[tmtranscripts] SE Idaho Transcript 10-26-01

[Bill Kelly]

SE Idaho TeaM  
10-26-01

Abraham(Bill): Greetings my dear students.  I am Abraham, your teacher,
your friend, your heartfelt supporter and your brother from this planet,
Urantia.  How my heart is filled with pleasure to behold your eager faces
and see the light shining from your gracious souls.  Every time I meet with
you, my students, I fall deeper in love with you.  I have been asked to
begin our session this evening which will be a joint session of SE Idaho
and Woods Cross.  Your synergy as a combined group is impressive to behold.
 Indeed, were we accurate when we described you as one group, nine years
ago.  I wish to speak regarding fortitude.
									
Fortitude has fallen into disfavor as a word in the English language, but
its lack of usage does not imply that its virtue is outmoded.  Fortitude is
the ability to persist in the face of challenge, the strength to follow
one's convictions of truth, beauty, and goodness.  Fortitude is what makes
a foundation solid.  It is the mortar that holds together the decisions of
will as these are made with the guidance of your Mystery Monitor, your
Indwelling Spirit.  Fortitude is born of adversity.  It is born of a sense
of duty.  It is born of loyalty.  Fortitude is long lasting courage, not
merely the enthusiasm of aroused emotions; but is the cement which
solidifies the structure of character.  Fortitude is a first cousin to
patience and, in fact, the one cannot exist without the other.  

Fortitude makes possible the completion of all worthy projects.  It is an
absolutely essential character trait.  Fortitude is what carries the
soldier through the dangers and even the horrors of battle.  Fortitude is
what keeps marriages together when sometimes the cords of love are frayed.
Many people in this culture of the U.S.A. have had too soft a life where
they have not been required to learn fortitude.  When the going gets
difficult many have abandoned their goals, because they have not learned
the lessons of patience and fortitude.

This tragedy which you have discussed again may have many positive
outcomes, among them a reappraisal of this nation's character and a
questioning of its "hell bent for materialism" lifestyle.  The worship of
materialism is in opposition to spiritual fortitude, for basically it
teaches that comfort comes from having one's needs met immediately, nay
more than one's needs, one's merest desires, satisfied now.  To persist and
build for a project that could conceivably last beyond one's lifetime is
ludicrous to the dedicated materialist.  So, perhaps, with the very symbols
of materialism being attacked by the terrorists, the shrines of wealth and
power falling, despite the tragedy of the loss of human life and faith,
nevertheless, some may look upon this as a modern day Tower of Babel.
Please understand that I am not justifying the horrors of this faceless
hatred which struck thousands of innocent people. What I am trying to
suggest is that lessons can be learned that transcend the simple reflexive
revengeful hatred response.  We have talked of this before, and we will
talk of it again, as this was no small event, dear friends.  This has been
a planetary crisis.

I would suggest to you that the real struggle on this planet is between
Jesusonian values and materialistic values. The bullies are not easy to
identify.  The good guys and the bad guys are not clearly demarcated.  All
people, with the exception of those without normal minds, are indwelt by
the Ultimate Good.  Yet everyone can make mistakes and choose to make
mistakes a pattern.  We can see sin and iniquity evolve.  We are hopeful
that enough will be spoken by those like yourselves, to challenge the
standard "us and them" ways of construing reality so that a profound
spiritual upgrade will occur as a result of this great tragedy.  Recall
that Jesus did not come to this planet to inaugurate social change.  But
the one thing he could not tolerate was inequality as it was expressed
between gender, class, and economic distribution. One cannot serve both God
and materialism.

You have been told repeatedly that these are the ripest moments, the
greatest of times for potential change for the better.  I call upon you to
increase your fortitude, your strength that will endure, so that you may be
part of the spiritual summertime which is to come on this planet.  
 
My final word has to do with the source of this fortitude.  When one is
thirsty, one seeks water from a well, let us say.  One has to lower the
bucket, fill it with water, and then reel it back up so they may then drink
and quench their  thirst.  You have within you a well of living water.  All
you have to do is lower the bucket and reel it back up.  That water will
then give you the strength of fortitude.  

We always tell you that you need to stay in stillness practice, because
stillness practice is your lifeline.  If you do not drink water when you
are thirsty, you will grow faint and you will be unable to stand against
the adversaries, spirit poisons.  Once you are charged with the strength of
fortitude you will be able to stand before your brothers and sisters who
have less information and less faith and strengthen them and lead them from
darkness into light.  So, my friends, take a deep breath.  Breathe in the
Spirit, breathe out fear.  Let go of weakness and take upon yourselves
divine fortitude.  Thank you for your attention.  Shalom.

Group: Shalom.  Thank you, Abraham.

Aaron(Bob D.):  Greetings my friends.  It is good to see your faces.  I am
Aaron and I am here representing many teachers this evening, many beings.
At this time I would like to allow you the opportunity to ask any questions
you may have, on any topic.  (Pause)

LaReen: Aaron, on stillness...I know it is all individual and we all have
our ways...I am not looking for shortcuts, but I am looking for advice on
stillness.  I get sidetracked so easy and my mind wanders.  It seems that
in this group  atmosphere I can feel Father more, than when alone.  Any
advice would be greatly appreciated.

Aaron: Thank you for your question.  Perhaps, looking at stillness
differently might help you.  The stillness is not designed to be merely a
period of time where you try to feel God or feel closer to God.  Many
people think of stillness, or worship, or even prayer time in terms of how
they can feel a deeper presence of God Success is  perceived by a large
part of the human population as depending on your feelings,.  Rather, with
the stillness, is this an exercise to lift your mind into channels of
awareness beyond simply the presence, but rather are you allowing an actual
transfer to take place.

LaReen: I don't think I am.  I think I am inpatient and my mind wanders and
I don't sit quiet long enough,  although reading the lessons or the Urantia
book or the Center Within or whatever.  I journal my prayer for the day, my
gratitude and my worship.  Then I will sit there for about a minute and my
mind wanders.

Aaron: A wandering mind is not necessarily a sign of failure.  It is like
exercise.  When you do pushups you can't do twenty pushups the first time
you try.  Stillness is not really an effort to stop thought, to quit
thinking.  Some types of meditation do this, yes.  But what we have
generally guided you toward is an avenue where you are trying to place your
thought in certain streams, instead of chastising yourself because your
mind wanders.  Simply, redirect and go back to the center.  

Abraham, tonight, referred to how humans often seek immediate satisfaction
and results.  With the stillness, it is truly an endurance test, allowing
yourself to wander with your thoughts, knowing that you can redirect, that
you can continue on, that you can spend five minutes, ten minutes, twenty
minutes, eventually in unbroken communion.  But this takes real practice.
You are not expected to be an expert at stillness, but one who is simply
trying.  So, rather than recognize your thoughts wandering and then
choosing a different activity, you may simply want to apply yourself, give
yourself more time to redirect.  What you will find is that channeling your
energy back, your thoughts back towards your center, the Spirit within you,
will bring about a productivity in time.  You may not even be consciously
aware of the assurance and the will power, the strengthening of your
resolve toward higher things, better avenues of thought, success in
overcoming many areas of life that you would like to change.  Much of what
is accomplished in the stillness practice is unconscious.  What you feel is
a mixture of things.  Part of that may be Spirit contact.  Many of the
emotions and sensations you feel are actually human electro-chemical
responses.  Is this helping you in your understanding, my friend?

LaReen: Very much so, very much so, thank you.

Abraham: I am Abraham.  I would speak to this.  I agree fully with Aaron's
outline and I would apply my words of fortitude and patience to you
specifically with this concern.

Indeed, the main purpose of stillness is not thought stopping.  That is a
certain kind of meditation.  The main purpose of stillness is a
re-centering of your being away from the clamor of the ego, the demand of
your culture and your conditioning, a re-centering to go within to that
Center which contains all of God.  So, I agree, do not be distressed that
your mind wanders, but exercise your will to bring it back to center on the
love and presence of your divine Indweller.  Be patient with yourself, my
eager friend.  Draw upon your inner strength.  That is all.

Virginia: Teachers, I am on the same subject, I think.  One of the things
that discourages me is when I hear other people and what they sometimes
experience in their quiet time.  I say to myself, my ego self, "What's
wrong with me that I can't have what they have.  Then I say, "I know God
loves everyone the same.  Why is this different for me or different for
them".  I want, as far as I know my myself, to be the best I can be.  If a
state of being is possible that would make me better because I have
experienced a quiet, than hey, give it to me, God!

Abraham: The grass is greener on the other side!  

Virginia: I don't know if the grass is even growing on this side of the
fence.  (Laughter)

Abraham: The grass is not growing on the other side for you... (Laughter
and squeals)...for you are like any other mortal, confined to your own
pasture.  It is an illusion that someone else's experience is better than
yours, my dear.  Each person's experience is unique and truly difficult if
not impossible of comparison.  What you experience when you hear of other's
experiences is a very second hand process.  At the same time that it is
true that each has unique experience, it is also true that each has the
same divine Indweller.  The reason each one's experiences are different is
the interaction with personality.  It is commendable to aspire to higher
levels of spiritual growth.  But it is sometimes deceptive to be seduced by
mysticism, by the mysterious, by the different, so as to make one
discontented with their pasture, and willing to stick their neck through
the barbed wire to eat the grass that grows on the other side of the fence.
(Continuing laughter).

Virginia: That picture was enough!!  (Loud continuous raucous laughter and
comments)

Abraham: Excuse what may appear to be a lack of seriousness in my response,
my dear, but after all, we take ourselves far too seriously!   Do we not?

Group: Agreed!

Abraham: Has this helped you at all?

Virginia: Very much so.  Thank you.

Abraham: I am Abraham speaking.

Virginia: I'll be careful to keep my collar on so it won't.....(laughter)

Bob: I had a thought that was coming from Aaron, but it might have been me.
 One's experience is also colored greatly by cultural conditioning, life
experiences, everything that has happened before and therefor an experience
is laced with so many other factors than just the contact with Spirit
itself.  So the reason that you don't have the same experience as others
do, when you hear about these marvelous experiences, is because your
experience is colored by your conditioning, their experience is colored by
their conditioning.  It is a false comparison when you try to make those
comparisons.

Abraham: Very fine, Bob.  These were Aaron's thoughts and mine as well.
You have summarized them very well.

Bob: I have a question as well.  I am at work on this publication I am
doing and often times I don't stop to tune in and get advice.  I try to
follow my inner leading, but at the same time I wouldn't mind just a little
advice from your perspective of what you see of the possibilities.  Which
ever teacher would be best to answer that.  Do you have any advice about
this publication based on who you see it possibly reaching, and any other
factors that go with it?
 
Abraham: I am Abraham.  My first thought, my friend, is that you recollect
the parable of the sower so that you are neither overly optimistic nor
overly ego involved.  The whole purpose of the sower is to give away the
truth and  your efforts are completely in harmony with the intention of the
sower of truth.  I have not studied your document, but being present
tonight, did peek over shoulders to read.  What I see seems to be a very
good meshing of higher truth with the varied soils present on this college
campus.  My personal appraisal is that you should proceed with confidence
and be open to help from others, including those who are not visible.  

We are excited by every effort by every mortal to be a light bearer.
Surely, this campus needs new wine in new wineskins, for it has a
superfluous abundance of old wine in old wineskins.  Carry on.

Bob: Just a follow up question.  I have toyed with the idea of just sharing
the information and not really identifying who the publisher is, just
putting it out there.  For various reasons I can see positives and
negatives on both sides.  I don't know if you have any thought that way, on
whether it is better to just identify myself and do it or to put it..not
anonymous, because I will have a return address, but not really identifying
who the publisher and all that stuff is.

Abraham: Recall that our Master progressively revealed himself as his
ministry evolved.  But always was he willing to tell others who he really
was when they wanted to know.  My sense is that to be totally anonymous
would be in error because there are those who will not take seriously
something that no one is willing to own.  At the same time, too much self
identification can also leave a bad taste in the mouths of some who feel
they are dealing with some serious ego issues.  So leaving yourself a trail
of identification, as you have done, would seem to be, in the first issue,
at least, a good idea.  Depending on the response, you can reconsider this
question in the future.  This is my opinion.

Bob: I appreciate those thoughts.

Abraham.  My friends, your time is up.  Other agendas are pressing.  I will
therefore bring this meeting to a close.  Please stand again and take each
others hands.

Let us lift our hearts, our souls, to God.

Father of lights, First Source and Center, we, your children, adore you,
cherish you, and thank you for this universe that you share with us.  We
are honored to be recipients of your indwelling presence.  We are humbled
by the beauty and generosity of your universe, and yet we are filled with
joy to share life with others of your children, our brothers and sisters,
who are so beautiful, who are so enjoyable.  I ask you to break through the
fog of weariness; take away the tears of discouragement; put strength into
the spiritual muscles of these, my brothers, my sisters, that we honor each
other by our devotion to you, and that we may honor you by our devotion to
each other.  Even, so, Father may it be so.  Amen.

Group: Amen.




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