<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2769" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><B>
<P>DATE:</B> April 17, 1996<BR><B>LOCATION:</B> Pittsburgh, PA,
USA<BR><B>T/R:</B> Gerdean</P><B>
<P>TEXTUAL STUDY:</B> Urantia Paper 72</P>
<OL start=5>
<LI>Industrial Organization</LI>
<LI>Old-Age Insurance</LI>
<LI>Taxation</LI>
<LI>The Special Colleges</LI>
<LI>The Plan of Universal Suffrage</LI>
<LI>Dealing With Crime</LI></OL><B>
<P>TEACHER SESSION:<BR></B>The Practice of Stillness<BR>Living with
Revelation<BR>Reflectivity/Reflectivation </P>
<P><B>TOMAS:</B> Greetings, my friends.</P>
<P><STRONG>Mrs. M:</STRONG> Greetings, Tomas. Good to have you back.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I applaud your perseverance in accomplishing the task of studying
the Paper which has occupied you now for many weeks and it was good to observe
the disciplinary techniques which were necessary in order for this feat to be
accomplished. And while I am strewing bouquets, let me say that some of your
more rousing discourse on political and social and so forth issues was, as you
would equate, a football game, for we were cheering for our various supporters.
I say "we" because as you understand, we in the celestial realms also speculate
among ourselves as to the possible best way to go about matters and you, in like
kind, have not disappointed us.</P>
<P>So whereas you may have felt that your discourses this evening were far
afield of the spiritual study which you are accustomed to, or which you seek,
your format was invigorating not only to us but to yourselves, for many times we
find in formal settings and traditional environments, if you will, that certain
modes of gentility spring into being forthwith and thus the spontaneity of
personality expression becomes stilted by convention, and so it was eagerly
observed, and we also feel that the overall intent of installing that Paper in
the Book and into your lesson plan was well met.</P>
<P>My friends, I suspect that (and I say this tongue in cheek) I shall need one
of those questionnaires that you are passing out, for it is now late and we have
just commenced, and so, having offered you my congratulations on your
substantial accomplishment, and having greeted you once again in this
configuration, I will defer a lesson of my selection and, rather, open the
platform to your questions in the event that your eagerness to learn and share
your spiritual life, . . .</P><B>
<P>Mrs. M:</B> I have a question, Tomas. Were you finished?</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I was on a comma, but I will forego the straggling tail end of my
sentence in light of the late hour. Please proceed.</P><B>
<P>Mrs. M:</B> My question to you is: if you had a preference, a priority, or a
selection of ways in which we can focus more efficiently for the enhancement of
the ... for the purpose of the Mission, what form would you suggest? I hope I
made myself clear. I can rephrase it if you wish.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I would suggest, first and foremost and consistently and
forevermore, that you engage in the practice of stillness, that you sit quietly
in the presence of the First Source and Center, that you engage in this practice
consistently and regularly, daily; that you set aside time to spend with God,
consciously and conscientiously, for nothing will replace your relationship with
Him; and in order for you to get to know Him better, you must spend time with
Him. You cannot make a friend if you are constantly saying,
"Good-to-see-ya-see-ya-later." You must spend time talking over things with your
God. You must sit in faith and patience and allow Him to answer your prayers and
enlighten you in your mysteries of life.</P>
<P>The stillness -- silence, meditation -- this is initial and important. It is
also delightfully habit-forming! At first, as I believe I have mentioned, you
may find it an inconvenience, but as you begin to reap the benefits of this
practice of communion with Infinity, you will soon develop an appetite for more
and you will not be disappointed, and in this state of being (as compared to
"doing"), your life will be enriched in ways that you can only truly appreciate
by experiencing.</P>
<P>One of the evident side-effects of sitting in the presence of God and
developing the sensitivities to hear Him speak to you, is that you will begin to
perceive Him when you hear Him speak through others, and so I lead into your
question regarding "listening". The art of hearing with ears to hear stems from
your relationship with Divinity. As you understand the nature of God (for it has
vibrated in residence in yourself), you understand the call of other souls for
presence with that Great Reality also. This is hearing with ears to hear, not
the words which pass for communication, but the true voice of the soul which is
the inner life of that other being that you recognize because of your inner life
with the Father also.</P>
<P>That is where to start: in stillness. Have I addressed your question?</P><B>
<P>Mrs. M:</B> Yes, you have. Very well, thank you, and one of the reasons I
asked it was because I wanted to have it in print. Also I have another question,
if I may, if another is not pressing. What about affiliated modalities that are
compatible with the Mission? There are many groups that are seeking light and
revelation. Do you encourage our group to also partake in them?</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> You have given me a double-barreled question. I will address first
things first. The Spirit of Truth has reigned here [on this world] for some
time, and all individuals are still guided and directed by that same Spirit of
Truth, and so each of you need to look within your own heart to determine what
methods of ministry you might pursue as a result of being a God-knowing
individual.</P>
<P>Additionally, with the circuits having opened, with various individuals
tapping into spiritual availability, many sensitive beings, human beings, are
being impressed by various celestial hosts, spiritual energies and entities, and
just because they have not been introduced to The Urantia Book, to the fifth
epochal revelation to mankind, does not mean that their truths and their quest
is not valid and worthy. They are also beloved sons and daughters of the Eternal
Parent.</P>
<P>And so it does not behoove those of you who appreciate the import of this
Book to look askance, or down, at anyone who has not yet encountered it's
epochal truths, but, rather, if you formulate yourself such that you are
learning and growing within your own community those truths and aspirations
which have been introduced to you already, you will be able to act occasionally
as a beacon to those who might seek you out and you might act as elder brothers
and sisters in the spiritual ascent.</P>
<P>Spiritual superiority is not something that we foster. Indeed, we have spoken
many times about the "chosen people" concept, and those of you who have made the
decision to find God and to be more like Him are no more the selected than your
neighbor or your 'enemy' who has also found God and seeks to be more like Him,
even if their understanding is not what yours is. In your heart of hearts you
know that you are a son or daughter of the living God if you know that you know,
you feel chosen, you feel special, you feel selected because you have a personal
relationship with the living God, but each individual is special.</P>
<P>I would not ask you to set yourself above your brothers and sisters, no, but
I would ask you to recognize in context of what it is, precisely, what you
study. What has impressed you? What has rung the spirit of truth within you when
you have read these words, when you have pondered in your heart these concepts,
when you have known in your deep soul, "I have known that to be true and it has
now been confirmed." It is in some ways, my friend, as if we sat in the presence
of Christ Michael, as if we sat in the presence of Adam and Eve, or Machiventa
when he was here teaching Abraham and Abraham's children.</P>
<P>It is an honor to be part of this Mission. It is a privilege for me to be
selected to attempt to teach, which is to say, to help you attain that within
you which you yourself aspire to reach --Godlikeness and peace that passes all
understanding. If this is so, as this is accomplished, you will become closer,
for you will grow together and you will understand that that which is in you is
also in your peer, and that is truth, beauty and goodness. The human foibles
will take their place like little wooden soldiers and march into history while
your own radiant and victorious soul marches forward toward Havona.</P>
<P>If others are impressed by your own quiet dignity and your own radiation of
the exuberance of the love of the Creator, if this is seen by others, you will
become teachers yourselves in drawing out that in them which is also of eternal
destiny and they, too, will be chosen for they have chosen to follow Him. Yes.
Another question?</P><B>
<P>Mrs. Ml:</B> Thank you. (Pause) I'll make a comment about introducing the
Urantia Book to people. I have not -- it is not there often. Perhaps it is my
own inability to introduce the subject and I have a block within myself that ...
I would say to a person, "I read a good novel!" and I wouldn't hesitate to say,
"Ah, you've just got to see this movie!" but I never say, "You just must read
this book! It will enhance your understanding of what you've already known." It
would be nice if this could be ignited in all of us, that we could release this
effortless witness, or effortless advertising, or something that has caused us
to come together in love, and it is not the first time that we have been told
that we have been given healings and feelings of empowerment and I hope that,
for the sake of the Mission program, that this can happen because ... it just
seems that we need to have a spring go off in us to allow this to happen. Or
maybe instead of that, it's just by our example. Of living love.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Indeed, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you. And it is that which
will touch your neighbors more quickly than referring them to a book,
particularly to a book with large words and over 2,000 pages. There are many who
would appreciate such a volume of wisdom but how often do you find yourself
engaged with such individuals as would help you determine the depth of their
intellectual tolerance? Normally, in your culture, in your experience, people
chat about movies or novels on the best selling list or the classics, and even
so, if you say to someone, "Have you seen thus-and-such?" and they respond, you
can tell immediately by their response if you have anything in common in terms
of what interests you.</P>
<P>If your enthusiasm is met with cynicism or boredom or disgust or any other
emotional reaction of a negative nature, you are not inclined to say, "Well how
about this one? Did you like that one?" because you have already been affronted.
The same holds true with intellectual knowledge, and people do not normally
stand around in a supermarket sharing deep intellectual knowledge such as
cosmologies. </P>
<P>But in knowing the history of your world, your planet, you can whet the
appetites of your associates by titillating them with an occasional fact which
they may not know but which they might pass on in conversation; you might whet
their appetite by mentioning what Jesus said to such-and-such a character, if
you were in a situation of a similar flavor yourself.</P>
<P>There are ways that you can bring the truths of the actual book into people's
lives and on rare occasion you can comfortably find yourself strewing your
admiration for it and its contents to a total stranger, understanding that it is
being perfectly well received, and lo and behold, that person will never be a
stranger again for they have validated you by hearing you profess your
understanding of what is important to you and to the universe, and therefore to
them as well.</P>
<P>But the singlemost best way in which to introduce the Urantia Book is to live
a unified personality, harmoniously, with good character, walking, talking,
singing fruits of the spirit … a love-saturated soul as much is as possible at
any given time … for as you all well know love is more contagious than hate. And
how can you uphold yourself, you say, when you are being brought down in your
idealism constantly? </P>
<P>And this is why I say the power of the group here, your family of fellow
believers, your brothers and sisters in the spirit and in truth, will uphold you
again and again as to the important reality, for although you may disagree
regarding political appointments or military procedures or economic
undertakings, and so forth, the important thing is your spiritual reality and
that, my friends, one would hope, we would always support. That is my purpose
and your purpose also.</P>
<P><B>Mrs. Ml: </B>Thank you. </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> You are welcome.</P><B>
<P>Mrs. M:</B> Would you care to say anything about the process that you were
describing last week called reflectivation? Can you talk again about that
subject? And perhaps even explain it a little further for us, Tomas?</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> One moment. (Pause) </P><B>
<P>Reflectivity</B> is when you look at each other and see God within each other
reflecting back to you. This is fraternity; it is also a reflecting.
Reflectivity also is a process of reflecting upon your experiences, your
perceptions. Additionally, reflectivity extends into the outer realms,
technically probably to the Eternal Son. </P><B>
<P>Reflectivation</B>, then, is when you reflect outward; it is received by
universe intelligence and returned by way of reflectivation as a response to
your output, or input, shall we say. Reflectivation is not necessarily done with
the intellect. It is done with the soul.</P><B>
<P>Mrs. M:</B> That rings a lot with me, that comment.</P><B>
<P>Mrs. P:</B> It reminds me of that "God will do the work". Is that …?</P><B>
<P>Mrs. H:</B> It's not a conscious thing.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Let me suggest an idea, an example, and I will use this
transmitter as a vague example. There was a time when she was outraged at the
conditions prevalent in the prison system in this country. The matter of
inhumanity was so striking and offensive to her sense of brotherhood that much
soul-searching went into the matter of criminology, psychology, behavior
modification and so forth. Quite a study was done, and much reflection was
engaged in, in the intellect. </P>
<P>But the overall and compelling aspect was how beings, who were indwelt by
God, were being treated as worse than animals in a zoo, and this ate at her
soul. That aspect, which her soul called for resolution, was that which went
forth by way of reflectivation. For she did not pray for the prisoners or the
prison conditions particularly, but it was a matter of reflectivation. And so,
in her experience, within twenty years, the entire system was changed so that
now, at that time, there were many alternatives to imprisonment. Many counseling
avenues had opened up and a much more humane approach was brought into
being.</P>
<P>I am not saying that this one individual affected the entire prison system of
your country, no, but this is an example of how reflectivation can be used to
bring about works. She did not discuss this with anyone in any position to make
these changes; it was done without her direct input. But surely the
reflectivation, which her soul sent up and out, was partially responsible for a
forward movement in evolution, and that is an example of reflectivation as I am
able to portray it through this mind.</P><B>
<P>Mrs. M:</B> That's an excellent, helpful description because it's getting
into something very specific and I was enjoying that description. Thank you very
much. We'll think about that one.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It is particularly encouraging, my friends, in the face of, if you
will, the Paper that you have recently accomplished, for as some of your
societal foibles rankle you, and not only rankle you intellectually but rankle
your soul<I>, reflectivate</I> on the subject, if you will, in terms of humanity
and compassion for the Supreme itself in order to help bring about some of the
changes which will ease the distress in your world.</P><B>
<P>Mrs. M:</B> On another occasion I think I am going to pursue the concept of
compassion for the Supreme for that is something that is extremely interesting
and I've never entertained that too much, but thank you for the beginning of
that concept It'll be fun to think about it.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I am eager also to commence many conversations, many lessons, many
interchanges between and among us, but I now must remind you again of your human
condition, and I understand that as your heart and soul hunger for quality time
in these realms, your body, indeed your psyche also, requires patient
attendance. As we begin again in our camaraderie, I give thanks to you again for
your presence, for your willingness, for your acknowledgement of your soul's
needs, in company with your peers in the spirit and in the flesh.</P>
<P>Courageous ones, this week as you set about doing your daily duties, look to
your Inner Guide for companionship. Make a date to spend ten minutes in solitude
in appreciation of Its existence in your life. Take that simple rest on a daily
basis and see how it will affect you and give you impetus in all areas of your
life. Such an experiment! Such an adventure! Bon appetite.
Farewell.</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>