Iruka071893JoyInLive_Grace_Angels SavedYourLives

Group: USA-California?

Teacher: IRUKA

Lessons: Joy In Life

Grace

Fear In TR’ing

Angels have saved your lives in this group

July 18, 1993

Iruka: The love of God surrounds you, the light of God enfolds you, the power of God protects you, wherever you are He is. Good afternoon my friends I am Iruka, I am your friend and teacher. Today I am glad to be here. It is such a lovely summer day, bright and clear and no humidity. I am becoming sensitive to what you are becoming sensitive to and that is the humidity, and so I appreciate this day in even a greater way than before. Last week I asked you to see the joy in your life, and I know that you did. You made a very good beginning, but there is even more joy than what you found, even more love and beauty and grace. I wish you to grow your consciousness to the point where you can see it all around you, everywhere. Even in bad situations you can look above and appreciate the Father's love.

Today I would like to talk about grace in a very limited way. This grace that the Father gives you in terms of forgiveness, in terms of allowing what you did or have done and that it is OK. A very simple example would be; when you see a car in front of you barely make it between two other cars. That is grace, the person behind him allowed him some grace to not be hurt, to not be in an accident. You allow someone grace when you let them in line in the supermarket, or when you let them get ahead of you because they are in a bigger hurry, or allow them to do what they were doing but even though it interferes with what you are doing. That is the type of grace I want to talk about today. You see the Father always allows you that grace. Think of the times that you have attempted to do something narrowly and it was accomplished, and you did it. That is grace that has been given to you. So for this week, consider that you are giving someone else grace when you are letting them in line ahead of you, or to do something that puts you out a little bit. That is showing them love, showing them grace. As you show it to others you will realize how much you get from the Father, and from other people too, and as you give more, you get more. It is just like love. It is just like faith. It is just like joy, and it is just like peace. So search for it this week, and then give it. I will now accept questions.

E1: Hello Iruka, with grace is there, in terms of a situation occurring, is there difficulty when grace works. I mean obstacles can still be there, right?

Iruka: Yes, could you be a little more specific.

E1: For example, I asked for this vacation back in January and they denied me in June. And I told the Father that I was going to take it anyway, and I was just wondering how can the Father show grace with this obstacle, being my chief.

Iruka: You asked for the vacation and then it was denied, is that right? But it was denied in June. So your chief is not showing you grace, but you are going to take the vacation anyway. Is this risking your job?

E1: That is what I am wondering. Can the Father show grace....at this point I don't know.

Iruka: It could be exactly what I was talking about. If at the last minute he does allow you to take the three weeks, or when you return does not penalize you in some way, that is a good example. You have chosen to take the vacation anyway, because he told you late that you couldn't have it in June, correct? That would be a good example, and at this point you don't know whether or not you will be allowed this grace and so you are hoping for this. Yes this an example of what I am talking about. If your boss's heart has been changed it would be a good example of grace. However, remember that he has free will and even though it may be suggested to him to allow you your time off, he can choose to say no. Because all of the creatures have a choice, you are aware of that, and he does to. So he may say no, and say no to God and not give you grace.

E1: So in order for grace to work, does it occur from human standpoint..it comes by way of human hands, from God, from the Father.

Iruka: It is through humans, yes. From the Father, through a human. That is the way many things are given. Much of the love you receive is through other human beings. Much of the joy can be through other human beings. That is why I have talked about this for so many months of showing others love, you are showing the Father's love. That is how He is working...and it is

certainly true with grace. Grace comes through other people. That is how the Father works, through all His children. For them to show each other love and grace, yes, absolutely. [Thank you]

S2: Iruka, I have asked for a teacher. I am wondering if a teacher has been assigned to me.

Iruka: One moment, I will check. Yes one has been assigned and there are preparations going on in your chemical makeup to make this happen faster, and easier.

S2: Has contact already been made, have I already experienced my teacher. I think I have, I am not sure.

Iruka: Your teacher has been around you already, and yes, not in words, but certainly a presence. So it is entirely possible that you have started feeling this presence and that is the first step, is to feel the presence and then listen the best you can. Yes.

S2: This presence that I have been feeling at times, feels scary to me. My expectations are that it would be full of love and joy and ecstasy. I know one of the motas is that 'stars are best discerned from the isolated depths' but it does seem scary a bit. In my silence I had this picture of my brain with the scalp peeled back and it wouldn't leave. I mean, is that related to this phenomenon going on.

Iruka: This is quite normal. It is a stage that you must pass through. Certainly not every single person, but most do. There is first an excitement and a joy with the idea of a teacher, and then when it starts to happen then many experience a fear and pull away and deal with the fear and come back. And this may stay with you several days. Think of it as a process, think of it as a stage that you must go through. It will pass, it has passed with others. The T/R also experienced fear and at one point literally jumped up and left the room as if to run away. But the T/R came back and after a few more days, settled down. So this is entirely normal. Think of it as a passage and that you will get through it, and then you will experience much joy.

S2: Thanks, what is the difference between grace and predestination. Is grace linked up to predestination concepts?

Iruka: Grace is the Father, through humans or a human, allowing something to happen, or in a situation that you are OK or can accomplish something, catch a plane or something like that. It usually is over quickly and sometimes not so quickly. How are you defining predestination? Because that has so much to do with human will...it is not....how are you defining it.

S2: In the traditional Hindu sense as I believe it, your life is set out for you. The mixture of human will into that idea could change predestination into grace. I just wonder..there are so many things that have happened to me in the last two weeks that I wonder whether it is grace. Is it grace that I meet somebody that is a dealer for the Folio software that allows us to index transcripts, and I don't have to pay for it, all I have to do is just ask him for it, a copy of it. Is it grace that I meet these people in Yuma Arizona that are fighting with each other and have given me the opportunity to act as a healer. Are these situations grace.

Iruka: In the larger sense of the word, yes. Not exactly the way I was describing it today, but I am just taking one small piece of grace and talking about it for today. This experience that you have had is a combination of grace and various entities that are working for this occurrence to happen, for you to be able to use the computer in a positive way to further the study and the spread of the Urantia Book. So that is a combination in that situation of two different things going on. And most things are, most of the things that go through life are combinations of different things. Predestination, in the larger sense of being say born in the United States, or..that..if you are born to certain parents, you live in a certain place. But it is truly your will that decides whom you will marry or if you wish to go to college, now what your life situation is also determines that for money and time and your personal wish and drive to study or to not read at all. So much depends on your decisions that predestination really is not valid in those terms. Do you see what I am saying? You have so much power to change your life that it is difficult to say that it was predestined to happen. You could have decided to do anything.

S2: Is it..after I make a moral willful choice, that the Father then again reexamines my life...and again reconstructs the world I live in for another opportunity to do His will. Is that grace.

Iruka: That is closer to what is happening, yes. As you make a choice, then that narrows other choices, of the future choices, and then there may be one that the Father would guide you to do and another one where would be less His choice, but you still have the choice to choose. And so if you are trying to follow the Father's will you would soon know what the choice would be and if you chose that one then that would again lead you on again to some other opportunities and choices. It is a step by step, it is a growing awareness, a growing consciousness.

S2: In California I went to a meeting, and I don't recall if this question was asked at the meeting or not, but the question was basically, has the guardian angel saved our lives, or saved the lives of people in this room. And the answer was, as I recollect it, at least every person in the room has had their life saved by a guardian angel, or some type of angel, at least once. Is that grace, and is that frequency of saving our lives true.

Iruka: The first question, is it grace? Absolutely. And the frequency, yes, yes it is. There, and you may not realize it, you have been in situations that could have gotten very bad and very threatening and didn't happen. Not stopping at a certain road side place, or not going into a certain store, or being somewhere else in an earthquake where things couldn't fall on you. There are all kinds of things...you are very well protected and I tell you that and I know that you are not aware of many things so you can't identify with how you are being protected. Because in many cases you didn't know there was a threat. So yes, that is true.

S2: When I was a child, I used to climb these very tall walnut trees to the very top and then fall through the branches into the mud. A good 30 feet, used to drive my mother nuts. That was a choice on my part that was labelled as crazy on my part as a kid by my mom. And it leads to the whole question of daredevil activities and is that an exercise of our free will, can we undertake such risks and risk our own lives that the Father will not protect us.

Iruka: This is a very difficult area and I do not understand it fully. Such as children playing on swings and many fall off, and one falls off and lands the wrong way and dies. And you say why? I don't know why, it is...I have no answer for that, but I have a feeling that when you did this you were being protected as much as possible. You did land OK, you didn't land on your neck, or your head, or break something vital. But see the possibility was there, so it is hard to say.

S2: I had a discussion with someone about Thomas Merton, and this person claimed that Thomas Merton was going to make a presentation to an assembled group of Catholics that was going to potentially change the church so much that the angels basically took Thomas Merton's life in that accident in the shower, with the fan and being electrocuted in India. And does grace act in the opposite way, for the protection of or the growth of a social institution.

Iruka: No. None of the angels or any beings would hurt, much less cause, the death of a human being. That is absolutely forbidden. You see everyone has free choice and free will to make any decision they wish, and they would not be stopped in a situation like that. That sounds more like poor wiring or something. But to blame the angels that are supposed to protect, and they love you, is not correct. [thanks]

W1: Good afternoon Iruka, I am late again as usual. Just hadn't put my mind in gear yet for questions, but nobody was saying anything and I didn't want you to leave yet. Anything you can tell me..that I can add to what I am doing to help the teacher communicate with me.

Iruka: You are sitting quietly and clearing out your mind and thinking of nothing. Is that right?

W1: Everything was right except the thinking of nothing.

Iruka: This is difficult, very difficult. Because if you are thinking of the day's problems or whatever, then you won't hear and maybe hear is not a good word, but you will not feel or sense the words, because you will be distracted. So practice thinking of nothing, then when the words come to you, you will recognize them. They will be simple at first, it will not be a lesson, it will not be something terrible profound. It will be an exchange of pleasantries, perhaps identifying himself, just an easy chat to become familiar, to become easier to recognize the voice.

W1: Iruka, would you happen to know if its a male or female that I will be working with.

Iruka: It is a male.

W1: I might be pushing it here. Do you know the name yet. Iruka: The T/R and I will work on that this week, will that be OK?

W1: It has to be, I couldn't say no.

Iruka: And in your listening also listen the best you can and see if you can come up with the name also. It is not easy, names are difficult.

S2: Iruka, in the silence there seems in my mind there has developed two strategies. One comes out of the TM experiences I had as a child. When I feel myself thinking a thought we are taught in TM to resurrect the mantra until the thought goes away. And then you go into the silence, and when another thought comes I sometimes practice thinking of a boat on top of a calm lake or the fog rolling in and the all encompassing love. And then the thought goes away, the chatter in my mind goes away. If I repeat that process over and over again it is as if I go into a big fog and awareness of myself disappears and I have a fear that if the teacher spoke to me in that fog that I wouldn't be able to hear it. The next approach of silence is where I try to calm my mind and in this one it is an increasing awareness of a sphere inside of my mind that is huge and my body is poised in anticipation and perhaps I am saying, chanting to myself 'listen, listen,

listen..' and in that type of emotional expectation. So one is consuming a lot of energy in my body, the latter state, and in the former state where I am in this fog it can drift off into sleep or it can get so deep this fog that if somebody tugs you on your shirt, you can't come out of it immediately without feeling very disoriented. So I have described in my mind two different types of silences, one is this fog and the other is this incredible anticipation and I am wondering if you could help me choose one of those or comment on a different strategy.

Iruka: Yes, I will try.

S2: I must say that most of the contact that I have been feeling comes from when I first start the silence. This craziness starts later on when I don't feel anything.

Iruka: I think you may be trying to hard, because it is important to quiet your thoughts but you do not have to go into any kind of trance. You close your eyes and clear your thoughts. If a thought comes, let it pass, but think of yourself sitting there. You are also conscious of other things going on...if the clock strikes and bongs you are aware of that..you do not need to block that out. If the washing machine is on or if there is a lawn mower out, that is running, sit there and practice consciousness that I know that is happening and I know this is happening, and just practice being..right where you are, and that you are sitting in a certain position and help your mind just go blank and just be. Because you can hear your teacher with your eyes open. You can hear your teacher driving down the road. You can learn to recognize your teacher doing the dishes.

You do not have to be in a deep state at all, it is very close to how you live. Actually, most people have said it is easier than what they thought it would be. The T/R could sit here with eyes open and hear my words and repeat them to you. The problem would be the T/R might start watching the baby and think of the baby and not listen to me or look at you and you might have a reaction on your face and then the T/R would react to your facial expression and forget to listen to me. Is this helping you to know how to make contact and how to practice consciousness.

S2: Yes, tremendously. In this trip to Yuma I would sit in silence and try to practice the silence and there is this one particular fellow there that was basically the cause of all the tension in this organization and I felt like I was being rehearsed on what to say to him. Everyday I would go in there to this organization and I would try to put those thoughts out of my mind and they would just come back and this is more in the conversational state that you are describing, the more daily living state of the mind. And I am wondering is it sometimes my thought adjuster that is feeding me all this stuff? Or is that the teacher, should I reserve time to work with my thought adjuster and expect the analogies for my presentations and these strategies for making people feel good and start to work together. Are those coming from the thought adjuster and reserve other time for the teacher. Two questions.

Iruka: Basically yes. When you spend time with the Father your teacher will not interfere or distract you in any way, will not try to make contact or say anything to you. That is your time with the Father, that is the most important thing for you to do. That is what we are here to teach is your time with the Father. Number one priority, that is when you feel your love, that is where you get your strength, your growth. When you are finished with the Father...and this can be immediately after or later in the day or at a totally different time in the day...but doesn't have to be at the same time at all, then when you are ready to communicate with your teacher. Now one thing the teacher does is always to identify herself or himself.

When I start to speak to you, I say 'I am Iruka, I am your teacher and friend' or 'guide' or whatever but I tell you who I am. When I talk to the T/R I say my name so there is no doubt in your mind or the T/R's mind who is doing the speaking. OK so that is how you will know your teacher. When you are with the Father you know that will be your thought adjuster. And the other way of knowing, sometimes you are thinking to yourself free associating, and it is your thoughts and the only way to know is; what are they, are they good, are they positive. In some cases, it is not important who gives you these thoughts. If they are from you or your thought adjuster, it doesn't matter where they come from, if they pass these tests about being positive, good, uplifting, sharing love, giving joy, it doesn't matter. If it is good it is worth using. Does this help you? [yes, thanks]

E1: Iruka, back to my situation, in the Urantia Book it says 'the keys to the kingdom are decisions, decisions, and more decisions'. In terms of the decision that I made, how will that help me enter into the kingdom, or does it mean like spiritual decisions.

Iruka: Yes it means spiritual decisions. The decision to become close to the Father and do His will. But certainly your decisions in life, they influence each other and you applied for that vacation months ago and was never given an answer. And you have done all that you could have, you were being fair, you were being honest, and you were giving those in authority plenty of time to make their decisions. In growing closer to the Father, that is what you learn. To be honest, to be fair, to treat someone else the way you would want to be treated. You did everything you could, you went the extra mile. Now it is in someone else's hands and you have no control over that. So know that you did all you could and you treated them in love the best way you could. Does this help, does this answer?

E1: Yes, thank you.

G3: Hello Iruka, I have a quick question. I was reading in the Urantia Book, and I believe this is correct, that...I know about Caligastia, but who was Daligastia. Were they brothers or partners, do you know who Daligastia was or did I read this correctly.

Iruka: Yes you read it correctly. It was one of Caligastia's assistants. So they worked towards the same end.

G3: So is that similar to Lucifer and Satan, they were working together but they were two different people. I used to think that Lucifer and Satan were the same person, but then in the Urantia Book it describes Lucifer as one person and Satan as another being. Is that the same as Caligastia and Daligastia.

Iruka: Yes, they were different individuals. And yes many times several individuals have been lumped into one being, for the humans to understand and to grasp the concepts and in the

beginning this was fine. But you have evolved now to the point where you can understand several characters, and several individuals. Where you can see that thousands of years ago this was more difficult to handle. And yes, Caligastia and Daligastia were separate beings who worked together. Does this answer? [yes]

W1: Iruka, this is one of those probing questions. Did you and the rest of the teachers have to read the Urantia Book before you got here? I am just curious, you seem to know the history pretty well and I don't think you were here.

Iruka: Very observant, yes, we did. We have to know what is in it and what effects you, and what you are struggling to learn, and understand. Because most of the questions are going to be from this book. And so yes, we had a very intense training program on the book, that covered quite a lot of time. We not only studied the book itself, but we have been trying to

understand the parts that are easy, of course are simple, but the parts that are more difficult to understand, and even tried to learn ways of explaining them. So that it would be more

understandable to you. So yes, that was a major part of our training.

W1: Just a light joke, did you guys have any videos?

Iruka: We have things that are better than videos. Yes, we did.

W1: OK, did you also study the Bible?

Iruka: Of course, because that is a part of the culture of a great portion of this planet. So when you ask questions about Revelation or any part of the Bible we are familiar with that. And when I say..if you want to read something beautiful go to the Psalms, that is how I know. We studied and did much research on many things that have influenced your life, that have made major changes in your history, and influences the way you think. So yes, there was quite an intensive training program.

W1: In terms of time that I could recognize...are you at liberty to say how long it took you to go from zero to where you are now.

Iruka: From zero you mean learning about your planet? [yes] How long our training session..

W1: Yes how long did it take you to get trained up to the point you were ready to be a teacher.

Iruka: In your time, about a year, about a year. Now we did not study, as you say, night and day. But we had class like you say class, and videos, and then we had recreation. We had tours where we toured the planet and saw many things. Then we would go back to class. We studied the chemistry of your body and how it influences your mind, we studied many things and to help us understand and then turn around and explain things. And of course many things I can't answer because there are no parallels. I have no metaphors to use, but this has really helped. The class really was quite intense. I couldn't be talking to you and relating to you if I hadn't taken it. [thanks]

S2: Iruka, many times in the Urantia Book it refers to Christ Michael's life here on earth as being revealed to people on other planets. The nature of this revelation has always interested me. Are the people on other planets aware of our planet? And aware of the existence of other beings on other planets. Do they live their lives believing there are beings on other planets.

Iruka: It depends where they are in their growth. Planets in light and life, in the same system, do know of other planets, yes. But an immature planet would not know.

S2: How would Christ Michael's life be revealed to a immature planet. How would they learn of His life on ours.

Iruka: An immature planet would not know. Your talking in terms of reflectivity and knowing what was going on here. They would not know.

S2: So it is only after a planet has discovered it's own...has evolved to light and life that they begin to learn of Christ Michael.

Iruka: Yes, through their teachers, and through their books, through their revelations, yes, that is how they would know.

S2: So they don't have a Bible or....we have an advantage over them, with our Bible.

Iruka: They have their own books that is equivalent to the Bible. They have their holy book and their holy words. So they have a written word, they are parallel in that respect, is that what you are referring to? I'm not sure I am answering what your question is.

S2: You did answer the question. [OK]

W1: Would they also have their Adam and Eve still available to them.

Iruka: Yes, most planets do.

W1: So they would have their planetary prince and their Adam and Eve.

Iruka: Depending on the stage they are in, yes.

W1: I know we are getting away from our spirituality here, but just a couple of questions since you are answering them today...did many of the planets in rebellion lose their planetary prince and Adam and Eves, as we did.

Iruka: You had two different situations on the planet. You had the Lucifer rebellion and you had the default of Adam and Eve. So while these other planets experienced the revolution, they didn't experience the default of Adam and Eve. Is this what you are asking. [yes, that answers it]

G3: I was wondering how come it is the practice of..maybe not common is not the word...but how easy is it for other people who have different religious backgrounds such as...I think the Chinese practice Buddhism, and a friend of mine is in some type of religion called Rosicrucian. Both of these people have expressed to me that they have the gift of healing. And I was wondering is this..the gift of healing..is this something that is common to a lot of different people of various religious backgrounds. Is it something that if you ask for it, no matter where you are, what religious background you belong to, that is possible for you to receive this because I know a lot of people who claim that they have the gift and I believe they probably do have it, the gift of laying on of hands and healing.

Iruka: Yes, it is very possible. You see God loves all of His children and whatever religion or system they were born into, that is usually where you stay. Not always, but generally you just grow up with the same religion as your parents and as you wish to become closer to the Father, He will do whatever it takes to bring you closer to Him. And it doesn't matter what religion you are practicing, if you wish to get closer to God, He will answer that and encourage that and say yes. So yes, there are many people who have this gift. They may define it differently than you do. They may call it a different name, they may respond to it differently, but it is all from God, is all from the Father. And if it helps someone else, it is good. Does this answer.

G3: Yes, we have been studying the process by which we receive the gift of healing and being able to touch people and heal them and I was just... I guess for them they just look at it as a gift from God and they don't know about the different channels and the different stages that you go through in order to receive it. For them I guess it is just a matter that they received it and that is fine, so they are just happy. So I would assume that the Bible doesn't necessarily instruct you step by step on how to receive that gift, whereas during our teaching sessions you have taught us, how to pray for the gift, how to recognize it, how long it takes for us to receive it. The various steps and I was just curious, just nice to know that other people are able to heal and even though they are not in our group, that they still have that power. So I guess that is like a comment and an observation and I just wanted you to confirm that.

Iruka: Yes, they may not understand it the way you understand it, but you see the end result is the same. Someone is healed, someone has been touched by the Father's love. And they may not understand how that happened, and it doesn't matter, does it. The end result is what is important. They have been shown love, and that is the whole thing, is showing love. You are here to show love, and to get really good at it.

G3: OK, one personal question. I have been doing very good physically with my pregnancy except for one annoying problem and that seems to be the problem that I am experiencing with a tightness, like a pulling in my ribs. It feels like my ribs ache, and the very top part of my stomach, near my rib cage is bothering me and sometimes I feel like the baby is as big as it is supposed to get. I know it still has at least three, maybe three and a half more months to go, but I was wondering if there is anything that you could suggest that might alleviate some of the discomfort that I feel. It is not a constant thing but I know if I eat anywhere from moderate to . .I am probably answering my own question, but anywhere from moderate to a lot I experience it and sometimes in the morning when I wake up I feel it. And other times if I feel kind of stressed I feel more discomfort in that area. And I was wondering if you had any suggestions on..or if there is anything I can do to relieve some of the discomfort.

Iruka: First let me ask, have you talked to the doctor and told him this.

G3: Yes, I mentioned it to my doctor on one occasion. She said it was common for the ribs to hurt and be...she said the ribs don't give very much as the baby grows. The ribs are like in the way but she said if this becomes more than a mild discomfort for me to come in so I was going to call tomorrow and talk to her some more about it. But I have discussed it once and it is not something that is excruciating. It is like annoying and I didn't know if I should talk more in detail to her about it or if it was just something she would say was normal, so don't worry about it. It seems like everything is normal, a slight discomfort is something I am supposed to bear as the burden or the joy of motherhood. So I didn't know if I should really be concerned about it or if there was something really simple I could do to help take away some of this discomfort.

Iruka: First of all, yes there are many little aches and pains when you are pregnant. The body is under stress that it is not used to and tells you about it. But I do have one suggestion that you could try, and that has to do with shifting your position more often. Moving more often, walking a few steps if you have been sitting, stand up and move, if you are walking, sit down. You said you wake up in the morning with it, that tells me if you have been asleep in the same position, your muscles have gotten tired and since there was no movement, the pressure was against the ribs in the same place and that probably caused discomfort. So try shifting around, walking if you have been sitting, sitting if you have been walking. Don't stay in the same position for more than 30 minutes, shift around and see if that will make you feel better. But it maybe that it is just something that will only go away after you deliver the baby. So try that. [OK thank you]

G2: Hello Iruka, two questions, when you were talking to S2 I thought I heard you say you normally identify yourself with the T/R, whenever you start talking. And I don't know if I have been noticing that all the time when I have been talking to my teacher, maybe I have just given up on trying to identify his name, do you think that could be it. I just blank that part out and just go on to the other stuff.

Iruka: Certainly, if you have been discouraged with the name. Then it is sometimes hard and you want to move on. Do you know the name of your teacher yet?

G2: I have had like three different attempts. It begins with an E?...

Iruka: The T/R and I will work on it this week and give you a name because it is easy to have trouble with names. And then perhaps that will make it much easier to recognize the name and then go ahead and move on with the words. Does this sound like it might help you?

G2: I don't know, I don't know. It seems like I have hit a plateau. We talk and I know it is him when we talk, most of the time, and I am waiting to get at that level where we have a more revelatory kind of talk. Things in the Urantia Book that I don't know, that he can tell me where to look, that sort of conversation. We haven't had that type of conversation just yet. We have been having stuff that....the kind of conversation we have is more inspirational.

Iruka: It may take a long time to get really serious topics and growth as a result. Right now you are still getting to know him. You are still learning to recognize his tone and the way he talks, the way he communicates. You are still getting used to him and him to you. So don't hurry it, don't rush it, it takes time. You are building up a trust that takes time. Then there will be days where you will talk about very serious things, and there will be days when you will just check in with each other and exchange some comments about the day and leave it at that. It would be difficult to have a intense lesson every day. That would leave you overwhelmed and at some point very frustrated. We certainly don't want to frustrate our students. We want to be a friend, a companion to them, a guide if they are having trouble in certain areas, make suggestions when they are having troubles, point out other perceptions, maybe someone else's point of view. Every day will not be intense. Think of this guide more as a maybe a big brother, sometimes you are just talking and sometimes you are working on a serious problem. So I would suggest to relax and just to get to know this being and work on the trust, learn to trust him. Does this help?

G2: Yeah, it helps a lot. Another question, the differences between the soul and the thought adjuster, I read that in the book, but I was wondering if you could augment that.

Iruka: A soul and a thought adjuster? Well the thought adjuster is that piece of the Father Who gives it to you as a gift. The soul is something that you are growing, that you are developing as you learn to love. As you draw closer to the thought adjuster you are developing a soul. So one is from the Father, one is a product that you are becoming. Does this explain?

G2: Yeah, I know a lot of times you hear in the media about selling your soul to the devil, do you know where that term came from?

Iruka: Of course it is in folklore, when somebody wants something very badly and the story is that the devil will grant them their wish for whatever it is, but gets the soul. This is for people who believe in hell, in a place of eternal torment. But this should have no meaning to you anymore, because you know that it doesn't exist and even Lucifer and Satan don't exist anymore. So it is more of a mythology, of a folklore type of thing and really has no place in your understanding of the Father. Does this help?

G2: Yes it does, I have one more question. I know last week we were reading in the papers of that other group, and I was wondering, when a person from one of the Urantia groups that is on this level, decides to deviate...well that is not the proper term, they stray from listening to the teacher all the time. Can that develop a certain...I guess the best parable I can think of is the movie 'Star Wars' where the boy Luke was in training and he left before he was completely trained mentally and physically. Can something worse become of not becoming totally oriented or..am I making sense with my question?

Iruka: I think I understand, and of course you always have free will to stop your growth. Is this what you are saying, you stop your growth, and then you stagnate. But as far as something terrible happening, no you just don't fulfill your potential that you could have in this lifetime. And that is your choice, of course. And it can be ended any time.

G2: Is it possible to go in a negative direction. What I am concerned about is maybe somebody splintering off and becoming more like a Koresh.

Iruka: I understand your question much better now. In that case, the person would have stopped listening to the Father obviously. Because if he is saying things that the Father would not say....you have to listen to the words. If the words do not match up with what the Father would say, then you know something is wrong. And if somebody says something that is not right, obviously he is no longer listening to the Father. And so yes, a person can...that can happen. Your ego can get mixed up in there. Are you expressing a fear that this can happen?

G2: No I am expressing a fear of trying to separate what is my thought adjuster, what is my teacher, and what is me.

Iruka: OK, were you in the room when I explained that a little bit earlier. If not I will go over it again. Usually when you are silent with the Father, the thought adjuster will be communicating with you, the teacher will not interrupt. It will be the Father. Then later when you are communicating with your teacher, and that is what you heard I believe when you walked in that they usually identify themselves. Now in your case, you haven't got to that level yet where you understand the name, and so you know. But I think you sort of can tell. Then there is your own thoughts, and they can come in anytime. And sometimes you will hear your teacher and you will say that wasn't my teacher, that was me. And that is hard, you have to get by that, because it can be very confusing but pay attention to the words, to the words themselves. Are they loving, do they send joy, are they comforting. If they are negative, if they are producing guilt, if they are trying to coerce you into something, be very careful, be very wary of those kinds of words. That is not how the Father talks, that is not how He communicates. Does this help?

G2: Yes, it helps a lot.

S2: You said you knew the Bible. I teach a Sunday school class and every fall they give us a series of passages in the Old Testament to teach the kids. Normally there is very difficult passages in the Old Testament that are hard to put a positive spin on and create lots of uneasiness in the fourth graders. I just want to read one that was particularly this way..its in the section right after Adam and Eve default and just before Noah. It is the connective material between the Adam and Eve lineage, then the Noah story. It is describing how evil the world was that Noah was participating in. This is chapter six of Genesis, verse four...'there were giants in the earth in those days and also after that when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and they bear children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw the wickedness' and it also says in here that these daughters that were born were giants and that there were giants in these days, and these giants were wicked.

I haven't got the whole verse there but anyway when my kids read this verse they started drawing these pictures of giants, poking each other with swords, and eating people, and they went out of control. So what we did, we took the flood and we...in our puppet show we create every fall and let the kids practice, we let the flood wash away all these giants. My question is, is this the proper positive spin. I have been rationalizing this to myself as a teacher in a Sunday school, that I am teaching them a foundation or a history, a grounding if you will in Christian culture. Am I on the right track.

Iruka: I think that was probably a good way to handle that. But you have a very unique problem with trying to merge two different belief systems. And I am not sure that you can do it in a graceful way. You are asked to go over these bible verses with the children and yet in your heart you don't agree with them and you don't think that is where the emphasis should be. This is difficult but this is something you are going to have to resolve yourself. Is it possible that you can get different verses to talk about. Can you find more positive things to talk about. You are aware that the Urantia Book talks about that there was no flood that covered the whole planet, that this was a person who put his animals on a raft when the Nile flooded or various rivers flooded. You can draw positive out of this. You can emphasize that God loved these people enough to see to it that they survived. This is difficult, I can certainly understand the conflict because you are aware of a newer revelation and yet teaching to children of adults who do not believe or not aware of the new revelation and probably would not agree if they knew. It is difficult but I would try to keep it on the most positive note that I could and emphasize how much God loved His children and however you can interpret that for the children. [thanks] Your welcome. This is not a satisfactory answer, but you have a very difficult job before you.

S2: I think everyone does that reads the Old Testament.

G3: Hello Iruka, I have one last question. Concerning the fact that there is no longer a Satan or Lucifer on earth anymore. Sometimes I have a problem with wondering why...or what causes so much evilness in the world and also in individual people. Sometimes even in myself I have negative thoughts. I know I can't blame it on the devil, a lot of people still do, and I believe personally when I have thoughts not Godly or not necessarily good clean thoughts they are probably because I am not as close to the Father as I should be or that I am straying, or not praying as much. How do I explain to others and sometimes even to myself when something negative affects them, something happens like someone was going to go on a job interview and for example they knew they had set the appointment up and when they get ready to go they go outside and they have a flat tire and they claim that is because the devil didn't want them to get this job, that is why they had a flat tire.

Or maybe because someone is sick or all the disease in the world, they claim the devil is causing the sickness in the world and the diseases and I was wondering if there is a way to explain it to others and also to myself sometimes. Sometimes I have a hard time, sometimes I know, and sometimes it crosses my mind..oh this must be of the devil. Especially sometimes when I am talking to some friends of mine who constantly say 'oh the devil is doing it that is why you can't succeed' or something like that. How do I explain that.

Iruka: First recognize that you may not be able to explain it to them. That they might not listen and there is nothing you can say that they would hear and pay attention to. So don't be frustrated on that level. But as far as yourself, know that things break and wear out and tires go flat and cars run out of gas and those things happen, refrigerators break and that is just something that happens. On an individual level, people can make negative choices and keep bad things, these bad feelings going with their own energy, by choosing to do negative hurtful things, they can do that. It does take a lot of energy but if many people are doing evil things it feeds in together and becomes overwhelmingly negative. But see we can do the same thing on the other side, by thinking positive thoughts and good thoughts and when a negative or a scary thought creeps in, get rid of it. Do not allow yourself to worry, to think about negative things that happen on the news, of stories that you read. If you are reading the paper and start to read about something that is bad and you know the outcome, make a decision to stop reading it. Be aware that this happens to people, but you don't have to read every detail, and you don't have to think about it or dwell on it or worry about it. Try to think good positive thoughts and generate positive energy and not negative energy. And then another thing I would like to say is when things happen to us, to you in your life, think of it as 'what am I supposed to learn here'. What is my lesson out of this. See you are approaching this in a non- negative way, you say oh! somebody is trying to tell me

something, what is it, what can I learn and what can I take away from this experience that will make me a positive person and teach me something that will draw me closer to the Father. Does this in some way answer your question?

G3: Yes it does. It is just that when it comes to talking to friends and relatives I've brought up the fact that there is no longer a Satan or Lucifer and for them not to blame everything negative on the devil. And people have even gone as far as to say they doubted my spirituality, that I was even close to God at all because if I didn't believe in the devil, they were wondering how could I believe in God, and not believe in the devil. That is one thing that really bothered me, but I just was wondering if there was any way I could explain to them in a positive way so that they would understand. But if you say there probably isn't then I know people, myself personally too, were brought up believing there is a devil and when you die you go to hell if you are not a good person. If you don't follow what God..so now this teaching is being instilled in me that this was not correct that there is no longer hell..so it is hard for other people to understand that and I was just wondering if there was some kind of way I could explain it with them calling me...us, my husband and I...non-spiritual people.

Iruka: There may not be a way, but don't let it become an argument. Allow them to believe what they wish to believe, give them the grace that I was talking about earlier to let them believe, let them relate to God. You can only change yourself, you cannot change them and if they..it is hurtful I know for someone to say to you..you are not spiritual when they have no idea how spiritual you are. And they have no business saying that, but they are insensitive and they are scared. You are thinking and believing something different than they are and that may be threatening to them. That may be scary to them. See because at one time you did and now you have grown and it may threaten them that you have grown away from them. And so part of this fear is to argue with you and tell you are not spiritual and hurt you so you will come back to what they believe. So understand this and ignore what they say, get your love from the Father, not from them and then turn around and give it to them. Does this help? [yes, thanks]

G2: In the same vein only a deeper problem. Down the road when the baby is born, we have the problem of baptism. And I was wondering how we should approach...I know how I think we might approach the problem..I was wondering how you think we should approach the problem with the two families and us expected to baptize the child. And also the church.

Iruka: First of all remember that Father loves you in whatever choice you make, and you want that love to go out to your family members. And you want the family united, you do not want to split the family or to break it up. Am I right? [yes] You want as much harmony as possible. And so consider a compromise, consider doing something that would be good for the family although not necessarily your first choice.

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