[tmtranscripts] N. Idaho TeaM 3/30/03

[rickgiles]

North Idaho Teaching Mission Group
Topics: Conviction
Teachers: Elyon

March 30, 2003

*	Elyon (Jonathan TR):  Greetings to you, my friends.  This is Elyon 
once again.  I am going to continue our discussion from last week by 
picking up the topic “conviction”.
	We spoke about spring cleaning, and that naturally implies removal of 
unwanted items and the necessity to reevaluate worth or merit of a 
possession, in this context we were addressing conceptions that bear upon 
your spiritual being.  There is also another side, and that is the choice 
to retain a condition in yourself because you have reevaluated it and deem 
it worthwhile that you will continue to possess it.  Your word 
“conviction” is interesting, for it in one regard describes loyalty and 
yet in another regard indicates a judgment, a form of condemnation.  So, I 
will use these two to fill the lesson.
	As I address you I am aware that many of you have over your years 
throughout your spiritual growth boldly altered your concepts of 
spirituality and religion, your life philosophy, that it may be updated to 
fit with your inner contact and to adjust these viewpoints to better mesh 
with reality as you have been experiencing it.  In so doing you have 
bravely discarded concepts that have been -- and many that still are -- 
held by a majority of people.  You have taken the path of the scout who 
looks for new opportunity, who is willing to leave the beaten path to 
discover what lies beyond in the unknown.  It is therefore unnecessary to 
alert you to the peril of arriving at a conviction because it is demanded 
from you by an outside authority or even the pressure of peers.  This is 
more of a conviction like the convict who must now live life according to 
the dictates of others.  True conviction is self possessed.  It is so held 
that it is part of you, not something you simply wear or possess, but it 
has become you.
	When differing opinions clash and argument ensues, the tack taken by 
either side is to convince the other of the value of the position.  When 
each side sees the same, one side is often convinced.  That conviction 
changes the viewpoint, and both parties now argue the same perspective.  
Party Two, they changed opinion and no longer require Party One to support 
their opinion; it is their conviction held by themselves.  So, as I return 
to spring cleaning, ask yourself as you look about your inner house what 
items you have that are yours and what items you have borrowed and truly 
do not possess, that are possessions of others that have remained in your 
domicile.  I do not ask you to set aside your busy schedules to pursue 
this activity with exclusive attention, rather, to be alert and note when 
you may perhaps be acting under a condition of conviction that is not 
fully your possession but is bearing upon you by others’ intentions and 
desires.  For clarity I must state that these other opinions are not 
necessarily wrong simply because they come from another.  What I ask you 
to note and settle in yourself is the degree to which you truly believe on 
your own for yourself, whether it be originally created within you or 
borrowed from another.
	It has been on your minds lately the degree to which media affect your 
individual lives, the state of mind it creates in many from the 
information so readily available.  This is not a new phenomenon in the 
human culture.  It is merely change in technology of what has been for 
eons social pressure or peer pressure, cultural confinements; all these 
group conditions play upon the thinking of the individual.  So it is 
important to develop the ability to recognize what your true conviction is 
in any given situation.  Take a second to stand back and ask yourself when 
presented with information.  If perchance you are unable to resolve the 
degree of your conviction, then it must be set aside for future study, 
further experience.
	I am aware of an expression on your world that goes, “drawing a line 
in the sand”.  It is a curious expression for, while it illustrates the 
taking of sides, it also demonstrates the easy removal of barrier between 
sides, for sand can easily be changed, and the line disappears.  Likewise 
you have this same flexibility with your convictions.  With some 
reflection you can note that a belief you held in the past you do not hold 
today.  Your convictions shifted.  But without convictions uncertainty 
grows, insecurity grows, inability to act definitely sets in.  Conviction 
brings motivation to action.
	Michael’s parting words were, “Go forth and proclaim the gospel of the 
kingdom to all the world”.  That is done through conviction.
	I desire now to receive your input.

	Ginny:  Sometimes it’s hard to give yourself some breathing room to 
consider another side.  We cling so stubbornly to what we believe in, we 
don’t put ourselves in another’s place to understand why they believe the 
way they do.

*	Elyon:  Pride is an issue in this respect, for there is great weight 
in conviction, much investment.  To begin to adopt another’s viewpoint 
implies that your prior viewpoint was possibly wrong, that you are viewed 
as convicted of error.  This fear, pride, response causes one to avoid the 
struggle required to refine your beliefs.  Strong personalities are able 
to try on the garments of another’s opinion and from that perspective 
better perceive the thought patterns that make up the viewpoint and choose 
whether to discard those garments as unfitting to their situation or adopt 
those items that do fit well.  Also, the reluctance to entertain contrary 
viewpoints often touches the sensitive nerve of a deep down feeling that 
perhaps your convictions aren’t sound or truly believed by yourself.  In 
reality, reflecting upon varied viewpoints strengthens your understanding 
and allows you to maintain a rooted connection to truth even while your 
mind is shifting in the winds of viewpoint.
	My final comment to your statement is that love creates curiosity and 
the desire to understand another’s convictions.  Love of oneself allows 
you to remain firm in your viewpoint even while another believes 
differently.  Love for that other individual allows them to continue their 
investigation into truth even if it does not align with your perspective.

	Tom:  From our discussion today there’s a great deal of evidence both 
pro and con this war. From e-mail I grow weary of trying to discern the 
correct view.  I’m reminded that Jesus grew up under Roman authority.  The 
best way to deal with this is to practice his gospel, not so much to focus 
for or against but to see how to apply this gospel to both sides.  That’s 
what your lesson was about, wasn’t it?

*	Elyon:  Yes, and you have expressed an important approach for all to 
take.  Infusing every perspective with the elements that make up the 
gospel of Michael greatly clarifies each perspective, avoids many of the 
conflicts, and orients according to value.  Along with Michael’s message 
of the gospel he also stated to become like a little child.  Part of being 
a little child is curiosity in discovery, the willingness to pass from one 
phase to another as the child grows.  So, less conflict would be 
experienced by human beings if you all could understand the broad spectrum 
of human spiritual awareness, experience, and maturity; that no position 
is absolutely right, for in order to be a living creature you must be 
always moving physically, mentally, and spiritually.

	Tom:  One of these childlike qualities is joy.  Humor is a category of 
joy.  When you have two opposing factions and you tell a joke, they drop 
their guard in order to get it.  That approach favors something 
lighthearted, a sub-section of the gospel.  Does that make sense?

*	Elyon:  Yes, for, as the master said, “Be of good cheer.”  This is 
illustrative of the difficulty of conviction, for it entails loyalty, 
devotion, and these conditions can foster negative outcomes such as 
aggression, manipulation.  Humor does break that barrier.  It can cause 
opposing parties to lift their heads out of the fray to see the whole 
context.  But it must be used wisely, for personality can react against 
humor if it is perceived as a barb, as a method to tear down their 
stronghold. While the content of humor must be wisely evaluated before 
being disseminated,the encouragement of laughter discharges pent-up 
aggressions.  Choose your content well, for it is the lighthearted 
reaction that heals and creates bonding.

	Tom:  Hearty laughter would be the conviction, wouldn’t it?

*	Elyon:  Much of the laughter response in a human being is due to a 
sense of reality and a sense of what is false, and the juxtaposition in 
the context of a joke illustrates the points.  Without conviction there 
really is no humor, for you must stand firmly in a position in order to 
find humor in comparison.  When a comical situation is presented that 
allows laughter, it presents the opportunity for those engaged in laughter 
to perceive the other viewpoint without threat.  While it may not convince 
in the moment, it may bear upon the mind at later times.
	We who have different forms that we inhabit than you who inhabit the 
human body experience mirth, jubilees, joy.  Our mechanisms do not laugh 
as yours do, but the inner response is the same.  It is also quite 
difficult to restrain.  This is one of the safeguards built into your 
human form by the Life Carriers so that when your mind becomes tied up in 
knots, quandaries, aggravations, and the like, laughter can break that all 
up, and it can do so virtually without your ability to suppress it.  And 
this brings healing.  It allows you to pause for a moment and consider 
worth, importance.

	Ginny:  Is our planet inclined to war for all its history?  I know we 
suffered defaults, but is it typical of an evolving planet to go to war, 
or are we an anomaly of some kind?

*	Elyon:  It is not unusual on an evolutionary world like yours for 
these violent actions to follow disagreement.  The subject matter that 
causes war evolves from the possession of territory to the promotion of 
ideologies.  What is different about your planet is that, while this 
development of the subject of war shifts, you have yet to develop new 
methods for your promotion of ideologies.  You may fight over land, but to 
fight over ideology destroys the worth of the ideology fought for.  What 
is lacking on this world are techniques for conflict that are non-violent.  
The tendency for mankind to rally behind a cause is good; even to die for 
your cause has spiritual value.  What is lacking is improved techniques to 
resolve your differences.  You are still using century old methods for new 
and more complex problems.
	One day on a global level civilization will evolve.  Gone will be the 
shouting matches, as they have transitioned from screams to heated 
argument and eventually into calm debate.  While you admire that in the 
individuals who make up your world, there is much work to do for your 
societies en masse to evolve to that same level of dignity in behavior.

	Evelyn:  You spoke of convictions we may have acquired that don’t 
belong to us, ones we have taken on.  I think how I have habits and social 
skills I picked up from my parents.  I am often like my mom.  I could 
defend these behaviors.  Is that anywhere near what you are talking about?

*	Elyon: Yes, it is.  I will repeat that discerning the source does not 
imply that your conviction is no longer valid.  An adopted conviction is 
good if you are truly convinced.  If it is adopted  blindly, 
unreasoningly, then you stand on fragile ground and may be surprised when 
it shatters.  I ask you merely to arrange your understanding of what is 
truly a conviction that you have and discern those which are adopted 
accidentally, not recognized as your own possession and make a decision if 
you wish to add them to your convictions list or wish to discard them, 
whether or not they be adopted later or be found worthless for evermore.

	Ginny:  On a national scale, our tendency is to believe that the world 
is mean and we have to stockpile weapons for protection.  On the other 
side, believing that the world is a friendly place, that we are all 
neighbors, would bring us into another way of thinking and believing.  
Conviction is important to change our habits.

*	Elyon:  It can be said that convictions lead to conflict, for opposing 
convictions stand unyielding.  So you have your many battles.  What you 
speak of steps above that polarity to a conviction held by all, more 
appropriately a paradigm, as you speak of that the world is an ugly place, 
threatening, dangerous.  If the message of Michael were to be adopted or, 
in the spirit of my lesson, truly a conviction of all, the paradigm would 
shift, and your conflicts would find smooth resolution, where you would 
approach your differences knowing full well that the other party is a 
brother or a sister worthy of your love and of equal value in the eyes of 
God.  Approaching your differences in this manner would bring peaceful 
resolutions.  I guess you know your assignment.
	I will depart. I enjoy your engagements with me.  It is a delight to 
have souls such as you who seek to discern the thread of spirit through 
all peoples of your lives, whether it is the conditions found between you 
and friends or the conditions existing between the nations. Even more it 
is a delight to witness you discuss conditions between your planet and 
others and your relation to the Father of all on Paradise.  Until next 
time, farewell.
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