July 24, 2005

Heavenly Father, we come to thee today, surrounding ourselves with your love, greeting Christ Michael and Mother Nebadonia with their support, recognizing the whirl of energy in the merkaba for a stronger connection to the universe, as we hook up to it with our heart line, with our headline connecting to it and to each other. Feel the spirit enclosing us, enveloping us and healing us in body and mind, relaxing us as we prepare to talk to our teacher.

ZARATH: This is Zarath. (Good afternoon and welcome from the group.) Glad to be here. Glad to see you three so strong in support of each other and the Father. May I be of service.

Student: I am sure you will be. Are you asking for questions at this time?

Another Student: And do you have a lesson for us?

ZARATH: I do have a lesson. This lesson has to do with the spiritualizing of each of us in the Father’s Kingdom. As we progress along the path way toward the Father, the joy that we experience in this advancement and in our chance to meet with and have contact with all of our brothers and sisters is hard to express. Your activity toward interfaith work has prompted this discussion, for it is important to start it at your level. Understanding and compassion, which is so essential, must be developed with these sorts of collective get-togethers, and these fruits of the spirit are a part of your best efforts to do the will of the Father.

Follow your intuition and follow it with courage, and as we say, the results are the Father’s. In retrospect, this activity is looked back on with much joy and satisfaction. Pure intent will always result in increasing the brotherhood and sisterhood of those around you.

There is much growth for the individuals involved, some who tentatively accept the invitation to such events, and some who have their fixed ideas to bring to the party, and some who are open enough to try to engage in understanding of the other. It is to be a joyful experience, a learning experience, a growth experience and imminently reachable. The prospects are indeed without limit of what can be accomplished in bringing together those of different faiths with sufficient open mindedness, and open heartedness, to engage each other in loving exploration of the other’s ideas and beliefs, without judgment, but with desire for understanding. So I commend you who are involved in this activity. We wish you well.

This is all that I had to bring to you today, but I am certainly desirous of discussing any questions that you might have.

Student: Thank you Zarath, this has been really helpful, supportive, and encouraging, and as you were speaking, my mind was zipping along, thinking of a couple of things, that perhaps in such a meeting various faiths might be encouraged to display what kind of book or teaching has recently been most meaningful to them, and that if the group that comes together is large enough and broad enough --- where some might think it somewhat difficult to have personal interaction --- would it perhaps be wise to encourage the larger group to break up into smaller groups of ten or twelve—hopefully representing different faiths—and then share perhaps what they believe for the commonality they see among each other and each person’s personal relationship to God, to our Heavenly Father? It seems to me that’s the one thing that people who are on any kind of an interfaith bent or path is—there are certain things that we share—it seems like that’s perhaps the most important. Would you care to respond to that, give us some feedback?

ZARATH: I could ask you for a specific question….

Student: (Laughing.) That was kind of long winded.

ZARATH: But I will respond. I just had to chuckle. You are drawing upon your experience—recent experience—in the church group, ‘Asking the questions’, wherein the small sub-groups were able to establish a more meaningful connection to each other. However, remember that it required ten sessions for that to slowly develop and mature. It is a different proposition in a one-time session, and yet, those that are open are able to make that deep connection, and so it cannot be frowned upon or discouraged, for that can very well develop in some of the individuals there.

The other aspect is, if you have separated groups, where each group is of one faith or different faiths in different groups, then you are not really taking advantage of the objective of discussing the interfaith aspects, so it would appear that the groups should certainly be mixed if there is a large enough number of attendees, to have several of each faith in each group, thereby giving that opportunity for good interfaith dialog. Is that helpful?

Student: Yes, I can see the mechanics of dividing a large group effectively into groups with the diversity represented might be a bit difficult. I was trying to think of ways in which this kind of more personal exchange could happen, rather than just having a speaker with a rather large group, and then just a few questions addressed to the speaker. How do we expedite more of this interpersonal mixing?

ZARATH: That certainly bears some thought.

Student: Indeed. Thank you. We are often told we have to work out many of the answers ourselves, and get the inspirational nudges here and there, so thank you. (Zarath: You are most welcome.)

Student: Zarath, I have a question too. Your lesson for today is a great topic for me as well. I am going to be spending some time with my oldest son, who is very much a believer in the Urantia Book, but is very opposed to the Teaching Mission. I don’t want to try to convert him because I don’t think the Teaching Mission is necessarily the right path for him, but can you give me some suggestions on how I can handle it so that he becomes less concerned about me? He thinks I’ve gotten myself involved in some kind of a cult, or that I am caught-up in wishful thinking and that I am delusional. Do you have any suggestions on how I can approach him with this? I have tried for quite some time, but so far I have been unsuccessful.

Another Student: I face that challenge too.

ZARATH: Approach him with love. If he feels your love, and this becomes a topic of conversation, exhibit your steadfast love of the Father and your firm announcement that this is very meaningful to you. He will face his own decision of whether to respect your decisions and will have to make his own choices. He should see that strength in you and will recognize your right to your own decisions, if he has learned in his heart from the Urantia Book. There is no “magic” that I can bring to bear or include for that situation, other than what I have tried to describe to you. I hope this is of some help.

Student: It has always puzzled me that those of us that read the Urantia Book and have all of those spiritual “tools” to work with—the Spirit of Truth and Adjutant Mind Spirits, for example—it always puzzles me how some individuals can use these tools and achieve one attitude, and others can use the same tools and come to a completely different outlook, as exemplified with the way that they see or deal with the Teaching Mission. I have no doubt in my mind that it is real, but other people who are involved in the Urantia Book but not the Teaching Mission, feel just as validated in their position that it is just wishful thinking, or worse.

ZARATH: Yes, those Urantia Book readers that do not accept the Teaching Mission have made that choice, many times without even trying to experience it. If they had been more open and had believed that it was possible, in that belief there is truth in the universe to make it happen. That belief, that faith, would help them develop the extra sensitivity required. Until they have that more personal experience, it will continue to be unreal for them, and therefore disbelief and ridicule may continue. This is unfortunate, but only exemplifies the various paths that people choose and the diversity of the various means involved. The results of their own personal interpretations of the Urantia Book may cause them to overlook possibilities that are pointed to but often missed. I hope this helps. (Yes, thank you.)

Student: Sometimes it seems to me as I struggle with this same question, that some of the readers—perhaps especially those who have studied the Urantia teachings most deeply, have very strong feelings that they want to retain the so-called “purity” of the Urantia teachings and I think perhaps that they have a fear that something like the Teaching Mission will somehow dissipate the truth or the vitality, [or] the meaning, that comes to us through the Urantia text. Those of us, who find the Teaching Mission very meaningful and helpful, see that it builds on what has already been given to us. Does that make sense to you?

ZARATH: The Urantia Book was provided as a text, with great care, and within it, in many instances—as detailed as it is—the writers of the text point out that this is only a part of the teachings that they could give you, but they have to withhold much information until society has advanced considerably more. It is easy for us on this side, to look at it and what seems so monumental to you in all of the detail and the concepts, is such a small attempt at describing wonders of the Father’s Universe and all the experiential beings that have inhabited it and all the many activities, so far beyond your possible understanding at this level. The Urantia book is an open door. It is not the end result by any means, but each reader may use it to open up and explore all the possibilities that it points to, but does not fully define. Does this help?

Student: Yes. I’d like to think of it in the sense that the Urantia teachings are a text, and that the Teaching Mission is kind of like our personal workbook—not in book form, but that the teachers are helping us in our small groups and individually to work on some of those details, or how we can better integrate some of the truth teachings.

ZARATH: I can certainly relate to that. One of my assignments is of a very personal nature to you, and to Jerry, and to this group. My responses are much more personal, and personally directed, and that is the advantage of each of the groups with their teachers. As students address many of their individual concerns they have a chance to develop more rapidly as they get those personal questions answered. We are so thankful that we can participate in this mission; those that experience it, really should have no doubts because it is the experience that solidifies their faith and growth.

Student: In a sense, the validity is of the truth they are in.

ZARATH: Are there any other questions?

[Note: The last question and answer is of a personal nature and is omitted from publication to the wider audience. It will be shared only with those directly involved in the situation.]

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