Dear Dave, et al,
I am abundantly aware of this ebb and flow. When I feel the ebb, it
is almost a reflex now for me to
repeat the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done.." in pleading for the
return of fulness of spirit. It never
lets me down.
Love to all,
Diane
On Jun 22, 2015, at 11:30 AM, (Redacted sender "Bohohwymus@xxxxxxx"
for DMARC) wrote:
Hi Cristina, Stephen and others interested,
On following this thread, the first thing I thought was we all need to have patience with ourselves, "accept forgiveness" as our book would put it. There will be moments of enlightenment, even transformation, followed by moments of seeming retrogression. There is a great passage about this ebb and flow I've tacked on here from the UB. Doubts will certainly alternate with faith, a reason I think we are taught about faith-trust. In moments when faith is uncertain, I can exercise an attitude of trust, trust that faith, "self-conscious[ness] of the assurance of the divine presence," will come back into my heart even when it seems I have lost it.
13:4.5.The determiner of the differential of spiritual presence exists in your own hearts and minds and consists in the manner of your own choosing, in the decisions of your minds, and in the determination of your own wills. This differential is inherent in the freewill reactions of intelligent personal beings, beings whom the Universal Father has ordained shall exercise this liberty of choosing. And the Deities are ever true to the ebb and flow of their spirits in meeting and satisfying the conditions and demands of this differential of creature choice, now bestowing more of their presence in response to a sincere desire for the same and again withdrawing themselves from the scene as their creatures decide adversely in the exercise of their divinely bestowed freedom of choice. And thus does the spirit of divinity become humbly obedient to the choosing of the creatures of the realms.
Cheers,
Dave Holt, GGC
In a message dated 6/22/2015 7:52:04 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, szendt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Christina,
You raise the most probing questions, the ones that need answers from our own experience, in concert with the "conspiracy" of spiritual helpers who are involved with our growing ability to use the Adjutants of Worship and Wisdom, it seems to me.
I know from my life as it is now, that I have been somewhat transformed, from the willful and ignorant drop-out that I was when the UB was thrust into my life, back in 1971. I certainly don't pretend to be a high achiever. Anxiety continues to plague me as I face retirement and relocation from familiar surroundings.
Interpersonal relationships have stretched and occasionally strained my abilities to be of loving support to others.
Yet, in the midst of juggling many issues and ideas that come to me in waves of awareness, when meditating or contemplating, journaling or discussing, I can sense how my emotional responses are less volatile, more toward a mature understanding.
I sense my relationship to the Holy Spirit and her seven Adjutants, I seek help from my spiritual resources, and I listen for "the still, small voice" of the Spirit of Truth. Being in an active and stimulating study group is a decided plus.
I don't have easy answers to your deep questions. As Dick Bain points out, there are no specific roadmaps to personal transformation.
All I can say is that looking back, I can see that goodness and truth have made my life more beautiful. This gives me moments of real joy.
Sincerely,
Stephen Zendt
-----Original Message-----
From: "Cristina Hutchins (via socadmin list)"
Sent: Jun 21, 2015 10:28 PM
To: Stephen Zendt
Cc: "UB Soc-Admin (new)" , "ggc-urantialist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx"
Subject: Re: [socadmin] FIFTH EPOCHAL POWER HOUR honors Father's Day
This email was sent from yahoo.com which does not allow forwarding of emails via email lists. Therefore the sender's email address (cdhutchins94510@xxxxxxxxx) has been replaced with a dummy one.
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. So last things first; your list--these are things we understand intellectually from reading the UB.
But the four points you made at the top of your reply more address the crux of what I'm getting at. In looking at Paper 102, how do we undergo the process of spiritual transformation and unity; how do we let go of ego identity (and being judgmental); let go of fear (and its brothers anxiety and worry); let go of self-will in order to do the Father's will? This is what I'm driving at. Unless we let go of these things, we will never truly experience spiritual transformation and unity in this lifetime. The UB doesn't tell us how to accomplish this state of spiritual transformation and unity, and so we struggle with ego, fear and self-will--even though we say a lot of prayers.
Jesus told his followers that the kingdom was within each of them. Through faith and our intellect we know we are in-dwelt by a divine spark, a Father fragment. We know that this is what Jesus was referring to when he said the kingdom lies within. Why do we, as UB readers, not know how to experientially tap into to that kingdom? What do readers do to accomplish this "spiritual transformation" that allows one to see the God in everyone; to achieve unity with the Father and thus come in alignment with the doing of the Father's will? I know a lot of UB readers who intellectually believe all of this. I've been trying to work this out for myself. So I was hoping for feedback from a more experiential perspective.
I do believe there are some people who have experienced spiritual transformation--a profound experience, one that changes one's entire way of seeing and interacting with the world. They would be operating on an entirely different level than the rest of us. They would truly be coming from a place of love--in the profoundest sense. They would experience a profound peace and calm. They would be fearless. I think the rest of us are still struggling to let go of ego, pettiness, judgement, and fear; we have not figured out how to subordinate self-will for the Father's will–even after praying for help in overcoming these shortcomings. We are not coming from a place of unconditional love. How do we get there? Prayer? Meditation?
Stephen, these are the thoughts/questions that arose when I read the UB quote in your Power Hour today.
Cristina Hutchins
From: Stephen Zendt <szendt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Cristina Hutchins <cdhutchins94510@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: UB Soc-Admin (new) <socadmin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "ggc- urantialist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ggc-urantialist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2015 7:03 PM
Subject: Re: [socadmin] FIFTH EPOCHAL POWER HOUR honors Father's Day
Hi, Christina!
Because the quote is out of its context, the whole of Section 1 is important to understanding what is meant.
However, in my own view, it is through (first) acknowledging our awareness of, and our relationship to, God our Father.
Then (second) to undergo the process of spiritual transformation, to relocate the seat of our identity from ego to soul.
And (third) to seek to "do the Father's will" in our daily lives, to love and serve our fellow family members in willing and faithful affection.
We become willing to respond to God's invitation to "come home to me, Agondonter, my beloved child." [not a quote from the UB]
But rather than oversimplify such "personal participation", there comes:
the awakening to our cosmic citizenship
our realization of the gigantic cosmos
its trillions of inhabitants, in Seven Super-universes
surrounding the central abode of the Paradise Isle and the perfect Universe of Havona
the eternal life that awaits us, beginning in Mansonia
the encounter with Michael of Nebadon
the betrothal and fusion with our Mystery Monitor, and the subsequent journey to Uversa
traveling through the perfect worlds of Havona on the way to Paradise
the realization of The Infinite Spirit, The Eternal Son, and arrival on the Isle of Paradise
The Paradise embrace with The Universal Father
These are some ideas, but others may well have other perspectives, and deeper thoughts about this.
Stephen Zendt
-----Original Message-----
From: "Cristina Hutchins (via socadmin list)"
Sent: Jun 21, 2015 5:49 PM
To: Stephen Zendt
Cc: "UB Soc-Admin (new)" , " ggc-urantialist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx"
Subject: Re: [socadmin] FIFTH EPOCHAL POWER HOUR honors Father's Day
This email was sent from yahoo.com which does not allow forwarding of emails via email lists. Therefore the sender's email address (cdhutchins94510@xxxxxxxxx) has been replaced with a dummy one.
Lovely, Stephen. I would like to ask everyone how you interpret or understand to mean the last part of that paragraph: "our personal participation in the divine manifestations of his infinite reality."?
Cristina Hutchins
Stephen Zendt <szendt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Dear Urantia Book students and friends,
How unique to have Father's Day and the Summer Solstice happening at the same time, on a Sunday!
We in the Northern Hemisphere are in the season of hot weather, now, while those south of the Equator enter Wintertime.
Whether cold or hot, it is a day to pay attention to creators, those who sired us and those who created our Universe. The big opportunity here is open expression of gratitude, for time and sacrifice made in order to provide home and watch care. Our heavenly and earthly fathers need to know that we care for them and send them love.
In honor of today, I want to provide a single paragraph that lifts my own soul up whenever I read it. PAPER 102; Section 1, Pp. 5.
102:1.5 God is so all real and absolute that no material sign of proof or no demonstration of so-called miracle may be offered in testimony of his reality. Always will we know him because we trust him, and our belief in him is wholly based on our personal participation in the divine manifestations of his infinite reality.
Stephen Zendt, Walnut Creek, CA
