrochemical whirling dervish, grounded by the [[immediate]] and [[eternal]] [[Stillness|point]] of [[reference]] that is unchanging. You have then the [[challenge]] of recognizing and identifying with, even working with that unchanging [[personality]] reality of another [[entity]] all the while by-passing and stepping over the constant effects of the electrochemical [[environment]] that lays between you like a moat. The [[atmosphere]] must be by-passed. And yet each of you spill so much into your atmosphere, it is coming at you and going out from you almost incessantly, simply by the [[nature]] of your [[physical]] and [[chemical]] composition. You may seek to [[function]] completely from [[Thought Adjuster|the center within][http://press.daynal.org/catalog/center_within.html], but no matter how earnest and sincere your efforts are to be perfect and to [[reflect]] [[perfection]], you cannot control what happens to the [[energy]] you call your own when it escapes from your [[sanctuary]] and explodes into the external [[environment]], which lays between you and your [[peers]]. And still one languishes in [[isolation]]. So how does one overcome that middle ground / turf?
You are admonished to learn to [[perceive]] the presence of God in one another and in yourself. Many people [[think]] that this is a [[state]] of [[sublime]] [[peace]] and it is, but it is much more. It is [[Everything|all things]]; it is all [[encompassing]]; it even encompasses the [[chaos]] that is your environment. It is [[expectations]] about what [[God]] is or how people should project that [[energy]] that causes such social unrest. This is also why people will put up with the chaos and imperfection that is part of the [[human condition]], even to the extent of putting up with [[abuse]] – so as not to feel the pinch of [[isolation]]. Yes, it is possible to live within your sanctuary with God as your constant companion, but it does not render you useful to the world outside if you cannot relate to the world outside and identify with it, even in its chaos.
The chief inhibitor to this being a productive and [[compassionate]] reality for many of you is the inability to recognize the [[presence]] of [[Thought Adjuster|God within]]. You have closed yourself off to protect yourself from that [[emotional]] and mental excitement. You have put up [[boundaries]] such that nothing can get through – either in or out – and you end up isolated, wherein you languish. Now, you may not even realize you are languishing. You may think you are being serene. You may think this is peace when it may actually be stagnancy. And these nuances of [[mortal]] [[reality]] can come and go often in the course of any and all [[individuals]].
When people feel the need for [[Society|socialization]], they generally find a way to make a connection with other people, through calling them on the telephone or going to visit them or even going to the mall where they may be [[assured]] of a [[population]] much like themselves – [[individuals]] in [[motion]], carrying on the [[business]] of living. This diminishes the sense of isolation and of languishing, and so shopping is a great stimulator of [[energy]] on many levels. It soothes the savage breast (the savage beast as well) and temporarily pacifies the electrochemical environment. It is something on which to [[focus]], something [[self-gratifying]].
Does anyone have anything they would like to ask, any questions about what I’ve talked about, or anything at all? We’ve got the [[opportunity]] and I have managed to interject my little message and so I would like to hear from you, should you like to open yourself and enter the energetic avenues of possibility that lay between us.
===Dialogue===
Student #1: Can I ask about the [[health]] of my friend, G.H.?
WHAT ABOUT BOB: What do you want to ask?
Student #1: Is she near [[death]]? Is she in the dying stages?
WHAT ABOUT BOB: This is a [[Prediction|crystal ball]] question.
Student #1: I—Really. No one knows. Just being sort of … out there.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: I don’t find fault with your question; I just can’t answer it.
Student #1: Okay. (Pause) Our [[group]] is going forward well. We’re enjoying the [[Urantia Text|Papers]]. We welcome any visitors.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: You have found yourself a suitable [[paradigm]] of [[action]]. You have all rather agreed on a course and have been sticking to it. This makes for smooth sailing. This is one of the things [[necessary]] to establish effective [[teamwork]], having the mutual [[unity]] of [[purpose]] that you all understand to be the reason you have all gotten together. Sometimes pulling the energies in, sometimes pushing them out – as you would say “pushing the envelope” – but by and large you know what you meet for, and you apply yourself to that [[work|task]]. Having a program, an [[agenda]], a [[purpose]], adds [[structure]] and order to what might otherwise be a part of the whirling dervish.
===='''''[[Groups]]'''''====
[[Structure]] provides you with an [[Foundation|anchor]] that you can glom onto together as a social [[group]] – as a group rather than isolated [[individuals]]. It’s good to see how effectively working groups can be made to order, and how effective and happy members can find themselves therein. This kind of [[behavior]] gives off good [[energy]], just as an upbeat [[God-consciousness|God-conscious]], spirit-led individual gives off good energy … although again, what happens to that energy after it leaves the nest – the [[collective]] nest in this case – will depend upon the electrochemical configuration into which it is spilled. It may be met with [[fear]] and trepidation; it may be met with [[acceptance]] and [[peace]]; and it may be accepted with [[enthusiasm]] as part of the solution. And those are not for you to know in advance. Just know that as the Master taught, some seeds will fall on fertile soil, some will fall on barren ground, and some will be whisked off on the winds to further pollinate fields far and away from yours. So, in other [[words]], it’s good to see you are having a good show of it in your [[group]].
Student #1: And apparently the fortuitous, [[serendipitous]] events that come together that create the [[wonderful]] [[events|happenings]] ….
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Aren’t they wonderful to behold? This is one of the cherished [[gifts]] of [[Faith|faithers]]. They are given glimpses of the [[reality]] they strive for. It is like [[proof]] of their [[assurance]] of [[spirit]] reality, confirmation of their faith.
Student #1: Thank you so much for those confirmations, too. I think it also encourages [[prayerful]] [[activity]] because you also see your prayers are being heard and answered and tended to and [[problems]] solved and things like that and it’s amazing and wonderful, and thank you, everybody involved.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: This is the [[power]] of [[numbers]], the value of [[teamwork]], the beginning seeds of [[civilization]] on higher levels.
Student #1: What fun.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Dynamic. Yes. What fun.
Student #2: Well, is there any advice as we go forth this year? Do’s or do not’s?
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Who is “we”?
Student #2: Anybody. Us. We. You.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: No. Again I am not inclined to pull out the crystal ball.
Student #2: I mean in general.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: In general, it’s a new year for you. It’s the same period of time to us.
Student #2: It’s now.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Truly, it is now. Following yesterday, preceding tomorrow. In many ways it’s what you make of it; in other ways, it’s how you handle it. In another way, it’s what you do with it, whether you ignore it. The main thing is to [[experience]] it. And, as we [[discussed]] above, in terms of whether to experience that as a [[sacred]] place of [[worship]] and [[Friendship|companionship]] with the divine mind, or to attempt to reach out and connect with others, and to what extent you are successful, may you all have fun doing it. This is not to say that some [[disciplines]] and [[exercises]] are not without struggle or effort, but there is no [[happiness]] without intelligent [[Work|effort]]. And so think not it will be a piece of cake. It will not just be handed to you. You will need to do some contributing to the process, but again, this is what makes it fun. This is how you can claim participation in the advancing, [[ascending]], reality in which you live and of which you are a part -- ultimately, the [[The Supreme|evolving God of experience]], to which you meaningfully contribute.
Student #2: “Not my will but Thine be done,” [[hopefully]]. Yes. So we would like to know and be [[guided]] in our comings and goings and [[joyful]] happenings that the [[paradigm]] that we live and create is one [[blessed]] by [[divine]] [[design]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: [[Amen]].
Student #2: I just hope we can put enough good [[thoughts]] toward a good [[awakening]], new future, new paradigm, new world [[structure]] of [[everything]] --- and I know it takes a long time and it’ll all get there and there’ll be struggle and hopefully we can keep the [[joy]] and [[happiness]] along there as we do that; and keep in [[touch]] with what we’re doing and where we’re doing because we are all [[children]] of God and we’re on a [[destiny]] here, so we want to make it as [[pleasant]] as possible and as easy for people as possible. That’s my wish for the New Year.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, that’s very interesting. You seem to be seeing the future from a very [[parental]] and [[affectionate]] [[Frame of Reference|vantage point]].
Student #2: More like a grandparent. Less involved.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, at some point, it’s okay to acknowledge your own experiential [[wisdom]] and the importance of passing on what you know to those who follow. This is part of the natural design, the divine design, if you will. That’s why [[experience]] is the best teacher and why people should be [[respected]] for that experience, simply because it has been experienced -- without [[judgment]] as to whether it was a good experience, a bad experience, helpful, not helpful, or any number of qualifiers.
Student #3: There was an interesting talk this morning about [[Causality|cause and effect]], and how different [[religions]] call it. Some call it [[karma]], some call it “as ye sow, so shall ye reap” … so everybody addresses it, it’s just called something different.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Basically it’s the [[Golden Rule]].
Student #3: Right. And what you put out is what comes back forth to you.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Such as when you point your finger at someone, you have three pointing back at you.
Student #3: Right. Or the [[mirror]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, yes, this all [[reflects]] on the [[fact]] that on some level you are all connected, and on that level of [[cosmic]] [[Connectedness|connection]], that [[intelligence]] gridwork, you cannot know isolation for you are “one with [[everything]].”
Student #3: You are never alone. There are too many entities around.
===='''''[[Balance]]'''''====
WHAT ABOUT BOB: When you live on that [[transcendental]] plane, yes. When you live in the [[finite]] world, however, you are subject to the vagaries of the finite [[existence]], and it is not always so [[evident]]. Nor can one simply forego one’s own will to the point of perpetual non-existence. One must have a will to make [[choices]]! So a good [[balance]] is a good [[perspective]] -- one which offers the [[polarity]] inherent in contrasts, such as [[male]] and [[female]], providing perspectives on an issue; or the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_114#114:6._THE_MASTER_SERAPHIM_OF_PLANETARY_SUPERVISION angels of the churches and the angels of progress] having differing perspectives; but overall [[growing]] while maintaining the stabilization necessary to allow the growing to be constructive rather than destructive. Rather like the positive and negative [[play]] together to provide the [[balance]] necessary for my companion and I to interact and interchange our [[gifts]] and [[tools]] to the situation we apply ourselves to in [[service]]. Left foot, right foot; left foot, right foot; [[Thought Adjuster|adjuster]], [[Guardian Angels|guardian]]; adjuster, guardian; [[breathe]] out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in. [[Balance]].
Student #3: [[Patience]], [[Obedience]]. My [[guardian angels]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Balanced with [[action]]. [[Work]] and [[play]]. [[Study]] and recreation. Well we seem to have answered all the problems of the [[universe]], for the [[moment]].
Student #3: Well, questions are endless.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: And they all come back to the same source.
Student #3: Within.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Within. And more will be revealed.
===='''''[[Communication]]'''''====
Student #4: Bob, I had a question after you finished talking, because in all of your talking you were talking about [[physical]] [[presence]], the physical presence of God within the self and the physical presence of God within other people, and that solidifying reality, as compared to the [[space]] between us that is more chaotic and electro-chemical, bouncing around, up for grabs, depending upon how it is affected and how it is received by whatever else is going on out there. So I wanted to hear more about, or talk more about the aspect of the [[presence]] of [[God]] – [[perceiving]] the presence of God and/or experiencing [[connection]] or [[isolation]] on the [[Internet]], in our sundry avenues of [[society]] that we find on the Internet. You have any comments to make about that as to how it may be the same or different or what its [[unique]] challenges are? Or anything? Anybody else want to add to that query?
Student #3: Well, just how it makes us all interconnected in ways that we’ve never been before.
Student #5: I immediately thought of the amount of cell phone [[communication]], texting, on top of all the Internet, e-mail, almost instant contact we have with a lot of people and a lot of sources and resources we didn’t have 20-25 years ago, and that in itself seems like it was an extension of reality into that more ethereal everything-being-connected syndrome.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Yes, you have a [[good]] [[perspective]] there and one which I will take off on, that having the perspective of [[faith]] and the nebulous and invisible [[morontia]] reality that does not require the [[physical]] [[paradigm]] that you depend upon so heavily and are so poignantly aware of in your [[mortal]] [[existence]]. In your room here, for example, there are desks and chairs, snacks and lighting, air and substance, as well as the [[energy]] of your own [[persons]] and the exchanges that go on among and between you, including the cat. On the telephone, on the Internet, through [[mechanical]] means and devices where you are not in the same physical presence, but present mindally/consciously, there are [[differences]], definitely.
The presence of God in that sense has to be assumed. You have to assume that the people you are talking to are indwelt, and whatever qualities you choose to project upon them, and there we get into the whirling dervish aspect again [[immediately]], and those are easily underscored, highlighted and proved to your [[mind]] when certain [[words]] are used, certain words that have certain connotations to you. Some words that some may feel extraneous or [[violent]] or baiting may on another day in another light simply appear as [[colorful]] or appropriate. And so the same thing holds true – you react as [[evolving]] [[creatures]], according to your [[state]] of [[being]] at that time.
It is more difficult to step over the electro-chemical chasm that occurs between personalities without the physical presence there to allow the Adjusters’ immediate access to one another. In a [[marriage]] [[relationship]], for example, a [[husband]] and [[wife]] can have a misunderstanding, even a mild spat, and within a short period of time have thought it out, thought it through, recognized the ramifications coming and going, and relying on the [[Spirit of Truth]] and the [[Divine Fragment]] to do their [[work]], the work is done such that [[domestic]] [[harmony]] may resume without much ado.
That [[healing]] that comes when the oil of reconciliation is poured out upon you in a configuration that you can share [[intimately]] is different from one that you share socially in a crowd that may or may not have the degree of conviction that it might have in [[person]], simply because the healing is based on [[faith]] and [[assumption]] rather than on the actual shared spirit only possible through [[intimate]] human contact. And yet you look for [[intimacy]] on these lists and through these emails and through these exchanges because you yearn for connection; you desire to [[share]]; you look for nuggets of [[truth]], [[beauty]] and [[goodness]]; you seek to feed on what the others have to offer as you seek to feed others with your offerings, and so a quasi-[[organism]] is created.
A “quasi-organism” can develop [[synergy]] and can develop teamwork and can get things accomplished, but they will be mostly mental – much more so than [[emotional]]. And so if you look to get things done academically or mechanically, a computer is a great way to do it. But if you seek [[emotional]] connection or confirmation, you will find yourself wanting, since [[technology]] is incapable of providing that type of intimacy you seek and find with [[sharing]] on a [[personal]] level. This is not to say that bonds cannot be made, or broken, although they seem to be broken much easier in a mechanical [[milieu]] than they do in person precisely because the presence of God, the physical, [[literal]], actual presence of a [[fragment]] of God within you and your [[peer]] will add a [[dimension]] of [[reality]] to that situation that will lend itself more readily to sustaining itself, rather than breaking into pieces.
Even so, there are [[relationships]] that – in the physical sense – become so volatile and electric, there is danger of an explosion and so the distance afforded by the mechanical means of technology is probably a good idea for a time; however, when I address my friends and students, I normally don’t assume you are so low level as to be [[prepared]] to engage in fisticuffs over anything. I assume you to be further advanced than that. And yet I was one of the first to admonish my friends, my mortal friends that they ought not to assume anything. Anything!
It is in the [[assumption]] that the [[problems]] are ignited. When someone sends an email using a word that you find to be inflaming, you assume the worst, when the fact is there are many definitions. And some people have no idea of the definition at all; they only understand how it was used once. It brought about a [[negative]] [[Context|circumstance]] and they consider anything surrounding that henceforth to be something they want no part of. The same thing is true with personalities. “Oh! Yes! I’ve heard of him! I’ve heard he’s a real pain in the neck. I don’t want to get to know that person.” And so assuming things is a grand way to cultivate ignorance and [[prejudice]]. Far better to ask, even if you are maligned for asking, than to assume you know things about others based on even what they had to say, because of the nature of that interim space, that whirling dervish of electro chemical energies that lay in wait to snarl and confuse, as compared to the grounding – the [[God Fragment]] that acts as a lightening rod in the midst of the storm.
Student #3: You give the lightening a way to ground, so it doesn’t –
WHAT ABOUT BOB: So that it goes right through you and energizes you but does not destroy everything in [[sight]]. It is the constancy of the Divine Fragment as well as the constancy of your [[personality]] -- that personality which God has given you to serve as the vehicle for the Adjuster. This is the reason we are always in support of your getting together. Whether you are getting together as a pair of [[friends]] to [[discourse]] or do something together, a [[group]] of friends to get together and do something together, or an [[Association|assembly]] of friends and associates to get together and do something, to [[share]] something – or just to be together – because this unites you in the [[classic]], [[original]] and [[personal]] sense as the [[Family]] of [[God]]. The Family of Man with God as your Father, and He being there with each of you as a testimony to that greatest of realities.
The computer will do in a pinch and it will do well for certain [[mechanistic]] [[functions]], but it will always fall short in providing you with that which you long to know and feel from your [[peers]]; you will need to await the [[presence]] of your peers to feel that release from [[Solitude|isolation]] and [[alienation]] that only can be filled by the [[spirit]]. All the rest of that is [[academic]], [[mental]], and of great [[value]] but incredibly impersonal. It is also a “dry run” albeit a flawed one as to how you will actually interact in person when you finally reach that point. [[Chances]] are many of your impressions will be confirmed, but do not be surprised when many of your assumptions fall away like the [[illusions]] they are in the [[realization]] of the genuine substance of your peers, which you may never had known had you not had the opportunity to meet them in person. Does this help clarify?
Student #4: It does. Why am I so late to see some of these things?
===='''''[[Seven Psychic Circles]]'''''====
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, it’s just like the [[psychic circles]]. You get what you get when you’re ready for it and you can’t push it; you can’t make it happen. You may walk past it 20 times but only see it that once. It takes what it takes! And it is not like it’s such a big [[revelation]]. It’s just my [[observation]] from a very peculiar [[perspective]], for I am always an assumption on your part. And so you have to assume I am here even to listen to me, and so even as I admonish you to never assume anything, I then have the nerve to speak to you and expect you to [[listen]]; I assume you hear me, and so we have yet another [[paradox]] that only [[faith]] will overcome.
Student #5: We’ll know it when we know it.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Precisely. And it will serve until we know better. Anything else?
Student #3: So we’ve been pursuing this path of the [[knowledge]] of good and bad since before [[Adam and Eve]], learning, ever learning, so I assume that’s probably what it’s all about – is experiencing day by day as we interact with each other and the Family of God out there. We can only just guess.
===='''''[[Change]]'''''====
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, you can have [[faith]]. And that, in fact, will keep you going. But don’t be surprised if the [[cosmos]] turns the page and your faith is shaken to [[create]] an enlarged faith.
Student #3: [[Fear]] not, in other [[words]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Easy for you to say! When your [[reality]] is shaken to the core and you stand there [[naked]] –
Student #3: -- wondering what the hell happened. “Why me, oh Lord?”
Student #5: It’s very easy to get our self-[[confidence]] shaken.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Indeed, you seem to make a [[practice]] of shaking your own faith just to have something to do. This brings me back to what we talked of earlier about how much [[work]] we do with you in your [[mind]] is to help you rally against the slings and arrows of outrageous [[fortune]] and even when it’s not that outrageous, you seem to think it is. This is a result of your unfortunate heritage, one which will take some time to overcome but we are determined to do that, and when I say we are in the [[process]] of overcoming this, please know it is not simply for the [[Correcting Time]] of [[Urantia]], it is a part of your rehabilitation so that you are prepared to advance in the cosmic realities of right living On High.
In shedding the mental malfunctioning of yesterday’s mental paradigm -- you could call it [[brainwashing]], [[cosmic]] brainwashing of a higher kind, rinsing away the smoke and dust of a former age to allow the [[mind]] to live in the clear stream of [[consciousness]] that is without [[fear]], the one which is advertised in [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents#Part_IV._The_Life_and_Teachings_of_Jesus Michael’s message] and throughout the [[Urantia text]], trickling into the consciousness of all God’s children who opt to hold high the mission, who are the light workers, the troops, the soldiers, the warriors, the workers, the band, the merry band of spiritual activists who are helping keep the good cheer afloat as you on this [[sphere]] undergo the trying and testing times of [[physical]], [[financial]], [[political]], [[ecological]], [[philosophical]], [[economic]] paradigms so topsy-turvy today.
===Closing===
Your ability to be [[buoyant]] is stirring, even as your tendency to despair is [[understood]]. But as you know, [[love]] is more catching than hate and God’s will will prevail, and there is nothing unfortunate about that. Once again, let me say farewell for Lady and I are off to a dinner party and must leave, but we’ll be back at the next opportunity to [[communicate]] together in mutual interest.
Student #3: Bon appetite!
WHAT ABOUT BOB: And Bon voyage!
[[Category: The Teaching Mission: Dialogues]]
[[Category: Rio Rancho TeaM]]
[[Category: Bob]]
[[Category: Gerdean]]
[[Category: Isolation]]
[[Category: Groups]]
[[Category: Balance]]
[[Category: Communication]]
[[Category: Psychic Circles]]
[[Category: Change]]
[[Category: 2009]]
[[File:Teaching_buddha_small.jpg|right|frame]]
==Heading==
===Topic: ''Languishing in Isolation''===
===Group: [[Rio Rancho TeaM]]===
==Facilitators==
===Teacher: [[Bob]]===
===TR: [[Gerdean]]===
==Session==
===Opening===
WHAT-ABOUT-BOB: Hello.
Group: Hello.
WHAT-ABOUT-BOB: I’m not wasting any [[time]] … because the [[opportunity]] presents itself so seldom these days, one must strike while the iron is hot.
Group: Thanks for coming.
WHAT-ABOUT-BOB: Thanks for being open to a visitor. This is What-About-Bob and Lady, as anticipated. I heard you rattle off a [[litany]] of [[topics]] that we might like to embark upon, the New Year being fresh on your [[minds]]. It would be nice to suggest that you utilize the New Year as an opportunity to renew your contacts with your [[celestial]] helpers but we hesitate to do such a [[thing]] because you fall short, you fall by the wayside oftentimes in your rush to do life on life’s terms, and when you look around and see you have fallen off your [[pattern]], you feel [[guilty]] and/or as if you didn’t need it anyway, or that it has served its [[purpose]], and so it becomes just another thing to deal with -- like New Year’s Resolutions, we hardly make them anymore.
And knowing that, we observe how many people do make resolutions and how many of them are so short-lived. It is more often an [[exercise]] in frustration and self-defeatism than it is a self-stimuli package. But that said, it is always intriguing to test your own capacities, your own [[disciplines]], your own [[endurance]] levels. It’s always good to challenge yourself, particularly when you have an [[idea]] of what your capacities are and you pretty well [[function]] within those capacities effectively. It would seem “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.” But sometimes, making that extra effort, going that extra mile – just one more push up – will set a new record toward your sense of accomplishment.
Much of the work of the [[spirit]] is being your cheerleader and coach. Inasmuch as [[love]] is the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_100#100:4._PROBLEMS_OF_GROWTH benign virus], it is constantly seeking to infuse you with positivity. Even about yourself. And so when you are vulnerable to [[feeling]] less than optimistic about “[[things]],” the mere reach for higher [[values]], expanded [[consciousness]], [[divine]] [[intelligence]] will help lift you up and over the edge into a plateau of operation that is better than the alternative, which would be that couch potato you referenced. It’s similar to adding a [[dimension]] to [[reality]] that creates [[morontia]] reality over and above mere [[metaphysics]].
===Lesson===
===='''''[[Isolation]]'''''====
I wanted to speak to you a bit today about the tendency of [[mortals]] to languish in [[isolation]], which is a tendency that can be cultivated as a response to the limitations that beset you in a [[cultural]] [[paradigm]]. The more [[populated]] the world becomes, it would seem, the less opportunity you have to feel that pinch of isolation that would lead to languishing, but in [[truth]], a crowd is a very lonely place to be. It is like the [[maelstrom]], the exterior of the hurricane in which you find yourself in the peaceful eye. You really don’t want to hang around in that energetic [[chaos]], [[progressive]] but destructive, any longer than is avoidable, but the alternative is the isolation of self-imposed [[exile]] from others whose [[existence]] is another [[whirling dervish]]. This is the [[manner]] of electro-[[chemical]] [[beings]]. They are able to bounce off the walls and off of each other much like bumper cars until such [[time]] as they have [[Cosmos|order]] and a good orderly direction, which often requires [[rules]], guidelines and [[disciplines]] which most folk are not willing to undertake even to accomplish the [[peace]] which passes all [[understanding]].
Let’s take this a bit further and socialize it. If you can follow my illustration here, think of each of you as that electrochemical whirling dervish, grounded by the [[immediate]] and [[eternal]] [[Stillness|point]] of [[reference]] that is unchanging. You have then the [[challenge]] of recognizing and identifying with, even working with that unchanging [[personality]] reality of another [[entity]] all the while by-passing and stepping over the constant effects of the electrochemical [[environment]] that lays between you like a moat. The [[atmosphere]] must be by-passed. And yet each of you spill so much into your atmosphere, it is coming at you and going out from you almost incessantly, simply by the [[nature]] of your [[physical]] and [[chemical]] composition. You may seek to [[function]] completely from [[Thought Adjuster|the center within][http://press.daynal.org/catalog/center_within.html], but no matter how earnest and sincere your efforts are to be perfect and to [[reflect]] [[perfection]], you cannot control what happens to the [[energy]] you call your own when it escapes from your [[sanctuary]] and explodes into the external [[environment]], which lays between you and your [[peers]]. And still one languishes in [[isolation]]. So how does one overcome that middle ground / turf?
You are admonished to learn to [[perceive]] the presence of God in one another and in yourself. Many people [[think]] that this is a [[state]] of [[sublime]] [[peace]] and it is, but it is much more. It is [[Everything|all things]]; it is all [[encompassing]]; it even encompasses the [[chaos]] that is your environment. It is [[expectations]] about what [[God]] is or how people should project that [[energy]] that causes such social unrest. This is also why people will put up with the chaos and imperfection that is part of the [[human condition]], even to the extent of putting up with [[abuse]] – so as not to feel the pinch of [[isolation]]. Yes, it is possible to live within your sanctuary with God as your constant companion, but it does not render you useful to the world outside if you cannot relate to the world outside and identify with it, even in its chaos.
The chief inhibitor to this being a productive and [[compassionate]] reality for many of you is the inability to recognize the [[presence]] of [[Thought Adjuster|God within]]. You have closed yourself off to protect yourself from that [[emotional]] and mental excitement. You have put up [[boundaries]] such that nothing can get through – either in or out – and you end up isolated, wherein you languish. Now, you may not even realize you are languishing. You may think you are being serene. You may think this is peace when it may actually be stagnancy. And these nuances of [[mortal]] [[reality]] can come and go often in the course of any and all [[individuals]].
When people feel the need for [[Society|socialization]], they generally find a way to make a connection with other people, through calling them on the telephone or going to visit them or even going to the mall where they may be [[assured]] of a [[population]] much like themselves – [[individuals]] in [[motion]], carrying on the [[business]] of living. This diminishes the sense of isolation and of languishing, and so shopping is a great stimulator of [[energy]] on many levels. It soothes the savage breast (the savage beast as well) and temporarily pacifies the electrochemical environment. It is something on which to [[focus]], something [[self-gratifying]].
Does anyone have anything they would like to ask, any questions about what I’ve talked about, or anything at all? We’ve got the [[opportunity]] and I have managed to interject my little message and so I would like to hear from you, should you like to open yourself and enter the energetic avenues of possibility that lay between us.
===Dialogue===
Student #1: Can I ask about the [[health]] of my friend, G.H.?
WHAT ABOUT BOB: What do you want to ask?
Student #1: Is she near [[death]]? Is she in the dying stages?
WHAT ABOUT BOB: This is a [[Prediction|crystal ball]] question.
Student #1: I—Really. No one knows. Just being sort of … out there.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: I don’t find fault with your question; I just can’t answer it.
Student #1: Okay. (Pause) Our [[group]] is going forward well. We’re enjoying the [[Urantia Text|Papers]]. We welcome any visitors.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: You have found yourself a suitable [[paradigm]] of [[action]]. You have all rather agreed on a course and have been sticking to it. This makes for smooth sailing. This is one of the things [[necessary]] to establish effective [[teamwork]], having the mutual [[unity]] of [[purpose]] that you all understand to be the reason you have all gotten together. Sometimes pulling the energies in, sometimes pushing them out – as you would say “pushing the envelope” – but by and large you know what you meet for, and you apply yourself to that [[work|task]]. Having a program, an [[agenda]], a [[purpose]], adds [[structure]] and order to what might otherwise be a part of the whirling dervish.
===='''''[[Groups]]'''''====
[[Structure]] provides you with an [[Foundation|anchor]] that you can glom onto together as a social [[group]] – as a group rather than isolated [[individuals]]. It’s good to see how effectively working groups can be made to order, and how effective and happy members can find themselves therein. This kind of [[behavior]] gives off good [[energy]], just as an upbeat [[God-consciousness|God-conscious]], spirit-led individual gives off good energy … although again, what happens to that energy after it leaves the nest – the [[collective]] nest in this case – will depend upon the electrochemical configuration into which it is spilled. It may be met with [[fear]] and trepidation; it may be met with [[acceptance]] and [[peace]]; and it may be accepted with [[enthusiasm]] as part of the solution. And those are not for you to know in advance. Just know that as the Master taught, some seeds will fall on fertile soil, some will fall on barren ground, and some will be whisked off on the winds to further pollinate fields far and away from yours. So, in other [[words]], it’s good to see you are having a good show of it in your [[group]].
Student #1: And apparently the fortuitous, [[serendipitous]] events that come together that create the [[wonderful]] [[events|happenings]] ….
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Aren’t they wonderful to behold? This is one of the cherished [[gifts]] of [[Faith|faithers]]. They are given glimpses of the [[reality]] they strive for. It is like [[proof]] of their [[assurance]] of [[spirit]] reality, confirmation of their faith.
Student #1: Thank you so much for those confirmations, too. I think it also encourages [[prayerful]] [[activity]] because you also see your prayers are being heard and answered and tended to and [[problems]] solved and things like that and it’s amazing and wonderful, and thank you, everybody involved.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: This is the [[power]] of [[numbers]], the value of [[teamwork]], the beginning seeds of [[civilization]] on higher levels.
Student #1: What fun.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Dynamic. Yes. What fun.
Student #2: Well, is there any advice as we go forth this year? Do’s or do not’s?
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Who is “we”?
Student #2: Anybody. Us. We. You.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: No. Again I am not inclined to pull out the crystal ball.
Student #2: I mean in general.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: In general, it’s a new year for you. It’s the same period of time to us.
Student #2: It’s now.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Truly, it is now. Following yesterday, preceding tomorrow. In many ways it’s what you make of it; in other ways, it’s how you handle it. In another way, it’s what you do with it, whether you ignore it. The main thing is to [[experience]] it. And, as we [[discussed]] above, in terms of whether to experience that as a [[sacred]] place of [[worship]] and [[Friendship|companionship]] with the divine mind, or to attempt to reach out and connect with others, and to what extent you are successful, may you all have fun doing it. This is not to say that some [[disciplines]] and [[exercises]] are not without struggle or effort, but there is no [[happiness]] without intelligent [[Work|effort]]. And so think not it will be a piece of cake. It will not just be handed to you. You will need to do some contributing to the process, but again, this is what makes it fun. This is how you can claim participation in the advancing, [[ascending]], reality in which you live and of which you are a part -- ultimately, the [[The Supreme|evolving God of experience]], to which you meaningfully contribute.
Student #2: “Not my will but Thine be done,” [[hopefully]]. Yes. So we would like to know and be [[guided]] in our comings and goings and [[joyful]] happenings that the [[paradigm]] that we live and create is one [[blessed]] by [[divine]] [[design]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: [[Amen]].
Student #2: I just hope we can put enough good [[thoughts]] toward a good [[awakening]], new future, new paradigm, new world [[structure]] of [[everything]] --- and I know it takes a long time and it’ll all get there and there’ll be struggle and hopefully we can keep the [[joy]] and [[happiness]] along there as we do that; and keep in [[touch]] with what we’re doing and where we’re doing because we are all [[children]] of God and we’re on a [[destiny]] here, so we want to make it as [[pleasant]] as possible and as easy for people as possible. That’s my wish for the New Year.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, that’s very interesting. You seem to be seeing the future from a very [[parental]] and [[affectionate]] [[Frame of Reference|vantage point]].
Student #2: More like a grandparent. Less involved.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, at some point, it’s okay to acknowledge your own experiential [[wisdom]] and the importance of passing on what you know to those who follow. This is part of the natural design, the divine design, if you will. That’s why [[experience]] is the best teacher and why people should be [[respected]] for that experience, simply because it has been experienced -- without [[judgment]] as to whether it was a good experience, a bad experience, helpful, not helpful, or any number of qualifiers.
Student #3: There was an interesting talk this morning about [[Causality|cause and effect]], and how different [[religions]] call it. Some call it [[karma]], some call it “as ye sow, so shall ye reap” … so everybody addresses it, it’s just called something different.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Basically it’s the [[Golden Rule]].
Student #3: Right. And what you put out is what comes back forth to you.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Such as when you point your finger at someone, you have three pointing back at you.
Student #3: Right. Or the [[mirror]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, yes, this all [[reflects]] on the [[fact]] that on some level you are all connected, and on that level of [[cosmic]] [[Connectedness|connection]], that [[intelligence]] gridwork, you cannot know isolation for you are “one with [[everything]].”
Student #3: You are never alone. There are too many entities around.
===='''''[[Balance]]'''''====
WHAT ABOUT BOB: When you live on that [[transcendental]] plane, yes. When you live in the [[finite]] world, however, you are subject to the vagaries of the finite [[existence]], and it is not always so [[evident]]. Nor can one simply forego one’s own will to the point of perpetual non-existence. One must have a will to make [[choices]]! So a good [[balance]] is a good [[perspective]] -- one which offers the [[polarity]] inherent in contrasts, such as [[male]] and [[female]], providing perspectives on an issue; or the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_114#114:6._THE_MASTER_SERAPHIM_OF_PLANETARY_SUPERVISION angels of the churches and the angels of progress] having differing perspectives; but overall [[growing]] while maintaining the stabilization necessary to allow the growing to be constructive rather than destructive. Rather like the positive and negative [[play]] together to provide the [[balance]] necessary for my companion and I to interact and interchange our [[gifts]] and [[tools]] to the situation we apply ourselves to in [[service]]. Left foot, right foot; left foot, right foot; [[Thought Adjuster|adjuster]], [[Guardian Angels|guardian]]; adjuster, guardian; [[breathe]] out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in. [[Balance]].
Student #3: [[Patience]], [[Obedience]]. My [[guardian angels]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Balanced with [[action]]. [[Work]] and [[play]]. [[Study]] and recreation. Well we seem to have answered all the problems of the [[universe]], for the [[moment]].
Student #3: Well, questions are endless.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: And they all come back to the same source.
Student #3: Within.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Within. And more will be revealed.
===='''''[[Communication]]'''''====
Student #4: Bob, I had a question after you finished talking, because in all of your talking you were talking about [[physical]] [[presence]], the physical presence of God within the self and the physical presence of God within other people, and that solidifying reality, as compared to the [[space]] between us that is more chaotic and electro-chemical, bouncing around, up for grabs, depending upon how it is affected and how it is received by whatever else is going on out there. So I wanted to hear more about, or talk more about the aspect of the [[presence]] of [[God]] – [[perceiving]] the presence of God and/or experiencing [[connection]] or [[isolation]] on the [[Internet]], in our sundry avenues of [[society]] that we find on the Internet. You have any comments to make about that as to how it may be the same or different or what its [[unique]] challenges are? Or anything? Anybody else want to add to that query?
Student #3: Well, just how it makes us all interconnected in ways that we’ve never been before.
Student #5: I immediately thought of the amount of cell phone [[communication]], texting, on top of all the Internet, e-mail, almost instant contact we have with a lot of people and a lot of sources and resources we didn’t have 20-25 years ago, and that in itself seems like it was an extension of reality into that more ethereal everything-being-connected syndrome.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Yes, you have a [[good]] [[perspective]] there and one which I will take off on, that having the perspective of [[faith]] and the nebulous and invisible [[morontia]] reality that does not require the [[physical]] [[paradigm]] that you depend upon so heavily and are so poignantly aware of in your [[mortal]] [[existence]]. In your room here, for example, there are desks and chairs, snacks and lighting, air and substance, as well as the [[energy]] of your own [[persons]] and the exchanges that go on among and between you, including the cat. On the telephone, on the Internet, through [[mechanical]] means and devices where you are not in the same physical presence, but present mindally/consciously, there are [[differences]], definitely.
The presence of God in that sense has to be assumed. You have to assume that the people you are talking to are indwelt, and whatever qualities you choose to project upon them, and there we get into the whirling dervish aspect again [[immediately]], and those are easily underscored, highlighted and proved to your [[mind]] when certain [[words]] are used, certain words that have certain connotations to you. Some words that some may feel extraneous or [[violent]] or baiting may on another day in another light simply appear as [[colorful]] or appropriate. And so the same thing holds true – you react as [[evolving]] [[creatures]], according to your [[state]] of [[being]] at that time.
It is more difficult to step over the electro-chemical chasm that occurs between personalities without the physical presence there to allow the Adjusters’ immediate access to one another. In a [[marriage]] [[relationship]], for example, a [[husband]] and [[wife]] can have a misunderstanding, even a mild spat, and within a short period of time have thought it out, thought it through, recognized the ramifications coming and going, and relying on the [[Spirit of Truth]] and the [[Divine Fragment]] to do their [[work]], the work is done such that [[domestic]] [[harmony]] may resume without much ado.
That [[healing]] that comes when the oil of reconciliation is poured out upon you in a configuration that you can share [[intimately]] is different from one that you share socially in a crowd that may or may not have the degree of conviction that it might have in [[person]], simply because the healing is based on [[faith]] and [[assumption]] rather than on the actual shared spirit only possible through [[intimate]] human contact. And yet you look for [[intimacy]] on these lists and through these emails and through these exchanges because you yearn for connection; you desire to [[share]]; you look for nuggets of [[truth]], [[beauty]] and [[goodness]]; you seek to feed on what the others have to offer as you seek to feed others with your offerings, and so a quasi-[[organism]] is created.
A “quasi-organism” can develop [[synergy]] and can develop teamwork and can get things accomplished, but they will be mostly mental – much more so than [[emotional]]. And so if you look to get things done academically or mechanically, a computer is a great way to do it. But if you seek [[emotional]] connection or confirmation, you will find yourself wanting, since [[technology]] is incapable of providing that type of intimacy you seek and find with [[sharing]] on a [[personal]] level. This is not to say that bonds cannot be made, or broken, although they seem to be broken much easier in a mechanical [[milieu]] than they do in person precisely because the presence of God, the physical, [[literal]], actual presence of a [[fragment]] of God within you and your [[peer]] will add a [[dimension]] of [[reality]] to that situation that will lend itself more readily to sustaining itself, rather than breaking into pieces.
Even so, there are [[relationships]] that – in the physical sense – become so volatile and electric, there is danger of an explosion and so the distance afforded by the mechanical means of technology is probably a good idea for a time; however, when I address my friends and students, I normally don’t assume you are so low level as to be [[prepared]] to engage in fisticuffs over anything. I assume you to be further advanced than that. And yet I was one of the first to admonish my friends, my mortal friends that they ought not to assume anything. Anything!
It is in the [[assumption]] that the [[problems]] are ignited. When someone sends an email using a word that you find to be inflaming, you assume the worst, when the fact is there are many definitions. And some people have no idea of the definition at all; they only understand how it was used once. It brought about a [[negative]] [[Context|circumstance]] and they consider anything surrounding that henceforth to be something they want no part of. The same thing is true with personalities. “Oh! Yes! I’ve heard of him! I’ve heard he’s a real pain in the neck. I don’t want to get to know that person.” And so assuming things is a grand way to cultivate ignorance and [[prejudice]]. Far better to ask, even if you are maligned for asking, than to assume you know things about others based on even what they had to say, because of the nature of that interim space, that whirling dervish of electro chemical energies that lay in wait to snarl and confuse, as compared to the grounding – the [[God Fragment]] that acts as a lightening rod in the midst of the storm.
Student #3: You give the lightening a way to ground, so it doesn’t –
WHAT ABOUT BOB: So that it goes right through you and energizes you but does not destroy everything in [[sight]]. It is the constancy of the Divine Fragment as well as the constancy of your [[personality]] -- that personality which God has given you to serve as the vehicle for the Adjuster. This is the reason we are always in support of your getting together. Whether you are getting together as a pair of [[friends]] to [[discourse]] or do something together, a [[group]] of friends to get together and do something together, or an [[Association|assembly]] of friends and associates to get together and do something, to [[share]] something – or just to be together – because this unites you in the [[classic]], [[original]] and [[personal]] sense as the [[Family]] of [[God]]. The Family of Man with God as your Father, and He being there with each of you as a testimony to that greatest of realities.
The computer will do in a pinch and it will do well for certain [[mechanistic]] [[functions]], but it will always fall short in providing you with that which you long to know and feel from your [[peers]]; you will need to await the [[presence]] of your peers to feel that release from [[Solitude|isolation]] and [[alienation]] that only can be filled by the [[spirit]]. All the rest of that is [[academic]], [[mental]], and of great [[value]] but incredibly impersonal. It is also a “dry run” albeit a flawed one as to how you will actually interact in person when you finally reach that point. [[Chances]] are many of your impressions will be confirmed, but do not be surprised when many of your assumptions fall away like the [[illusions]] they are in the [[realization]] of the genuine substance of your peers, which you may never had known had you not had the opportunity to meet them in person. Does this help clarify?
Student #4: It does. Why am I so late to see some of these things?
===='''''[[Seven Psychic Circles]]'''''====
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, it’s just like the [[psychic circles]]. You get what you get when you’re ready for it and you can’t push it; you can’t make it happen. You may walk past it 20 times but only see it that once. It takes what it takes! And it is not like it’s such a big [[revelation]]. It’s just my [[observation]] from a very peculiar [[perspective]], for I am always an assumption on your part. And so you have to assume I am here even to listen to me, and so even as I admonish you to never assume anything, I then have the nerve to speak to you and expect you to [[listen]]; I assume you hear me, and so we have yet another [[paradox]] that only [[faith]] will overcome.
Student #5: We’ll know it when we know it.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Precisely. And it will serve until we know better. Anything else?
Student #3: So we’ve been pursuing this path of the [[knowledge]] of good and bad since before [[Adam and Eve]], learning, ever learning, so I assume that’s probably what it’s all about – is experiencing day by day as we interact with each other and the Family of God out there. We can only just guess.
===='''''[[Change]]'''''====
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Well, you can have [[faith]]. And that, in fact, will keep you going. But don’t be surprised if the [[cosmos]] turns the page and your faith is shaken to [[create]] an enlarged faith.
Student #3: [[Fear]] not, in other [[words]].
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Easy for you to say! When your [[reality]] is shaken to the core and you stand there [[naked]] –
Student #3: -- wondering what the hell happened. “Why me, oh Lord?”
Student #5: It’s very easy to get our self-[[confidence]] shaken.
WHAT ABOUT BOB: Indeed, you seem to make a [[practice]] of shaking your own faith just to have something to do. This brings me back to what we talked of earlier about how much [[work]] we do with you in your [[mind]] is to help you rally against the slings and arrows of outrageous [[fortune]] and even when it’s not that outrageous, you seem to think it is. This is a result of your unfortunate heritage, one which will take some time to overcome but we are determined to do that, and when I say we are in the [[process]] of overcoming this, please know it is not simply for the [[Correcting Time]] of [[Urantia]], it is a part of your rehabilitation so that you are prepared to advance in the cosmic realities of right living On High.
In shedding the mental malfunctioning of yesterday’s mental paradigm -- you could call it [[brainwashing]], [[cosmic]] brainwashing of a higher kind, rinsing away the smoke and dust of a former age to allow the [[mind]] to live in the clear stream of [[consciousness]] that is without [[fear]], the one which is advertised in [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents#Part_IV._The_Life_and_Teachings_of_Jesus Michael’s message] and throughout the [[Urantia text]], trickling into the consciousness of all God’s children who opt to hold high the mission, who are the light workers, the troops, the soldiers, the warriors, the workers, the band, the merry band of spiritual activists who are helping keep the good cheer afloat as you on this [[sphere]] undergo the trying and testing times of [[physical]], [[financial]], [[political]], [[ecological]], [[philosophical]], [[economic]] paradigms so topsy-turvy today.
===Closing===
Your ability to be [[buoyant]] is stirring, even as your tendency to despair is [[understood]]. But as you know, [[love]] is more catching than hate and God’s will will prevail, and there is nothing unfortunate about that. Once again, let me say farewell for Lady and I are off to a dinner party and must leave, but we’ll be back at the next opportunity to [[communicate]] together in mutual interest.
Student #3: Bon appetite!
WHAT ABOUT BOB: And Bon voyage!
[[Category: The Teaching Mission: Dialogues]]
[[Category: Rio Rancho TeaM]]
[[Category: Bob]]
[[Category: Gerdean]]
[[Category: Isolation]]
[[Category: Groups]]
[[Category: Balance]]
[[Category: Communication]]
[[Category: Psychic Circles]]
[[Category: Change]]
[[Category: 2009]]
