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<DIV><FONT face="GoudyOlSt BT"><B>
<P>DATE:</B> April 15, 1997<BR><B>LOCATION:</B> Butler, PA, USA<BR><B>T/R:</B>
Gerdean and Hunnah<BR><B>Music:</B> Leah sang</P><B>
<P>TEACHERS:<BR>DANIEL, MERIUM and TOMAS</P>
<P>TOPICS: Aide and Band-aide<BR>Acknowledgement of Great Need<BR>The Value of
Experiential Depths<BR>Presuming Upon Divine Mercy<BR>Self Assisting in the
Healing Process<BR>A Situation for Social Discernment<BR>Benefits of Teaching A
Man to Fish<BR>Objectivity in Social Consciousness</P></B>
<P><B>MERIUM:</B> I am Merium and I would like to use the metaphor of a cup,
briefly. It is bewildering to us sometimes why this richness that comes in
doesn't linger long. It is because your cup is being enlarged. You will be able
to have a greater capacity. Do not be hard on yourselves. The human condition is
a whining child, a bewildered child. We come together to remind each other that
we are becoming new in Christ. We are new, and you are allowed to be renewed. We
bring you both comfort and good cheer. One moment, please.</P><B>
<P>DANIEL:</B> I am Daniel. I have been summoned and it gives me great pleasure
to attend your meeting. I have good tidings to bring from your peers in the
spirit realm. I will convey how heartfelt and eternal these relationships are.
It is true that when you develop a loving friendship with a personality, you
recognize that personality even after a long absence, and when you are away from
someone that you love, do not grieve the absence, for assuredly you are not
truly separated, but only in your limited understanding are you separated.</P>
<P>In truth there is no separation. And when you feel the embrace of your loved
friend after a long absence, you will recognize that it [the friendship] is as
alive and vital at that moment as it ever was in its previous configuration.
This is a lesson that only comes through time, for often you are not aware, by
the nature of your existences here in the flesh, that this is a truth. In coming
to conjoin with your group this evening I will convey that Gerdean was not so
much saddened [Ed: the T/R wept] but joyed to feel my presence, an old friend;
although my arrival did bring to mind her undying love for my beloved charge
Debbie.</P>
<P>It is hard to convey to those who do not appreciate this Teaching Mission or
the truths of this spirit reality, but the friendships that you develop in
spirit are vital and eternal, are more real, in truth, than the many, many
acquaintances and fellows that you encounter in your short lifetime in the
flesh. It is and has been an honor for me to share your world, to become part of
your living reality, to help you step into the light of truth. I will return one
day to visit you again. As I have indicated, our friendship is not lost, but is
found and is eternal.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I am Tomas. </P><B>
<P>Group:</B> Welcome, Tomas.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I confess to having a fragile vehicle this evening, but she is
stronger than she might appear, and much of her strength is due to her faith and
her commitment to these higher truths and realities that we have mentioned and
that Leah has approached in song.</P>
<P>My words to you this evening have to do with Band-aides. It is well known to
us who observe life on Urantia that there are any number of Band-aides that
people apply to their situation in order to heal the wound, be it real or
imagined, and it is equally possible for you to approach the teachers and the
spirit realm as if it were yet another Band-aide that when you come and suffer,
when you are in emotional distress, that your contact with us will provide you a
Band-aide that will enable you to feel better and go out renewed.</P>
<P>I would like to stress to you, my friends and my children, that we are not a
Band-aide, that the spirit life is not "the opiate of the masses," for as you
are beginning to ascertain, being aware of spirit reality is not always easy. It
is not easy to put these principles into effect in your life. "His yoke is easy
and His burden is light," but it is also true that you have not all perfected
yourselves, that as you learn and as you come into the light, as you indeed
learn how to relinquish the old wounds and the old patterns, there is upheaval
in the growth struggle.</P>
<P>We are not here to assuage your ills and soothe them to the extent that you
no longer feel them, but we will comfort you as you learn and develop those
internal lessons that will enable you to heal and grow, rise above, and walk
through life's vicissitudes without them becoming an onerous burden of
existence. We are not a perfume that you squirt over a foul smell in order that
it should not disturb you, but we are a medicinal salve that will help the
healing process.</P>
<P>Your pre-meeting discussions this evening testify to your sincere growth
struggles. The fact that you, as a group of individuals, are able to objectively
and yet with concern observe the ills of your society -- not in condemnation but
in concern for correction -- is a vast step forward from where your concerns
were a year ago. As you, to some extent, represent a fraction of the collective
consciousness, you may feel hope that your concerns will be also the growing
concerns of many others, and so the struggle is not on your shoulders without
aide. Merium?</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Aide. Good evening. Aide comes this evening as a warm embrace and
it is certainly due and is welcome. We can certainly feel your appreciation and
your colors are changing as your receptivity swells. The conversation this
evening was enthusiastic with your effort to be non-judgmentally judging, and
kindly self-disciplining. You were examining the programming of your lives, the
conditions of the people around you, and it takes strength, it takes focus, in
order to allow people who are not of the same ilk or have the same agenda to be
very close to you. They are careless with you and they do not even understand
themselves.</P>
<P>Your conversations were on target and I wish you well and all a speedy
recovery in the new wave of what may seem an onslaught of misunderstanding. That
is why it is so important that you take/grasp the reins when you feel a retort
coming (because we know who is delivering the return, the reply that is not
carrying love; we know that that messenger is a false one) and we encourage you
to stop and not reply, but to cast it into the eternal fire.</P>
<P>It's as if it were some place that you could extinguish these things at hand,
and you will find new techniques with which to do it. They will not appear as
techniques so much as they will carry the power of defusing. I am reminding you
that darkness cannot enter light, and when you find yourself vulnerable -- you
were talking earlier about keeping a low profile -- this is the time for a low
profile, when you do not feel at your best or your strongest. And there will be
many days like that.</P>
<P>Recently my hostess here has been dealing with the pains of watching her
friend live in a state of difficulty, of living between two worlds, and this is
an art form that your new light self is allowed to maintain. You are a bridge
between the new you and the world that knows not of the love of God. It is an
art form and in your development you tire easily and need to retreat to the old
way of being.</P>
<P>I am using Hunnah's reserves this evening. It seems as if the lessons repeat
themselves again and again and you weary from it, but what you do not understand
is that you are also being strengthened because you catch yourself now, whereas
before you may not have. You will venture into the wrong area, yes, but you will
not remain there as long.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It is time now that we ventured into your area. Have you questions
to present for our discussion? Have you concerns that you would bring to your
teachers and your peers for sharing?</P><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> Tell us... I'm stepping out of my Merium mode. This is
Hunnah.<BR><B>TOMAS:</B> Yes, Hunnah.</P><U>
<P>Acknowledgement of Great Need</P></U><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> There is a concern for our need to feel and measure progress all
the time. You lavish your praise upon us. We are constantly faced by the
challenges of the limitations of our material goods, and the basic needs. How do
we keep from keeping ourselves in a state of need? It is so difficult. Can you
take it from there?</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I must take it the only place it can go, and that is in
acknowledgement of your great need. It is innate, as you seek perfection, to
strive even further for even greater perfection, and so there is a consistent
and recurrent state of neediness. It is the uncomfortableness of that state of
being that precludes many from consciously taking those steps that would bring
them into a spiritual way of life.</P>
<P>The admonition "Be ye perfect" is highly fear-inducing, for it infers you
must be willing to acknowledge that you are not already perfect. Granted, in
your growth, in your relative perfection, you may enjoy and acknowledge the
sublime peace which passes all understanding; you may know serenity; you may
enjoy a certain aspect of personal light and life; and you may even glimpse
moments in time and space wherein this light and life is extended to include
others, and that is a joyous day indeed.</P>
<P>But as you assign yourself to ascend unto the Father, as you allow yourself
to grow, you will recognize how far you have to go before ultimate perfection is
attained. That recognition can cause discomfort. Your notion of failure is what
disturbing. Not that you are needy, but that you have failed to attain
perfection causes you grief.</P>
<P>If you were to appreciate your growth process, that it is not a matter of
attaining and then having completed the task, but that with each new plateau of
perfection comes another surge of yearning for that next understanding, that
next piece of experiential wisdom, that puts you once again back into a
situation of needing ~ the experience of needing, the support of needing, the
encouragement ~ and as you have obviously set out with gusto, we have been sent
to encourage your growth, to give you those necessary and requisite pats on the
back that will allow you to continue the struggle, the good fight of faith.</P>
<P>Remember, too, that you are becoming more aware of what you are doing. When
you walked in darkness, it was not necessary that you receive accolades and
encouragement so much, for you found your value in other things, indeed, in
things and in people. And now that you are finding your reality in higher
avenues of reality, you need to yearn for this same encouragement and
companionship as you once found in your material realm, and so we encourage your
bonding, your camaraderie with each other, with fellow believers, for they can
encourage you when you stumble, when you grow weary; they can understand your
humanness when you become impatient or when you know anger. Also we are glad to
provide counsel and encouragement and yet new fodder for your growth mill as you
assimilate these lessons of time and eternity. Have I addressed your
concern?</P><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> Yes, you have. But I would like to have you approach it from
another direction, if you don't mind.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Proceed.</P><U>
<P>Value of Experiential Depths</P></U><B>
<P>Hunnah: </B>I have met people lately who have been bewildered by their
inability to get "grounded." It is as if sometimes life is so painful you don't
really want to -- they want to be in the lofty place all the time and being back
on the ground in daily grind is just so traumatic for them they don't want to
stay; they want to fly. And I was talking with someone today about the human
condition reaction if a person is threatened, to either fight or flight, and so
we have this paradox: we have the fighters and the ones that want to put their
wings on and leave the situation, and here in this room we have three people who
have experienced both conditions. But the ones who want to remain in the lofty
realm, suffer just as greatly as those who can't seem to get up off the
heaviness of human dependency.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> There is a mota that I will call to your attention. You may look
it up for the exact wording but it refers to the fact that wisdom is not gained
from the isolated mountain tops but from the depths of human experience, many of
which involve anguish and suffering; that is where wisdom is learned. And it is
easier to stay on the mountaintop of these sublime feelings, but eventually the
sincere child will recognize its fantasy life and need to ground itself in order
to serve that God which has given it existence, in order to serve its fellows
that they too may rise, and rise together to those lofty heights of <I>soul
</I>appreciation and spirit awareness.</P><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> Thank you. It reminds me of that line, "Don't worry, be happy,"
that all will be well and that this is the temporary situation.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Be prepared, when the friend falls from the lofty height and finds
him or herself self knee-deep in mud, to be supportive, to not disdain the mess
but to help them up, that you may trod the path together. Remember the boards
that Merium spoke of? In your early ascension there are some rather murky
pitfalls, but as you begin to develop your faith, as your roots are well
grounded in the soil of spirit and in life itself, those lily pads are carefully
placed such that you need not fall off into primitive planes of existence any
longer.</P>
<P>It is necessary that the individual learn to love life, even that he learn to
embrace disappointments and enjoy the sorrows of existence. These experiences
are those which bring about wisdom. Remember that the greatest affliction is to
have never been afflicted, for it is only in affliction that you learn wisdom,
and so even the down times, even the dark nights of the soul, even the difficult
passages of life, the sore disappointments and the tribulations of time, are a
part of the divine plan. Even though it may not seem so in the experience, in
reflection, after you have emerged and seen your growth, after you appreciate
the lesson that you have learned, after you see the gift that you now have to
give to those who follow behind you experientially, you will understand better
the Father and his loving plan for you.</P>
<P>It is of course not fun to step off the pedestal and into the arena where
there are wolves and bears, but it is being done all the time by courageous
individuals, and these individuals are growing spirit muscle; they are
developing, along with their sensitivity, thick skins that will enable them to
work in the rough realms as well as in the sublime heights. This is cause
celebrate; this is part of the full spectrum of your living experience -- the
peculiar dichotomy of a full human being enjoying life in the spirit and in the
flesh, a unified personality indeed.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Thank you, Tomas. While you were talking I was reminded that it
is very easy to become self-absorbed in your spiritual journey, and that we must
remember that everyone around us is in a different state of development and
everyone will use the same situation differently. In Hunnah's background there
is healthcare, and the person experiencing the problem is developing a tolerance
and an attitude of cooperation perhaps in one way, as the person taking care of
that individual is developing another aspect of him or herself.</P>
<P>Everyone is receiving their own assignment, and for those who lift the
assignment up, they are the ones who will develop the benefit from it, those
that count their blessings, watch for new opportunities and allow themselves to
be strengthened by the great or the little amount of faith that they have. It is
a time of growth, of expansion. It is to be used that way or it can be a time of
heaping more burdens upon themselves and staying in the dark a little
longer.</P><B>
<P align=center>[Intermission]</P>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I have been as burgeoned with as much "stuff" as you have been and
I would like to address some of your "stuff" with some of my "stuff," for that
is what we do -- we share our inner life, and as you experience and express what
you are going through, we express our part and we are family doing our part, as
you said.</P><U>
<P>Presuming Upon Divine Mercy</P></U>
<P>And now I would like to discuss that concept that was brought up recently,
that being: presuming upon divine mercy. I bring it up because of the earlier
sharing and also because of a question that was asked outside of session one day
that we noted. Today, for example, it would appear as though Gerdean lost her
temper and assaulted verbally a person that she had intended to provide service
for, and before she or you think ill of her for her outrage, I will bring to
your mind the truth about "presuming upon divine mercy."</P>
<P>It is not necessary for you to give and give and give until you are depleted.
It is a fine line between serving and being used, and you need to determine that
for yourself. The other question that was asked had to do with, when you are
given an assignment, how long do you stay with the assignment? When does it
become a matter of the assignment's needs versus the needs of the self?</P>
<P>I will bring in an analogy here of the child growing out of a pair of shoes.
You know that it's time to buy new shoes when the shoes begin to pinch the feet
and begin to cripple the child in his wearing of them. When the shoes begin to
pinch, it is time to pick up your ears and observe where you are in your
assignment, where you are in the service field, for it is not intended that your
service be painful.</P>
<P>If you are allowing yourself to be unduly burdened by your concept of
service, then perhaps you are allowing self-abuse. Do not be alarmed by that
word. It is a human condition based on your need to help and not always
understanding when it is appropriate to back off. You become invested in the
situation and, if there is no one there to pick up the slack when you back off
to nurture yourself or to take care of your next need or assignment, what's to
prevent the situation that you have invested so much time and energy and love
into, from falling on its face and all your efforts going for naught?</P>
<P>Any act of service has been beneficial and useful. Any excessive service is
what we might call "enabling" and when you determine that you are enabling
rather than serving, you are witnessing a situation that the recipient of your
service is "presuming upon divine mercy." They have begun to feel comfortable
with your desire to serve and they have gone beyond the requirement; they have
gone beyond your ability to serve in the situation and pressed into usury.</P>
<P>At the point of your recognizing that … at the point when your toes begin to
cramp in pain from the shoes you are wearing, from the moccasins in which you
have been walking … that is the time to step out of those shoes and to step out
of that assignment, for it does not serve to provide service where it is
unjustified. Allow the Father to provide other avenues of assistance; allow the
divine plan to unfold without you being on hand at every instant.</P>
<P>The truth remains that the self is not important, the work is important; but
when the work has turned into a twisted excuse for service, it serves no
one.</P>
<P>I know you have all "been there" so I will not linger on it unless any of you
would like to delve into it, but it was something that was on the agenda to be
addressed earlier and then it was compounded by your sharing this evening, and
so it was a subject apparently that needed addressing, but I have finished my
remarks. </P>
<P>What say ye now as to our agenda? Are there other questions or is there
commentary?</P><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> I have a suggestion that we have numbers like at the bakery, or
at the meat counter, and that will keep us from hogging each other's space, but
there is something I've just got to talk about here and then, Leah, it'll be
you. In my work it is very important to involve the recipient of the service
into some independent action solving their problem.</P><U>
<P>Assisting in the Healing Process</P></U>
<P>Managed home care is absolutely the big gun right now, that is forcing people
to say, "can I really afford the luxury of a long recovery?" and this luxury of
being in a recuperative state, longer than what they consider necessary, is no
longer in tempo now, and it is amazing, you will -- the shoe has gotten smaller
in the sense that they are given an ultimatum: "you have X number of days in
which to rally" and for some reason, this will kick in, and that person will
find themselves healing in less time than they would have before. It will permit
that person to involve him or herself in a positive way so that the task is
accomplished (and for some reason or another, I'm not very good at applying that
in my own personal life), but it is something will be happening in some aspects
of our lives - not lounging in a particular mode, but that there will be action,
especially for those who wish for divine assistance.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It is very true that as you have faith in someone, they are
bolstered and they begin to perceive a certain amount of faith in his or
herself. This provides a good support system; it is commendable and most often
successful. Do we not encourage you? Do you not encourage each other? And, in
truth, do you not ~ in your own privacy ~ encourage yourself? For there is
faith, in fact, and it will motivate you to improve and succeed.</P>
<P>Many thrive on encouragement and praise, but when they presume to presume
upon divine mercy, whether it be directly from the Father or through his various
agencies, such as home health care, Hunnah, or any manner of personal service,
then another tactic may be necessary. It is unfortunate, but it has been said
and it is true that <I>in certain individuals</I> fear is a great motivator and
that only as they discover that their support system will be ripped from under
them do they begin to stand up and take notice that they had better do something
toward making their next move in survival.</P>
<P>There are individuals indeed who cannot deal with the affirmative and
positive aspect of growth but are still more comfortable with the pain and
punishment kind of development. It is not a favorite of the Master or of the
teachers or of any love-saturated soul, but you have heard the phrase "tough
love" and unfortunately it must sometimes be rendered. It is my supreme hope
however that as we cleverly and courageously look at these service situations,
as we take them to the Father in prayer, as we glean guidance from our celestial
helpers, the more evolved methods will be effective for your putting them to
use.</P>
<P>As you grow in spirit, as you become more aware of your own contribution to
your growth and the growth of others, your own dignity status of a
self-respecting child of God comes into play and it is no longer appropriate
that you be forced into growth for you have become willing and eager to grow,
even when you know that it will be uncomfortable. You also have lived enough
that you know that the discomfort will pass and that the effects of this growth
passage will far outweigh any temporary discomfort in making those decisions and
movements that will lend your path a further piece of ascension.</P>
<P>Those are the realms in which we work. Some are more amenable to growth
changes than others. It is not always your opportunity to decide what service
opportunity you will be given. If it were left up to you, you would quickly
spoil yourself with only those experiences that were comfortable for you. In
serving others you also learn, and so as you have mastered certain areas, you
will be given opportunity for service in other areas that you might expand your
palette and your resume of service qualities, that you may expand your own
comprehension of the human condition in conjunction with spirit leading.</P>
<P>I tell you, when I am off-line, you chatter so fluidly! And then I come along
and … I am beginning to feel as if I was ignorant of how to be a
conversationalist. I make the suggestion that you provide commentary, and it
sounds like a drill sergeant. I understand the method of transmitting sometimes
lends itself to this staccato voice, but I am not staccato in my spirit or in my
understanding appreciation of you, my fellows. Feel free to engage me. I enjoy
our repartee. Leah, why are you so quiet this evening?</P><U>
<P>A Situation for Social Discernment</P></U><B>
<P>Leah:</B> Well, it has something to do with the discourse you just gave and
fear of rejection. I have a question on my mind, but there is the fear that it's
going to be — it doesn't really concern you and it's a curiosity question, but
it does concern me, it's weighing on my mind.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I would like to hear it if you would be willing to share.</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> My sister is going to have a party here on the Earth plane. When we
reach a certain age ~ like 40 or 50 ~ we have big celebrations. She wishes to
have a party for her husband. He plays in a band; he's a drummer in a band and
the people in the band are artists and they tend to be temperamental, to a
degree. She has asked two of the persons to come to the party and they have told
her that if the third one was invited, they would not come; and she was
incensed, and she was saying to me she couldn't believe that they wouldn't be
appreciative of her husband's being there for them. </P>
<P>The reason they don't want to come to the party is because this other
individual is alcoholic and has a reputation for ruining everything. And my
sister said to me - in fact, he ruined a child's birthday party recently. He
sings in the band with her husband and he's a very sensitive person, but he has
a problem and these two have taken a stand that they will not come. It was her
intention that they have an evening of singing and playing with the many people
and many different bands he has played with for the last 15 years, and this
alcoholic person is one of the most recent, and she is in a real dilemma. </P>
<P>She says that she knows that it's true that this alcoholic person will
probably be disruptive, but she's annoyed. And she confided to me -- I feel like
it's an annoyance, too, like you always should include someone -- but she says
she knows this man's history and probably everything they have said about this
man is so. So, I guess I'm just looking for an opinion.</P>
<P><B>TOMAS: </B>I am going to grossly over-simplify the situation ...</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> Thank you.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS: </B>... and suggest that "two out of three ain't bad."</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> (Laughter)</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> This is so delicious. I would like to comment about this. First
of all, I would like to ask Leah: are you carrying this?</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> I don't think I'm carrying it, but I'm entertaining it.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Are you simply wondering if your sister is of the same persuasion
as you, if you went to her study group and talked about the things that we talk
about, how would she handle it? Or how would Leah handle it? I would like to
look at it from two points of view, if I may help you.</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> Leah would have a much harder time handling it. My sister has
already made her decision, but I have a sense of inclusiveness that gets me in a
lot of trouble.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> It is an opportunity to share a lighter touch, a loftier view of
the problem. You are dealing with social etiquette. You are dealing with
people's feelings. You are dealing with someone who has a reputation. You are
dealing with the way we weigh our friends with our own challenges, and we like
to pass them on to someone else to tell us what to do with a situation because
it makes us uncomfortable. I am commenting here not to answer your question, but
to level it out and look at it from an aerial view. </P>
<P>If it were <I>your</I> party, I would ask you to remember that everyone has a
Thought Adjuster, to wish them well, and pray for their higher demonstration of
social graces. I will encourage you - because you consider it a problem to hear
about your sister's dilemma and tell her that you are looking forward to finding
out what's on the next paragraph and how she handled it - because technically,
from our point of view to you, there is nothing to do. And this is frequently
the case. There is nothing to do but to listen, to hope that she will have the
poise and the maturity to handle whatever social situations come up. It is easy
to develop the habit of carrying other's burdens. I feel you are unnecessarily
weighted. This does not just apply to you, Leah; it applies to everyone. Watch
for the excitement in someone else. </P>
<P>Hunnah has a friendship, and a lovely friend, who is continuously weighted
with bricks of personal problems. The person enjoys solving them, sharing them
with her, and she had to make sure that she eased herself from the role of
having to participate. She was supportive and would watch her friend solve the
problems herself. She cannot stop this behavior, but it has helped Hunnah not to
carry on the relationship with the troubles that the friend has, being almost as
important as the relationship itself.</P>
<P>I have traveled a ways from "to be or not to be well," to "to be or not to be
rude and disruptive" to "to be or not to be tolerant enough to put up with one
more bad show." The point that I am making here is a little more far-reaching
than just this group, and I hope that the readers who read this talk will be
able to glance at some of the relationships they had and see if they cannot
apply some of the wisdom our brother Tomas has offered you.</P>
<P>I hope you will let us know if the party was a success. We have lifted it up,
even unconsciously, and offered it a higher solution and I wish you well.</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> I wish you well.</P><U>
<P>Benefits of Teaching A Man to Fish</P></U><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I will follow up with a reference to our earlier conversation
having to do with teaching a man to fish, that if he is taught to fish, that he
can fish for himself rather than your providing him with fish on a regular basis
and continuing to allow him to be dependent upon you for his very existence.</P>
<P>The similarities are inherent for your role as sister, is to teach your
sibling how to fish and then you will not have to provide her with fish on a
daily basis. I address you here to say that your inclination is to approach
everyone equally as all being spirit indwelt and therefore all inclusive, and I
would ask you to remember that this is not especially a spiritual occasion she
is planning, but one which is inherently filled with merry making and revelry —
surely a dangerous environment for one who is unsure of his footing in the realm
of imbibing.</P>
<P>The success of the party may well hinge upon his not attending, and if he
were indeed not invited, it may be a method that his friends and family in the
spirit could let him know that he would no longer be enabled, that he had begun
to presume upon the divine mercy of their good social graces, to the point where
he himself could learn to begin to fish. That is all.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Tomas, thank you.</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> Thank you. As a matter of fact that's more or less what I did. I
listened to what she had to say and I asked her if these other two individuals
were accurate in what they had to say about the alcoholic's behavior and she
said indeed they were and that she knew that to be true. She seemed a little
more annoyed about them telling her what to do.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> It is certainly an affront to the ideals of your sibling, who has
only the highest motive in having a celebration for her mate and for his beloved
friends. It is irksome indeed that someone should say, by way of an ultimatum,
what they will do that will impact on your ideals. It is indeed troublesome as a
hostess to discover that two or three of your guests are so loathing of another
that they would refuse to attend, that they could not transcend their personal
difficulties to honor the host.</P>
<P>(It is, parenthetically, much the problem that Urantia has today, that the
various sects cannot transcend their differences and give celebratory homage to
the Father of us all rather than say that they will not attend if that other
will be there; it is appalling indeed.)</P>
<P>But she cannot do much in this situation for it is not merely a psychological
twist that she could cleverly and creatively and with spiritual guidance correct
and therefore contribute to the growth of these individuals, because it involves
a serious illness, and I would only ask that it be remembered that it is our
Master's policy to love the sinner and hate the sin, and if the sin of
alcoholism, in this case, has reached a point where it has rendered the sinner
ineffectual or out of control, then it is the better part of valor to accept the
situation as it is today in hope of a better tomorrow.</P><B>
<P>Leah:</B> Thank you very much for your words of wisdom, both of you.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Thank you for being willing to share that. I might add that no
question is a foolish question; no question should be regarded as too
embarrassing for the group. Tomas is especially skilled at taking a question and
lifting it up and making it a valid and useful tool, and we do encourage you to
express it if you have something you would like to have discussed.</P><U>
<P>Objectivity in Social Consciousness</P></U><B>
<P>Anna:</B> Tomas? </P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> Yes.</P><B>
<P>Anna:</B> The last two days I've been in Advocacy for a Welfare Rights
organization and something that I noticed about it is it removed me personally.
I also receive welfare, and I found myself removed from my own problems more in
the last two days than I have been in a long time, looking at it from another
viewpoint. I don't consider it a problem, it's just an observation that I made.
I think subconsciously I felt that I wasn't able to put it into words, and I
don't know how long I'll be able to do that, this advocacy thing, because they
are removing people from the roles, putting them in the work force. I think it's
going to be challenging.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> You have been challenged and true to form you have risen to the
occasion. You have been able to take an objective point of view to what you have
been subjectively experiencing and the new you is expansive and is benefiting of
your understanding of the situation.</P>
<P>It is most unfortunate that the welfare system, as it is understood, was put
into effect, for this kind of dependency is not healthy for individuals. It is a
far greater benefit when the society will help an individual understand who he
is and how he fits into society and then help him find his way in the society,
again, teaching them how to fish and not merely casting them a fish on a regular
basis for this does not solve the problem; it exacerbates the problem because it
has now trained thousands of people to be dependent, and it is necessary, in
order for the human race to evolve, that it begin to look NOT to the government
for subsistence but to the Father and to its own innate resources.</P>
<P>Everyone who has a Thought Adjuster has the ability to find his or her way as
is outlined in the divine plan. I realize that sounds vague and rhetorical, but
it is a truth, and as your world can lift itself up from the quagmire of war and
poverty and disease, it will begin to flourish, it will begin to brandish a
self-sufficiency and self-respect that is powerful!</P>
<P>These individuals who cannot and will not end their regime of presuming upon
mercy will be trodden underfoot. It is in many ways -- and do not marry me to
this remark -- that the difference will be made clear between the animal and the
human being. (One moment.)</P>
<P>I have been admonished that I have ventured far afield of my assignment by my
sociologic diatribe. Remember that I was a sociologist in my human life. As a
cultural anthropologist, these are some of the things that I dealt with and have
found invigorating throughout my entire existence. Indeed, these concepts are
exciting, but they are not necessarily what service I am here to perform.</P>
<P>I am, however, encouraged by your discourses and your thought processes along
these lines, for as you individually begin to develop a social consciousness
through true morality, then your spirit will have questions, your soul will
ponder the latest developments, your heart will throb to the latest expansion,
and this is where I may be of assistant, and NOT in criticizing your history,
for, as we have often pointed out, it has been that way for a reason, but now we
are into Correcting Time and it is exciting to see that these many ills are
indeed coming to the forefront for Correction.</P>
<P>The lesson herein for you, dear Anne, is the advantage of the objective point
of view. The subjective point of view allows you to feel hopelessly enmeshed in
an emotional quagmire wherein there is no relief, but as you can put an
objectivity on your life and circumstances, and indeed on your emotional
reactions to life's experiences, you can begin to see from the farther view. You
can begin to expand your understanding of who you are and how you can be, even
in this "vale of tears."</P>
<P>Well done, and keep up the good work.</P>
<P>One would not suspect from such a quiet Tuesday that so much truth could come
to be placed upon the table. We have had some rotten lemons and we have had some
sweet peaches, and it is coming time for us to close for the evening. Before
Merium and I bid you a gentle good night, however, I will ask: are there any
lingering concerns on your mind or heart?</P><B>
<P>Hunnah:</B> I have a suggestion, Tomas. That we write down our homework from
now on so that we can ... I was going to suggest that we be allowed to lift up
everything that makes us uncomfortable, hurry it to the alter, and ask for a new
definition.</P><B>
<P>TOMAS:</B> I find your suggestion very advantageous. Your intermissions have
long provided us with fodder for our discussions, and as you express and reveal
yourself to others, you also express and reveal yourself to yourself, thereby
gaining greater insight. I like your suggestion, but I will remind you that when
you allow yourself to be vulnerable and place your feelings and thoughts on the
table, on display, you risk judgment from those who forget that they are not
here to judge, and so let us timorously approach that enterprise and see if we
can get into the swing of it. If these matters can be brought to the table in
full understanding that there will not be judgment to bear, then we will have
sincere sharing of the inner life, indeed, and we will have such a marvelous
community of purpose.</P>
<P>Beloved flock, dear friends, and delightful children, we bid you a fond
farewell until we meet again.</P>
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