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<DIV><B>
<P>DATE:</B> January 25, 1997<BR><B>LOCATION:</B> Pittsburgh, PA,
USA<BR><B>T/R:</B> Gerdean</P><B>
<P>TEXTUAL STUDY:<BR></B>Urantia Paper 1: The Nature of God</P><B>
<P>TEACHER SESSION<BR>The Spirit of Truth</P></B>
<P><B>TOMAS:</B> Greetings, faithful ones. I am Tomas, your teacher. It is good
to be with you, as always. Many of us have assembled in enjoyment and
appreciation of your coming together in praise of The Father and in fellowship
with each of His children here present and in concern for those who are dear to
you … while not present in the flesh, present in your heart and in your
mind.</P>
<P>Prayer is a great fulfiller. Take your concerns always to The Father in
prayer, for your attitude in prayer can then be adjusted toward helping bring
about the desired results / effects of your prayer. Many times when you pray you
are then given the assignment of following through with that prayer in
service.</P>
<P>All children of God are imbued with the power of God. It is in making a wise
and divine use of such power that earmarks you as a son or daughter of the
living God. It allows the Son to shine upon you that others may see your light.
It satisfies the longings of the soul.</P>
<P>It has been said that religionists act, and even though their actions are
sometimes in error, they are at least actions brought about by their intent to
serve. It has also been said in your realm, that there are those who make things
happen, those who watch what happen and those who wonder what happened, and you
may decide which of those you will be, for as you take yourself into prayer, you
can become a mover and a shaker of divine action. If you put your religious life
on a back burner, by maintaining a cursory interest, you may watch what happens
as a result of those movers and shakers; and, pity the poor person who has no
cognizance of this divine and interplanetary interaction at all, but wonders
"What's it all about, Alfie?"</P>
<P>I address now you who would be diligent, you who would be movers and shakers,
you who would act on behalf of your beliefs, on behalf of Michael, on behalf of
that which you love and hold dear in terms of your spiritual life. There are
ways to go about getting things accomplished and your world is well versed in
many techniques of accomplishing things and I would refer you to our Source and
Center and the divine plan that unfailingly gets the job done.</P>
<P>When Jesus walked on your world it reached a point when one day he said to
his would-be apostles, "Follow me" and they did. And the results of their
efforts altered the climate on Urantia for the subsequent 2,000 years. There is
now yet a new and modern revelation to Urantia through The Urantia Book, and it
is a reminder, in part, of the invitation and admonition that those who would
make a difference would follow him even still.</P>
<P>Lo, the Master has been gone from Urantia in the flesh these many years, and
so his invitation to follow him becomes another chapter. No longer is he here to
sit in the flesh with us, to counsel with us, to encourage us, and to flood our
minds with his advanced understandings, but he has said "I am the Way" and so
still we are to follow him. We cannot follow him as the original apostles did in
those long-gone days, but we can follow him in our lives today by and through
his gift to Urantia, to you, which he poured out upon his departure and upon his
reclamation of divinity, and that is, of course, the Spirit of Truth.</P>
<P>For as you put yourself in a willingness to follow him, he will guide you and
lead you through the Spirit of Truth as fully and as coherently as if he were
here with you in the flesh. Now what is this Spirit of Truth and how does it
work in your life, in your lives? For everyone has a comprehension of truth, of
many truths. And how are you to know what to believe? Which way to go?</P>
<P>As you journey in your ascendant career, you are aided by the seven adjutant
mind spirits, another gift of the Paradise Trinity to help and enable you to
develop and grow your own relationship with Deity. And in and through these
adjutant mind spirits, mortals have made their decisions for many generations,
as compared to consulting with the Spirit of Truth.</P>
<P>It is to be remembered that when you attain a certain degree of spiritual
maturity, you no longer need to utilize so heavily these adjutant mind spirits,
but until you attain that level, they are active in evolving you and aligning
you with life's ventures. And so those who have not been born of the spirit or
those who have not attained a certain degree of spiritual maturity (for lack of
a better word), their decisions will be made concomitantly with the adjutant
mind spirits.</P>
<P>You may hear someone say, for instance, that their intuition told them to do
something or behave in a certain way or grasp a concept as having reality, and
this is and provides a relative truth, one which is, at that time, honorable.
One may have certain understandings based upon his or her experiences and
exposures, and this plateau of understanding, this platform of understanding,
influences his or her decisions, and so on down the line. The adjutant mind
spirits impact personality and they impact decisions which impact or fail to
impact on the growth of the Supreme.</P>
<P>Whereas, when you consult with and rely upon the Spirit of Truth, there
resonates within you, on every level, a clarity of purpose, and even a
direction. Everyone has available to them the Spirit of Truth, but many opt to
remain in the realms of the adjutant mind spirits for their decision-making
guidance. The Spirit of Truth is that within you which, at every crossroads of
life, will point and say, "This is the Way" and it is the Way of the Master. It
is His answer to you to follow the invitation to "Follow me."</P>
<P>In order for you to have, perhaps, a clearer understanding of how the Spirit
of Truth works in your life, perhaps you will be able to recall a time in your
life wherein you felt that the direction you were headed was the direction that
was right for you and that you truly wanted to go. It may have had to do with a
career, an earthly career. It may have had to do with a relationship, perhaps a
romantic relationship. It may have had to do, perhaps, with your influence that
you had available to bring to bear upon another human being, perhaps a child or
someone under your authority and guidance. And in your understanding of the
spirit of the seven adjutant mind spirits, you had worked out a plan that seemed
to conform to all the elements of intuition, counsel, courage, understanding,
knowledge, worship and wisdom. You were happy with your choices and hell bent on
bringing it about. And this is how your world has attained its reality levels
today, by and large.</P>
<P>For the Spirit of Truth is its own voice. It is a superior voice to the
evolutionary adjutant mind spirits, and as you learn to trust the Spirit of
Truth, you can bank on the Spirit of Truth for it will show you the way in such
clarity and conviction that you will see the difference between the better way
and the lesser way. Always does the Spirit of Truth lead you into an
understanding of Michael, an appreciation for the divine plan. It takes no
credit for itself, but <B><I>always</B></I> leads you into the presence of the
Master, that he may say, "Follow me. This is the Way."</P>
<P>I have seen, I have heard accounts of many sincere individuals who had
allowed a glimmering of the Spirit of Truth to speak to them, and even to show
them the Way, but the mortal was so comfortable with the outlined plan of its
own understanding and of its own choosing, that there commenced, there ensued, a
long and arduous struggle - over time and affecting many souls - that existed
until such time as the struggle ended by and through, ultimately, acquiescing
and recognizing the wisdom of the Spirit of Truth.</P>
<P>And so you may take as much time in your spiritual evolution as you choose,
but as you choose to consult with and follow through the ministrations of the
Spirit of Truth, you accelerate the growth of yourself, of your loved ones,
indeed, of Urantia and on into infinity. When you, therefore, find yourself in a
crossroad, remember these words as to the Spirit of Truth. Allow it to lead you
into the presence and the guidance of the Master, who will say, "Follow me. This
is the Way." And you may follow in full confidence of it being the correct path
for you. It is sure victory, even though it may appear that the road is rocky
and the way hard. It is for you to trust that your faith may grow in your
supernal adventure of finding God and aspiring to be more like him. If you
aspire to be like him, then seek him, and do not lean upon your own
understanding.</P>
<P>I have concluded my "lecture" for the afternoon. How I enjoyed your reading
today in the nature of our divine Parent. The goodness of God has granted that I
may know you and be your companion and for this personal experience I shall be
eternally affected and eternally grateful. How are you, my loved ones, today?
Are there questions?</P><B>
<P>Mary Theresa:</B> You had said earlier, Tomas, about those born in spirit and
those not born in spirit? Or whatever. I didn't understand. I thought we were
all born ... unless I misunderstood what you meant by it ... that we were all
born of the spirit, God within us. You know what I'm saying?</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Let me, perhaps, clarify, that yes, indeed, the Spirit of Truth
has been bestowed upon all flesh; and also everyone of normal mind is indwelt by
a fragment of the divine Father. And so you have, everyone has a Thought
Adjuster and everyone may utilize and enjoy the ministering presence of the
Spirit of Truth. But as you understand, you are free will creatures, and you are
not compelled to follow him or anyone, but that as you venture through your
life's experiences, you may make those decisions which will create your greater
God-consciousness, or not.</P>
<P>Those who are born of the spirit, those who are reborn, are innately infused
with the fruits of the spirit and even those who "wonder what happened" have
these fruits of the spirit to reflect upon, inasmuch as they are indwelt by God,
a fragment of God, and so the potential is there. But unless and until the
potential is actualized by conscious decision, the fruit is not ripe, you
see.</P>
<P>Those of you who have opted to go forward, to embrace the divine presence, to
seek to know God in your personal religious experience, your personal lives have
activated those spiritual gifts and can also discern the benefit of working with
an appreciation of the Spirit of Truth. Have I been too vague, Mary
Theresa?</P><B>
<P>Mary Theresa:</B> No, because I sort of misunderstood, in the beginning. I
was wondering is there a connection with the "born again" people. We were
talking about being born again. Is this the more or less the same thing, that we
just have to open up to it? We all have it, we all have been born with it, in
other words, and we just have to accept, and want to know God, and, no, you
explained it beautifully. Thank you.</P><B>
<P>Celeste:</B> I read in The Urantia Book one day that if your mind isn't
working well, you should take on the mind of Jesus.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It is indeed a successful technique for those who have the
perspicacity to think in those terms. It puts to rest the materialistic aspects
of the mind, which is incessantly busy and incessantly clamoring for
recognition. If you can replace your ego/mechanical mind with the mind of
Christ, those voices will be stilled. The conditioning voices that tell you "you
should," "you should have," "I told you this," and all those -- what is it your
culture calls it? The "committee" of voices who remind you of your earlier
training: your teachers, your parents, your peers, your spouses, your authority
figures, your saints and so forth who have deluged your mind banks with
impressions that are still affecting you as part of your previous
conditioning.</P>
<P>But by trading that busy and befuddled mind for the mind of Christ, you are
at once relieved of those jabbering voices of others' values, and immediately
impressed with the sanctity of repose, of mental poise, and in this place you
can begin to allow your own mind to be in alignment with that divine mind of the
Infinite Spirit which will give you the ability to make those decisions which
will give reality to your life, based upon your own relationship with your
Eternal Parent and not upon lesser gods. Well done.</P><B>
<P>Celeste:</B> Those things that you go to a psychiatrist for or psychologists
for, that we have those parts from the past, or your thinking, when you take on
the mind of Jesus, seriously take on the mind of Jesus, you don't have to go
anyplace for medical help.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Remember, though, that you are not taking on the body of Christ,
but the mind of Christ, and although I am not disagreeing with the potentials of
your remark, I wanted to clarify for the record that in taking on the mind of
Christ, you have now found the peace which passes all understanding, and from
this place of peace and poise in the spirit, this great stronghold, it is
possible then to clean out those closets of conditioning which are represented
by the various members of that chattering committee, for they have influenced
you, they have influence that they bring to bear upon your behavior when you are
unsuspecting. And further, as you assume the mind of Christ (which phrase many
scoff at), you are actually freer to also mend your physical facets because you
can see more clearly how it is that you have become ill or bent or tender. Yes,
there are many advantages to taking on the mind of Christ.</P><B>
<P>Celeste:</B> Tomas, if you practice these fruits of the spirit, you cannot
help but take on the mind of Christ.</P><B>
<P>Mary Theresa:</B> Tomas also just answered a question that was running in my
mind about physical health. When I feel that I'm possibly coming down with
something, I wonder, I say to God in my prayers that I don't need to be ill.
Whatever it is that I'm doing wrong, let me know; what I'm thinking wrong, let
me know, because I do feel I can trace it back to anger, frustration, and I
think if we, as you say, take on the mind of Christ, we release those feelings,
because I really feel that it affects my health, and you just said that in so
many words, that it does affect you physically.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Indeed it does. I would like to say more regarding this taking on
the mind of Christ, which phrase I will not repeat consistently for it is a
borrowed phrase for certain understanding, but technically it is not the mind of
Christ but a gentle aphorism, for their minds are so far beyond yours, it is
like a little child who is wearing her Mommy's high heeled shoes. You may think
that you can assume the mind of Christ, but technically it is not possible.</P>
<P>What you have done, rather, is ask for Christ to put your thinking into an
alignment with perfection. Your own mind, then, is that which may make wise
decisions which will further your own progression into perfection. In this
clarification, now, I may renew my interest in the Spirit of Truth, for as you
consult with your mind, the Spirit of Truth may help direct your thinking toward
"What would Jesus do? How might he have done this? How would he have me
behave?"</P>
<P>In a way, your mind, having made the decision to become Godlike, presents a
triodity, if you will, with the Spirit of Truth and the guidance of Christ, and
so there is a harmonious working arrangement that results in and between and
among those realities, such that it is not necessary for you then to depend upon
the more primary and material reality levels of the seven adjutant mind spirits,
for your mind has been relieved of much of its foregoing conditioning and
scaffolding, so now you can make intelligent decisions by your association with
your Father/Brother Michael as caretaken by the Spirit of Truth.</P>
<P>I "think" there was another facet of our discussion but it eludes me. If I
have overlooked a nuance of your discussion and inquiry, please bring it again
to the forefront of my attention.</P><B>
<P>Hester:</B> I, Tomas, have been dealing with the first breath we take in as
we become a human being after we've left the womb.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Yes, Hester?</P><B>
<P>Hester: </B>And I find this breath tied in. This first breath is the breath
of life that is spoken of in this first series of words, and along with it comes
this "I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Light. No man or woman or being
comes to the Father except by me." I get that this means not being the Christ in
action as much as being active and involved with becoming the Christ in
action.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> This is correct. It is astute, for why would a loving God preclude
believers from coming to Him simply because they had not the knowledge of one
Jesus of Nazareth. Indeed, it is true that we come to the Father through the
Creator, but it is because a Creator Son has given us the life pattern, the
life, that we live.</P>
<P>It is not that we are not the Father's direct creation, but rather the
creation of the Creator Son, and so we attain Paradise and the presence of the
Universal Father because we have been brought into being by and through the
Creator Son, Christ.</P>
<P>It is not so much your natal understanding that you would gather from your
understanding of the evolved religions, for as I said, even though a man be
Buddhist or Islamic, he is still in line for ascension to the Paradise Father
and will meet Michael in his ascent.</P>
<P>As to your remark regarding that first moment having to do with the breath of
life, again it is a literal and earthly interpretation. The breath of life is
not just that breath which you recognize as an inhalation and exhalation of
oxygen and carbon dioxide, but indeed the very power of life as it goes out from
Havona into the universes and returns to its Source. This, too, is the breath of
life.</P><B>
<P>Hester:</B> Thank you, Tomas.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Thank you, for sharing, Hester.</P>
<P>I will divert a moment into our session of last week. Recall that we were to
investigate our childlike aspects, in terms of sincerity, in order that our
childlikeness might wield more influence than our childishness, and that you
were invited to induce sincerity in your fellows by being thus sincere
yourselves. Have we reports or testimonies in that context?</P><B>
<P>Hester:</B> Well, I would say that I wasn't here last week and I didn't know
what the assignment was, but I see I attuned right into it. Absolutely, the
first breath took me into it, and I see this tiny human being taking the first
breath and all of a sudden everything starts to move in that little body. It's
like you turn the button and the thought comes out, and it goes "bang, bang" and
it starts working. It's been working as a fish, prior to this. The gills close
up and the lungs take over on the first breath.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Yes, and you will see when you review our previous lessons and
discussions from the transcripts, that although we did not discuss the approach
from the fish, we have approached the child from its early origins in terms of
its behavior. We have discussed a good child as compared to a rascally child,
and certain conditionings [that are] necessary in your civilization to guide and
conform its behavior. </P>
<P>But we have been focussing on the child as a reflection of you yourselves as
children, in order to take a new and fresh look at how it is that you are the
way you are, and we have been looking now at the quality of sincerity, for the
sincerity of a child is what gives it its own magical aura. Even grown-up
children are creative, inventive, interesting and impelling by their degree of
sincerity, and yet so few mortals are sincere.</P>
<P>I relinquish the floor to you for this discussion. I am not going to give
another lecture. (Group laughter)</P><B>
<P>Mary Theresa:</B> I think it came up one other time, where you want to be
sincere, but you want to tell the person-- You don't want to let the person
down, so you agree with them, rather than be completely honest. You don't want
them to be angry with you, and so you affirm something that you really didn't
want to, or you catch yourself doing that. At least I know I catch myself after
I've done it. AFTER I've done it. Should I try to make a correction there or
leave well enough alone?</P>
<P>I guess I feel I'm not intelligent enough to know how to handle it, and say
it easily without causing hard feelings. To the person that's down, you try to
build them up, and there I affirm something that in my mind is wrong — maybe
it's only in my mind that it's wrong, so why make an enemy? This is the
confusion that goes on in my head. What's honest and what isn't? What's being
truly wise?</P><B>
<P>Hester:</B> Theresa, I have to say to you that mankind has been looking for
honesty ever since the first man came on the earth and met the first
woman.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I must interject, for I fear we will reduce our conversation to a
battle of the sexes in terms of honesty. Even this group of women here can learn
to improve upon their honest appraisals and discourses among each other. As I
addressed in the lesson having to do with enlightened honesty, it is better for
you to not say anything than to reaffirm error, for in affirming error, it has
helped to solidify an untruth. And yet if this matter is of eternal value, it
will recur for clarification.</P>
<P>Is it a matter for you to take to the Master in consultation? If so, do not
rely upon your own understanding of honesty, but ask, indeed, the Master through
the Spirit of Truth and see if you are given an insightful response through your
meditations for when this incident reoccurs, as it likely will until the lesson
is learned.</P>
<P>Remember that Jesus, in his dealings with his apostles would sometimes speak
-- what word shall I use? Firmly. Strongly. Swiftly. -- in order for them to
understand. Being Christlike does not necessary mean being a doormat or
saccharine in sweetness. Our goal is to become <B>real</B>, to become a
reflection of The Father, which, as you read today, has a vast span of
possibility. It includes science, art, and religion, you know, and, therefore,
it can include mercy and wisdom and justice as well as sweetness and light.</P>
<P>It is important to expand your comprehension of The Father to break down
those genteel doors painted by your historic forefathers of religion. Angels and
saints have been symbolic of qualities of God for a long time, but they are mere
manmade icons of an understanding of this God that is all-powerful, all-present
in his greatness as well as his goodness.</P>
<P>Being honest when necessary should not make you feel awkward. You have the
Spirit of Truth within you, Mary Theresa. You have the strength within you,
within your God-consciousness, to do what must be done if you are called upon to
do it. You have the strength of this all-powerful Center. Do not make light of
your capacities, for there is in you One who can if you cannot.</P><B>
<P>Mary Theresa:</B> I have no problem being honest with my family. With them I
can be very open. As a matter of fact, I probably tell them more than I should.
Outside the family I just have a hard time being frank and open.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Perhaps these people do not mean enough to you for you to be truly
open with them. If these are social situations that are mere window dressing and
not true reality-based relationships, then I wouldn't lose sleep over the way
you say "Hello."</P><B>
<P>Mary Theresa:</B> I have a friend, two of them, who are offended very
easily.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Do you love the sinner and hate the sin?</P><B>
<P>Mary Theresa:</B> Yes. I love my friends. I've always felt that I was a
people person. I like them, I like sociability, and I've had many friends, and I
know this one gets hurt very easily and I just have a hard time being completely
honest. It just seems like I find myself agreeing because I'm afraid I'm going
to preach, I think, because my husband thinks I preach. My husband says I
preach.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Are you promoting error that will affect their immortal soul? No?
Then let it go. If you think they look wretched in chartreuse, it is not
necessary to say they look pea green in that dress, but say things are going
swimmingly. There are creative ways to get around situations that do not rise to
the occasion of truth-seeking, but if, on the other hand, these situations do
not warrant truth, perhaps the relationship itself needs to be reviewed as to
its caliber and content.</P><B>
<P>Celeste:</B> Tomas? </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Yes, Celeste.</P><B>
<P>Celeste:</B> I just want to see if I can say this right. Instead of taking on
the mind of Christ, which obviously we can never truly do, how about it would be
okay to say we'd be <I>open </I>to the mind of Christ.</P><B>
<P>Hester:</B> Eventually we do take on the mind of Christ. It may take some
time. I mean, how many years do we live before we realize that we are a human
being? And there are differences between us all. It's progressive. Am I right,
Tomas?</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Of course. It is progressive. It is an ascension plan. Yes. What
you know today is more than you knew yesterday but less than you know
tomorrow.</P><B>
<P>Hester:</B> So instead of getting hung up on this little briar on the side of
the rose, look up at the rose and start moving toward the rose instead of being
hung up on the briar.</P><B>
<P>Celeste:</B> That's good. </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Well put.</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> About the sincerity, I don't believe I practiced it the way you
really talked about it, but I did notice that I talked more to cashiers and
people in interchanges and -- I usually do look people in the eye, but I seemed
to have conversations as opposed to, you know, "Good-bye and thank you." You pay
for your merchandise and say good-bye. One time I was in the parking lot and I
saw this man and this woman screaming at each other. It was obvious they were
having some kind of a thing going on, the ego-action of the thing was, you know,
and so I thought, "Well, bless them." </P>
<P>There was some lady that was beeping her horn in the parking lot and she kept
on beeping it over and over and over again, I don't know why, and I found myself
judging her, and I don't know, I feel a bit more sincerity about those social
situations where it's just every day things that you have to do. It feels that
I'm getting to know the people a little better.</P><B>
<P>Hester:</B> You know those people that were out of the penitentiary? They
were out at the parking lot in Cranberry, the day they got out, and I parked to
go into Wal-Mart for some reason, and the man, the bald-headed man they caught
first? He was standing three cars from where I parked and I walked right past
him and, you know something? I had to look him in the eye. And thank God! I
didn't recognize him. I didn't know him because I didn't know about...</P>
<P>I couldn't help it! I smiled! I had to smile. And when I came back out, he
was still standing by that one car, waiting for his cohort, and they got started
and got away but they were the first ones caught. But the car, he stole it
apparently, right there in the Cranberry lot! It could have been my car! But,
thank God, I had the consciousness -- I don't know what else to call it -- to
smile, because I've been practicing seeing everybody as a child of God, no
matter who they are, no matter what they're doing, and it helps my child.</P>
<P>But that really happened. And every time I see that man on television, I
think how fortunate, because they were -- he was a murderer! He was in for
murder! God was with me, is with us.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> All the time. I am going to make ready to depart. Are there
any...?</P><B>
<P>Celeste:</B> I just want say that you are really good to us, Tomas, and we're
glad you're here.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I love you very much, and I am, even so, glad to be among you. I
will extend the assignment from last week into next week to include practicing
your childlike sincerity, and also incorporating your Spirit of Truth into your
consultations to augment and secure your sincerity. Until we speak again, I am
your devoted friend, Tomas, and … I would like to add a</P>
<P>P.S. … that I am available to you should you, any of you, seek a personal
conversation. I and other teachers are here, remember, to serve you, and so if
the meeting configuration does not lend itself well to what your needs are, I am
eager to serve, and I would urge you to consult with Gerdean's calendar for a
special session.</P>
<P>Also, we are very, very happy to have another transmitter emerging in your
midst, and this too shall bring about greater expanse of lessons and learnings.
This is all for now. Farewell.</P><B>
<P>Group:</B> Farewell. Thank you.</P>
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