Dave Holt

   There is much discussion on the air waves these days about the state of civilization and the health of our democracies. Harvard professor, Niall Ferguson, wrote his recent book (2011) to accompany the British TV series Civilization, is the West History?  Another recent book, Future, by Al Gore laments the deterioration of the ideals that inspired our nation’s founders.  Occupy Wall Street (OWS) demonstrators in 2011 were motivated by the fear that we were losing our democracy to the rule of big banks and a new wealthy oligarchy.  Jim Wallis, a progressive Christian (founder of Sojourners), advised OWS to “keep asking what a just economy should look like and whom it should be for. They are noble questions.”

   Are we truly in the state of crisis that our news media so frequently proclaims?  There is a passage where The Urantia Book (UB) confirms our present condition to be one of “crisis”:

   “Institutional religion cannot afford inspiration and provide leadership in this impending world-wide social reconstruction and economic reorganization because it has unfortunately become more or less of an organic part of the social order and the economic system which is destined to undergo reconstruction. Only the real religion of personal spiritual experience can function helpfully and creatively in the present crisis of civilization.” (99:2.1, pg. 1087)

   Many believe the UB has been concerned with this urgent situation since publication (1955). Many times, when studying the UB, I feel that it was sent to prevent “the ultimate collapse of a civilization which has abandoned its sense of moral values and has repudiated its spiritual goal of attainment.”(132:1.3, pg. 1457) Even bearing in mind that Jesus was in Rome when he made this observation to Angamon, we must not be blind to the possibility of such a lapse in our own time, even if improved modern communications make it seem not so likely.

   I have approached this topic from two viewpoints (and written two different papers on it). One: a crisis manifesting as a “crash,” will be needed to bring change and spiritual growth, or Two: we can actually plan ahead, implementing progressive methods to preserve the best of what we’ve evolved. I could say that I am still on the fence about which future is ahead of us.

   Many of us over the years have noted the likelihood that the Fifth Epochal revelation is a Melchizedek emergency mission, “Melchizedek Sons function in emergencies.” (90:0.1, pg. 1014) and they had much to do with directing, sponsoring and presenting the UB to our planet.

   If we are concerned today about the ability of our civilization to remain progressive and maintain its high level of attainment, there are further questions to address.  Do we have the kind of leadership waiting in the wings needed to move forward? Are we choosing (electing) these leaders when we find them and are we supporting their ability to work for progressive goals?

   “Old-fashioned war did select the innately great men for leadership, but modern war no longer does this. To discover leaders society must now turn to the conquests of peace: industry, science, and social achievement.” (70:2.16, pg. 786)

   It is not just in the political arena that we need great leaders. In the corporate world we need companies such as David Brooks described in the New York Times, ones that are “more deeply rooted in local communities rather than just free-floating instruments of capital markets.” For this, CEOs with vision and strong moral values are needed.

   The UB itself refers to previous dark interregnums of culture and often repeats its message that civilizations holding on to their spiritual goals and vision of truth are destined to endure rather than those built on materialistic foundations. Just as we ideally try to learn to do God’s will in our individual lives, so are civilizations expected to cherish the goal of God’s will to bring the “kingdom of God” to Urantia if they are to survive.

   Although it is interesting to study the origin and history of civilizations that collapsed, more importantly, let us take a proactive stance and look at our civilization’s destiny. Maybe we can learn what is needed to build a more progressive one beginning with what has been established. The UB provides some guidelines. The list that follows is by no means complete.

   I have left out other factors mentioned in the UB such as “eugenics,” (51:4.8, pg. 585); “military preparedness” (71:4.5, pg. 804); conserving, restoring and efficiently using our natural resource wealth (72:6.7, pg. 814); and other matters. In this article I will concentrate on the last two items in the 12 point list given in paper 71:4.2, Progressive Civilization. Let’s examine the spiritual needs and idealistic roots of our civilization, and methods for nourishing those roots. Whether we express our democratic voice at the ballot box or in protests on street corners, we should all review what the UB recommends to ensure progress:

1. A vision of a God of love (“Love is … the wellspring of superior civilization,” 102:6.3, p. 1124). The people of a civilization must be liberated from fear so that their energies can be devoted to cultural progress.
2. Citizens attentive to a creative inner life where “the advances of true civilization are all born” (111:4.3, p. 1220). The plans we make as religious teachers and leaders must include ideas about how to enhance the creative inner life of our citizens. “The attainment of a high cultural civilization demands first, the ideal type of citizen,” (99:3.4, pg. 1088).
3. The increased study of philosophy, cosmology and divinity to better understand and realize Diety—Truth, Beauty and goodness (56:10.2, p. 646). How do we make these topics attractive to modern people in the age of the un-churched?
4. True religion, the indispensable source of the higher energy needed to establish a superior civilization based on human brotherhood (79:4.9), “The religion of Jesus fosters the highest type of human civilization in that it creates the highest type of spiritual personality and proclaims the sacredness of that person.” (194:3.7, p. 2063)
5. Spiritual idealism, the energy which really uplifts and advances human culture (81:6.27). We must look for idealism in our leadership and nurture its growth. How do we improve the selection of leaders, the character of torch-bearers, so that idealistic leaders have an opportunity to lead? They are needed in the business world as well.
6. Moral values, augmented moral insight (“mutual understanding and fraternal love are transcendent civilizers,” 52:6.7, p. 598)
7. Augmenting a spiritual goal of attainment or, as Jesus said, face “the ultimate collapse of a civilization which has… repudiated its spiritual goal of attainment.” (132:1.3)

   In our time, if a civilization is to be on the vanguard of planetary progress, it must also acquire an ideal of cosmic citizenship in preparation for our inevitable reunification with the family of planets.  I believe our service work should take all these goals into consideration.

   A peaceful, progressive civilization begins at home and in the heart of the individual, therefore let’s be sure we are keeping our own gardens well-watered, cultivated, and fertile, before we try to restore the drought stricken plain of a collapsing civilization.. Are we developing better habits to control negative emotions and manage our anger; better habits of service? Do you see ways in which you can improve your service techniques?

   If one is moved to join demonstrations in the street, do it with a heart full of love, not with anger, offering protest in the spirit of service to the family of humankind, even if progress is going to require the destruction of the old order.

From Interstate 80, you can see the large golden dome perched on the roof. Look closer and you’ll see the white arches over the windows of the beige tiled structure. The Sikh Center looks out over commuters and traffic jams from high up in the hills. As I drive by I think about the waves of prayer rolling out of that building and sweeping across this tortured landscape of materialistic struggle. The prayers speak of a faith based on love, in Punjabi (a language of Northern India), "jin prem keyo tin hee prab paeyo"  - "Only those who have love, will attain God," (Guru Gobind Singh Ji).

The Sikh Center of San Francisco Bay Area, aka Gurdwara Sahib of El Sobrante (Gurdwara is their word for temple) was established May 1979. Sikhism began 500 years ago in India and was founded by Guru Nanak, who preached tolerance in the midst of friction between Islam and Hinduism that arose at the time. Sikhism has grown to become the fifth largest religion in the world. The teachings found at Sikh websites speak of tolerance and equality, and they are attractive to a deeply divided world, http://www.sikhs.org/summary.htm (under the heading “Philosophy and Beliefs.”)

“There is only One God. He is the same God for all people of all religions.”

Sadly, many Americans who perceive the turban of the Sikh mistake him unthinkingly for an Arab Muslim. Since the Trade Center attack of September 11, 2001 male Sikhs have been frequently shot at and harassed.

”The teachers of the religion of Jesus should approach other religions with the recognition of the truths which are held in common (many of which come directly or indirectly from Jesus' message) while they refrain from placing so much emphasis on the differences.” (The UB 149:2.5)

Everyone, Sikh and non-Sikh, is welcome to the regular services held every Wednesday and Sunday at Gurdwara Sahib of El Sobrante (3550 Hillcrest Rd., El Sobrante, CA 94803, (510) 223-9987). The center is open to drop in visitors from 5 AM to 9 PM.  “Langar” or collective eating, where vegetarian food is served, is given every day free of charge to all visitors. Visitors must cover their hair, be sober and have no drugs, alcohol, or tobacco products in their possession. Together with my friend and fellow Examiner reporter, Jannie Dresser, www.examiner.com/poetry-in-san-francisco/jannie-dresser we visited the El Sobrante temple. As required, we removed our shoes to enter the wide open large worship room. I had picked up a scarf to cover my head from a bin just before the entrance. There are no pews, but there are a few benches at the back of the room. Most of the men and women seat themselves on the carpeted floor. If you go, be sure you can handle sitting in this posture for an hour or more.

“While your religion is a matter of personal experience, it is most important that you should be exposed to the knowledge of a vast number of other religious experiences (the diverse interpretations of other and diverse mortals) to the end that you may prevent your religious life from becoming egocentric -- circumscribed, selfish, and unsocial.” (The UB, 103:1.3, pg. 1130)

Only the goodness of God is real. This is what I imagined was said in the prayers although they were all spoken in Punjabi. Sikhism preaches that people of different races, religions, or sex are all equal in the eyes of God. It teaches the full equality of men and women. Women can participate in any religious function or perform any Sikh ceremony or lead the congregation in prayer. I was glad to hear of this teaching though I did not see it happening in practice the evening I visited. But at least the ideal has been established.  

“Just as there is fragrance in the flower, and reflection in a mirror, so similarly God lives within us. Search for Him in your heart!” (Adi Granth, the first Sikh scripture)

As I sat meditating, a smell of sweet food cooking arose in the room right behind me. I opened my eyes to look and saw the “cantor” stirring something in a bowl. He motioned to me to dip my hand in the bowl just as the other worshipers were doing when they left the room. It was a sticky brown confection. I was directed by his hand signals to place it in a napkin. After I left the room, I saw a man nearby who appeared to be eating the mixture. “Do I eat this?” I asked. He said yes, and as we relaxed into easy conversation, this brilliant young man eventually answered all my other numerous questions about the center’s practices.

“There must occur an exchange of national and racial literature. Each race must become familiar with the thought of all races; each nation must know the feelings of all nations.” (The Urantia Book [UB], 52:6.4)

I made a new Sikh friend that night. He said helping others follow their path of choice is important in Sikhism and he was happy to meet someone like myself who explored various spiritual paths. We both wished there were more truth seekers in our communities who explored outside their own religious groups. It would be a good beginning toward achieving unity, a spiritual brotherhood, between the different faiths of the world.

“Just as certainly as men share their religious beliefs, they create a religious group of some sort which eventually creates common goals. Someday religionists will get together and actually effect co-operation on the basis of unity of ideals and purposes rather than attempting to do so on the basis of psychological opinions and theological beliefs. Goals rather than creeds should unify religionists. Since true religion is a matter of personal spiritual experience, it is inevitable that each individual religionist must have his own and personal interpretation of the realization of that spiritual experience. Let the term “faith” stand for the individual’s relation to God rather than for the creedal formulation of what some group of mortals have been able to agree upon as a common religious attitude. ” (The UB 99:5.7)

   “No one uses words like ‘virtue’ anymore, Father Joe,” author Tony Hendra said to the monk who became his true father. He recorded this conversation in his memoir, Father Joe (2002).

   In our youth, we associated the word virtue with sexual purity and abstinence. It may have been because when we were boys and girls growing up the virtue of chastity was drilled into us by our parents. They wanted to help us stay out of trouble. As teenagers we were often sensitive to the damage caused by an unwanted pregnancy, especially if there was someone in our class who did not escape the terrible trials of lost virtue.

   I was out of high school when I became more aware of the meaning of virtue in the classic sense. “Socrates and his successors, Plato and Aristotle, taught that virtue is knowledge. (98:2.6, pg. 1079)” I have mentioned before that the Urantia Book (UB) strives to improve and upstep our language. In Paper 16:7.6 (pg. 193), Morals, Virtue and Personality, the authors set out to rehabilitate the word virtue, to restore the forgotten meaning.

   “Virtue is righteousness—conformity with the cosmos,” is the UB definition extending it far beyond the Greek idea, “virtue is knowledge.” I was somewhat perplexed by it as I’d never seen such a meaning attributed to the word before. It’s amusing to look back now and recall the narrower meaning we thought it had as kids.

   The Buddha’s teachings of mindfulness also help me further understand the value of learning courage and self-discipline to achieve self-mastery. Virtue always meant work of some kind but this was more the kind of work virtue entailed. Making decisions: we have free will to make decisions for good or evil. Choosing the good is up to our well-honed judgments and informed actions.

   In my studies of the American Indian medicine wheel and its re-occurrence in Jungian psychology (also used by Robert Bly in his poetic theory), I realized how the four directions of the medicine wheel depicted the self-correcting balance mechanism of all creation. “Morality, virtue is indigenous to human personality (16:7.1).” When our behavior tips out of balance, we can draw on elements from our psyche that will put it back in place. Carl Jung emphasized the value of our “unconscious” resources. The medicine wheel is therefore often used as a therapeutic tool in crisis or drug counseling centers to help patients develop an awareness of their own inherent healing resources.

   In guiding ourselves to the choice of using the medicine wheel concept to achieve mental health, we are actually choosing to align ourselves with cosmic reality. The wheel depicts what the Universal Father has already set in place as part of “human mind endowment (16:7.1).” Morality is inherent to creation, to the universe’s structure. The Father, Creator, provided us with a moral universe. Through our decisions we align ourselves with such a creation, accepting correction, even chastisement, when we are out of balance. We also refer to this as choosing to do God’s will, “and such choosing ability is evidence of the possession of a moral nature (16:7.6).” By faith, we take possession, ownership of the gift we were given.

   If you are Buddhist, you turn the wheel of dharma in the same way, creating good karma by living in balance and obeying the universal law of the dharma, “that which supports,” “all things and events are part of an indivisible whole.”

   Here is the UB quote in full: 

   “Virtue is righteousness—conformity with the cosmos. To name virtues is not to define them, but to live them is to know them. Virtue is not mere knowledge nor yet wisdom but rather the reality of progressive experience in the attainment of ascending levels of cosmic achievement. In the day-by-day life of mortal man, virtue is realized by the consistent choosing of good rather than evil, and such choosing ability is evidence of the possession of a moral nature.” (16:7.6)

   God does not expect us to be perfectly virtuous upon discovering it, but to make progress in our attainment. Decisions and action, completion of decisions, are essential.

 “God the Father deals with man his child on the basis, not of actual virtue or worthiness, but in recognition of the child's motivation—the creature purpose and intent. The relationship is one of parent-child association and is actuated by divine love.” (103:4.5, pg. 1133) And this is what Jesus came to earth to reveal about the Father’s nature and his moral universe.

What is “spiritual journaling?” You may have heard of it. There are even products available you can buy to learn how to do it. One reputable site that offers guidance without trying to sell you something is http://therapyinphiladelphia.com/selfhelp/tips/keeping_a_spiritual_journal/. A wise teacher and healer, Dr. Ernest F. Pecci, also a former lecturer at John F. Kennedy University here in Walnut Creek, California, provided a six step approach in his wonderful book, Guidance from Within-You can Have a Conversation With God. In teaching the new holistic discipline of Integrative Psychology, Pecci combined the results of his psychiatric treatment methodology with spiritual teachings. He connected the mental anguish and suffering of his patients to their unfulfilled spiritual needs and desires. Keeping a journal of their psychological and spiritual progress was a routine he frequently recommended to them. There are many possible ways of spiritual journaling; most people are able to evolve their own with a little outside help.

We writers, poets and journalists are accustomed to keeping notebooks or journals to capture ideas, themes we want to explore, metaphors, insights etc., and these notes become a source for our articles, prose and poem pieces. Although I had not heard anyone recommend before the writing of a journal for therapeutic purposes, it immediately struck me as a great idea. In reality I’d already been doing it for years, unconsciously at times. On those occasions when you are gripped by anger, hate, or fear, it is helpful to write through the experience, working out your feelings in the process, including a note of what healed the conflict, a prayer or meditation that helped with the negative emotions.

One of the things Pecci’s patients were asked to record was a list of the resistances they felt to having a conversation with God or “the Helper,” (p. 51) a term Pecci uses, which he states is equivalent to the “Holy Spirit.” What reasons could they give for their resistance to listening to the “still small voice within”? Many thought God was too high up and remote in his perfect goodness, removed from evil, to be a source of wisdom and hope they could contact. Many did not esteem themselves worthy of talking with God.  Shame often causes people to retreat from the intimacy of relationship.

“The Father desires all his creatures to be in personal communion with him … Therefore settle in your philosophy now and forever: To each of you and to all of us, God is approachable, the Father is attainable, the way is open; the forces of divine love and the ways and means of divine administration are all interlocked in an effort to facilitate the advancement of every worthy intelligence of every universe to the Paradise presence of the Universal Father.” (UB 5:1.8)

Pecci devotes a whole chapter to the fear of love that affected most of his patients. Such fear needed to be overcome in order for them to be healed.  “The love of God strikingly portrays the transcendent value of each will creature, unmistakably reveals the high value which the Universal Father has placed upon each and every one of his children … (UB 12:7.9)

One process I discovered in myself by writing it down in my journal was a behavior that happened when I felt insecure or fearful about a public appearance, or an important meeting. This recurring fear caused me to withdraw into myself. There I built a safe fortress, strong walls to hide behind. It is a trait I learned within my family system. Because the fears of the children were minimized or even belittled when feelings of weakness were confessed, the children trained themselves to be stoical, to never show their vulnerability. Ideally, our loved ones should create a safe place with each other where anxieties can be discussed and voiced out loud. “Being sensitive and responsive to human need creates genuine and lasting happiness, while such kindly attitudes safeguard the soul from the destructive influences of anger, hate, and suspicion.” (UB 140:5.16)

From journaling my feelings, I learned to see that creating a stone wall of cold unresponsiveness as protection was precisely the wrong thing to do in new situations I was insecure with. I learned to pray for strength and insight into the situation so I could take down the wall, and go through the experience with an open friendly demeanor. I wrote down in my spiritual journal the essence of the prayers I made. If while in meditation I found a symbol that gave me strength, I noted that as well. Almost always I noticed that my prayers and meditations helped.

Pecci believes our institutions neglect “to teach our young how to examine and change their thinking patterns,” (p. 161)  One way to do this, he recommends, is to “quiet the thinking area” altogether, allowing a space for spiritual wisdom from the “Higher Self” to enter our minds. This is precisely one of the goals of spiritual meditation that is taught in Eastern traditions, and echoed in the Urantia Book. Pecci’s method of spiritual journaling and his healing practice successfully blended the wisdom of the east with the psychological knowledge of the west.  The youth of the modern world need this more than ever before. 

   This week the two Abrahamic faiths of Judaism and Christianity celebrate the liturgical feast of Pentecost, which falls on the ancient Jewish holiday festival called the "feast of weeks" or Shavuot (Exodus 34:22; Deuteronomy 16:10). This date is called Pentecost because it takes place &ldquoldquo;fifty” days after the major Jewish festival of Passover. Shavuot is the second of the three harvest feasts. Most Christian believers know little of the significance of Pentecost, Shavuot, for the Jewish people.

   In Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit descended upon certain people for a specific service, and then departed after the purpose was accomplished (cf. 1 Samuel 16:13-14; Ps. 51:11). At Jesus' baptism, the Spirit descended on him like a dove so the disciples fully experienced the ministry of what they understood to be the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.

   In the gospel of John 14:17, some think Jesus declared that from now on the Holy Spirit would not just assist them but be in them. "He abides with you and will be in you." This scripture suggests a permanent, uninterrupted residence--something that wasn’t emphasized in Old Testament times. The Lord promised a spiritual indweller in Ezekiel 37:14 as the prophet recorded, "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life."

   The prophet was probably being assured of the gift of an indwelling spirit that we know in the UB as the Thought Adjuster, the “Spirit of the Father,” distinct from the Holy Spirit of the Trinity. This same promise was confirmed by Jesus and taught to the Christian community in Luke’s gospel, “the kingdom of God is within you.”

   The Urantia Book (UB) provides more of what Jesus told his apostles: “In just a few hours the world will see me no more; but you will continue to know me in your hearts even until I send you this new teacher, the Spirit of Truth. As I have lived with you in person, then shall I live in you; I shall be one with your personal experience in the spirit kingdom. And when this has come to pass, you shall surely know that I am in the Father, and that, while your life is hid with the Father in me, I am also in you. (180:4.2)

The Comforter, a New Bestowal of Spirit

   Jesus is quoted in the Bible as saying the Spirit he is sending at the time of his death and ascension is “another Helper.” He refers to its role in another passage as “the Comforter,” or the “Spirit of Truth.” Plainly he was promising that an additional spiritual influence would be bestowed on the world. Many scholars have pointed out that scriptures show we were “anointed” with both a Spirit of the Father and a Spirit of the Son. Passages in New Testament scriptures (such as Galatians 4:6), reveal that Jesus sent a Spirit “of the Son,” and this sparked the controversy that created a schism between Western and Eastern Orthodox sects for over a thousand years.  In the UB, this is confirmed in Jesus’s own words, “And when this new day comes, you will be indwelt by the Son as well as by the Father.” (180:4.3)

   In recognizing this truth, we are stunned by the generous outpouring of fatherly love. Since the day of Pentecost we live with the help and guidance of several coordinated spirit influences. In addition to the spirit presences that were bestowed or sent is the “Holy Spirit” of the Creative Mother Spirit, and the original “person” of the Trinity, “The Infinite Spirit” that has existed since the beginnings of eternity. Logically speaking, new readers should realize that God the Father would not send a spirit entity in Jesus’ time that was already sent in the times of Ezekiel. Clearly we need philosophic logic to sort out what we are witnessing in the texts and the UB has come across with a big dollop of it along with added information. It is important to help new readers adopt an objective distance from the “sacredness” of their traditional texts if we are to do the necessary sorting. There are exciting discoveries ahead for us and all new UB readers as we seek partnership with these spirit presences!

   Jesus sought to reassure his followers with his message saying: “But the helper … whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.” (John 14:26) “When he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he shall eventually guide you into all truth as you pass through the many abodes in my Father’s universe.” (UB 180:6.3, John 16.13). This is the Comforter he spoke of who would bring comfort to his bereaved and lonely followers.

The Energizing Experience at the Spirit of the Son’s Arrival

   Pentecost was the experience of a new found energy and fire that sent the apostles into the streets and synagogues to preach the glad tidings, as first described in our biblical tradition in the Acts of the Apostles. It so empowered their preaching that they brought thousands of souls to be baptised on that day. Both Jews and Gentiles participated in Pentecost. There was no Christian Church yet. Although traditional Christians claim the Spirit of Truth was only given to the Church, enlightened Christians understand that it was given to all who believed in truth.

   In reality, it is an influence felt by all who believe in the truth of the message Jesus taught. The writer at http://barnes.biblecommenter.com/john/16.htm has an enlightened perspective that differs from other Christian commentators, understanding that the Spirit of Truth’s presence is available to all peoples. “While on the earth the Lord Jesus could be bodily present but in one place at one time. Yet, in order to secure the great design of saving men, it was needful that there should be some agent who could be in all places, who could attend all ministers, and who could, at the same time, apply the work of Christ to people in all parts of the earth.”

   This is what excites American Indian Christians, at least those familiar with the deeper meanings of the story. Pentecost gave those who love truth all around the world access to the gift of his presence that Jesus bestowed on that day. American Indian believers thus feel they were able to experience "the Christ" at the same time as Jews and Gentiles in Jerusalem were and can continue to experience him.  This part of Pentecost was so exciting to the Lakota American Indian pastor and theologian, Richard Twiss, that he was teaching his followers this truth before he passed away in February of this year. See the website, http://www.wiconi.com/?cid=1276

   What we all were given is a friend who will share the difficult path. The Jewish prophet Joel foresaw the gift in Joel 2: 28-30, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth.” 

   May we all walk in beauty. 

On Tuesday, April 16, the city of Alameda's Poet Laureate, Mary Rudge, and the Alameda Multicultural Community Center celebrated National Poetry Month with their 2013 Alameda Student Poetry Reading.  I was privileged to serve as one of the four judges for the high school entries. There were also middle school and elementary school poets submitting their best work and receiving awards. Our group had to work hard in making the right selections. For us, it was a wonderful, inspiring event. 

The students read their work for an enthusiastic crowd who heard some great poetry from these young authors. In our role as judges, we were also given time to present our work to the audience. I read "It's About the Joy That is Missing," to the kids, parents, teachers, and fellow poets who were present.

It’s About the Joy That is Missing

Listen and learn;

love in return.

Your position is clear

so have no fear.

Just be assured

when vision is blurred

what the spirits will say

is the best way to fight

for what’s right; stay guided

by God’s pilot light.

You might get roughed up;

things get tough but

trust the Spirit’s

word when you hear it.

This mocking futility,

these days of cruelty,

my own thoughts fool me;

no use having a GPS,

won’t help with this distress

-ful mess, and feeling dismay

there just ain’t no way.

Hey … Universe gonna hold me.

Embrace and enfold me,

I got a road map to the goal

close the gap up in my soul.

Take it from me, friends,

I believe, for you, for us, this route

can be trusted, it’s a must—

see, we’re stardust,

Creator’s belov-ed.

    “If the Christian church would only dare to espouse the Master's program, thousands of apparently indifferent youths would rush forward to enlist in such a spiritual undertaking, and they would not hesitate to go all the way through with this great adventure.” (Urantia Book, 195:10.10, pg. 2085)

   Note that this challenge in the Urantia Book (UB) is given to the Christian church. If Christianity has shirked the task so far, can we as UB readers and teachers take up the “dare” and do better? What can we share, teach or impart that might inspire the youth of our world to rush to sign up for the Master’s program?

   “The call to the adventure of building a new and transformed human society by means of the spiritual rebirth of Jesus' brotherhood of the kingdom should thrill all who believe in him as men have not been stirred since the days when they walked about on earth as his companions in the flesh.” (195:10.6, pg. 2084)

   There are obstacles. In many cases, we find the ears of youth (as well as adults) closed to such an appeal. Why?

   “Civilization can hardly progress when the majority of the youth of any generation devote their interests and energies to the materialistic pursuits of the sensory or outer world.” (111:4.3, pg. 1220)

   If we try to make the Master’s program available, do we present Jesus as an example to follow?

   “He did not come down to live on Urantia as the perfect and detailed example for any child or adult, any man or woman, in that age or any other. True it is, indeed, that in his full, rich, beautiful, and noble life we may all find much that is exquisitely exemplary, divinely inspiring, but this is because he lived a true and genuinely human life. Jesus did not live his life on earth in order to set an example for all other human beings to copy. … as he lived his mortal life in his day and as he was, so did he thereby set the example for all of us thus to live our lives in our day and as we are. You may not aspire to live his life, but you can resolve to live your lives even as, and by the same means that, he lived his. Jesus may not be the technical and detailed example for all the mortals of all ages on all the realms of this local universe, but he is everlastingly the inspiration and guide of all Paradise pilgrims from the worlds of initial ascension …” (129:4.7, pg. 1426), a guide to living a true and genuine human life.

   “It should not be the aim of kingdom believers literally to imitate the outward life of Jesus in the flesh but rather to share his faith; to trust God as he trusted God and to believe in men as he believed in men.” (196:1.5, pg. 2091)

   To effectively present the Master’s program, what should our action plan look like?

“…action, completion of decisions, is essential to the evolutionary attainment of consciousness of progressive kinship with the cosmic actuality of the Supreme Being.” (110:6.17, pg. 1211)

   There are no limitations to the ways the Master’s program can be expressed, taught, and followed:

   “… the will of God can be done in any earthly occupation. Some callings are not holy and others secular. All things are sacred in the lives of those who are spirit led; that is, subordinated to truth, ennobled by love, dominated by mercy, and restrained by fairness—justice.” (155:6.11, pg. 1732)

   Courage and faithful devotion are essential even if these qualities need to be learned and acquired. Consider Jesus’s speech to Fortune, “The Young Man Who Was Afraid.” All of Paper 130, section 6, was preserved for young people to hear throughout the ages, an appeal they are likely to respond to. It is the Master’s program in his very own words:

   “You may be surrounded with small enemies and be retarded by many obstacles, but the big things and the real things of this world and the universe are on your side. The sun rises every morning to salute you just as it does the most powerful and prosperous man on earth. … You are trying to run away from your unhappy self, but it cannot be done. You and your problems of living are real; you cannot escape them as long as you live. But look again, your mind is clear and capable. Your strong body has an intelligent mind to direct it. Set your mind at work to solve its problems; teach your intellect to work for you; refuse longer to be dominated by fear like an unthinking animal. Your mind should be your courageous ally in the solution of your life problems rather than your being, as you have been, its abject fear-slave and the bond-servant of depression and defeat. But most valuable of all, your potential of real achievement is the spirit which lives within you …

   "This day, my son, you are to be reborn, re-established as a man of faith, courage, and devoted service to man, for God's sake. And when you become so readjusted to life within yourself, you become likewise readjusted to the universe; you have been born again—born of the spirit—and henceforth will your whole life become one of victorious accomplishment. Trouble will invigorate you; disappointment will spur you on; difficulties will challenge you; and obstacles will stimulate you.” (130:6.3-4, pg. 1437)

   Jesus was clear about his purpose: “I have come into the world to proclaim spiritual liberty to the end that mortals may be empowered to live individual lives of originality and freedom before God.” (141:5.1, pg. )

   Therefore to empower modern youth, our approach to the Master’s program should foster mental expansion, creative imagination, higher levels of self-understanding, and faith urges to identify and commune with the indwelling presence of the Father’s spirit.

   The ultimate goal of the program must be to achieve the chief purpose of all human struggling:

   “Fatherly love has singleness of purpose, and it always looks for the best in man; that is the attitude of a true parent.” He instructed his followers “… in the realization of the chief purpose of all human struggling … to love with a fatherly as well as a brotherly affection.” (140:5.12-16, pg. 1575)

    “If the Christian church would only dare to espouse the Master's program, thousands of apparently indifferent youths would rush forward to enlist in such a spiritual undertaking, and they would not hesitate to go all the way through with this great adventure.” (Urantia Book, 195:10.10, pg. 2085)

   Note that this challenge in the Urantia Book (UB) is given to the Christian church. If Christianity has shirked the task so far, can we as UB readers and teachers take up the “dare” and do better? What can we share, teach or impart that might inspire the youth of our world to rush to sign up for the Master’s program?

   “The call to the adventure of building a new and transformed human society by means of the spiritual rebirth of Jesus' brotherhood of the kingdom should thrill all who believe in him as men have not been stirred since the days when they walked about on earth as his companions in the flesh.” (195:10.6, pg. 2084)

   There are obstacles. In many cases, we find the ears of youth (as well as adults) closed to such an appeal. Why?

   “Civilization can hardly progress when the majority of the youth of any generation devote their interests and energies to the materialistic pursuits of the sensory or outer world.” (111:4.3, pg. 1220)

   If we try to make the Master’s program available, do we present Jesus as an example to follow?

   “He did not come down to live on Urantia as the perfect and detailed example for any child or adult, any man or woman, in that age or any other. True it is, indeed, that in his full, rich, beautiful, and noble life we may all find much that is exquisitely exemplary, divinely inspiring, but this is because he lived a true and genuinely human life. Jesus did not live his life on earth in order to set an example for all other human beings to copy. … as he lived his mortal life in his day and as he was, so did he thereby set the example for all of us thus to live our lives in our day and as we are. You may not aspire to live his life, but you can resolve to live your lives even as, and by the same means that, he lived his. Jesus may not be the technical and detailed example for all the mortals of all ages on all the realms of this local universe, but he is everlastingly the inspiration and guide of all Paradise pilgrims from the worlds of initial ascension …” (129:4.7, pg. 1426), a guide to living a true and genuine human life.

   “It should not be the aim of kingdom believers literally to imitate the outward life of Jesus in the flesh but rather to share his faith; to trust God as he trusted God and to believe in men as he believed in men.” (196:1.5, pg. 2091)

   To effectively present the Master’s program, what should our action plan look like?

“…action, completion of decisions, is essential to the evolutionary attainment of consciousness of progressive kinship with the cosmic actuality of the Supreme Being.” (110:6.17, pg. 1211)

   There are no limitations to the ways the Master’s program can be expressed, taught, and followed:

   “… the will of God can be done in any earthly occupation. Some callings are not holy and others secular. All things are sacred in the lives of those who are spirit led; that is, subordinated to truth, ennobled by love, dominated by mercy, and restrained by fairness—justice.” (155:6.11, pg. 1732)

   Courage and faithful devotion are essential even if these qualities need to be learned and acquired. Consider Jesus’s speech to Fortune, “The Young Man Who Was Afraid.” All of Paper 130, section 6, was preserved for young people to hear throughout the ages, an appeal they are likely to respond to. It is the Master’s program in his very own words:

   “You may be surrounded with small enemies and be retarded by many obstacles, but the big things and the real things of this world and the universe are on your side. The sun rises every morning to salute you just as it does the most powerful and prosperous man on earth. … You are trying to run away from your unhappy self, but it cannot be done. You and your problems of living are real; you cannot escape them as long as you live. But look again, your mind is clear and capable. Your strong body has an intelligent mind to direct it. Set your mind at work to solve its problems; teach your intellect to work for you; refuse longer to be dominated by fear like an unthinking animal. Your mind should be your courageous ally in the solution of your life problems rather than your being, as you have been, its abject fear-slave and the bond-servant of depression and defeat. But most valuable of all, your potential of real achievement is the spirit which lives within you …

   "This day, my son, you are to be reborn, re-established as a man of faith, courage, and devoted service to man, for God's sake. And when you become so readjusted to life within yourself, you become likewise readjusted to the universe; you have been born again—born of the spirit—and henceforth will your whole life become one of victorious accomplishment. Trouble will invigorate you; disappointment will spur you on; difficulties will challenge you; and obstacles will stimulate you.” (130:6.3-4, pg. 1437)

   Jesus was clear about his purpose: “I have come into the world to proclaim spiritual liberty to the end that mortals may be empowered to live individual lives of originality and freedom before God.” (141:5.1, pg. )

   Therefore to empower modern youth, our approach to the Master’s program should foster mental expansion, creative imagination, higher levels of self-understanding, and faith urges to identify and commune with the indwelling presence of the Father’s spirit.

   The ultimate goal of the program must be to achieve the chief purpose of all human struggling:

   “Fatherly love has singleness of purpose, and it always looks for the best in man; that is the attitude of a true parent.” He instructed his followers “… in the realization of the chief purpose of all human struggling … to love with a fatherly as well as a brotherly affection.” (140:5.12-16, pg. 1575)

   This is a brave and wonderfully written book by William P. Young, a graduate in Religion from Warner Pacific College, Portland OR. Although “The Shack” is a great contemporary presentation of the Trinity concept, God in three persons, it may disappoint Urantia Book (UB) readers that Mr. Young’s version still portrays Jesus as the Son in the Holy Trinity. The UB is careful to distinguish between Jesus/Michael as the Creator Son of the local universe of Nebadon, and the Eternal Son, 2^nd person of the Paradise Trinity of the Central Universe of universes. I realize that it may be a long time before this UB depiction finds acceptance among world religions.

   The story follows Mackenzie “Mack” Philips journey through the crippling pain caused by his youngest daughter’s abduction. He finds eventual redemption from the anger and bitterness of the loss. This book has some important things to say to people who wonder why bad things happen to good people, and who ask the question how can God allow evil and suffering? “Don’t ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will lead you to false notions about me.” (p. 185)

   In spite of philosophic differences about the Trinity and how the will of God is discerned in our lives, I was quite swept off my feet by the powerful and uplifting messages in this story. “It is not the nature of love to force a relationship but it is the nature of love to open the way (p. 192).” Again on pg. 198, “Don’t just look for rules and principles, look for relationship—a way of coming to be with us.”

    Here is an excerpt from the review of  William Young’s new book, “Cross Roads,” that was published in Maclean’s, Canada’s news magazine last month. 

Author of ‘The Shack’ is back with a New Novel, Cross Roads

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/01/21/breaking-out-of-the-shack/

   When one of the world’s best selling novelists dropped by a deserted strip mall in suburban Toronto recently, he was unperturbed to find just four people waiting for him in a Christian bookstore. As long as there is anyone at all to hug—as he does with everyone he meets—and to share stories with, William Paul Young is more than content. Story is everything for Young: the personal tale of childhood pain, adult brokenness and spiritual healing he poured five years ago into The Shack; the story of that novel’s astonishing explosion from 15 copies printed at a Kinko’s to 18 million copies sold worldwide; and the 100,000 stories he has collected from readers. He doesn’t even mind that the people he meets barely spare a word for Cross Roads, the new novel he is—in theory—promoting.  …

   Young, 57, never used to find God and his ways funny, or have much to laugh about at all. Born in Grande Prairie, Alta., but raised by his missionary parents in Dutch New Guinea, Young was sexually abused by some of his parents’ congregants, and again later, at a Christian boarding school. As an adult, Young kept his past and his feelings of shame and worthlessness secret, bundling it all into his metaphorical shack, “the place we make to hide all our crap.” Until, at 38, the crisis came, when Young’s wife, Kim, discovered his affair with one of her best friends. He realized he couldn’t hide any longer and had to somehow restore his relationships with Kim, with God and with himself.

   It took him 11 years, but he managed. And he created Mack, The Shack’s protagonist, whose five-year-old daughter, Missy, was murdered. Years later, Mack, as angry and despairing as Young had been, finds a note in his mailbox—a note from God—inviting him back to the wilderness shack where Missy died. He’s greeted at the door by God, in the guise of a plump, middle-aged black woman incongruously known as Papa. Mack soon meets the rest of an unusual Holy Trinity: a sawdust-covered, olive-skinned Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, an Asian woman called Sarayu. Together, enveloping him in their loving relationship, they heal Mack.

   Some Christian leaders reacted favourably. … Many more doctrinaire Christians, however, were outraged by Young’s “ungendered” Trinity and by what they saw as New Age taint. “My own mother slammed the book shut when Papa opened the shack door,” laughs Young, “and immediately phoned my sister: ‘Debby, he really is a heretic!’ ” But the response of ordinary Christians was viscerally positive.

   Young’s personal shack was an evil place, but not the one two readers showed him in photos at a Midwestern book signing. The grief-ravaged couple, who had lost their daughter to a drunk driver, were on an aimless road trip when they saw it, a building standing alone in a field, sporting a sign reading “the Shack.” Intrigued, they went in to find a yellow legal pad with the instruction to “Take what you need,” and two worn copies of The Shack. The wife did take one; “it saved my life,” she tearfully told Young. The Shack has brought him a lot, including wealth enough to support his family—he had been working three jobs—and to build a house for a Honduran orphanage, a school in Uganda and to fund several charities in Portland, near his Oregon home—but none he treasures as much as those 100,000 stories. (Brian Bethune)

   “The great achievement of mortal life is the attainment of a true and understanding consecration to the eternal aims of the divine spirit who waits and works within your mind.” (Urantia Book [UB], p. 1206; 110:3.4)

   It is interesting how a few key phrases out of a great heft of scripture can stay with you, like the one I quote above that became a useful guide to my own day to day living. Of the many teachings we encounter in our best loved spiritual books, perhaps only a handful become truly motivational, an “emotionally activated knowledge.” (UB, p. 1090, 99:4.5)

   My mind, at times, is on the hamster wheel of success. Am I succeeding? Did I succeed? What was it in me that prevented me from succeeding? In such moments, the mind often never stops to inquire more deeply: what is success? What do I truly want to succeed at?

   Section two of the same Paper 110 features this opening remark, “When Thought Adjusters indwell human minds, they bring with them the model careers, the ideal lives… for the intellectual and spiritual development of their human subjects. (p. 1204, 110:2)”

   Thus we find the ideas of “career” and “achievement,” deliberately connected in the same paper about our indwelling divine helpers. By the time I first read these UB passages in the late seventies, I was certain the UB authors were not using the terms career and achievement in the same conventional sense employed by career counsellors at our community colleges. In another paper, they point out that the Thought Adjuster’s mission “chiefly concerns the future life, not this life,” (p. 1191, 108:5.5), so I understood that we are cautioned not to apply these ideas too rigorously to earth careers.

   If you have departed widely from the ideal model career, whatever you believe it may have been, we learn that our Adjusters “adapt, modify, and substitute in accordance with circumstances.” (pg. 1183, 107:7.3)

   The motivation to achieve is likely to fire up an average American in our modern society. I believe the U.S. is more achievement oriented than other societies historically. I know that it’s a driver and a lure for those who emigrate to the West. They come to America with high expectations of achieving their dreams (usually economic).

   The true, or “great achievement” that I aspired to certainly seemed elusive in my experience. At times I found Thomas Edison’s famous quote reassuring: “I have not failed. I’ve just found another one of the ten thousand ways that won’t work.”

   To counterbalance an instinctive aggression to achieve, we must develop mechanisms to deal with failure, loss, and unexpected change. Much of spiritual life requires dealing gracefully with disappointment and the failure to be materially rewarded. We get an archangel’s advice early on in our reading of the Urantia Book, “You will learn that you increase your burdens and decrease the likelihood of success by taking yourself too seriously.” (48:6.7, p. 555)

   Eventually, we are motivated to learn about service to others, rather than to solely cherish our own goals.

   In Sidon, Jesus spoke forthrightly about achievement and he set a higher bar for his followers, asking them “to strive for the attainment of the full stature of divine sonship in the communion of the spirit and in the fellowship of believers.” (156:2.6, p. 1736)

   In section five of Paper 156, more clues concerning the “universe expansion of your career,” are offered when he further advises his followers to, “lighten your burdens of soul by speedily acquiring a long-distance view of your destiny.”

   Jesus was by that time dropping low in the polls. He would’ve been considered by the ordinary Jewish citizens of his day to be at the bottom of the social ladder, even a criminal by some. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he fled Galilee pursued by King Herod’s soldiers.

   The quote I used at the beginning of this article is from Paper 110, Relation of Adjusters to Individual Mortals, (page 1206). I memorized it so I could use it as a mantra in my meditations. For me it was a clear answer I’d been seeking throughout my life to that point. It became a window into an end to the struggle and confusion of my younger years, a new start at what true and noble achievements might look like.