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[[File:Teaching_buddha_small.jpg|right|frame]]
==Heading==
===Topic: ''Experimental Life Stations''===
===Group: [[Lightline TeaM]]===
==Facilitators==
===Teacher: [[Tomas]]===
===TR: [[Gerdean]]===
==Session==
===Opening===
TOMAS: Good evening, [[friends]] and [[neighbors]]. I am Tomas. I am glad to be here. As you might say in your [[culture]], “It is good to see and be seen.” Social [[intercourse]] takes two and so we have a forum here; indeed, we have a [[party]], a [[dance]] hall in which to [[circulate]] and exchange vows and [[prayers]] and messages which serve to uplift and [[encourage]] you in your daily path. Yes, there are [[frustrations]] along the way. It is not always easy. But the important [[thing]] is that you continue to try, that you don’t give up, and so let us commence.
===Lesson===
===='''''[[Experiment]]''''', '''''[[Diversity]]'''''====
Greetings and [[welcome]] to you all again. I am Tomas, your [[teacher]]. I have [[thought]] that I would like to talk to you about [[experimental]] life stations, just to [[focus]] on the [[concept]]. As you know, those of you who are students of the [[Urantia text]], [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_36#36:2._THE_LIFE_CARRIER_WORLDS every tenth planet is an experimental world]. The others provide [[continuity]] throughout the [[universe]]; they don’t have the [[adventures]] and glitches that you have here that make your life so very rugged and such a [[challenge]]. They have challenges, of course, but not to the extent that you have here [where] there are so many [[variables]] and so many unscheduled [[developments]] -- unscheduled as far as your [[perception]] is concerned although they are of course quite in hand, quite under the [[control]] of those who take care of the living [[laboratories]] of [[time and space]].
The [[idea]], though, of life [[experimental]] stations, or experimental life stations, whichever way you [[choose]] to consider it, is an [[opportunity]] to [[think]] about the [[flexibility]] that life provides. When you go beyond here, when you leave [[Urantia]] and enter into the greater [[community]] of [[Mansonia]], you will meet with many people who have no [[idea]] what it’s like to be from a [[sphere]] such as this. The very [[fact]] of your [[experiences]] here, even without the [[rebellion]] and [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_75 the default], would render you [[unique]] and [[different]], but I have some question in my [[mind]] as to whether you truly [[appreciate]] what it is to live in an experiential life station such as [[Urantia]].
Let’s bring it down to a manageable size so that you might consider it more [[immediately]]. Take your [[society]], for example, your [[global]] society. It is organized into different countries with [[different]] [[governments]], and they handle themselves differently accordingly. Different [[cultures]] have their ways, their climates, their [[languages]], and each one is its own life [[experimental]] station.
Perhaps when you were a child you [[understood]] what your experimental life station was – your [[home]], your [[family]], your [[culture]], your ways. You were familiar with the foods you ate, how your relatives looked, more or less what they wore, how they smelled, how they [[laughed]], how they talked, how they [[worked]]. And then visiting another [[culture]] might have introduced you to people of a different [[color]], or people who dressed funny/[[strange]] compared to your [[family]]. Perhaps their food smelled [[different]] and strange, foreign/exotic, and you reacted or [[responded]] to that difference. The same will be true on [[Mansonia]] when you encounter people from other worlds. And you will have similar reactions and responses. One of the [[things]] that you can learn now and save yourself and everyone else the trouble later on is to [[recognize]] that there are [[inherent]] [[differences]] at different levels of [[development]] … and for a [[good]] [[reason]].
Furthermore, in your lifetime you might look back and see that you yourself have enjoyed several different life experimental stations. As a [[child]] you lived with your [[family]], likely a nuclear family; in college you may have lived in a dormitory; as a newly married couple, you shared [[space]] with your [[wife]]/your [[husband]], and it expanded to include [[children]] -- another experimental life station where you dealt with the vagaries of [[Parenting|child-rearing]]; and perhaps as an elder you find yourself in a nursing home, yet another life experimental station – each one providing [[purpose]] and [[value]], accommodating the needs and the [[temperaments]] of those they serve.
I meant to also point out that in your [[culture]] you recognize apartment living as well as residential [[neighborhoods]], [[rural]] environments and [[urban]] communities, and each of these provide their own flavor and their own [[challenges]] and to some extent they are each an experimental life station. Some people never [[change]] their station. They just grow up in it and really never move from it. And there are some who move willingly and eagerly from one to another. In some ways it could be said that [[Jesus]] did that. He enjoyed going around seeing how other people lived. He was [[investigating]] their experimental life stations, helping them improve upon it by bringing a new [[dimension]] of [[truth]], [[beauty]] and [[goodness]][http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_56#56:10._TRUTH.2C_BEAUTY.2C_AND_GOODNESS] to that station where people had planted themselves, where they lived.
And yet another [[observation]] along this [[concept]] of experimental life stations is to be found within your own [[mind]], in your own [[character]]. Because the way you behave around some people under some circumstances may or may not be the same way you would [[speak]] and [[act]] in yet another experimental life station as [[relationships]] tend to be. If [[friendships]] are an end in themselves[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_112#112:2._THE_SELF], they too have [[created]] an experimental life station. And they can be moved in and out of, just as on a bigger [[scale]] you move in and out of neighborhoods or nations and, cosmically speaking, you move around … not [[galaxies]] so much as life stations, [[morontia worlds]] -- hundreds of them -- and later on, other areas and worlds for you to [[explore]].
===='''''[[Change]]''''', '''''[[Goodbye]]'''''====
It is [[difficult]] to let go of an experimental life station once you have adapted to it. “Breaking up is hard to do.” Saying [[good-bye]] is never easy. [[Change]] is difficult. And yet, it cannot serve to stay forever in one [[paradigm]]. “Welcome to change” is the motto of this [[movement]]. And so, in order to effect [[change]], you need to know what you are trying to build, what you [[hope]] to construct, what you are leaving and what you seek to enter into. Or, in [[faith]], simply step forth and [[realize]] that one will be provided for you. Such is always the case.
I am rather [[intrigued]] by the span of [[consciousness]] that this topic allows. The pockets within the [[mind]] of [[beliefs]] which become a real construct in which you live can have a very firm grip on your life, on the way you deal with others, and the way you regard yourself, and it can be very, very [[difficult]] to [[change]] from your existing [[Frame of reference|mind set]]. Sometimes it takes a shock or a trauma to get you to open up to another way of [[thinking]], a new way of [[perceiving]], and at the same time, it is [[necessary]] that you learn to [[discern]] when change is [[good]] and when it is simply change for change sake. Much is required of you - each of you - fledglings. But you have far greater [[capacities]] than you give yourself credit for and you certainly have far more [[assistance]] than you can [[imagine]].
Because you have been reared in an [[environment]] that has reinforced the sense of [[isolation]], your quarantine, you tend to consider yourself an island, an experimental life station out in no-man’s land somewhere, and many of you in your [[fear]] of isolation surround yourself with [[busy-ness]] and [[noise]] and [[activity]] in order to soothe that sense of isolation … while many of you have learned to go within and seek solace and [[Partnership|companionship]] in the [[Thought Adjuster|citadel of the spirit]], the most [[sublime]] of all experimental life stations. Your [[personal]] [[experiment]] with your own [[God]] [[fragment]] is truly the [[adventure]] of the ages. It knows you well. It knows you better than you know yourself and it [[provides]] for you. It holds your hand as you [[ponder]] the [[things]] of [[Present|today]] and [[reflect]] on those of [[Past|yesterday]] and anticipate that of [[Future|tomorrow]]. You are truly in God’s hands, in His care.
I [[personalize]] that by saying “his,” using the [[word]] His and using the pronoun and speaking of God as if he were a [[personality]], for He is, but I am comfortable with that. There are those, too, however, who are more comfortable with God being [[energy]] – [[omniscient]], [[omnipotent]] [[energy]] – and they have found [[peace]] in that, for there is [[order]] in the [[universe]], and so again we come back full [[cycle]], to the [[universe]] filled with [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_49 worlds] that are peppered with experimental life stations, so as to constantly improve upon the existing [[paradigms]] of evolving life.
It’s an interesting [[concept]]. It causes me to admire our [[Creator]] even more for the variety of [[opportunities]] available to those of you who do [[endure]] the [[vagaries]] of life on an experimental life station such as [[Urantia]]. It is not boring here! You don’t really have [[time]] to [[grow]] dull.
Yes, the time has come to open the [[circuit]] to your input. If you would like to engage in [[discourse]] or ask questions of your [[celestial]] friends, I am here to accommodate your needs. How may I serve you?
===Dialogue===
Jerry: Yes, Tomas, if you would please just accept my [[love]] and [[appreciation]] for your [[service]].
TOMAS: Thank you, my [[friend]]. I could say the same. I have come to recognize the [[camaraderie]] of those of us who have been engaged in this [[process]] for awhile. There are indeed different levels of [[comprehension]], [[teaching]], preaching, [[understanding]]. Everyone does not [[grow]] at the same pace. There are new students coming in all the [[time]], even as there are more weathered students in the field already [[harvesting]] their season’s crops. We begin to have a picture of the [[whole]] of the [[process]], and it is such a comfort to all of us when we look around and see we are doing what we are supposed to do – diligently, lovingly, [[steadfastly]] – plodding along through the field, gleaning, reaping, sowing. Indeed. It is a comfort.
Jerry: And a whole lot of fun.
TOMAS: Indeed it is a lot of fun. It is not only amusing but it is [[gratifying]]. It is not only [[singularly]] [[joyous]], it is socially vitalizing. Sharing the [[inner life]][http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Doing_the_will_of_God] could be called “fun.” It is certainly, I would [[suspect]], fun for our [[Parents]] to [[observe]] us engaged in [[work]] and [[play]] [[harmoniously]]. I have not been sent to the corner lately so I expect I am doing something right in their eyes.
Jerry: If I know myself when I seek to ask of [[Michael]] or [[Mother Spirit]], the answer I get back is affirmation of “Do what you think best, my son.”
TOMAS: Well, that is how you learn. That does not mean that what you are going to do is [[wise]] or even right, but that is how you will learn, and there is really [[virtually]] nothing you can do that will damage the plan. There are fortunately build-in [[limitations]] so you cannot go too far, and furthermore it has been [[promised]] that you shall not have any more [[rebellions]] now that [[Michael]] is our [[Master Son]], and so no matter how dire it may seem, it is not as bad as it could be.
Yes, go ahead and [[enjoy]] yourself. By this [[time]] you have some [[degree]] of [[wisdom]] to know when you have gone too far into recklessness or self-destructiveness and wouldn’t [[choose]] to go there. This is how it is that we can have such [[faith]] in you. Still, it is only fair to say that there are casualties. And yet we do [[proceed]] in [[good]] [[faith]].
Jerry: Thank you again, Tomas, and thank you for this -- I like this [[concept]] of this [[experiment]]. It kind of reminds us that we are in an [[adventure]] here and the true [[meaning]] of adventure remains somewhat [[opaque]]; it remains each [[moment]] to [[reveal]] itself.
TOMAS: Yes, it is not just in the worlds ahead. It is tomorrow and today, as well.
===='''''[[Courage]]'''''====
Jerry: I remember asking Anatolia one time if there was still something, as advanced as she was, if there was still something that she could not quite anticipate and she said, “Oh yes, you never outgrow your need for [[courage]].”
TOMAS: This is a [[testimony]] to the gift of [[will]], of selfhood. You need to make your [[decisions]] all the way through, and some of them do indeed require a leap of [[faith]] and a leap of faith requires courage, otherwise you would stay there where you were until you ceased to [[exist]] or until you were [[Force|pushed]] to [[act]], and so yes, courage is a stand-by. Even in the [[Corps of the Finality]], I understand, courage will be an [[essential]] part of the [[character]], the [[nature]] of those of us who will set sail for new [[horizons]] in the [[Grand Universe]].
Jerry: Thank you.
TOMAS: Thank you, my friend.
Mike: Hello. Tomas?
TOMAS: Yes.
Mike: Hi, this is Mike.
TOMAS: Yes, Mike.
Mike: You mentioned something that sort of tickled me a little bit regarding how some people are comfortable [[thinking]] of the [[First Source and Center]] as the [[personality]] of the [[Universal Father]] and others are comfortable with the [[idea]] of an [[energy]], an [[impersonal]] energy, and of course it has been revealed to us the [[duality]] of this [[nature]], that He that we [[name]], that [[personality]] that turns His face towards us that we can [[love]] and [[understand]] is but one aspect and this other energy, which is the stage upon which all these [[beautiful]] [[universe]] [[adventures]] [[unfolds]], and I have been sort of [[thinking]] a lot about this lately, trying to [[coordinate]] my [[perspective]] of having a [[material]] vehicle, a material [[body]] that is quite [[literally]] [[electrons]] and [[atoms]] and flesh and blood and this [[understanding]] of energy and [[mind]] coordinating with [[spirit]] I thought maybe you could elaborate a little bit on this [[play]], this [[coordination]] that’s happening, this stage that has been set for us in [[contrast]] to how we enact our adventure upon that stage.
TOMAS: Are you asking me to discuss future worlds and future experiences? Future experimental life stations you might find yourself upon?
===='''''[[Duality]]'''''====
Mike: Seeing that that is the [[topic]], you could address it in regards to that. It’s sort of a [[philosophical]] [[perspective]] of trying to [[understand]] this interplay between the [[Universal Father]]’s [[original]] [[thought]] being on the one hand [[spirit]] and [[personality]] and on the other hand [[paradise]] and [[energy]] and how we are [[interfacing]] with all this and yes, as relating to experimental worlds, it seems to me that the [[creation]] of these experimental worlds is meant to expand the [[creative]] capacities, to push the boundaries of [[progress]] and of [[growth]], and I’ve been [[thinking]] a lot about this lately and you mentioned energy versus [[personality]] and it tickled me a little bit because I’ve been thinking deeply on recently.
TOMAS: Well the [[truth]] is, of course, [[God]] is both: [[personality]] and [[spirit]]. And there are times when either definition is perhaps more appropriate or is more telling. It really doesn’t serve to venture too far into [[future]] worlds with that [[duality]] [[concept]]. All of us want to grow up and [[participate]] in the [[creation]] of new universes and new worlds in the [[Master Universe]]. But before we get there, we have a lot of [[work]] to do even here. And I would rather take that aspect of [[duality]] in your own [[constitution]] and see how that can be applied to experimental life stations here on [[Urantia]].
There are certainly constructs in [[existence]] that have tremendous hold on many, many people. You needn’t look further than your own [[political]] [[system]] to see how the experimental life station of a [[Worldview|mind-set]] multiplied by a million people can affect not only each [[individual]] but the entire [[world]]. I would much rather help you [[focus]] on how to create an experimental life station from your [[faith]] that would be something in which you could all live compatibly. If it is born in the [[spirit]] and constructed in the [[mind]], all of you can embellish it and populate it … eventually to overpower the existing, lesser paradigms. But you must [[dedicate]] yourself to this task and not waste overmuch time [[pondering]] elusive [[futures]] of other worlds and other [[dimensions]].
I [[realize]] that such activity is alluring and does, in [[fact]], serve to provide great escape from the burdens of the [[material]] life and the rigors of such an [[existence]], and so they are lovingly [[tolerated]]. But it is also true that the [[adventures]] that lay ahead on this [[planet]] in terms of creating what this experimental life station was intended to be is a far more invigorating and thrilling and [[meaningful]] [[adventure]] than any external worlds of [[time and space]], and you do need to have both [[personality]] and [[energy]] to accomplish this task. Do you see my point?
Mike: Yes. Yes, thank you very much. And what has been in my thoughts a lot lately is the reality of my [[physical]] [[being]] in [[association]] with my [[spiritual]] and my [[mind]] aspects and the world in which I live in now, you know, [[interacting]] with it and [[coordinating]] with it, appropriately, not just [[intellectually]] and not just in [[intention]] but to understand the aspects – I use the [[analogy]] of the stage on which we enact our [[drama]] and that stage being that [[energy]] [[foundation]]. It’s been a [[concept]] I’ve been [[thinking]] a lot about, trying to [[balance]] my own physical energies, not just in [[thought]], not just in [[spirit]], but [[physically]] as well and it’s such a [[wonderful]] mix that we have been given here, this [[opportunity]] to live this life, to feel our feet in the soil, so to speak and to feel the [[value]] of our feet in the soil … it’s just [[phenomenal]].
TOMAS: Yes. You are a young man. How old are you?
Mike: Thirty-one.
===='''''[[Opportunity]]'''''====
TOMAS: Yes. You have a tremendous [[future]] ahead of you here … for yourself and for those you will impact. You have an [[opportunity]] to be a hero. And I say this fully [[understanding]] that you think in terms of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman Superman] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiderman Spiderman] or one of those superheroes when I mention hero, or even [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses Ulysses], but really I mean the kind of hero who will stand up and [[represent]] what is right, not what is popular, who will do the right thing by [[women]] and [[children]] and his fellow-men, even if it is not going to put [[money]] in his pocket or earn him an award. These are the heroes that are needed for the [[work]] about to commence … and in some cases, already having commenced.
Mike: Well, thank you very much for that. That is incredibly [[inspirational]] to me, and it helps to boost my [[confidence]] in my own abilities to do just that. That has definitely been on my mind as well. Just to [[do the Father’s will]].
TOMAS: That’s right, and to be the best that you can be, [[understanding]] that you will make mistakes but you will [[learn]] from them, and no matter what, it will not be so off-the-wall as to not be useful. “The act is ours; the consequences God’s.”[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_48#48:7._MORONTIA_MOTA]
Mike: Well, I thank you from the bottom of my [[heart]] for your [[words]] as a reminder to me because you know, we all have to keep reminding ourselves.
TOMAS: Indeed.
Mike: In times of [[difficulty]], especially, and I thank you very much, Tomas.
TOMAS: You are welcome, Mike. And I would like to add that in a construct of the kingdom such as this world will become when it [[matures]] as an experimental life station, you will find much [[encouragement]] and [[support]] and camaraderie from and with your [[peers]]. Right now there seems to be a tremendous amount of vying for position and much of the old competitive paradigm is still imbedded in your [[collective]] [[consciousness]] [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Collective_unconscious], but this is passing away, and an era of [[cooperation]] and mutual [[support]] is on the [[horizon]]. Not a negative support, not as in ‘enabling’ or ‘rescuing’ or ‘coddling’ but in real support: in speaking man-top-man, working shoulder-to-shoulder, loving face-to-face. This is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit_(novel) true grit]. This is the real fun. This is the kind of stuff that makes your [[soul]] smile.
===Closing===
We are indeed coming up at the end of our hour, the hour that was extended because of the delay getting started, but I will pause for one more [[opportunity]] to [[share]] if there is what you might call a “burning [[desire]]” [Pause] In that case, my [[friends]], I will close the session with my [[thanks]] and the thanks of my [[TR|T/R]] for being here and sharing this [[liaison]] [[experience]], this experimental life station that we have created and enjoyed this evening. Go in [[peace]]. [[Amen]] and farewell.
[[Category: The Teaching Mission: Dialogues]]
[[Category: Lightline TeaM]]
[[Category: Tomas]]
[[Category: Gerdean]]
[[Category: Experiment]]
[[Category: Diversity]]
[[Category: Change]]
[[Category: Goodbye]]
[[Category: Courage]]
[[Category: Duality]]
[[Category: Opportunity]]
[[Category: 2010]]
[[Category: March]]
[[File:Teaching_buddha_small.jpg|right|frame]]
==Heading==
===Topic: ''Experimental Life Stations''===
===Group: [[Lightline TeaM]]===
==Facilitators==
===Teacher: [[Tomas]]===
===TR: [[Gerdean]]===
==Session==
===Opening===
TOMAS: Good evening, [[friends]] and [[neighbors]]. I am Tomas. I am glad to be here. As you might say in your [[culture]], “It is good to see and be seen.” Social [[intercourse]] takes two and so we have a forum here; indeed, we have a [[party]], a [[dance]] hall in which to [[circulate]] and exchange vows and [[prayers]] and messages which serve to uplift and [[encourage]] you in your daily path. Yes, there are [[frustrations]] along the way. It is not always easy. But the important [[thing]] is that you continue to try, that you don’t give up, and so let us commence.
===Lesson===
===='''''[[Experiment]]''''', '''''[[Diversity]]'''''====
Greetings and [[welcome]] to you all again. I am Tomas, your [[teacher]]. I have [[thought]] that I would like to talk to you about [[experimental]] life stations, just to [[focus]] on the [[concept]]. As you know, those of you who are students of the [[Urantia text]], [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_36#36:2._THE_LIFE_CARRIER_WORLDS every tenth planet is an experimental world]. The others provide [[continuity]] throughout the [[universe]]; they don’t have the [[adventures]] and glitches that you have here that make your life so very rugged and such a [[challenge]]. They have challenges, of course, but not to the extent that you have here [where] there are so many [[variables]] and so many unscheduled [[developments]] -- unscheduled as far as your [[perception]] is concerned although they are of course quite in hand, quite under the [[control]] of those who take care of the living [[laboratories]] of [[time and space]].
The [[idea]], though, of life [[experimental]] stations, or experimental life stations, whichever way you [[choose]] to consider it, is an [[opportunity]] to [[think]] about the [[flexibility]] that life provides. When you go beyond here, when you leave [[Urantia]] and enter into the greater [[community]] of [[Mansonia]], you will meet with many people who have no [[idea]] what it’s like to be from a [[sphere]] such as this. The very [[fact]] of your [[experiences]] here, even without the [[rebellion]] and [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_75 the default], would render you [[unique]] and [[different]], but I have some question in my [[mind]] as to whether you truly [[appreciate]] what it is to live in an experiential life station such as [[Urantia]].
Let’s bring it down to a manageable size so that you might consider it more [[immediately]]. Take your [[society]], for example, your [[global]] society. It is organized into different countries with [[different]] [[governments]], and they handle themselves differently accordingly. Different [[cultures]] have their ways, their climates, their [[languages]], and each one is its own life [[experimental]] station.
Perhaps when you were a child you [[understood]] what your experimental life station was – your [[home]], your [[family]], your [[culture]], your ways. You were familiar with the foods you ate, how your relatives looked, more or less what they wore, how they smelled, how they [[laughed]], how they talked, how they [[worked]]. And then visiting another [[culture]] might have introduced you to people of a different [[color]], or people who dressed funny/[[strange]] compared to your [[family]]. Perhaps their food smelled [[different]] and strange, foreign/exotic, and you reacted or [[responded]] to that difference. The same will be true on [[Mansonia]] when you encounter people from other worlds. And you will have similar reactions and responses. One of the [[things]] that you can learn now and save yourself and everyone else the trouble later on is to [[recognize]] that there are [[inherent]] [[differences]] at different levels of [[development]] … and for a [[good]] [[reason]].
Furthermore, in your lifetime you might look back and see that you yourself have enjoyed several different life experimental stations. As a [[child]] you lived with your [[family]], likely a nuclear family; in college you may have lived in a dormitory; as a newly married couple, you shared [[space]] with your [[wife]]/your [[husband]], and it expanded to include [[children]] -- another experimental life station where you dealt with the vagaries of [[Parenting|child-rearing]]; and perhaps as an elder you find yourself in a nursing home, yet another life experimental station – each one providing [[purpose]] and [[value]], accommodating the needs and the [[temperaments]] of those they serve.
I meant to also point out that in your [[culture]] you recognize apartment living as well as residential [[neighborhoods]], [[rural]] environments and [[urban]] communities, and each of these provide their own flavor and their own [[challenges]] and to some extent they are each an experimental life station. Some people never [[change]] their station. They just grow up in it and really never move from it. And there are some who move willingly and eagerly from one to another. In some ways it could be said that [[Jesus]] did that. He enjoyed going around seeing how other people lived. He was [[investigating]] their experimental life stations, helping them improve upon it by bringing a new [[dimension]] of [[truth]], [[beauty]] and [[goodness]][http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_56#56:10._TRUTH.2C_BEAUTY.2C_AND_GOODNESS] to that station where people had planted themselves, where they lived.
And yet another [[observation]] along this [[concept]] of experimental life stations is to be found within your own [[mind]], in your own [[character]]. Because the way you behave around some people under some circumstances may or may not be the same way you would [[speak]] and [[act]] in yet another experimental life station as [[relationships]] tend to be. If [[friendships]] are an end in themselves[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_112#112:2._THE_SELF], they too have [[created]] an experimental life station. And they can be moved in and out of, just as on a bigger [[scale]] you move in and out of neighborhoods or nations and, cosmically speaking, you move around … not [[galaxies]] so much as life stations, [[morontia worlds]] -- hundreds of them -- and later on, other areas and worlds for you to [[explore]].
===='''''[[Change]]''''', '''''[[Goodbye]]'''''====
It is [[difficult]] to let go of an experimental life station once you have adapted to it. “Breaking up is hard to do.” Saying [[good-bye]] is never easy. [[Change]] is difficult. And yet, it cannot serve to stay forever in one [[paradigm]]. “Welcome to change” is the motto of this [[movement]]. And so, in order to effect [[change]], you need to know what you are trying to build, what you [[hope]] to construct, what you are leaving and what you seek to enter into. Or, in [[faith]], simply step forth and [[realize]] that one will be provided for you. Such is always the case.
I am rather [[intrigued]] by the span of [[consciousness]] that this topic allows. The pockets within the [[mind]] of [[beliefs]] which become a real construct in which you live can have a very firm grip on your life, on the way you deal with others, and the way you regard yourself, and it can be very, very [[difficult]] to [[change]] from your existing [[Frame of reference|mind set]]. Sometimes it takes a shock or a trauma to get you to open up to another way of [[thinking]], a new way of [[perceiving]], and at the same time, it is [[necessary]] that you learn to [[discern]] when change is [[good]] and when it is simply change for change sake. Much is required of you - each of you - fledglings. But you have far greater [[capacities]] than you give yourself credit for and you certainly have far more [[assistance]] than you can [[imagine]].
Because you have been reared in an [[environment]] that has reinforced the sense of [[isolation]], your quarantine, you tend to consider yourself an island, an experimental life station out in no-man’s land somewhere, and many of you in your [[fear]] of isolation surround yourself with [[busy-ness]] and [[noise]] and [[activity]] in order to soothe that sense of isolation … while many of you have learned to go within and seek solace and [[Partnership|companionship]] in the [[Thought Adjuster|citadel of the spirit]], the most [[sublime]] of all experimental life stations. Your [[personal]] [[experiment]] with your own [[God]] [[fragment]] is truly the [[adventure]] of the ages. It knows you well. It knows you better than you know yourself and it [[provides]] for you. It holds your hand as you [[ponder]] the [[things]] of [[Present|today]] and [[reflect]] on those of [[Past|yesterday]] and anticipate that of [[Future|tomorrow]]. You are truly in God’s hands, in His care.
I [[personalize]] that by saying “his,” using the [[word]] His and using the pronoun and speaking of God as if he were a [[personality]], for He is, but I am comfortable with that. There are those, too, however, who are more comfortable with God being [[energy]] – [[omniscient]], [[omnipotent]] [[energy]] – and they have found [[peace]] in that, for there is [[order]] in the [[universe]], and so again we come back full [[cycle]], to the [[universe]] filled with [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_49 worlds] that are peppered with experimental life stations, so as to constantly improve upon the existing [[paradigms]] of evolving life.
It’s an interesting [[concept]]. It causes me to admire our [[Creator]] even more for the variety of [[opportunities]] available to those of you who do [[endure]] the [[vagaries]] of life on an experimental life station such as [[Urantia]]. It is not boring here! You don’t really have [[time]] to [[grow]] dull.
Yes, the time has come to open the [[circuit]] to your input. If you would like to engage in [[discourse]] or ask questions of your [[celestial]] friends, I am here to accommodate your needs. How may I serve you?
===Dialogue===
Jerry: Yes, Tomas, if you would please just accept my [[love]] and [[appreciation]] for your [[service]].
TOMAS: Thank you, my [[friend]]. I could say the same. I have come to recognize the [[camaraderie]] of those of us who have been engaged in this [[process]] for awhile. There are indeed different levels of [[comprehension]], [[teaching]], preaching, [[understanding]]. Everyone does not [[grow]] at the same pace. There are new students coming in all the [[time]], even as there are more weathered students in the field already [[harvesting]] their season’s crops. We begin to have a picture of the [[whole]] of the [[process]], and it is such a comfort to all of us when we look around and see we are doing what we are supposed to do – diligently, lovingly, [[steadfastly]] – plodding along through the field, gleaning, reaping, sowing. Indeed. It is a comfort.
Jerry: And a whole lot of fun.
TOMAS: Indeed it is a lot of fun. It is not only amusing but it is [[gratifying]]. It is not only [[singularly]] [[joyous]], it is socially vitalizing. Sharing the [[inner life]][http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Doing_the_will_of_God] could be called “fun.” It is certainly, I would [[suspect]], fun for our [[Parents]] to [[observe]] us engaged in [[work]] and [[play]] [[harmoniously]]. I have not been sent to the corner lately so I expect I am doing something right in their eyes.
Jerry: If I know myself when I seek to ask of [[Michael]] or [[Mother Spirit]], the answer I get back is affirmation of “Do what you think best, my son.”
TOMAS: Well, that is how you learn. That does not mean that what you are going to do is [[wise]] or even right, but that is how you will learn, and there is really [[virtually]] nothing you can do that will damage the plan. There are fortunately build-in [[limitations]] so you cannot go too far, and furthermore it has been [[promised]] that you shall not have any more [[rebellions]] now that [[Michael]] is our [[Master Son]], and so no matter how dire it may seem, it is not as bad as it could be.
Yes, go ahead and [[enjoy]] yourself. By this [[time]] you have some [[degree]] of [[wisdom]] to know when you have gone too far into recklessness or self-destructiveness and wouldn’t [[choose]] to go there. This is how it is that we can have such [[faith]] in you. Still, it is only fair to say that there are casualties. And yet we do [[proceed]] in [[good]] [[faith]].
Jerry: Thank you again, Tomas, and thank you for this -- I like this [[concept]] of this [[experiment]]. It kind of reminds us that we are in an [[adventure]] here and the true [[meaning]] of adventure remains somewhat [[opaque]]; it remains each [[moment]] to [[reveal]] itself.
TOMAS: Yes, it is not just in the worlds ahead. It is tomorrow and today, as well.
===='''''[[Courage]]'''''====
Jerry: I remember asking Anatolia one time if there was still something, as advanced as she was, if there was still something that she could not quite anticipate and she said, “Oh yes, you never outgrow your need for [[courage]].”
TOMAS: This is a [[testimony]] to the gift of [[will]], of selfhood. You need to make your [[decisions]] all the way through, and some of them do indeed require a leap of [[faith]] and a leap of faith requires courage, otherwise you would stay there where you were until you ceased to [[exist]] or until you were [[Force|pushed]] to [[act]], and so yes, courage is a stand-by. Even in the [[Corps of the Finality]], I understand, courage will be an [[essential]] part of the [[character]], the [[nature]] of those of us who will set sail for new [[horizons]] in the [[Grand Universe]].
Jerry: Thank you.
TOMAS: Thank you, my friend.
Mike: Hello. Tomas?
TOMAS: Yes.
Mike: Hi, this is Mike.
TOMAS: Yes, Mike.
Mike: You mentioned something that sort of tickled me a little bit regarding how some people are comfortable [[thinking]] of the [[First Source and Center]] as the [[personality]] of the [[Universal Father]] and others are comfortable with the [[idea]] of an [[energy]], an [[impersonal]] energy, and of course it has been revealed to us the [[duality]] of this [[nature]], that He that we [[name]], that [[personality]] that turns His face towards us that we can [[love]] and [[understand]] is but one aspect and this other energy, which is the stage upon which all these [[beautiful]] [[universe]] [[adventures]] [[unfolds]], and I have been sort of [[thinking]] a lot about this lately, trying to [[coordinate]] my [[perspective]] of having a [[material]] vehicle, a material [[body]] that is quite [[literally]] [[electrons]] and [[atoms]] and flesh and blood and this [[understanding]] of energy and [[mind]] coordinating with [[spirit]] I thought maybe you could elaborate a little bit on this [[play]], this [[coordination]] that’s happening, this stage that has been set for us in [[contrast]] to how we enact our adventure upon that stage.
TOMAS: Are you asking me to discuss future worlds and future experiences? Future experimental life stations you might find yourself upon?
===='''''[[Duality]]'''''====
Mike: Seeing that that is the [[topic]], you could address it in regards to that. It’s sort of a [[philosophical]] [[perspective]] of trying to [[understand]] this interplay between the [[Universal Father]]’s [[original]] [[thought]] being on the one hand [[spirit]] and [[personality]] and on the other hand [[paradise]] and [[energy]] and how we are [[interfacing]] with all this and yes, as relating to experimental worlds, it seems to me that the [[creation]] of these experimental worlds is meant to expand the [[creative]] capacities, to push the boundaries of [[progress]] and of [[growth]], and I’ve been [[thinking]] a lot about this lately and you mentioned energy versus [[personality]] and it tickled me a little bit because I’ve been thinking deeply on recently.
TOMAS: Well the [[truth]] is, of course, [[God]] is both: [[personality]] and [[spirit]]. And there are times when either definition is perhaps more appropriate or is more telling. It really doesn’t serve to venture too far into [[future]] worlds with that [[duality]] [[concept]]. All of us want to grow up and [[participate]] in the [[creation]] of new universes and new worlds in the [[Master Universe]]. But before we get there, we have a lot of [[work]] to do even here. And I would rather take that aspect of [[duality]] in your own [[constitution]] and see how that can be applied to experimental life stations here on [[Urantia]].
There are certainly constructs in [[existence]] that have tremendous hold on many, many people. You needn’t look further than your own [[political]] [[system]] to see how the experimental life station of a [[Worldview|mind-set]] multiplied by a million people can affect not only each [[individual]] but the entire [[world]]. I would much rather help you [[focus]] on how to create an experimental life station from your [[faith]] that would be something in which you could all live compatibly. If it is born in the [[spirit]] and constructed in the [[mind]], all of you can embellish it and populate it … eventually to overpower the existing, lesser paradigms. But you must [[dedicate]] yourself to this task and not waste overmuch time [[pondering]] elusive [[futures]] of other worlds and other [[dimensions]].
I [[realize]] that such activity is alluring and does, in [[fact]], serve to provide great escape from the burdens of the [[material]] life and the rigors of such an [[existence]], and so they are lovingly [[tolerated]]. But it is also true that the [[adventures]] that lay ahead on this [[planet]] in terms of creating what this experimental life station was intended to be is a far more invigorating and thrilling and [[meaningful]] [[adventure]] than any external worlds of [[time and space]], and you do need to have both [[personality]] and [[energy]] to accomplish this task. Do you see my point?
Mike: Yes. Yes, thank you very much. And what has been in my thoughts a lot lately is the reality of my [[physical]] [[being]] in [[association]] with my [[spiritual]] and my [[mind]] aspects and the world in which I live in now, you know, [[interacting]] with it and [[coordinating]] with it, appropriately, not just [[intellectually]] and not just in [[intention]] but to understand the aspects – I use the [[analogy]] of the stage on which we enact our [[drama]] and that stage being that [[energy]] [[foundation]]. It’s been a [[concept]] I’ve been [[thinking]] a lot about, trying to [[balance]] my own physical energies, not just in [[thought]], not just in [[spirit]], but [[physically]] as well and it’s such a [[wonderful]] mix that we have been given here, this [[opportunity]] to live this life, to feel our feet in the soil, so to speak and to feel the [[value]] of our feet in the soil … it’s just [[phenomenal]].
TOMAS: Yes. You are a young man. How old are you?
Mike: Thirty-one.
===='''''[[Opportunity]]'''''====
TOMAS: Yes. You have a tremendous [[future]] ahead of you here … for yourself and for those you will impact. You have an [[opportunity]] to be a hero. And I say this fully [[understanding]] that you think in terms of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman Superman] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiderman Spiderman] or one of those superheroes when I mention hero, or even [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses Ulysses], but really I mean the kind of hero who will stand up and [[represent]] what is right, not what is popular, who will do the right thing by [[women]] and [[children]] and his fellow-men, even if it is not going to put [[money]] in his pocket or earn him an award. These are the heroes that are needed for the [[work]] about to commence … and in some cases, already having commenced.
Mike: Well, thank you very much for that. That is incredibly [[inspirational]] to me, and it helps to boost my [[confidence]] in my own abilities to do just that. That has definitely been on my mind as well. Just to [[do the Father’s will]].
TOMAS: That’s right, and to be the best that you can be, [[understanding]] that you will make mistakes but you will [[learn]] from them, and no matter what, it will not be so off-the-wall as to not be useful. “The act is ours; the consequences God’s.”[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_48#48:7._MORONTIA_MOTA]
Mike: Well, I thank you from the bottom of my [[heart]] for your [[words]] as a reminder to me because you know, we all have to keep reminding ourselves.
TOMAS: Indeed.
Mike: In times of [[difficulty]], especially, and I thank you very much, Tomas.
TOMAS: You are welcome, Mike. And I would like to add that in a construct of the kingdom such as this world will become when it [[matures]] as an experimental life station, you will find much [[encouragement]] and [[support]] and camaraderie from and with your [[peers]]. Right now there seems to be a tremendous amount of vying for position and much of the old competitive paradigm is still imbedded in your [[collective]] [[consciousness]] [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Collective_unconscious], but this is passing away, and an era of [[cooperation]] and mutual [[support]] is on the [[horizon]]. Not a negative support, not as in ‘enabling’ or ‘rescuing’ or ‘coddling’ but in real support: in speaking man-top-man, working shoulder-to-shoulder, loving face-to-face. This is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit_(novel) true grit]. This is the real fun. This is the kind of stuff that makes your [[soul]] smile.
===Closing===
We are indeed coming up at the end of our hour, the hour that was extended because of the delay getting started, but I will pause for one more [[opportunity]] to [[share]] if there is what you might call a “burning [[desire]]” [Pause] In that case, my [[friends]], I will close the session with my [[thanks]] and the thanks of my [[TR|T/R]] for being here and sharing this [[liaison]] [[experience]], this experimental life station that we have created and enjoyed this evening. Go in [[peace]]. [[Amen]] and farewell.
[[Category: The Teaching Mission: Dialogues]]
[[Category: Lightline TeaM]]
[[Category: Tomas]]
[[Category: Gerdean]]
[[Category: Experiment]]
[[Category: Diversity]]
[[Category: Change]]
[[Category: Goodbye]]
[[Category: Courage]]
[[Category: Duality]]
[[Category: Opportunity]]
[[Category: 2010]]
[[Category: March]]
