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<P><B>DATE:</B> January 4, 1997<BR><B>LOCATION:</B> Pittsburgh, PA,
USA<BR><B>T/R:</B> Gerdean O'Dell</P><B>
<P>TEXTUAL STUDY<BR>The Urantia Papers<BR></B>Paper One, Continued</P>
<P><STRONG>TEACHER SESSION: </STRONG><BR>This session was held in a Chinese
Restaurant,<BR>followed by another transcript from that day, <BR>and concludes
with <B>a visit from MICHAEL</P></B><B>
<P>TEACHER TOMAS<BR>RESIST NOT EVIL<BR></B>The Beholder State<BR>Allow Growth to
Manifest<BR>Conditions for T/R Error <BR>Respect the Process</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Good afternoon. I feel as though I should speak a foreign language
here, or greet you in an exotic Oriental tongue.</P>
<P>It is different, of course, in a new environment, a commercial environment,
but I will none-the-less hold forth, for I wish to follow up on our lesson of
last week and your assignment having to do with judgment, for it was not a
frivolous exercise that I asked you to observe in your life, the phenomenon of
judgment and of control.</P>
<P>I will ask you now if you were conscientious in identifying when it was that
you judged or when you thought you were being judged. [I will ask you] to now,
in your mind's eye, picture yourself with both hands up. And what does this
connote to you? It connotes a different status, as if you had been burgled, or,
in the cowboy pictures when they say, "stick 'em up." And with both hands in the
air you are in a defensive mode, you have become a victim of attacks of
judgment, and if all of you were to walk around with your hands over your head
most of the time, how can we expect to accomplish anything? And yet most mortals
do this as a matter of course. You cannot shake hands, you cannot embrace, as
long as your hands are up in the air defending yourself against life itself.</P>
<P>There is a phrase, a quote from the Life and Teachings of Jesus that suggests
"resist not evil" and it is to this lesson that the analogy is given, for in
judgment - in giving judgment and in assuming judgment upon yourself - (from
others or from yourself) - you have resisted evil. You have defended yourself
against it. You have reacted to it. You have retaliated in kind, and it consumes
far too much of life. And so, in regard to judgment, dear children, I would ask
you to peruse your understanding now of judgment and remind yourself to resist
not evil. Be aware of the inherent risk of judgment towards others and towards
yourself, but do not allow it to be a life style. Rather, let it pass you
by.</P>
<P>Accept the fact that infinity lies ahead but the finite creature is a
conglomeration of societal conditionings, and judgment is an unfortunate part
thereof. In seeking souls for the kingdom, judge not, for God himself is no
respecter of persons, and it is to this that I address my words, you who have
been born of the spirit, who have gone beyond the realm wherein you need to
judge, for you understand that judgment is only done by those qualified to see
the entire picture, and as you pass through your life, you cannot see the whole
picture, you cannot even see your whole self, much less the whole of
another.</P>
<P></P>
<P>And so remember to resist not evil when you see it, but understand that as
you are all imperfect, "this too shall pass." Go on, then, to what is acceptable
in your sight and that which you can have unity and a benign relationship with
and for.</P>
<P>Are there questions this afternoon?</P><B><U>
<P>The Beholder State</P></U>
<P>Hunnah:</B> I don't have a question. I have a statement that I am impressed
with. You said to put our hands up. It reminds me that we really are more
fear-based than we realize, out of habit, and that we live with this in our
experience here, and even though we are not conscious of it, we really are in a
survival mode, and that the new sound is so new that we think we're discovering
it all the time. </P>
<P>My previous teacher talked about the beholder state where it allows you in
the course of your day to look for, to allow yourself to see the unexpected, or
the serendipity moment in your day. And it isn't at specific times; it can go on
all day long and that beholder state is that reality that we are no longer
familiar with. </P>
<P>I really thank you for the reminder that we really have been subtly
conditioned and that the beholder state is the gold ring, you might say, that
you are allowed to grasp. I don't mean to try to crowd the stage here with you,
but I appreciate the stimulation of that statement. That helps me. We're always
looking for verification of something that we feel is true and that helped me.
Thank you.</P><B><U>
<P>Allow Growth to Manifest</P></U>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I applaud your introspection and your willingness to envision that
which we discussed. Your understanding now of a fear-based realm, as it has been
portrayed through the defense inherent in judgment, has been a large
developmental step. It also reminds me of what would appropriately be called a
New Year's lesson, and this being the first gathering after your commencement of
a New Year, it is a good time also to remind you that as you walk your path, you
who are growing and emerging and changing and maturing and developing each day,
remember that so are your fellows, and when you come together, or when you
encounter each other, allow for the growth to manifest.</P>
<P>In other words, do not assume the routine, the rut of association, that each
time you encounter your friend, they are the same -- ["the same thing, the same
thing, the same thing,"] -- for they are growing and changing and emerging as
you are. If you continue to assume that they are not growing, then you are
assuming a dead branch. That goes for all of you here. As you see each other in
your encounters, accept about each other that which is good, which you love,
which you routinely anticipate. </P>
<P>That which you had formerly judged as unworthy or undesirable, let that
judgment pass, and in letting that judgment pass, open yourself now to observe
the newness which can emerge as you have put down your arms and allowed each
other to pass in freedom. </P>
<P>And behold: a fresh look, a new look for the new day. This will also add
flavor to your adventure and you will, once again, learn how to love each other
as the Master loves you.</P><B><U>
<P>Conditions for T/R Error </P></U>
<P>Loreenia</B>: Tomas? </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Yes.</P><B>
<P>Loreenia: </B>I want to ask about Bertrand who was here last week. I asked if
it was the same Bertrand that was in California.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> (One moment) I am going to divert, and in diverting, perhaps
clarify some things of and relating to the transmitting/ receiving process. </P>
<P>Let me point out then that it is appreciated, when a visitor is addressing
you, that you not interrupt the discourse to ask who it is, for this is jarring
and disarming to the transmitter/ receiver, the mortal vessel, and I will tell
you that although the visitor last week was impressing the mind of Gerdean with
the bearing of One High in Authority, she was reluctant to use that phrase for
fear of error, and when, in the middle of the discourse someone asked who was
speaking, Gerdean, in her human alarm, at the break in transmission, felt
compelled to identify the being, and yet was fearful of conveying "One High in
Authority." Her mind thus jumped to the defense of the situation and identified
the being as Bertrand, in-as-much as that was and is a personality who is
generating considerable interest in your area and in Canada at this time.</P>
<P>I relay all this, in part, to convey how it is that misinformation can be
disbursed, and on one hand it is not a problem because any names are merely
window dressing, it is the message that is important. The names are not
necessarily important, except for your understanding of personality
identification, and to some extent also categorization. Given this response to
you, I will say that even though I supported the notice that Bertrand was a
co-teacher, as indeed he is, I am going to also clarify the record to some
extent and say that was not the Bertrand which has taught here before, nor is it
the teacher that we understand as a possible Bertrand for Canada. The entire
identification of our visitor last week was error.</P><B><U>
<P>Respect the Process</P></B></U>
<P>I give you this lengthy response so that you can, perhaps, to some extent,
appreciate the delicate and sensitive connection that I have with you, working
through a mortal vehicle, for although she is in abeyance and willing to
transmit my thoughts and words, when her mind is jarred, as any animal mind can
be jarred by a left-fielder, I am then in a position of having to wait for her
to remove herself again, either willingly or through a consultation with her, or
allowing her human error to emit and cleaning up afterward.</P>
<P>I appreciate that you who are not experienced transmitters may not understand
the nuances of this process, but you do understand that error occurs. I have
explained to you now how such things happen. I will also go on to say that
certain respects ought to be accorded the process. It is not to say that the
transmitter/receiver needs to be put on a pedestal, but the process itself needs
to be honored in order to garner a clear rendition of our messages and therefore
certain idiosyncrasies of the human contact personality ought to be honored.</P>
<P>Gerdean, for instance, is distracted when she hears paper rattling so when I
am trying to speak and she hears paper rattling, she will step aside from me to
be irritated by rattling paper, which interferes with my message. I therefore
beg you to withhold rattling paper, not because I am worried by it, but because
of her peculiar failing in that regard. It is not to put her in a position of
honor, nor even the Teacher particularly, but the process, you see, which is
delicate while profound. Have I responded, Loreenia, to your question?</P>
<P></P><B>
<P>Loreenia:</B> Yes, thank you very much.</P><B>
<P>Elizabeth:</B> That was great, Tomas. Thank you for all the beautiful things
you've done. And the next time we come here, we're going to invite you in first,
so that the talking around us here wouldn't matter. Under the circumstances I
really apologize. I think we will change our format if we meet here again. And
for Gerdean for being so patient.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It has been a delight for all of us to experience your culture in
this fashion and no one has been discommoded by our presence here today. I am
delighted, as always, to be with you and I will be with you this week as you,
"behold all things are becoming new." Farewell.</P>
<P align=center>******************</P><B>
<P>SECOND SESSION </B>(The following has been excerpted from a transmission held
on the evening of the same day, in Greenville, PA, in acknowledgement of the
sudden passing of Iyana's friend Jeff, a fellow reader of the Urantia Papers and
a protege of the Teaching Mission.)</P><B>
<P>TEACHER TOMAS <BR>On Death and Dying<BR>On A Prayerful Attitude</P>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Dear daughters, it is your trusty friend, Tomas, at hand, at
leisure, and at your pleasure. You must feel rather honored to have a celestial
teacher at your beck and call.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> Oh, you must know how happy I am to have you come to my home,
Tomas.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I have been here with you more times than you can imagine, Iyana,
...</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> Thank you!</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I always keep an eye on my sheep. </P>
<P>You have had an adventure in your peripheral arena in the departure of your
friend and ours. It is a joyous event for him and he will be quite pleased in
learning that his life's experience was of value, and that he has been embraced
by the light, and is even now, in his consciousness, embarked upon the
adaptation to his new celestial realm.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> Oh, that's wonderful.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Yes, it is a wonderful plan, and it is so unfortunate that you
have not gone through that process, yet, for you would then see how the
experience of death is a natural part of your life's unfolding. Much like the
caterpillar that emerges from the chrysalis into a butterfly, you will emerge
also triumphant.</P>
<P>Part of the difficulty is your leftover belief systems from societal
conditioning and aberrated thought processes of Urantia. The process of
experiencing a transition from this world to the next is a natural evolutionary
development, one which might be embraced heartfully, but your conditioning is to
regard it as risk-taking and fear-inducing and traumatic - a fearsome thing.</P>
<P>You who rejoice in Jeff's survival would do well also to rejoice in the
knowledge that you too shall rise up On High. It could enhance your entire
approach to life knowing that this is merely the caterpillar stage of existence
and that as you cease to fear you will allow the chrysalis to enfold you, and
that you will naturally then emerge in Mansonia as the butterfly of morontia
material.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> That's beautiful.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It is truly a beautiful plan. It is easy for me to say so for I
have experienced it and I have the confidence of it, but you who still must face
life in faith have not the confidence of one who has had the experience. But as
you trust your teacher and those of us on this side who help you, you will begin
to honor our vantage point and to adopt it into your own thinking process,
ideally to help you also overcome some of your normal reticence to relinquish
this life. For even though this life can be difficult, it is still precious, and
the one that you know. And as is the case in the mortal, it is easier to embrace
that which you know than to change and carve out a new existence in unknown
realms. This, too, will change as you grow. </P>
<P>You will begin to recognize that you may allow yourself to go through the
process of transition, even joyously, knowing your days ahead include a reunion
with your familiar loved ones, an opportunity to come face to face, as it were,
with your Thought Adjuster and your guardian seraphim and many other spirit
helpers that accompany you in your sojourn. This way of thinking, this advanced
format of thinking, is had by returning constantly and consistently to your
prayerful attitude with the Father.</P><B><U>
<P>Effective Prayer</P></B></U>
<P>The discourse you had recently this evening regarding your habits of
journaling, for example, depict what benefit can be had from developing a
conscious contact with a source of serenity expression and soul satisfaction. A
habit of journaling can easily lead then to the habit of a prayerful attitude,
of soulful discourse with that spirit reality in you and around you, that which
is a greater reality and a source of strength, a companion in your life journey,
and, as in any good habit, you begin to appreciate its value and acquire a
yearning for its fulfillment.</P>
<P>As you come to know the Father and his will for you, you fear less what you
have known before and you grasp with faith wings those new adventures,
experiential adventures, which are in store for you, including translation from
this world to the next. Oh, joy! Oh, revelation! Oh, Holy Spirit!</P>
<P>Well, my ladies, what have you been doing that you would enjoin me to join
you this evening? Am I one of your more pleasant and beneficial new
habits?</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> Oh, yes.</P><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> You were eavesdropping on our conversation. We've been wagging
our tongues. Gerdean should be tired.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It has been a fruitful day, and the spirit has been activated in
all of you, often. It was a more productive day than even we had
anticipated.</P><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> How do you feel about us meeting in a public place? I think that
the lingering light .... Gerdean said it was not as difficult as she thought it
would be, but is it appropriate?</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It depends upon your motives, as you might suspect. In the
instance today, the foundation was well laid in the environment by your having
grounded yourselves there and established your arena through prayer and worship,
and through socialization. You had already established the atmosphere, the
environment, and therefore the helpers were sensitive to your timbre, your tonal
quality, and when the others were brought in, they were not inharmonious to your
fellowship and this is part of, shall we say, the harmonics of the working
universe.</P>
<P>The circumstances today were quite do-able, but when you say "a public
place," there are qualifiers. The truth is you were doing what you went there to
do and not to "show off" or to attract attention, even spiritual attention, to
yourselves. You were following your path in your rightful way and it was not
obtrusive or offensive or disarming to those who were brought into your
presence. Public places vary, obviously. It worked today.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> Tomas, it seems that when I meet with you I am always asking you
personal questions. And to keep on that path, I have been having longer silence,
stillness times, but it seems that I doze off and then wake up again. And
usually when I go into the silence, I like to visualize a light. I feel that I'm
being lifted up when I see a light, but I don't see a light very often. I just
don't seem to understand my silences, my meditations. They're quiet.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> First let me state that I do not object that you ask me personal
questions when we have a session such as this, for this is the correct
methodology in a conversation of this sort. You are expected to want to know
more about yourself and your relationship with God and so your behaviors are
quite appropriate. Do not fear on that count. Now let me help you, if I can,
regarding your approach to and experience with and in meditation. I heard you
earlier say that you had some difficulty in talking with the Master.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> That's true.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Would you talk to me for just a moment about that, for that may be
a block to more effective meditation.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> Well, I can talk to the Father. I seem to talk to Him first. But
to talk to Jesus -- I just think of Jesus as being a sweet, wonderful person.
And I thank him all the time for this gift of -- well, his gifts of truth and
understanding and the peace that he gives, and I feel the peace and I thank him
for it. But when I pray, it is always to the Father. I feel closer to the
Father. I know Jesus was here on earth, and he was a person when he was here,
and he was also a spiritual person and he showed us a wonderful way that we
would try sometime, maybe to combine our spirit and our humanness, but there's
something about the aura about the Father.</P>
<P>I understand that Jesus and the Father are one and I understand his love, but
I just don't seem to pray to Jesus, to Christ Michael. The words "Christ
Michael" seem to be stronger to me as a divinity.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> That is appropriate also, for Christ Michael is the sovereign
ruler of the universe, and Jesus was a mortal, and so as you envision Jesus, you
may be perceiving him as only a little beyond your own bearing/standard/stature,
for he was a Jewish man who lived a long time ago. It is the risen Christ who is
the sovereign that exists now and hears your petitions. </P>
<P>It has sometimes been of benefit to those who feel the human facets of the
Creator Son in the form of Jesus that endear him as a fellow, as a friend, a
comrade, one that is easily approachable. But if your sense is to go to the
Father, to the First Source and Center, then consider that you have within you
an aspect of this divine Parent in the form of your own indwelling Thought
Adjuster, and look to see if you are, in honoring this indwelling God Fragment,
having a rapport with yourself as compared to that with divinity.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> I don't understand what you mean. I think of the Father as
divinity. I think of Christ Michael as divinity. And I think of Jesus as
divinity, too.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I cannot tell you how to pray but I will suggest that if you talk
over your affairs of the heart and the mind with Michael and, having then
communicated your concerns to your Creator Father Michael, ask him to bring you
into the presence of the Father. This is a process, a procedure, based loosely
on the phrase that one comes to the Father through him.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> I understand that.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> And so he is the door. Knock on his door and he will let you in to
the Father. Once in the presence of the Father, words are no longer necessary,
but rather a feeling, a sense of oneness in His care. It is appropriate to pray
to any being, but it is perhaps the more effective to pray in conversation with
Jesus, the risen Christ, and to worship the Father, to allow yourself, in your
communion with the Father, to praise him for your being, for your life itself,
to worship the gift of life which he has given you in your Thought Adjuster, in
your experiences, in your associations, in your enrichment.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> This is very helpful.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Also in the presence of the Father, even without words, it is of
great benefit to experience His love for you - the all-enveloping aspect of the
Eternal Parent that washes you with love, that rains upon you these blessings of
existence which are beyond words, which are beyond mortal expression, for they
have reached into the realms of spirit. You have reached up out of your
mortality and into the more aesthetic and ethereal realms of worship. This is
the realm of relationship with the Father. In this position, in this place, it
is natural enough to feel that peace and that comfort which He provides - that
total security that would allow for you to fall asleep in His arms, in total
calm of His care.</P><B>
<P>Iyana:</B> That's beautiful. Thank you, Tomas. </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Yes, Iyana. </P><B>
<P align=center>**********************</P>
<P>MICHAEL:</B> Precious ones. I am with you for you are gathered in my name. I
would like to spend a moment with you and be at peace among you. I would welcome
you to come to me as your friend.</P>
<P>I will call to your mind the little book that was published that is entitled
"God Calling." It depicts my conversations of long ago with two women who came
to me every day and, in this manner that you are experiencing now, sought my
companionship, my words, my wisdom, my guidance in their daily affairs. These
two women, who believed in me, were cherished by me, and they have by their
advertisement of me, affected thousands upon thousands of people. I bring this
to your attention to call to your mind the friendship that I desire you to have
with me.</P>
<P>Do not be reluctant to ask me into your life, to share with you your sorrows
and your joys. I hear you and I care infinitely. I care about you and your
interests in this life, which I have given you to live, which I have asked you
to live for me. How could I not then care for every thought, for every concern,
for every whisper of truth as it comes to your mind, as it visits your life? I
am a most intimate companion.</P>
<P>It is not necessary for you to perceive me as you might perceive of an icon
in a house of worship; it is not necessary for you to remember me as crucified
upon the cross; it is not necessary that you have any expectations about your
own demeanor or attitude as you engage in conversation with me, for I know you
well and I love you dearly.</P>
<P>And so again, my daughters, I encourage you to come to me and ask me to join
with you in a moment of quiet reflection of your day, of your thoughts and your
concerns, for your loved ones and for your problems, your sorrows and your joys.
I yearn for you to know me and love me. I delight in your presence. I find
happiness in your company and in your joy and I can bring you joy for <I>I
am</I> Joy.</P>
<P>I will not leave you, but I will go about my business of observing you,
overseeing your care, and rejoicing in your development, in your companionship
with your teachers who are also my beloved flock. Peace be upon you. I embrace
you, and … farewell.</P>
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