<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"><FONT SIZE=2>Date: June 16, 2001
<BR>Location: Spokane, WA
<BR>T/R: Gerdean
<BR>TEACHERS & TOPICS:
<BR> MALVANTRA MELCHIZEDEK: on Worship
<BR> DOLORES: on Wisdom
<BR>
<BR>MALVANTRA MELCHIZEDEK: Greetings, class. This is Malvanta Melchizedek coming
<BR>to visit with you this afternoon in your studious application of what God
<BR>means to you. How typical it is to discuss that which cannot be defined.
<BR>The 28th Morontia Mota might apply here, but let's take a look none-the-less
<BR>at what is the reality of God.
<BR>
<BR>The idea of God is that which is formulated in your mind; therefore it is an
<BR>intellectual interpretation, a finite understanding of that which is infinite
<BR>and incomprehensible. To assign personality to God is a way of identifying
<BR>with this infinite and incomprehensible entity of power and energy, a
<BR>definition, if you will, that can be confined to your comprehension of what
<BR>Deity is.
<BR>
<BR>The topic of belief as compared to faith has been a subject of your studies
<BR>before. I will thus not deliberate on those aspects, but will instead turn
<BR>your attention to the concept of worship. This indeed may go to some of the
<BR>questions that have arisen in your culture of late, as students of the many
<BR>facets of the mind - including the morontia mind.
<BR>
<BR>Worship. Let me ask you. Have you a working relationship, a tactical
<BR>application, a demonstrable definition of worship? Ginny, you have ...
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: (I knew he was going to do that.)
<BR>
<BR>MALVANTRA: You have been a friend of God for many years. What thoughts
<BR>come to your mind when you think of worship? And I do understand that I am
<BR>asking you to respond intellectually, and so you will not be given demerits
<BR>for your approach, but give us an indication, if you will, what worship would
<BR>mean in your mind.
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: A lot of times when I'm practicing Stillness I consider that a form
<BR>of worship, that I'm just simply ... sit and be with God. I think that's a
<BR>form of worship. Being in communion with God.
<BR>
<BR>MALVANTRA: Indeed.
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: Talking to God. Verbally, sometimes, when it's before my Stillness, I
<BR>speak out verbally what I want to do at that particular time, the petition,
<BR>or simply not doing or thinking or saying anything, just trying to be still,
<BR>so that God and I can communicate with each other. I suppose communion would
<BR>be my best definition of worship.
<BR>
<BR>MALVANTRA: Excellent. And Thoroah, have you expression for worship
<BR>according to your comprehension?
<BR>
<BR>THOROAH: When I'm going about my day to day life and I am doing what I would
<BR>hope or believe to be the right thing, when I'm appreciative of the
<BR>assistance and the leading and inspiration. It's more of a conscious -- or
<BR>maybe not even quite a subconscious level of working with God, more or less,
<BR>and my intention to socialize what I imagine to be His will for me: getting
<BR>together with friends right here, and when we go out to Rick and Barb's, and
<BR>something like we're going to do with Rob Crickett; the fellowship situations
<BR>-- I consider that worship. Both of them. Those would be my expressions of
<BR>worship.
<BR>
<BR>MALVANTRA: Indeed they are expressions of your relationship with Divinity.
<BR> There is no right or wrong answer. The breadth of your two responses is
<BR>impressive, from far left to far right, encompassing the whole of reality.
<BR>But now what do you think is meant by this? That in advanced states of
<BR>spirit attainment, worship is such that in certain terms the ascending sons
<BR>are redirected such that they are rather wrenched away from worship, which is
<BR>their chief delight. What kind of state of mind do you experience that is so
<BR>good that you must be pulled from it?
<BR>What gives you that kind of pleasure?
<BR>
<BR>I will observe, on your behalf, I have seen examples of mortality at its best
<BR>in earnest absorption of television: a cowboy movie; a Star Wars sequel; a
<BR>romantic situation in a soap opera. I have seen individuals sit down to a
<BR>meal of good food after a working day and dedicate themselves in complete
<BR>focus on their fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy. Is this something
<BR>akin to worship? Is the rapture of a new mother bathing her baby an act of
<BR>worship?
<BR>
<BR>It is wordless and thoughtless adoration and absorption of infinite pleasure.
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>Is this acknowledgment of the human condition extended into carnal pleasure
<BR>or intoxication or "divers lusts" also an example of worship? Adulation such
<BR>as is given occasionally to your political figures or concert entertainers,
<BR>be they classical pianists or bare-back riders in the three ring circus?
<BR>These distractions that allow you to step outside yourself, to become
<BR>forgetful of the self, are they also indication of an attitude of worship?
<BR>To hold one in high esteem, to adore, to pay homage to, to devote your
<BR>energy, mind, emotion, money, thought and desire toward ... is this worship?
<BR>
<BR>How little ... How little the human knows of worship, and yet it is a
<BR>testimony to you all that you are striving toward knowing that yearning to
<BR>connect with that all-powerful embrace that eliminates you completely, in the
<BR>acknowledgment of the greatness, the goodness, the glory of that Other. How
<BR>pitiful when you divert your will from the direction of your Source and
<BR>Center to waste yourselves on lesser objects of adoration.
<BR>
<BR>But, the perfection-hunger that yearns you to seek that all-powerful,
<BR>all-consuming love of Divinity is also the same energy that filters down and
<BR>through you and into your realm where you may express your appreciation of
<BR>this Divine Spark by your devotion to that which presents as having value for
<BR>you.
<BR>
<BR>The mother and her child; the child in his absorption with play; the man in
<BR>his walk with destiny, swinging his scythe over his shoulder as he sets out
<BR>in the field each day whistling a tune of joy - these are the tender
<BR>beginnings of worship, that state which grasps the soul to the heart of God
<BR>and holds it thus until the soul is fed, and, once filled, is released in
<BR>service and in joy of its existence.
<BR>
<BR>The idea of God is a mere idea, indeed. But the greatness of God, the
<BR>goodness of God, is beyond your ability to fully comprehend, and yet you lean
<BR>into it as the flower leans into the late afternoon sun.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: Hello, my friends. This is Dolores. I am allowed to prevail
<BR>again this afternoon. It is still my privilege to be with you for Tomas,
<BR>Paulo and Aaron are in absentia still. I am here to ask you if you have any
<BR>questions or if there are any matters you are inclined to bring to the
<BR>attention of your teachers, your peers, or your own minds by way of
<BR>discussion.
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: Hi. I'm not familiar with you. Could you tell me a little bit about
<BR>yourself?
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: I am a Teacher. I am assigned to the Urantia Project - the
<BR>edification and socialization of a new level of consciousness which is coming
<BR>into being as a result of your efforts in spiritizing your minds. Yes, I am
<BR>in the Teacher Corp at large. I have been around as a personal teacher and I
<BR>will be around indefinitely. I am therefore experienced as I have had a
<BR>human life but I am also experienced as I have functioned in the capacity of
<BR>personal teacher as well. Were you interested in anything else about me?
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: I guess you're in a few transcripts that I have, and your recent ones
<BR>I have read. I just had forgotten what sort of things you talked about. I
<BR>guess my own personal question would be to welcome you and I would like to
<BR>get to know you better.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: Thank you.
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: I feel that I am dealing more with my own personal hang-ups, as far as
<BR>intolerance and not wanting to deal with things that are not comfortable, and
<BR>in trying to expand my own awareness.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: In other words you are allowing our Father's will to prevail in your
<BR>life.
<BR>GINNY: Yes, I am asking for that more in my moments of Stillness, that I
<BR>might just expand and get out of this rut of needing to feel a certain way or
<BR>needing to believe a certain way and not thinking that discomfort means that
<BR>I'm doing the wrong thing, that discomfort could mean that I am growing.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: You know how it feels to have a new pair of shoes and they are not
<BR>really comfortable until they've gotten broken in. You are experiencing the
<BR>same thing in terms of reality. You are putting on a new reality and
<BR>experiencing a certain stiffness, a certain discomfort, until such time as it
<BR>becomes an old soft shoe that you can kick around in. This is good. You are
<BR>allowing yourself to remain a young at heart person.
<BR>
<BR>How many individuals believe that by a certain age or stage in life it is
<BR>necessary that they have already adopted a certain set of values, a certain
<BR>standard of living, a certain social structure, for them to be content and
<BR>regarded as a success not only in their society but also then in their own
<BR>mind. You who have opted to develop this greater reality have given
<BR>permission to change clothing, as it were, and toss off those garments which
<BR>were appropriate for that value level, that moral stance, or that financial
<BR>statement, in exchange for a reality which will give you more enduring worth,
<BR>greater value, longer lasting satisfaction.
<BR>
<BR>In the long run, dear one, you will have made the decision again and again,
<BR>so many times, you will begin to notice when you have been comfortable long
<BR>enough that you can almost guarantee yourself; you will be eager then to
<BR>acknowledge the next experiential step into greater wisdom, which often will
<BR>be accompanied by a certain agitation or conflict or discomfort, but which
<BR>will render you "best dressed" and most certainly more happy. And isn't that
<BR>really what human life is about? - the pursuit of happiness?
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: Hm-hum.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: You will find yourself one day being an example to other people of
<BR>how to remain forever young.
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: Well, I sort of think that us old farts have some sort of wisdom that
<BR>we can throw around once in awhile without being too arrogant.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: Indeed your flatulence is as a musical retort. Wisdom is not easily
<BR>garnered. It doesn't have to be carried around as if it were a crusty bark
<BR>on an old tree, either. It can be as slick as slimy moss in a mountain
<BR>stream.
<BR>
<BR>THOROAH: I like wisdom because it seems to show up when it's needed.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: It will show up if you allow it to make an appearance, but as Ginny
<BR>said, it's something you don't assume about yourself. You work so hard for
<BR>wisdom and then act as if somehow you have no right to express it. Just
<BR>because it doesn't appear as though you're being heard is no reason for you
<BR>to not sing your song.
<BR>
<BR>Wisdom, however, is one of those things sort of like worship. We begin where
<BR>we are. And it being a relative attainment, it is something we can savor for
<BR>the moment, knowing that with the next experiential step we will gather more
<BR>insight and experience into what our wisdom and worship really is.
<BR>
<BR>THOROAH: I get the feeling that the truest form of wisdom and/or worship goes
<BR>back to what you were talking about. It occurs without thought or intention.
<BR> A lot of times it's just something that you instinctively do and maybe in
<BR>hindsight you might realize that was the wise thing to do or that you indeed
<BR>worship, but it just sort of happens because that's where you are.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: The Father is a remarkable presence, and see how He has manifested
<BR>Himself in our words today in our communion, in recognition of Him and our
<BR>desire to become more like Him. The adjutant mind spirits, which are a
<BR>present bestowed upon the material worlds by Our Mother, gives us worship and
<BR>crowns our worship with wisdom. Evidently, then, the experience of worship
<BR>itself gives wisdom to our experience.
<BR>
<BR>It may well have something to do with the relative perfection of ascending
<BR>reality, for what we worship today may not be what we worship tomorrow, but
<BR>only wisdom will provide that insight, and wisdom is another adjutant mind
<BR>spirit that is aside from thought, aside from academic excellence - which
<BR>could be comprehended as "knowledge" -- or even an emotional appreciation of
<BR>truth -- which might be understood as "understanding." How marvelous life
<BR>is! How varied and textured! How plentiful and challenging. How satisfying
<BR>and comforting.
<BR>
<BR>I am quite pleased to be able to develop this rapport with you, my mortal
<BR>friends.
<BR>
<BR>THOROAH: Likewise, Dolores.
<BR>
<BR>DOLORES: Shall we dance?
<BR>
<BR>GINNY: Thank you.
<BR>
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