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<P>DATE:</B> December 2, 2007<BR><B>LOCATION:</B> Rio Rancho, NM, USA
<STRONG><BR></STRONG><B>T/R:</B> Gerdean<BR><B>TEACHER:</B> <B>MERIUM<BR>TOPIC:
The Heart of the Matter </P></B><B>
<P>Prayer</B> (Men-o-Pah): Last year our choir sang this piece and it kind of
colludes to us. We sang it about three or four times, which is kind of unusual
for us. We sang the piece both before and after Easter. The composer of this
piece is Kenneth Medina. Kenneth Medina is black and his life is full of the
spirit. </P>
<P>"Oh, listen to your children praying<BR>Oh, send your spirit into this
place<BR>Oh, listen to your children praying<BR>Send us love, send us power,
send us grace</P>
<P>You gonna know it when the Lord stretches out his hand<BR>And the people of
the Lord get down to pray<BR>You gonna be singing a brand new song of victory in
this land<BR>When the people of the Lord get down to pray</P>
<P>Oh, listen to your children praying<BR>Oh, send your spirit into this
place<BR>Oh, listen to your children playing<BR>Send us love, send us power,
send us grace."</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Amen and thank you, brother Carl/Wayawahili/Men-O-Pah & Co.
for reminding us of his love, his power and his grace in the eyes of this old
Negro spiritual. There is great heart in these words. There is great heart in
the soul of each of you, each of you here today, as well as those of you who
respond to the harmonious patterns from On High which you can use as steps on
the ladder of cosmic ascension, even as we each condescend to climb that ladder
in our individual destiny paths and tasks today. </P>
<P>We got heart. "Ya gotta have heart. Miles and miles and miles of heart." Is
that not the song? Intellectual assurances are invaluable and the spirit is
unfailing, but when you have heart invested in this experience of living the
life, you have added the flavor of fine soup, the aroma of an exotic flower, the
pain of experiential living, and the certain thrill of triumph. These elements
of character are the playing fields upon which we act out our lives and
demonstrate our faith. </P>
<P>We come to a new passage in this season, the winter solstice, into a new
dispensation, a New Year, a new chapter in global history and in personal cycles
of adventure in the flesh. Life is ever ongoing. Always are there opportunities
for you to delve into a new pattern, in the experience of which you can gain
wisdom through trial and error, through practice, by comparison, and in ways
that will augment your existence. </P>
<P>Having heart embraces the human emotions that are also divine, those that are
found in the fruits of the spirit, that are found in courageous loyalty to the
job where people depend on you, courageous loyalty to the new grandchild or the
burgeoning harvest of the future through these new ideas, new concepts, new
children, new technologies, new beliefs that are coming into being -- often more
quickly than we can keep up. </P>
<P>All of these are born upon and live in and through a pattern. Eventually it
becomes easier to discern those patterns in which you emerge a better person in
which you have been able to minister effectively, in which you have garnered
emotional satisfaction, in which others have benefited from your existence, in
ways that reflect supreme values, that encourage exploration and that exalt
reverence in divine values. Heart accepts the pain, the loss, the suffering, the
grief, the unfairness, and rises above it -- rises above all that to manifest
hope and good cheer. </P>
<P>This is the season to be jolly, to behold the birth of the Christ child, in
the eyes of Christendom; a time to celebrate the light; a time to revel in the
experience of joy and appreciation for friends and family, to honor those good
things about one another that we can depend upon and rely upon because they are
an inherent part of the goodness of man, the beauty and the truth of humanity.
</P>
<P>When you have heart, every day is Christmas. Every day is a day to celebrate
the gift of life, the Spirit of Truth, the fact of sonship, the fraternity of
others -- human and divine. We are all embraced in a fairyland of love, a
dimension of goodness, of heart. How lovely to contemplate that you may be
challenged by these words to fulfil the reason for the season and add the
dimension of divine love to your festivities through a revelation of heart --
the heart of God that dwells within you each. Give your gifts as God gives his
gifts: "with love, with power and with grace."</P>
<P>I'll conclude my little talk for the afternoon with that. I will allow a new
pattern to present itself. Perhaps you will help me. We have several options,
but I would like your involvement, your engagement. Do you want to tell me about
what's going on with you? Do you have any challenges, any celebrations, any
questions?</P><B>
<P>Elena: </B>I just wanted to ask about mother, who is going through some
health challenges, so I would be interested to hear any comments about her
situation.</P><B>
<P>Paula:</B> I have called her on occasion recently, but she can't even carry
on a conversation; she gets tired. So I just break it off, and I think she is
relieved.</P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> Well, she's tired.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> I think you've addressed the subject very well. She is tired! And
as you mature, as your body ages, as it also grows weary, it is the opportunity
then to reflect upon the life's experiences past and anticipate the transition
ahead. It becomes more and more of a feature of the lives of the elderly, for in
a way it is what you have lived all your lives to accomplish: "terrestrial
escape!" </P>
<P>It is natural that people should pay attention to this process of changing
from one form to another. Since you know you will take up in Mansonia just where
you leave off here, it behooves you to know where you are <I>here </I>so that
when you arrive <I>there</I> it will not be such a case of culture shock. </P>
<P>Becoming mindful of your relationship with your Adjuster - which is that
which survives; that is the soul; that is what has lasting value -- that being
comprised of the spirit of God and the personality of you -- that marriage,
then, is what you want to build upon for your future existences. </P>
<P>Esmeralda is and has been grappling with her mortality and making peace with
herself for some time. Her pattern, the one that she is familiar with, involves
her own mother living well into her 90's, and so she has a reasonable
expectation that she will do likewise. And she well may, in fact, do just
that!</P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> That's encouraging.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> But she will, even so, experience these steps on the ladder of
experience that will allow her to make the transition when it comes with peace
and grace and not struggling and kicking as so many do, or in complete denial of
what's ahead, as is often the case. And so the best service you can provide for
her and those millions of others who are approaching this next passage in their
life, is to be gentle with them, and allow their sojourn into the next dimension
to be as gracious as possible. </P>
<P>Sometimes death happens suddenly. And those instances, of course, capture our
attention and very likely impress us fearfully. But the actual truth is that
death comes quietly and slowly to most people. It may come through sickness, it
may come from hearts wearing out that cannot be replaced. It may come quietly
and without much ado, such that there are a few who are allowed the dignity of
dying in their sleep. But the truth is, we cannot advance into spirit beings
unless and until we relinquish the material form, and so this is a natural part
of the process. It is a natural and necessary part of life. Let it be a natural
part of learning and experiencing, as well -- not a frightful and fearsome
thing, but a natural and normal part of experiential living. </P>
<P>In time, you will be led to a chamber where your fusion can take place. When
that day comes for your progeny, you on high can rejoice for the strides that
were made and the ways in which you contributed to that evolutionary concept of
death being a time of jubilation and release, a genuine graduation from this
class to the next, a success story, a victory indeed, and not as a time of deep
sorrow or judgment as it is taught and has been taught from time immemorial.
</P>
<P>Leave behind the ghost fears; embrace the Light and walk toward it in
confidence, in hope, in faith that when you approach the door, the Light will
shine. "We'll leave the light on for you!" And when the door opens, He will be
there and He will remember you. What a wonderful feeling that will be. Many of
you look forward to that moment even now. We know He is with you, even now, in
the spirit, but we know, too, that when you see Him, in the Resurrection Halls,
when you awaken to behold your own Adjuster -- the Father, the Son, and the
Spirit -- you will have attained something: you will have survived … in the
eternal sense. </P>
<P>And so all the struggles, all the conflict, all the confusion, all the pain,
all the difficulty, all the sacrifices, all the effort of living life as it is
lived on an evolutionary planet are forgotten in the Light. They are made part
of your experience, your personality experience, and so you take the value with
you into eternity, even as you leave the pain behind. Just as a woman in
childbirth forgets the pain of childbirth in the delight of beholding her
newborn babe. </P>
<P>When you resurrect you will be in many ways like a newborn babe. You will be
overseen and assigned work that is appropriate for your development. You will
have brought much with you. You are gathering your treasures, your experiential
rubies, as you experience your human existence, with all its difficulties but
will also all its joys, mysteries, excitement, discovery and delight -- the
heart, indeed. (Pause) I rambled.</P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> No, I appreciate it. That was comforting, actually. I hadn't
thought about -- when we think about our Thought Adjuster, I don't think about
seeing my Thought Adjuster. I guess from my viewpoint, from my imagination, I
see it as inside of me. "Seeing" him, that was a new look at it, and your words
were very comforting so I appreciate that.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> You might surprise yourself one day to look in the mirror and see
your Adjuster alive and well in your own eyes. It's a mystery.</P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> Well, I'll start looking for him. Looking for different things in
the mirror wouldn't be a bad idea.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Well, if you are to look for the Adjuster in others …</P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> Right.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> … and find their divine aspects, it would make sense that you
would have them within you as well, in order to recognize them elsewhere. And
having survived without your body, without your trappings, without your titles,
property, credit cards, clothing, or mannerisms, who are you? That is the
relationship to cultivate. That relationship with your self, which is divine,
which is along the order of infinity, as compared to that which is temporary.
</P>
<P>Your love of your new grandchild, for example, is reflected in the perfect
moment in time. This moment will never be duplicated. In time, you will admire
your grandchild's school papers and ability to draw or knowledge of the heavens,
even perhaps their skill at sports or ability to make conversation. That is yet
another pattern of reality that is passing and you may not remember them
specifically in eternity, but you will remember how that felt. You will remember
the delight you shared with life and that life shared with you. You will
remember valuing the curiosity spirit, the love of adventure, even while you may
forget the circumstances. Was it grade school? Was it junior high school? Was it
kindergarten or college? Was it my child or was it someone else's? Was it a
human child or was it a midwayer? But the value, nonetheless, remains a part of
your eternal pounding heart. Fear not that you will lose your good memories.
Rejoice that you will not always remember the bad ones. This is an eternal
truth. The good remains; the dross will fall away.</P><B>
<P>Paula:</B> All you young people don't have to worry. Wait 'til you get to be
as old as I am! On February 12, Lincoln and I are having a birthday! I know he
is deader than a doornail, but I am alive and I'm feeling great, and I'm going
to be 89! That's a heck of an age. Nobody lived that long in the family for the
last several generations. Before that, they lived to be 100. I'll live to be 100
but I'm having such a good time, I don't want to give that up.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> You'll have a good time there, too.</P><B>
<P>Paula: </B>I'll bet I will. You meet all kinds of people and I like meeting
people, to find out what they are like.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> You have lived to be 89 because you have good stock, you have a
good attitude, and you have maintained good habits. All of these contribute to
your longevity. The pattern was that you would live much longer than a century,
but there have been some setbacks. Those will be overcome in time and you are
seeing the reparations take place since man lives longer than he did in ages
past, barring those who live to be that ripe old age which is the human
potential. </P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> I wanted to ask you something else, actually. [The question was
inaudible, but it had to do with feeling obligated to support all the many
service organizations that solicit help, particularly for those less fortunate
and particularly at this time of the year.]</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> I think you're on the right track. You know what calls you. You
have a sense of what obligation is and where your loyalties lie. The thing is,
you see, you fall within a certain range of socioeconomic accomplishment, and so
you have given here and given there and so it has been noticed that you are a
giving person and there are people who depend on people like you to support
their ministry.</P>
<P>There is nothing wrong with that except that you are being inundated with the
patterns that have developed since more people are being of service and there
are avenues by which people can be of service and institutions are often able to
do things that individuals are not able to do, such as dealing with other
countries or unfortunates. You don't need to feel responsible for all these
service ministries staying afloat. They know the risks. They have their
aspirations -- both altruistic and not so altruistic, as any human institution
will. But if you mind your counsel and live your life, you will discover those
things to which you personally, willingly want to contribute; you will go out of
your ways to find ways to support that which you feel your heart has responded
to - not your social consciousness, your political awareness or your sentimental
appreciation of life's greatest thoughts. But it is unreasonable to think that
you can contribute to or support all these organizations. For now, throw them
all in the trash. And allow your own awareness to let you know what you want to
support. </P>
<P>If you are taking the rest of the year off, as you said you would do, and
allowing January, even February to be a period of reflection on how you want
your life to emerge, when the thaw comes and sap begins to flow anew through
your veins, you will not clutter your consciousness with these overwhelming
concerns of others. </P>
<P>When you serve, my dear, you are generous. You are and have been a whirlwind
of giving and serving and doing and achieving. You are going to need to learn
how to set some of that aside anyway. You cannot keep up the pace. Eventually
you will recognize what it will take and indeed the sacrifices you will need to
make in order to function more fully in those avenues of life that you will
choose to follow and respect. </P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> Well, that's good advice. I appreciate that. Thank you.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM: </B>You need to learn how to weed the garden and thin out the plants
as they come up, otherwise they will all choke upon itself and your garden will
be a gnarled patch of vegetation without produce. You want to feel effective.
You want that satisfaction of knowing you are doing God's will. You want to know
that what you are doing is right for you, will provide you with soul
satisfactions as well as pragmatic results that are necessary for you at this
time in your life - as you begin to discern for yourself and let go of those
things which can no longer be a consideration in your pursuit of doing those
things which you know you can and will do something about, based on your choice
your own purposive path. </P>
<P>That lesson above serves not just for the solicitors that come along on the
Internet, but all the many well-intentioned people who come along seeking
something from you.</P><B>
<P>Student:</B> [Inaudible]</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> I can see that we are meandering afield. </P><B>
<P>Elena:</B> Before you go, though, what did you mean about changing the
pattern? What were you actually intending … in terms of our meetings.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Well, there is that, too. We can think in terms of the New Year,
if that matters. I know that -- and this is business. I don't know that it needs
transcribed and broadcast, but -- last year Gerdean announced that she wanted to
take the first Sunday of every month to provide stability for a meeting and so
we have done that, and that has been great grounding for Gerdean and evidently
for others as well, but there are modifications that could me made or
adjustments or changes that could also be made that would reflect on those of
you who attend and/or those of you who don't. And so perhaps over supper you can
talk about any changes you might like to make in the new season. </P>
<P>There are many possibilities, beginning with continuing as we are doing,
introducing the occasional Urantia Book study or transcripts of other
communities, an effort for others to learn the transmitting/receiving process,
alternate dates, alternate locations, individual presentations, projects
involving your skills as musicians, and a lot of other possibilities. I know how
you are and how we are. We like a routine, but when it becomes a rut, we need to
change. If we are in a rut, where is it a rut? If it is a routine, as they say,
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it." </P>
<P>There are always those who don't like it this way, or who want change. We
need to hear from these people. We need to appreciate their level of growth so
we can advance spirit reality in our relationships, in our community, in our
culture, in our neighborhood, in our many, many ways and means of relating and
bringing forth the Kingdom … on earth as it is in heaven … as closely as
possible. In this way we lift it up, out of war, out of poverty, out of disease
and into the Light. </P>
<P>Therefore, Light Workers -- my little lightning bugs, 4<SUP>th</SUP> of July
firecrackers and fireplace cedar log pops -- let's make merry and let me know
what you want to do because we'll be around.</P><B>
<P>Group:</B> Good.</P><B>
<P>MERIUM:</B> Bye-bye!</P>
<P></P>
<P> </P>
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