[tmtranscripts] Center for Christ Consciousness --April 21, 2003

[Donna DIngillo]

CENTER FOR CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS
Larkspur, CA


LESSON FROM MICHAEL
APRIL 21, 2003 
MAKING DECISIONS

This is Michael your Creator Father who greets you.  Spending time with
me this evening is my delight.  That you have chosen to be here with me
is a testament to the faith that is now dominant within your soul.  Make
no mistake, you are growing more faith-filled each day through each
decision hard won on the battlefield of choice and effort and struggle. 
Each decision that you make, whether or not you understand the outcome of
the decision, is an active engagement of the rigorous spiritual currents
that are now leading you into greater expression of the Father’s will
within you.  

Having said this, I ask you:  do you appreciate how significant is it for
you to make choices each day?  Are you aware of the choices that are
available to you to make each day?  Do you comprehend that all of these
choices will add greatly to the elasticity of your mind to conform your
thoughts with that of your indwelling Mystery Monitor?

In my human life I was confronted with many decisions that impacted not
only my life but that of my father’s family—the rearing of my brothers
and sisters, the watchcare of my mother, the day to day decisions that
opened my mind to the Father’s presence as I sought to conform my
thinking to that of the Father’s.  Difficult though it is sometimes to
discipline your unruly minds, know that it is possible.

It is by your rigorous decision-making that the beauty of the Father’s
thoughts and will for you can shine through the darkness of your own
limited understanding.  Gather your wits about you.  You are enlarging a
certain intellectual capacity about you that will give your spirit
greater room within your mind to inter-associate new ideas, experiences
and feelings into a more unified and cohesive depiction of the sum
credits of your personality attributes.

Decision-making is not for the faint of heart. It is for those faith
inspired children who courageously accept that living in faith means
reaching out in life into the unknown realms to the realms of adventure
where experience is your teacher and guidance comes to you in many ways
and in small increments.  You must be tested through your decisions.  You
must be tried over a period of time to know that the fruits that you are
yielding are true and not just a superficial understanding of an idea.
As you ponder these words, find that place within you that has the
sincerity to ask:  am I courageous enough to make the decisions—these
bold decisions about my life, these honest decisions, and to look at my
day as an opportunity to make decisions?  As you ponder these words,
bring your questions to me and I will share with you some of the
experiences that I gleaned from the humanness of my being. 

Student:  Thank you, Michael. The question is in line with an opportunity
to get to know someone who in so many ways is appears to be capable of
matching and partnering with me in a ministry.  Is there any guidance
that you would like to give me?  

Michael:  R, my son, you do well to approach this opportunity with an
open heart and to look at this budding relationship as new in so many
ways.  You have had prior relationship experience and there will be that
experience brought into this new relationship in terms thinking and
feeling.  But what will be different for is now the openness to see a
person through different eyes, and to make no judgements or assessments,
but to love openly and to sense within you if this is the match you have
been desiring and anticipating.

Most of human life is built upon this precarious equation of experiential
memory to anticipated outcomes. You assess the situations that you are in
about what you have known from the past and what your desired goals and
objectives are.  So, in coming into this new relationship or in any of
your opportunities that present themselves, regardless if it is personal
relation or work relationship or service relationship, be in that place
of openness of heart.  And ask to see the truth and beauty begin to
emerge from the experience that you are enjoying.  Then, after you have
amassed a certain amount of experience in this opportunity, you will
begin a greater appreciation if this the experience that is going to
nurture your soul or one that will not bode well for you.  

But must be in that place of openness of heart and not assessment at
first, so what is true and what is true and what is real and what is good
has time to blend in your soul, and give you a deeper meaning and a
deeper appreciation of what is actually occurring. If you bring this
dynamic into all the experiences as you live your life, you will find a
new way of living and dealing with your life’s situations.  Do you
understand my meaning, my son? 

Student:  It seems that what you are saying that an openness of heart is
the touch stone. I need to continue to experience whatever comes and then
that openness will adjust the benefit of continuing or not that activity
or relationship or situation.

Michael:  This is the cornerstone of building your soul through life’s
experiences.  So as you find that openness within your heart, be of the
idea that new meanings and values will emerge if you can be clear and not
having any agenda or expectation and just letting the emergence of the
Father’s will create these new associations of reality within you.  I am
not suggesting that this will be altogether easy, so in that place of
openness, you may invite me in to help you maintain this posture of clear
reception.  In time you will grow more confident of your own ability to
maintain that openness throughout all of your experiences of daily
living.  Do not hesitate to invite me and the presence of your Mother
into that place within your heart, so that you can be as clear and
receptive to the truth as possible at your particular stage of
development.  Have you any other thoughts?

Student:  I want you to know that I appreciative of and receptive to what
you have said and I intend to make the most of the opportunity.  I know
that progress will occur solidly, and I am quite hopeful and prayerfully
preparing on a moment by moment basis.  

Michael:  Enjoy this life more and more.  If you are so fortunate to
master this openness of heart, you will have a rich life indeed. And be
in my peace, my son. 

Student:  Show me how to have the courage to use the full mercy credits
my inner spirit would want me to use.  I get intimidated at time. Teach
me to increase the measure of courage that I should be asking for.

Michael:  My dear child, the mercy afforded to you is well nigh
limitless.  In rendering yourself submissive to doing the will of the
Father the mercy is continually renewing itself within you, for Father’s
ministry in your mind is ever renewing you with advanced ideals and
values that make a strong and noble son of the Father.  Mercy is not
something that you can go to the bank and cash in—it is something freely
given.  And you earn it in a way.  The way is by following the will of
the Father—whole heartily, devotedly, unreservedly imperfect though you
may be in your approach in your understanding.  So as you ask me what can
I do to earn these credits, I say to you; as you are in the manner of
making your decisions, predicate these decisions with the words, ‘will
this decision be in conformity to the Father’s will for me?’ 

Before you make any decision, spend time in communion and move forward
when you feel a quickening within you of Spirit.  How will you recognize
it?  It will give a sense of peace, and appreciation of greatness, a
depth of understanding, an expansion of love, and a clear alignment in a
new reality of truth expression within you that will ring very deeply
within your soul. 

It will take time for you to develop the patience to react thoughtfully
as the emotions quiet so the thoughts of God are able to emerge more in
your conscious mind, giving you a steadiness of feeling and calmness of
disposition.  You will see yourself moving and responding in a much
better fashion.  Doing the Father’s will is the way that you accumulate
the grace and mercy that is continually flowing into your being to bring
you closer to the Father as you ascend.  What comments have you in this
answer now, my child? 

Student:  I believe in your comments are perfect for me.  I don’t quite
understand the courage; where does the courage come?  From concentration
or an attitude of meekness, a light heartiness? 

Michael:  Courage is born of an unwavering loyalty and devotion and
conviction to doing the Father’s will.  To be of sincere heart in saying,
‘not my will, but Yours be done.’ Once you have this increased loyalty
and devotion to doing the Father’s will, the courage becomes an automatic
response because you are filled with such fervor that you can step out in
the midst of oppressing difficulty and be aligned with the Father’s
action moving you forward.   Do you understand what this means now? 

Student:  I am getting a pretty clear picture of what this means.  

Michael:  Unswerving devotion to doing the Father’s will, as you like to
say, is the quickest way of spiritual attainment.  I say this to you with
all lightheartedness and Fatherly affection for I know your devotion and
I honor your commitment and I appreciate what you offer.  In closing, I
say to you, be of good cheer as you continue to find those places of will
resistance within you.  Let your devotion and loyalty emerge more
staunchly in your mind, and the resistance will be nothing in comparison
to your courage.  I leave you in my strength.

Student: I appreciate that profoundly. 

Student: I have been contemplating on the past few days or since we last
spoke about what core beliefs or thought are keeping me or preventing me
from experiencing the fullness of my being in all aspects of my life. 
Where might I possibly be blind in my experiencing and living the
Father’s will of truth, love, beauty, joy.  I know there is a belief or
some misunderstanding in my being that prevents me from fully living from
living through God in every moment. I wish to have it removed from my
being so I may experience what you experienced on this earth. 

Michael:  What you now are experiencing, my son, are the growing pains of
deep soul expansion as the new growth within you is uprooting the old
ideas, the old thoughts, the old feelings.  Know that in time that which
you wish to achieve will yield the sum fruits that you desire.  You are,
through your desires and decisions, growing into that.   Do you not see
your own growth? (Yes, I do).

So you have an appreciation of the time element that it takes for the
seeds that you have planted in your mind of doing the Father’s will to
take root and to spring forth the most beautiful blossoms of personality
expression that you wish to become .  

Go more deeply into your role as gardener in your own life.  What do you
wish to prune, what do you wish to conserve or cultivate?  When you see
the branch of thoughts within you that are unlovely, call on your Mother
to begin to separate that from you.  Call on me to plant you in the new
foundation that will cultivate that seed.  And then be patient, as all
these seeds that you are planting within you are now growing strong. 
They are beginning to emerge but as you can see your garden is still not
in full bloom at all time.  .

Do you wish to be in the full bloom of the spring in your full
personality?  Then you must go through the periods of pruning,
cultivation, and rest.  This will not occur all at once.  You have many
years of dedicated cultivation within you to enjoy.  Do you not take care
of your plants with love and tender affection and caress?  Why would you
not apply the same delicacy within your own being as you grow more
Father-like?  Our hands work within you very gently, very skillfully. Let
us join hands with you as we emerge your awareness of the process
necessary that leads to Adjuster fusion.

I long remember those days on Urantia when my yearnings were like yours. 
It did me very well to cultivate this attitude of easy-going patience in
knowing that all things were working to the good.  And I know you have a
very strong conceptual awareness of this, but can you honestly say that
your experiential  awareness has reached that same height?  (Not yet)  I
would commend you of all things now to ask for, that your spirit
continually convey to you the necessity for patience, and to enjoy this
quality more and more, as you have adopted this appreciation for patience
for the flowers and plants that you care for.  Your own internal garden
is much more beautiful, and so developing this patience is something that
you will increasingly come to treasure and enjoy. Do you understand this?

Student:  Yes, I do and there is a certain rhythm to it all as well: a
time to sow and a time to reap.

Michael:  And a time for all of those potentials to assimilate, congeal,
blend, and grow. Enjoy the growing, it will be with you for a very long
time.  And this is the beautiful unfolding of the Father within you.  I
see you like that. (Yes).  This is good, and all is well within you. 
Have you any other thoughts that you need to express this evening?

Student:  Just thoughts about my son.  I have tried to sow some seeds in
about questioning his life: who he is and his place in the universe and
his purpose in life.  He never really thought about that and so I asked
him if he wanted to read any of my books that I have in my library.  He
said he would think about it but did not think he could find the answers
in books.  So when I went away, he did look at some of the books I have:
one was on meditation and one was on altering you life.  I am thankful
that he is pursuing these questions.  I thank you for instilling that in
him because he is a very thoughtful human being, and I know in his heart
he desires to live the life that he was created to live. I so much want
him to experience what I have experienced—to see through his own eyes. 

Michael:  And as a wise father, you know how the child must find his own
way.  The words of encouragement and guidance you offer are important,
but let them be by invitation. As you continue to pray for him, come into
my being and I will sow those seeds of truth within him each time you
focus your thoughts on him.  

My little ones, you are all growing and this pleases me mightily.  This
is all we ask—that you continue to grow; that you continue to make
decisions that stimulate your growth, that move you into new
opportunities for creative expression of the Father’s movement and life
essence through you.  Each day see yourself less and less on your own,
for you are in reality in a dynamic partnership with the very Source of
all life.  Each decision can be a collaborative undertaking if you are so
fortunate as to remember that this partnership is yours—every moment of
every day.

I understand the difficulty of remembering. I know that your intention is
to increasingly use this dynamic partnership in service to your fellows
and for your own soul growth.  More and more expand your moments of
stillness into those moments of the day when you wish to choose, when you
are in those experiences that give you the capacity to do one thing or
another.  Compose your thoughts, quiet your mind and ask the Father’s
thoughts to emerge.  Right or wrong, let yourself move from that place of
honest inquiry of sincere loyalty to letting the Father’s will move you
into that decision.

Practice this. You are not to be so concerned about whether this was the
right or wrong decision.  That is not the essential lesson of this
evening.  All we ask is that you make decisions in conjunction with your
Father Fragment, and you increasingly come into that place where it would
be unthinkable to do this without your Father.  This is all we ask of
you.  We are here to guide you and to support you as you move forward and
gain greater enjoyment of living a dynamic and interesting decision-rich
life.

Grow strong, grow confident as you make these decisions, for your
capacity to increasingly interact with the Father is what is expanding
your awareness into the beauties of living in the Spirit; in being with
me and being with your Mother.  This is the life of the universe child
that we know you are becoming.  So as you feel our love descend upon you
this evening, know that the container of your mind that makes decisions
will continually yield new thoughts and new meanings and new appreciation
for how beautiful you are becoming. Good evening, my beloveds.