<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SERIF" FACE="Goudy Old Style" LANG="0">Date: July 28, 2002
<BR>Location: Rio Rancho NM USA
<BR> (meeting this week in Albuquerque, NM)
<BR>Teacher: Tomas
<BR>Topic: Buried in the mines of mortal life
<BR>Q & A: The Resurrection Hall of Mansonia
<BR> "The After-Life" Experience
<BR>T/R: Gerdean
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<BR>TOMAS: Good afternoon friends and neighbors. I am Tomas your teacher and a true companion in our quest for paradise perfection and service fields beyond. How marvelous it is to once again be a party to your inner lives. How grateful we are to you who keep coming back to hear about the faith-path upon which we are embarked. It is the foundation of your lives - the relationship you enjoy with spirit - for it truly will endure even beyond your mortal life.
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<BR>This extension of your reality into the next life and beyond, is also an important advantage to have in this life as it, faith, enables you to see with Divine perspective. At least It allows you the exercise of stretching your mortal perspective into a perspective that comes from the many elements of spirit. So once you have accepted the recognition of spirit as a vital and necessary part of your life, you are able then to find it anywhere and every where. There is no place now, that God is not.
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<BR>I'm given the instance of the Pennsylvania miners as an example of how faith works. There were many who saw the dire circumstances of the mine and the challenge the saviors had with the difficulties of the material earth and equipment, and they accepted the loss, even before the final verdict was in, before the actual facts were known.
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<BR>So many of you are ready to throw in the towel. It seems so many of you are accustomed to the disaster or the state of mind that allows for the worst. It is easier to accept the worst than to continue to hold out for the best, for the miracle that is life to occur.
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<BR>The miners themselves, of course, grappled with their fragile mortality and yet when they were uncovered they were heard to say, "What took you so long?" -- which was, in fact, a commendation to their rescuers, a statement of faith that in time they knew they would found, they would be discovered, they would be brought out the earth and into the Light.
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<BR>This same value lesson is inherent in the many who are buried in the 'mines of mortality;' routine habits, customs, patterns and the like which essentially is a burial shroud in which they spend their lives, while inside their faithful adjusters wait and watch for every opportunity to instill in them a sense of hope and recognition of a greater life to come. So many simply make themselves adjust to the current circumstances, burrowing into the pattern and awaiting the fact of death to deliver them out of the cave-in, the dark mine of mortal life - whereupon perhaps their Adjuster may have the opportunity to say, "What took you so long?"
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<BR>But those of you that are aware of the light of the sun and who breathe deeply of the spirit are able to see it in all things, in the Spirit of Truth as well in the seven adjutant mind spirits -- the spirits of intuition, and understanding, courage, knowledge, counsel, worship and wisdom. You are eagerly available to see God in every opportunity and in every difficulty.
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<BR>There are those who find the faither's propensity to acknowledge even in the mundane things of life, as a source of obsequiousness, a bit of 'brown-nosing,' as if talking about God all the time would earn them points in his ledger. And yet you know our Father is a loving God not a judging God and this depiction is hardly gracious, after having been in the mines human experience yourself; rather, it gives sanction to those who honor God even in their habitual practices. Any reach toward God is better than no reach. Any practice toward allowing God to be a part of the material life is a practice to be acknowledged.
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<BR>Those of you who have visited foreign countries and who heard only that language which was unfamiliar to your ear, might have felt a surge of recognition upon hearing a phrase such as "French fries." And this is how God surely feels when he hears those who habitually speak of him and even so, on occasion, are able to render a genuine flicker of spiritual reality by way of their awakening faith and so having heard the equivalent of 'French fries,' God smiles and adds to their humble perception of divinity some new element of a developing religious experience.
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<BR>Enjoying how other people worship is a practice much like enjoying how other cultures dine. How boring it would be for you to only have one meal, or one menu from which to draw. How much more interesting it is for your palate to have the opportunity to enjoy Chinese food or Thai food and the many, many varieties. As many varieties of food there are, there are as many varieties of religious experience.
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<BR>Whenever possible, enjoy the spirit practices of others, for in this way you are able to share spirits with others and this bonds you to those who have heretofore been different and are now kin, spirit kin, because of the exchange of reality which is inherent in group worship. Even though in your assessment it may be based on erroneous thinking, if it is of the spirit it will transcend your thinking processes and delve deeper into the morontia state, which is a reality which is en route to full-blown spirit reality.
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<BR>Since we will be enjoying the adventure of morontial life for many eons to come, it is well that you begin now to acknowledge and appreciate any and all spirit reality that you encounter, and in this way you are giving God acknowledgement in the lives of other believers. It is God who will be the victor, for as he is allowed to become greater, all error will naturally pass away. For you, the work is not to point out the error, but to point out the Way, wherein these children, like yourselves, are able to advance into greater God-consciousness and self-realization.
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<BR>This allows you to enter into the light of day to stretch forth your arms and greet the sun, to feel the winds of change ~ as if it were a breeze ~ rustle through your hair and cool your skin. God lives. God is. And your acknowledgement of your understanding of God is a contribution to the evolving God of human will in its aspiration to be aligned in whatever way perceivable with that super-consciousness that we recognize as deity.
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<BR>Let's get God, then, down into your circles. Bring him alive in ways that you are able to understand and appreciate. Kindness is certainly one way and good cheer is another. What, however, of those who are not so cheerful, not so assured? Keep your own candle lit. Keep your batteries charged, so that when you, in your helmets, go down into the mines of humanity in search of those who are temporarily buried, it will give off that illumination that will give off hope and deliver the lost into the found light of truth. It is only after you have been in the dark that you really appreciate a light at the end of the tunnel. Allow your light thus to shine in whatever way, whatever fashion is appropriate for you.
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<BR>How are you, beloved friends? Engage with me, if you will, in conversation as we have the chance.
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<BR>Anatolia is camping. I know it is possible to access her if need be, but I like to let people enjoy themselves when they have a chance. As the Master admonished, it is invaluable for you to get away and set aside your mortal troubles and concerns for a while and then when you return to your normal lives you find yourself refreshed and these troubles are not as overwhelming as they would seem when you are buried beneath them.
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<BR>Also, our contemporaries are in various states of activity leaving this quiet campfire to us to keep burning in their absence. I speak figuratively, of course. It's far too warm to build a fire.
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<BR>Are there questions?
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<BR>Carl: I have no questions, Tomas. But I'm glad and thankful for you for being here.
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<BR>TOMAS: Yes. I am also glad to be here. And it's a wonderful opportunity to the Teacher Corps of workers to have the unique experience of being able to make these initial contacts with the mortal races. These may seem unusual practices for some, but on other worlds it is most common for mortals and spirits to interact as a way of life. This is a part of the recognition of being at one with your spirit helpers who are eager to aid you in your steps toward greater understanding and greater joy in service.
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<BR>Janet: I have a question. What is it like where you are?
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<BR>TOMAS: Well, where I am now, daughter, is really not far removed from where you are, for I am in an architectural sphere created specifically for these purposes. I am housed here temporarily, so you might say that I am in a temporary housing authority; a compound, which I share with my fellow teachers. It is unlike your environment, but in many ways, since we involved with you, we are able to enjoy your realm of reality. I can see your world through the eyes of those who allow for me to see. And in truth, the environment I am in, even though it is temporary, is similar. It is not material in the way that you recognize material, for I am not material. I rest, and have a chamber in which I may rest. I partake of energy, and yet I do not eat food. I walk the grounds, the gardens given us and maintained for us, as you enjoy your outdoor gardens, patios, and social life.
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<BR>There is no need for us to have much in the way of amenities. I have not, thus, need to provide for a spouse and children. It is much more as if I live in a dormitory, on a campus, and all the grounds that I enjoy are also enjoyed by my companions, other teachers.
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<BR>Janet: Is this what heaven is like after we die?
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<BR>TOMAS: Not necessarily. It is however, a place of relative perfection for those of us who are here on this architectural sphere in this service ministry to your world. You will be provided worlds appropriate for your development when you leave earth. You will begin on the realm of Mansonia known as The Resurrection Hall. You will be awakened and immediately greeted by those who have most closely attended to you in your life in the flesh. The guardian seraphim, who have guarded you throughout your mortal sojourn, will help you adjust. You will see your God-fragment, as it were, face-to-face. There will be many entities enabling you to adapt to your new morontia body and help you to learn your way around the morontia spheres. There will be more color than you are accustomed to and this will be, at once, dazzling and overwhelming at first. It will make you giddy, perhaps.
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<BR>Indeed the experience of resurrection is a sacred and celebratorious event. Imagine the sense of saving grace that will be experienced by those of you who are agondonters ~ that is to say, you who believe without seeing, who have faith without knowing, who awaken to discover that your faith was not in vain and that your hope of an after-life was not for naught. There is much worship in this awakening. Much spiritual weeping for joy. The universe administrators have arranged for you to have a small holiday at the outset of your next phase of living, this phase of morontia life that will go on for many eons as you become less animal and more spiritual, as you learn, in attending the many mansions that are a part of the natural ascension of life.
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<BR>You will have an opportunity to meet and greet those of family members and friends who have preceded you. Thus you are allowed an opportunity to rest from the experience of the transition, and within a short time you will be ready to begin your ascent in service to those who have served you thus far.
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<BR>The music of the spheres is one of the more enjoyable aspects of awakening in Mansonia. The phrase "music of the spheres' is just a phrase until you really hear it. The echoes of these notes are far-reaching and the clarity of the experience is truly sublime. You will enjoy heightened senses and increased awareness and you will be glad.
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<BR>And this is the beginning of the butterfly phase of your existence, you who have only been a moth, thus far. I myself have not yet been all the way to Paradise. I myself am en route and thus I, like you, am looking forward to those priceless moments when I stand perfect before our Father. And yet I am being made ready, and I am enjoying the process of being made ready. I'm not impatient with what is required of me to learn that I might let go of all my animal vestiges and attain total spirit reality. This will come to pass. But since I am enjoying my life so much, I am not impatient. I would give the same advice to children: to enjoy your childhood and not be impatient to become a teenager or an adult. I would offer the same advice to adults: do not be impatient to transcend to the mansion worlds, but rather enjoy the material life as you have it, for never again will you know the splendors of material existence quite to the extent that you have them now.
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<BR>The majesty of your mountains, the dynamics of your electrical storms, the power of your raging rivers - these are going to be mere memories for you in your next existence. The intimacy that you share as husbands and wives in your sexual nature, will also not be possible in the morontia life. The smell of homemade bread and freshly brewed coffee will not be available to you there. Those things that you enjoy here, enjoy them as gifts, such that you will treasure your appreciation of them forever. For although there will be the equivalent of great and "natural things" to enjoy, values to be shared, experiences to be known, this is heaven for you right now. Here is where God is, in you and in your fellows. And he can be realized as fully and completely for you now as he will be when you awake in the 'Resurrection Hall' if you have in you the faith-filled wonder of the child who seeks to grow into Father's shoes.
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<BR>Does this give you and idea of what's to come?
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<BR>Janet: It does me. I always figured that when you die - you go 'whoosh' like that and you're in heaven. But evidently we've got all this other stuff first.
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<BR>TOMAS: Heaven is a real place, certainly, but remember, too, that the Kingdom of Heaven is within you! And so while we in fact aspire to attain Paradise and the presence of God himself, it is possible, too, to let heaven on Earth be revealed in and through our appreciation of love ~ divine love ~ and it is possible to be revealed in the material existence.
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<BR>This, again, is an opportunity to speak to you of the practice of Stillness, for as you begin to sit and listen, seek and find the presence of the God-fragment that indwells you, as you begin to identify with that power, that spirit, you begin to step out of the limitations of the present environment and feel the divine embrace. The strength and enthusiasm that is garnered from such an association with your own indwelling divinity is enough to allow you to see your world as relatively perfect, given the nature of all things. And you can go about doing good in your natural state as God goes about doing good in his.
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<BR>Janet: I feel a whole lot better about a lot of things now.
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<BR>TOMAS: I'm glad to have helped you feel better about your perception of the after-life. The concept of leaving here and finding perfection is illusory, for it is necessary that you grow into the ability to withstand the power of perfection. And yet, in the far-flung universes, that you are, as well as millions of others, engaged in climbing the ladder of perfection in company with those like yourself, enjoying the rigors of the day and attaining the satisfaction of soul-growth along the way, enjoying the continually developing aura of perfection that embraces you, the pageantry that will be available for you to observe, the association of the angelic hosts and other celestial over-seers, the opportunities to work with artisans and find out more about creation, gives you a tremendous opportunity to live more. Indeed, you may live for eternity, but you will grow into it as a result of your conscious effort to become one with God and his purposes.
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<BR>You begin to take an active part in your own soul-growth. So when you do attain those levels of spirit-accomplishment, it is because of your will which has testified to its need and desire to do his will, as that is what will give you greatest happiness and greatest fulfillment. And that in the true sense, is surely heaven. If the kingdom of heaven is within you, you cannot be separated from it. It can only be made greater and the spirit light, spirit illumination, brighter, as you traverse the spheres en route to the Central Isle of Paradise, the eternal dwelling place of the infinite God of all creation.
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<BR>Intelligent men and women enjoy having something to do. Haven't we got a wonderful Eternal Parent who sees to it that we are always progressing, always involved, always amused. It would be dreadful to be bored for all eternity, wouldn't it?
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<BR>Janet: It sounds like it's going to be a great adventure.
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<BR>TOMAS: Indeed it is. The eternal career. The greatest adventure of all.
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<BR>Janet: So you don't have to be afraid of dying…
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<BR>TOMAS: Not at all…
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<BR>Janet: …there's always more ahead.
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<BR>TOMAS: Absolutely. Of a certainty. You have no idea how much wonder is in store for you beyond the veil, as it were. You're hovering on the topic that is most challenging for me, that of exchanging a fear of dying to a challenge of transition. An idea of letting go of this life and embracing the next, consciously, is an experience I wish for all of you. And it is the fear of death, because of a lack of understanding of what awaits you on the other side that has held your planet back in so many ways. The idea of a fiery hell has been a thorn in the side of those who have yearned to augment the work of Christ Michael as Jesus, who resurrected and appeared visibly to hundreds of followers, never once, never once, threatening them with any such fearful retribution as is wrapped up in the concept of a fiery hell. This is absurd. And yet humans, being so fear-ridden, are reluctant to accept that they will die at all much less approach it joyously, as an opportunity to step out of this earthly original existence into the realm of morontia reality which is an extension of life, a fuller and richer realization of sonship. For you will have within your grasp, in your sight and sound and other senses, the full realization of the infinitude of divinity. Everywhere you look you will see the radiance of God, without the body to curtail your joy.
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<BR>Let me clarify - you will have a body. You will have a morontia body. But it will not be subject to the same aches and pains that you have known in the physical body. In fact, you will be rendered youthful, and beautiful, as if you had remained forever in your prime.
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<BR>But let's not get in any hurry to leave before your time. Enjoy your life here as was said. For this is the opportunity for you to get a handle on your potential self and nurture it consciously, even now. For in knowing yourself, in and of and as spirit, it will strengthen you for the transition to come and it will also help you appreciate the life you've lived , how you've come to be who you are. And in the joy of understanding yourself as a conscious child of God, you will in truth radiate as divine parental affection on those who surround you; those other children of God who are not yet aware of sonship; not yet grappling with the realities of mortality and immortality, such as you have embarked upon in your experiential journey.
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<BR>One of the joys of having a smaller group is the opportunity to have these intimate times together that will help to bond us as forever friends and spirit family members.
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<BR>Janet: Well, Tomas, you were once a mortal man but now your are an angel, is that right?
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<BR>TOMAS: I am not an angel, no. I am an ascending son, as you will be. The angels are an order of existence apart from ascending sons like myself. They are created to do what they do. They do not begin as mortals such as you and I.
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<BR>The spheres are filled with many orders of being. Angels are of the order of 'seraphim.' They are throughout the realms, even in Paradise. They assist in the process of morontia-izing the children of time. There many hundreds of different orders of angels. I am an ascending son. I am very much like you, having had the material existence and having made the transition from my material life to morontia life and having also many ages of experience in the mansion worlds, which the Father has provided. I am anticipating, after my work here with you in this assignment, an opportunity next to work in the Constellation level of development, there to study and experience the administration of the Most Highs under Gabriel. I have not attained that level yet. It gives me something to look forward to and to work towards.
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<BR>You are creatures of time and space with a specific reality within which you live and have your being, much as I and we do in our existence here in the advanced spheres, while I enjoy very much the opportunity to visit you in your realm and become more mindful of your unique challenges and opportunities. I, again, grow as a result of being with you in these sessions. I am encouraged and inspired as I see you grappling with your own faith and soul-making decisions. The result of your decision to wed and conjoin for the duration of your mortal existence is a cherished vision for me. In it I see how courageous you are in you willingness to devote yourself to the comfort and companionability of each other as you share these ~ what you call 'twilight years.' While you are able to enjoy the kingdom of heaven that you have created here in your own home, you will be able to encourage each other in the future, to see with those divine eyes that will encourage you each into the greater reality that will envelop you each, in time, as you are called home, as you are invited onward and upward in the ascension of all planetary life toward greater fulfillment and greater perfection.
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<BR>Rejoice and be glad. Challenges are mere growth experiences. Grow well in your garden. Be at peace and love one another. We will be back in force next week. Wait upon the Lord. Amen and Farewell.
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<BR>Group: Thank you, Tomas.
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