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Tomas Vol IV - Butler, PA - March 18, 1997 thru June 10, 1997 - Part 3 of 13

The new teaching format, with two Teachers in tandem, seems to have up-stepped the concentration levels of the entire student body as this section provides some rather substantial lessons. Hunnah, for not being a well-read Urantia Book student, has obviously been a keen student of the spirit, for her mental "filing cabinet" provides the Teacher Corps with some refreshingly astute raw material with which to convey their concepts of truth, beauty and goodness.

It may be understood that Gerdean transmits Tomas and Hunnah transmits Merium except where otherwise noted. It may also be understood that the Butler group enjoys frequent visits from their personal teachers.

*****

BUTLER, PA, USA

VOLUME IV, Part 3 of 13

March 18, 1997 - June 10, 1997

C O N T E N T S

Date	Topic	Page
March 18	Community Spirit; Tomas Pledges His Troth	1
March 22	Working in Harmony	6
March 31	Identifying Otherness	10
April 1	Understanding Vortex	15
April 8	PRACTICE SESSION	21
April 15	Aide and Band-Aide	27
April 22	Cataclysmic Times Upon Us	40
April 29	Observe and Discover	47
May 13	Personality Integration	53
May 20	Friendship Through the Spirit	61
May 27	Lesson on Self-Mastery	73
June 10	PRACTICE SESSION	86
	[End of Vol. IV, Part 3 of 13]	97

TOMAS: Good evening, my friends. I trust I am not intruding too terribly on your quiet time this evening. I am jumping in for there are many matters to attend to and many in attendance. Indeed, we have the consideration of the community, at hand.

It is such a joy to be a part of this joyous and munificent community of God's children! The largess of my associates is as an embrace, and you will discover, as you ascend and as you become more and more mindful of the merits of spirit-family connection, that your lives, too, are enriched and ennobled beyond compare by this understanding of being a part of this wondrous eternal heavenly community.

And from this vastness it is necessary to curtail our ambition somewhat in addressing "the group" and the values of community and group, to come all the way down to the understanding and realization that a group comes into existence when there are three.

And so we could say at the top end of the totem pole is the Eternal Trinity and perhaps in good humor, at the bottom of the totem pole are you here this evening. But none-the-less, three constitutes a group, and the same truths that hold for the functioning and compatibility of the one is also true of and for the other.

In our discussion of and understanding of group and community also, I would like to give a broad stroke to what it is that we are discussing in these upcoming lessons and experientials. I will liken the group, the smaller configuration, to a community which has its certain sectarian situations, its things in common, its interests, its values, its goals, its purposes, its costumes, its rituals, to a tribal group and the tribal group as has developed includes your political systems, your organized religions, your family clans and so forth, all of which have value and all of which benefit and edify humanity as humanity evolves into the greater global community concept en route to the concept of cosmic citizenship.

In-as-much as you will be learning how to get along with other individuals and function now and throughout millennia to come, it behooves us to review what it means to be part of a configuration of others who have, as its congealing purpose, similar values, similar goals, similar ideals, that this framework then can be established, for in this framework you then have given yourself a place to grow.

It has been an interesting period of time observing your community take shape, observing your group come into being as a viable community of fellow-believers, and become sufficiently united in your purpose as to actually bring about some beneficial effects. This is only the beginning. Soon these challenges you will take in stride and look back upon your early days of understanding group service, group worship, group effort, much as you now look back on your other early memories of cherished individual value lessons.

Much as the soul begins to grow a life of its own, so does community, and a community must develop in order for it to have lasting value and reality. It is possible to construct a community by the building of structures and garages and thoroughfares and market places, but it is not possible to construct a community spirit which must come from the heart of the individuals comprising the community; like love, it must grow, for it is based on love and what love can do in service.

Each of you who share the core reality of this Teacher Base Urantia group have had a plethora of community concerns thrust upon you recently, and each of you have, in a quality manner, taken your concerns to the Father, to Michael, and to each other in sincere application of those values which we study in the Urantia Book and which we practice in the fruits of the spirit.

As love prevails through your overt cooperation and co-creation, the community of believers is a real and viable reality -- not just a conglomeration of individualists, nor a manufactured structure in which to function, but a living organism whose heart throbs / beats by way of the impulse of the First Source and Center.

It is a step in ascension toward Paradise, and I want to thank you each and commend you all for the conscientiousness that you have applied, the courageous loyalty that you have given to your supreme values in this community growth of late. Yet more experiences will be forthcoming, but you know that you can survive them and you have become stronger as a community because of these growth situations.

I am advised that I have gone on enough in a formal way regarding our venture into group / community / teamwork and the like, but I would like to say one more thing, and that is that although we are here as teachers and guides, friends and companions, it is not "our" Master Plan. We are as enthralled and amazed as you are to see His will unfold. It is as much of an adventure for us as it is for you. And we also have our growth struggles, our speculations, and our satisfactions when we see His will prevail.

TOMAS: I will tell you, for your information, that there are a host of celestial helpers here this evening, perhaps more than usual. We have with us a number of architects visiting, and an order of angelic beings who do not normally linger in these sessions.

I am acknowledging, too, the presence of several midwayers who asked me to call to your attention their contribution regarding community, and you will recall that their motto is ("their" being the Secondary and Primary Midwayers) "Whatever the United Midwayers undertake, the United Midwayers do," and I am certain you are impressed by the strength that infers.

Whatever they undertake, they accomplish, and this involves two orders of beings -- the primary and the secondary orders working in conjoint harmony. Of course, they have been working together for centuries, and I trust they too have had their growth conflicts, but it is wonderful to see the heights they have attained and their unflagging faith that if they have assumed to accomplish a purpose, it will be accomplished forthwith, unequivocally. How many of us can speak with such conviction? [Uncommonly quiet group; long pause] I have perhaps jutted into your musing, your meditation, prematurely, before your cognizance was emergent.

TOMAS: I am glad that I have not caught you at half-mast. I can understand why it is that you may not want to go into detail on several matters that have exhausted you all lately, in terms of your group situations, but surely there are other matters that we could bring up for fun. Ann, how are you faring in the storm of this young community? Are you feeling a part thereof?

Ann: Oh, yeah. I feel right at home. I didn't realize it was a storm, but … I'm going with it. I did have a question though. Is there a particular reason why all the extra entities are here?

TOMAS: Always are you attended. Always are these sessions attended, for you are of great and lasting interest and import to many. There are a number of permanently assigned entities who show up as a matter of course, and there are frequent visitors who also come by to observe you in your reaching. Some come to observe the transmitting process, to anticipate that they too will experience this at some point. There are many beings having to do with energy and so forth who are often in the area to, shall we say, stabilize or adjust the circuits as necessary, and you are ever observed by an assembly of the angelic hosts and assisted by the able and eager midwayer cotillion.

Hunnah: That's a fancy word. I have trouble putting your entourage together in my mind. This is apparently without form, so I cannot appreciate it as much as I would like to, or I cannot appreciate it as much as I would like to.

You implied a greater agenda, while we sit here and haggle with these frivolous problems. I feel far removed from the greatness of the purpose of your being with us. I apologize because it seems to me you deserve better.

TOMAS: My dear child, my precious sheep, you are gracious and humble and you are a delight to my soul, but it is not necessary to apologize or feel over-meek, for your growth is becoming more and more evident and more radiant. It is why I am here, my dear, to enable you as individuals to reach your highest potential. And then, as a community, to reach your highest community potential, that the community then might become a beacon of Christ-consciousness and spirit reality that will establish you and your Revelation as a viable gift of the spirit to humanity.

Indeed, this community is not alone in our agenda. All of the communities, as designated teacher bases, who have long-standing teachers, engage in this kind of growth development. It is part of the curriculum. After the development of the individual, what do we do now? We learn to be healthy individuals in a bonded association of spirit in service to others and in company with ourselves. It is a natural evolutionary step that once you know who you are, that you want to get along with others, and so this is a part of our teaching format. Has that clarified?

Hunnah: I guess it has. I think of the people here and we are really not in a position to influence the community unless it were by the light that we be allowed to develop in our own beings.

TOMAS: Absolutely. And then, as you have the association of fellow believers, you have the strength of that spirit community, your own brothers and sisters in truth, that will reinforce your reality, strengthening not only you and them, but your community, that you might then radiate this community into the greater community as a beacon of community. And so you are not alone, but you have the support and the socialization of other kingdom-builders.

Now, as you develop your arts and techniques of spirit community, you can impart your learning into your other community configurations, such as in your organized churches or your school boards or your political arenas and town meetings and quilting bees and so forth, for once you have grasped a true reality and it has been reinforced, once it has become your modus operand!, your reality, then you affect others by the use of it, by the mere being of it, you see. I have heard you say as much.

TOMAS: I have enjoyed intermission. I am Tomas, I am back, and I will not keep you late. I know that my words were not light and inspirational, but ponderous and pedantic, but necessary, none-the-less, and timely. I am sure you will agree.

But before I go I want to reference a remark I made last week and follow it up somewhat for it too reflects on community values and concerns and it has to do with my remark regarding my associate Merium and how well she was operating in and through the auspices of Hunnah, and I said that I would not relinquish her entirely, that I indeed was feeling, and admitted to, some sense of possessiveness or jealousy in the context of wanting to hold her to myself for safekeeping.

And now I would like to address that, in that, it would be unseemly of a teacher to admit to having a quality which would be regarded in most cases as a negative and inferior light, but I would like to hold to my statement but point out that a lower and lesser understanding of jealousy has to do with suspicion and resentment and a sense of grasping and it was not in that context that I indicated my jealous regard for Merium, but rather in the sense of protecting a treasure.

I jealously guard my relationship with Merium and indeed I jealously guard my relationship with each of you. I will go so far as to say that as a teacher assigned to this community, I am going to jealously guard the values of our purpose in sublime esteemed light. If I feel, then, that the integrity of the Mission or of the Revelation itself is being compromised, on behalf of you and the Teaching Corps and the Revelators and Machiventa and Michael, I will speak in jealous regard for its sanctity.

I cannot allow the treasure of this Revelation, this gift to this emerald planet of Michael's bestowal, this place of my assignment, and this arena of your lives, cannot allow it to go by chance into default or disrepair. I will jealously guard it, then, and so I have made my statement.

Hunnah: Thank you for that beautiful statement. It's very comforting and reassuring to know that you hold your mission in such high esteem, because I feel that in our heart we feel the same way, and it is very frustrating for us to be tripping over human disfigured patterns of living and misunderstandings. It's so disgusting to have to deal with some of the things, the trivialities that hold us down.

Well, I interpret your statement as the song of joy, because you are aware of your mission and the integrity that you hold for it. It is an honor to be associated with somebody who has such pristine values and it gives me hope that the things that have shaken our little forms here, and given us a moment of doubt, I feel that you have dissolved that.

TOMAS: Fear not for my loyalty, and also rest assured that those values that we hold dear are the root of our community purpose. It is in that context that we are in this configuration. Now, as individuals, as we discuss individual paths to the Father, there are, of course, many variations on the theme -- scaffolding, if you will, much background material en route, but effective immediately, it may be understood that in terms of our community/ group efforts, the teamwork that will commence has to do with our work in promulgating our understanding of Michael of Nebadon and his goals for us.

I would like to also state for your comfort, Daughter, that although you offer a descriptive adjective of "disgusting" to the human condition, it is not necessary to efface your humanness (yours individually or collectively), for it is understood how frail you are and from what soil you have emerged. As you grow in the spirit and as you understand the tremendous community of assistants you have in the spirit and in the flesh, you will be able to grow beyond your more debilitating handicaps of time and space.

It is a very hopeful threshold that we embark upon/over. In time, indeed very soon, your humble attitude will become a triumphant bugle call of glory and honor in truth for those of us who stand as your aide in your efforts to exalt our Creator Father/Brother and His/our Eternal Parent on High. It is a noble work. It is not for weaklings. It is not for dreamers. It is for stalwart workers in the field, and you do me honor by your testimony.

And so now, my comrades, let us wind down for the evening for there is still time for you to savor one another's being and indeed indulge in a little private time with the Father before you go to your rest. Merium joins me in admitting our love for you, our embrace of you, and our best wishes to you in the few next upcoming days. Go in peace. Farewell.

TOMAS: Hello, my friends. I am Tomas; I am here with you, as is Merium. We were elsewhere and heard tell of your desire to make contact and so we hastened to your side. It is always a pleasure to be invited to be one with you. It is a diversion from our practice of observing, which much of the time we are relegated to, in addition to our other work assignments.

It is a new plateau we have reached here, insofar as you two are concerned, for you are now each able to transmit the words and concepts of the teachers. And so for perhaps for the two of you more particularly, the concept of teamwork has great meaning.

The early lesson with which you are familiar regarding the instruments in the symphony carries great weight in this process of being on-line side-by-side co-teaching, for only by your being sensitive to the prompts of those who are in a leadership role will you know when and how to emote.

In other words, if you should find, in your distraction or delight, that both of you are speaking at once, do not be alarmed but be aware that it is your involvement that allows for that to happen, for the Teachers themselves are very much aware of and sensitive to the limitations of this communication process.

It is difficult even to come up with an exercise that might help you, for it is a case of practice. You see now I am obviously on a roll, and therefore there is no need for interjection, but as I pause in mid-stream of a sentence to find the correct concept in this mind bank to convey [in order] to complete my thought, it is not uncommon for another to impatiently interject. And I have found this to be common in your mortal sphere. You have also observed the impatience of each other in terms of who will speak and when.

In our understanding, however, time is plenteous. Indeed, there is an eternity available in which to express one's self, but as you are all eager to contribute and be heard, we run into the possibility of everyone speaking at once.

I have just received a prompt from Merium that she would like to take the platform for a moment and I assume that she is making contact also with Hunnah, for I have not been advised that she wants me to move over in this vehicle, and so I am responding to her prompt which is all in accordance with the Divine Conductor. In other words, stay sensitive to the prompts, and I will now hush until I once again feel moved.

MERIUM (Hunnah): Good afternoon. It pleases me very much to be able to join you in this duet. Hunnah has been watching figure skating and she has been very impressed with the ability and the devotion of the skaters who fall and get up and continue on with their routine. They have worked so hard to perform their event that they are willing to continue in spite of flaws, and I too would like to continue to talk to you and to have this opportunity to speak through my worldly host, Hunnah. Tomas, would you like to speak?

TOMAS: I would like to speak in-so-far as your offer is in itself a lesson in community, for the most gracious approach to true communication is to communicate your intent and your invitation for others to voice their opinions.

In observing your practices, it is appalling how one cannot wait for the other to shut up so that they may speak. And this is not a true communication but a competition for the floor, and the fact that you offer me an opportunity to express myself is gracious and civilized on a high order.

I do not have anything specific to say except to acknowledge that graciousness in communication, [particularly] group communication, is highly contributory to effective and satisfying discourse.

MERIUM: There are so many areas that one could speak, and the parables are many. The human condition offers us a very large portfolio of examples where we may carry the message in the higher performance, the higher will, and walking into the prepared areas where you remain single-focused, where you may not remain diverted from the, you might say "carnival environment" that is so common in your arena.

Since the subject of skating is so fresh in Hunnah's mind and Gerdean also commented that she appreciated skating, too, the new and fresh observation for skating with a couple (and this was a regard of Tomas' appreciation for a shared platform) was that there is a development and an appreciation for the partner; and there is a confidence that is given to the participant, in that partner, and there is an absence of competition. They focus on a goal, the unison of their performance, in an affection and a responsiveness to each other in the course of this undertaking.

I would like to encourage all of our students here to allow themselves to understand that they have a partner in the Thought Adjuster, and that you might call that Thought Adjuster "the Dance Master" and that in your beingness is the feminine and masculine delivery which must be brought into harmony. And in the course of this harmony, you will be able to perform in a surprising manner. You will astonish yourself as this natural fruit is developed in your orchard.

Please consider yourself whole, and allow yourself to discover the beauty of the balance, that you may dance and fall very seldom. But in the beginning, please allow yourself patience and affection and go to those who are of like mind for encouragement, that you may be able to get up and dance or speak or perform in whatever way is appropriate for your consciousness as a metaphor that will be equal to this.

Speaking is so rewarding to me; it is my dance. It brings a fragrance and a satisfaction, and we here on the other side are in awe of this opportunity to speak to you in your tongue in which you might understand. Thank you, Tomas.

TOMAS: Gracious co-Teacher, I thank you for your wonderful words, your camaraderie in the spirit. You made a remark that prompted me to be mindful of how it is that group configurations most often join in union with each other against a common foe. It is well documented that in times of distress, people will band together -- as in time of war or in time of disaster. The rescue of little children and other victims of a highly publicized nature are matters that groups can form around and rally to their aid.

It is more noble to rally for than to rally against. Your history has shown how you band together against a foe, but we need more documentation of how it is that people rally for something together, rallying for something without that pesky competitive aspect, such as is found in those who rally around a political platform. But those who rally around that which is true, beautiful and good could help turn the tide of bad news to good news.

It is not more of an effort, much as the smile takes less muscle than the frown. The mutual community support of that which is joyous and wholesome requires less effort than the combined energies of a group in opposition to some alleged foe or danger.

There's a challenge! It is often that the United Midwayers, who observe these sessions, will attempt to follow up on our lessons and provide you examples for your living experiential, that you may be then benefited by an actual instance to underline the lesson. It would be heartening then to see you all rally 'round a cause, even a small one, for the exercise of uniting in a happy common bond. I am confident that one will emerge.

I have rattled on sufficiently. Have I perhaps stimulated your imagination, Merium, as to what we might expect in terms of a group effort in joyous unity?

MERIUM: I am reminded of the unity which comes with mental union and a unity that is material (building the new church, the membership drives, whatever) but coming into commitment as a group perhaps has never been totally addressed. I sense that Hunnah may have at one time commented at the meetings of the Urantia study group that there was a collective consciousness that was evolved when individuals came, and that is true, and the commitment of the individuals will definitely color the quality of the consciousness of that gathering; and, therefore, will influence the nourishment to the fruitage of their endeavors.

It is interesting with a group effort that there is a sense of individual self need that is set aside and the total being is drawn upon. Those who appear to have less courage develop courage. Those that need to be tender and considerate, become more so. Then, as the believed challenge is set aside or is resolved, there is a shift and the individuals will fall back into the common established pattern of their experience. They will reflect upon their extension of their ability, expansion of their satisfaction of how they met the need, and they will go back into a form of dormancy.

I speak to you of this because this is the human condition and we are here to help you elevate an interpretation of what you are about, what your goal is, as you would say here, but in our language it is what your destiny involves. Remember, we are continually lifting up the mundane and washing it and cleaning it and letting the light refractory develop, to bring to your attention that you are not a being of coal, that you are a being of genuine stone with genuine quality that you already know, and I ask you to allow this passion to awaken, that it may fall into your daily lives and in your group gathering.

I hope I have not sounded critical, but I am here to encourage, to awaken the sleepy-heads, to not convince, but to encourage and persuade those who have been distracted by worldly needs of amusement and vigorous activity that there is a greater assignment, and that you will prayerfully acknowledge your renewed purpose as we enter this holiday and allow the Spirit of Truth to cocoon you into sacred timing, sacred space, that you may come out and express these new-found powers and utilize them for the benefit of all. I think I have said enough.

TOMAS: You have said enough to again "whet my whistle." I am reminded, by your words of the immediacy of our mission, of the vibrancy that is a part of a love-saturated soul, the dynamic life of a religionist. As you pointed out, it is the human pattern to rise to the occasion in case that is necessary, but in the case of the religionist, there is no abatement of purpose. Every moment is an opportunity to act on behalf of God.

How that word shrinks in the magnitude of His glory! The paucity of some of your language symbols causes me to shudder. I must have trust that your Indwelling God Fragment will take that word and elevate it to its proper stature in your comprehension. And, speaking of elevating to appropriate levels, as Merium indicates, I would spend a moment reminding you too of the basic behavioral patterns of general humanity . .. and then the aspiring planes of reality that are popular and are instigated further by daily affirmations, daily meditations, written prayer and the like which are popular and which help you to maintain an awareness of your personal growth pattern.

And these augmentations to the normal mortal existence immeasurably assist you in assuming a positive stance for the day and for your modus operandi of the time. But even these positive affirmations and practices are short of the actuality which is inherent in the living spirit of God, the spirit which you know in your experience as the morontia levels of under-standing of your own spirit reality.

That level of comprehension and actualization is what we aspire to, which fundamentally is being able to respond to the needs of the moment -- at any given moment -- and thus keeping every moment vitally alive, rising to the occasion, for each moment is an occasion, an opportunity to glorify God and to celebrate your life therein. And I too have concluded my pas de deux around the rink.

TOMAS: And thank you, my gracious partner. How marvelous it is to have this exercise, this opportunity. Not only for myself and for my colleague Merium but for those of us in the Teaching Corps who hunger for and delight in these opportunities to make conscientious contact with you, our loyal students and faithful friends. The benefit to your own lives is apparent in the radiance that you enjoy, having taken the time to spend with your friends in the spirit.

TOMAS: It is well to begin our sessions with a moment of stillness and it is also beneficial when we direct our minds toward Our Great First Source and Center for He is our guide, truly, in all things; and so we may address Our Father in prayer and in praise of His being, asking His guidance and protection on our thoughts and our attitudes, that they may be in accordance with His will, that they may be a refreshment to the soul and that they may arise to greet the moment as a new day, a new dawning, in preparation for the many good works which are given and received by Our Glorious King to His honor and glory.

My friends, Merium and I are glad to be here with you. There are others, of course, and I greet those others on your behalf. Your personal teachers are aligned by your side and in rejoicing of your presence once again in community in communal service to the Father and to each other.

Merium giggled earlier and thought this arrangement this evening was somewhat like a lover's tryst that is hastily thrown together and must be fruitful and passionate for time is of the essence until the more mundane aspects of life come to invade the sanctity of your loving embrace; and so I giggle with her, in concurrence with her analogy, and embrace you -- but not speedily -- for it is in the quality of a transcendence of time and space which provides that divinity, giving the embrace its eternal and loving qualities.

Iyana: Tomas, thank you for your embrace, and the others for embracing, too. I have a question, please. When I was talking with Hunnah she brought her friend Jasmine to speak and I asked Jasmine a question about my personal teacher Han and she said for me to speak to you next time that I came and I will ask you the same question, similar to this, I am wondering when will Han and I be able to transmit with each other. I know that I am impatient; I am willing to keep trying and I am trying to relax, too, and keep my - (what shall I say?) - keep my mind when I am in stillness, so that if there is any printing of any sort of message that comes, that I might be able to understand it. Could you talk about that a little bit? Or could I speak with Han about that?

TOMAS: I will address this, dear Iyana, at Han's insistence, for he feels that a third party might have more objectivity than were he and you to discuss it directly, and this indeed is part of the difficulty, for you and he have worked so intimately together and for so long that it is now difficult to perceive the difference between you.

However, in-as-much as you seek to engage in this more pedantic but perpetual form of communication, I would suggest that you apply yourself to the rigors of an assignment of religiously attempting to make contact in the same methods that have been outlined before, and that is to sit in stillness and then allow a period of time for free-flow handwritten expression, and after a period of time you should see that your responding voice, through the pen, is being the influence of one other than yourself.

That is a first step toward the process -- identifying the "otherness" -- and through the vehicle of the written word, this is the first step in enabling you to see that you and Han are separate entities. It is only in response to your curiosity and your desire for the delight of the acknowledged companionship that this is even necessary, Iyana, because, as has been said, your and his communications have been on-going for a long period of time.

It would perhaps be beneficial for you to ascertain the separation of your personalities but it does not harm you to equate so closely with your personal teacher that you have indeed merged; for whereas on your plane "co-dependence" is regarded as a lesser condition, in the spirit realms this same "inter-dependency" is highly prized, for in working with the spirit, you are working with powers that supersede your own ego drive and to the extent that you allow this, through your Thought Adjuster relationship, through your personal teacher relationship, or through the relationship that you and I share, it is healthy and does suffice, but again, for your curiosity and your delight, it is a matter of exercising this assignment of meditation and then writing.

In time, after you have begun to discern other identities through the written word -- and these entities will identify themselves for your understanding -- you may then switch to a tape recorder and take the plunge into verbalization of these words from other teachers. It is a time-consuming process but you testified to a desire to accomplish this task and I feel you can accomplish it if you are indeed applying yourself to the development of this unique communication art form.

Iyana: Thank you. I have one more question. I was reading in the Urantia Book, I have been reading in the back of the Book about the talks that Jesus gave before he left the earth and the Spirit of Truth . .. I know that there's a paper here that Gerdean has and I haven't read it, but I had a question when I was reading it. He said, "I will send you a helper." I was wondering -- you can just answer this yes or no for me, because I'll read more about it -- is this helper my personal teacher?

TOMAS: The teacher He referred to, the Spirit of Truth, is indeed separate from your personal teacher. The Spirit of Truth is a true study in miraculous creativity by itself. It is addressed at length in the Urantia Book but it (the Spirit of Truth) is without personality and your teacher is a distinct personality.

Iyana: … to go with the special gift that we have received from the Father, of the Thought Adjuster. I mean we have those two in us that are from them?

Hunnah: Regarding the Spirit of Truth. Is that presence of that Spirit of Truth expressed in us as a recognition of truth?

Hunnah: Because I was wondering. I seem to have an extended self that knows … an awareness of knowing something. And under certain circumstances, I can express myself. I was wondering if … When I transmit, I feel as if it's a blend, and yet I know now that it isn't.

TOMAS: You have within you the Thought Adjuster, the actual fragment of the living God. It dwells within you. You have also the Spirit of Truth, and as you are transmitting, in that mode, you have set aside your ego identity to allow for the greater spirit to prevail (utilizing your vocal chords, your vocabulary, and so forth as you well understand, but you yourself are set aside and what remains is the Thought Adjuster and the energy patterns of personality of the teacher holding forth).

At the same time, operating in you and through you and in the others who hear you or who hear the teacher, is the Spirit of Truth (which you hear when you hear the words of the teacher, even as they pass through your own vocal chords); you hear the truth therein, and often they will harmonize with your indwelling Thought Adjuster. This is a good clear transmission, for the Spirit of Truth and the Indwelling Adjuster are in harmony and you sense the harmony and the truth of the message, or at least of the intent.

It is also true that others hear the Spirit of Truth as they hear you transmit the words, for they too are listening with their higher morontial mind; their indwelling God Fragment is being addressed; their highest nature is being massaged and reached and caressed and stimulated; and as they allow their mind to accept the intent of the content of the messages, their Spirit of Truth also will be reverberating with that same harmonious truth.

This is one of the reasons why our personal sessions, these Teaching Mission settings, are so satisfying and stimulating, for even though the words are a great delight and a bit of company for you in later times (the written word, that is), the true value of the interchange is that harmoniousness that exists as you know that you and your God are in harmony; not only are you in harmony with your God, but in harmony with other Thought Adjusters, other "gods" around you -- the Father which dwells within each of you.

This is the beginning of group worship. It is something that you long for, hunger for and delight in, even though you might not be aware of what is transpiring. We are attaining higher levels of spirit actuality. Have I addressed your question, Hunnah?

Hunnah: We are all sitting here with a tummy full. I appreciate your being able to come through Gerdean and I feel the presence of our friends.

TOMAS: Indeed, our friends are here and they are plentiful. My co-teacher Merium is on hand and would like to say hello. One moment.

MERIUM: I am here, coming through Gerdean who has her gastric juices on hold. I have been admonished by Tomas that the setting here is not infrequently induced by deep repose, having been well fed physically, and hopefully you will come away feeling fed spiritually also.

MERIUM: It is one of the advantages, if I may, of experience, of developing stamina, that you can in fact learn to transcend the pull of the material body, although it is sometimes difficult, even seemingly overwhelming at times, particularly when your instinctual energies are involved, such as electro-chemical pulls or hormonal pulls or the like, digestive pulls even; but it is possible to overcome and triumph over these physical aspects of being. Of course, that is your free will choice.

It is and remains one of life's rich experiences, that you be allowed to enjoy and appreciate your physical nature, your hormones, your instincts, your digestive aspects and so forth, but look you well to those that would hold you in slumber from greater joys and satisfactions, and so although you are admonished to enjoy your life, you are also encouraged to enjoy that which you can attain through greater striving toward spirit integration.

I am going to leave and allow Tomas to wind it up. Our romantic tryst comes to a hasty close, for as they say "tempus fugit." Good evening.

Hunnah: I was really hoping she'd come through for me. I was all rarin' to go.

TOMAS: I apologize for allowing the time constraints of your realm to impose themselves onto me and my realm. In particular, Hunnah, I have to convey to you that there is a connection between you and Gerdean that is becoming more and more readily apparent to you both. It is much as Merium spoke of in her recent words with you about the cooperation and affection that develops. As it strengthens, our communications will gather more fluidity.

Hunnah: I had some recent discussion with someone and it has to do with friendship and work and Christian experiences, that there is a possibility down the road that my friend and I might speak publicly. In the event that this can come about, will that make an opportunity for this work that we're having . .. a possibility of using that environment in . .. let me put it this way: health care and the Christian experience? Those words come to my mind.

TOMAS: Those words may come to your mind, but the word that I heard was "my" friend and I must ask you, who it is that you are claiming here?

Hunnah: Tomas or Merium or a teacher. I was just . .. thought I'd just be Hunnah here for a minute and ask that because it's fresh in my mind. And I was talking with someone who was so impressed with our conversation, and I have a friend at work who has had the burden of being a health aide for a loved one, and it's her Christian experience that has strengthened her, and it was suggested that the two of us would team up and . ..

TOMAS: I will not go on at length but you have indeed set the wheels in motion for our next lesson. I will say here, however, that it is to be remembered that our purpose here as teachers is to teach you to be teachers also, and as you experience this process of transmitting the teachers, it is fully possible for you to transmit us in any environment that you can establish and it need not be known that you are transmitting anyone but your own understanding of truth.

Hunnah: Well, in my previous teaching, the man and the woman were teachers. The word "channeling" teaching never came about; she just always seemed very eloquent. And now that this field is more open and this information is made available to us, I reflect back and feel that she absolutely had to have a teacher coming through, but that description was just never used. Wouldn't that be true?

Iyana: And I felt that she would come again. I felt very comfortable with her, that she was loving, etc., and . .. would you make a comment?

TOMAS: It sometimes takes time for them to allow the seeds to germinate and to be comfortable with the fertile soil, but they have tasted and they will hunger. She will return.

Hunnah: Thank for the extra counsel. I will let myself be open to it. In proper time it will probably come about.

TOMAS: Let me give you an appetizer, a tidbit to tantalize your taste buds in the realms of teaching, and that is the refinements as are taught by and enjoyed by our associates, the Morontia Companions. I will take this up again. They have long awaited another turn at the wheel, and in-as-much as we are entering the realms of "the group," it is again time to consider the facets of graciousness that can be had and learned from the Morontia Companions -- also wonderful teachers, although they are not as rigid and formal as we in the Teaching Corp, and so I am finished for this evening and I cover you all with kisses, my lovely mistresses in truth.

TOMAS: I am prepared to discourse on your selection, and my co-worker is prepared also to embellish your understanding of Vortex.

I am Tomas. I am glad to be with you again. It swells my heart to be with you and to feel your loyalty and your spirit reaching. Indeed, as you pray and as you aspire to make contact with God in heaven, you are creating a vortex in your reaching, understanding in this context that a vortex is energy that goes out and energy that comes in and it focuses on a time-space continuum. It is a large subject and one that is filled with imagery and potential understanding. It is a vast concept, and I will discuss an aspect of the vortex that includes the entire universe while my co-worker will address the more personal aspects of this energy experience.

In discussing it for your mortal understanding, I will first make reference to your energy, going out into your environment and into your arena, as you are all individually a vortex of energy. You influence your environment with whatever energy it is that you combust within your being. It is possible for this energy to be constructive or destructive, but from a cosmic perspective, the energy that you emit is part of the growing godhead, the Evolving Supreme.

Think of it as the ripple that spreads out when a stone is plopped on the pond. The ripple is the effect of your vortex as the Supreme Being is the ripple as a result of God's being at the center of all things. Have you ever noticed that the ripple that goes out eventually returns? And so all energy emits from Paradise, the beginning of this great energy vortex. Along with it is infinite love, and it spreads out throughout the Grand Universe and even beyond. It permeates time and space and its ripple comes back in and through the Supreme Being.

The vortex, then, you see, is the energy that goes out and the energy that comes in. I will leave it to Merium to describe the more personal facets of vortex, if she is inclined.

MERIUM: Hunnah is going to permit me to speak, even though she thinks she's not prepared to allow my discourse. Good evening. I am called Merium. The term vortex sounds so scientific. It does not have to be, but for some people, they are comfortable with a word like vortex. I would like to use the word radiance, a vibratory frequency that emits from your being, and is ever fluctuating.

It is the human condition at present to be very interested in their energy fields and they take great pride in them; they are fascinated with the fact that this display of energy is going on at all times. They refer to it as an aura. The attitude, the connectedness of the individual who is expressing an aura, is capable of having a very refined energy field, which is strong; it is impervious to the heaviness of people around them. It can be noticed that after you have had effective meditation, that you feel light, that your energy field has changed and that it has expanded.

As you receive the Spirit of Truth and your receptivity is expanded, your energy field is lightened. When you compound with other people, you have an expanded field of what I might call good will, and it becomes the predominant force. Those who are not of this clime are not aware, are not able to be aware frequently, of this manifestation that has taken place. The heaviness of their own field is their world, therefore they are not inclined to be aware of this level of living. Tomas?

TOMAS: You have addressed it well. I have so enjoyed hearing you teach. How you have embellished my realm by your presence.

I would like to pick up where you left off, for you had been addressing a group of people who were operating from their own personal positive vortex, radiant love and good will, and this is an ideal, individually and collectively. It is one of the purposes of our configuration, that we come from our separate assignments in our personal energy vortex, to conjoin with others to augment and enhance our differing vortexes and to converge them into a greater radiance by our unity, in our prayer, our worship, our aspirations, our goals, and thus a group formation is also a vortex. Yes.

MERIUM: I would like to speak about hallowed ground. In this realm of life, there is the cumulative effect of consecrated focused energy. If you went into a church, for example, that has had administratively a pure heart, there will be collectively lingering light and those who are receptive to this light can enter this area and find their own beingness responsive and they will frequently experience the change of consciousness because the collective consciousness that has been in this area becomes so powerful that the lesser (the one who has entered it) is overwhelmed in response and expands. Their vibratory rate changes.

The vortex, collectively, is what we are speaking: "as above, so below." There is an outpouring in both directions, which, if I can use the analogy, is like a shaft and it does not leave because it is so highly developed. Like windows of good will, they are a true place of beauty and when two or three are gathered together, there is a version of such there; good will comes about and creates a sphere of nurturing and it is the receptivity of the individual that will influence the effectiveness for that individual.

The importance of developing sacred space, I feel, is an appropriate addition to what we are talking about. If you select this space in your home where you will go, this is the room, and allow a collective layering of light to be accumulated in that area, you will find that it is easier to settle in for your prayers, for your listening, to practice the stillness. It is as if your whole body and your mind were with a clock, or a knowing, "Oh! It's time to be quiet. It is time to be soothed. It is time that I may be refueled." And by doing this, even if you feel that when you go for a long time, that it is not really effective, you have honored the Father, you have honored the whole universe by saying "Thou art" as soon as you allow yourself to sit down.

You can develop other habits. This can apply to your automobile, if you find yourself in your car a great deal. It is a wonderful place of privacy where you cannot be disturbed, and without realizing it you will have a "mobile vortex" of receptivity. Thank you.

TOMAS: I am inclined to contribute further and remark about morontia form, for as you have been given to understand, when you leave your material existence, there are other material spheres of a higher nature, of a morontial nature, that are visible and recognizable; indeed they are called material but they are not the dense material of your finite existence but of a higher caliber, and in some ways your sacred spaces have contributed to creating a morontia environment. Much as Merium was discussing, in the cathedral, the temple, or your personal sanctuary, the holiness establishes a certain reality that transcends the baser material levels that are common to you all.

There are, in many cultures, not only on Urantia but also on the worlds of time and space, many edifices and wonders that are regarded as holy places. The Niagara Falls is a powerful place and designated one of the world's wonders; there are also in the Native American culture rocks that "weep"; and many physical phenomena have been given supernatural meaning. The image of the patterns in the fields comes to the mind of this T/R as an example of natural phenomenon being given supernatural purposes and reasons for being, but it is the mind of the individual that creates the sanctity of the place in the first place. As you are impressed, as you elevate your impression to fields of worship, you have given reality a foothold, you have contributed to the true scaffolding of morontia reality, and you have added an element of divinity that was previously only matter.

All of these discussions that we have delved into this evening are vastly entertaining and highly speculative for, since they are so elusive and vast in context and nature, they are open to interpretation to anyone who would care to dally in such metaphysics. But you had indicated an interest, and so it seemed interesting to us also to respond to your interest with some of our own.

MERIUM: While listening to Tomas, it came to my attention as he commented also that this is information that you have probably read in medical journals or many of the areas of literature that are available today, but I am wanting to expressing a need for -- as a reminder -- that people are coming in at every level, with various appetites. We are here to ignite new understanding, and when you read these words of this discussion, it will touch different areas of your memory and your opening and flowering, expanding ability to accept truth.

The truth is the tool that will help you loosen the unnecessary accumulation of human information. You are having now a glut of information. But as the Spirit of Truth touches you, this excess will be put in its place, set aside and disempowered as the beauty of truth prevails in your own experiences. And I want to remind you once more that as you attend to your own personal space and develop a hallowed area, a vortex of liberty and freedom, it will penetrate every area in your life, especially in your home. And there will be resistance; almost a nausea will overwhelm those who are dallying, who want to sleep, who are very irritated at being disturbed from their slumber because you are not behaving in your old manner. It creates great discomfort at times.

Let me assure you that as this develops, comfort will come with it and it will go with you and you will know, you will know who it is in your house. I wish you well in your new expansion. Thank you.

TOMAS: I am inclined also to provide a reminder having to do with the discussion beforehand, and it has to do with the fact that metaphysics have been highly stimulative of spirit reality, but it has failed to satisfy the true longings of the soul, that these many wonderful speculative and psychic aspects of ascension have not provided that saving grace that will give rise to the harmonious peace that passes all understanding which can be found only in true communion with the First Source and Center, and so I concur with my co-teacher that your greatest gift to yourself is that sacred environment where you create your own spiritual vortex to receive the energy from the Father that he may then send you out for you to emit and give His love to all you meet. Are there questions this evening?

Leah: I was wondering about... As Merium was speaking about the good will emitting as radiance from individuals, I could understand these people in Niagara Falls a little better. They want 25 people to do some sort of a configuration. In my own belief system I don't really see it's necessary to do a configuration for anything, but apparently they feel that, and obviously the entity that speaks is always saying that "it's not important whether you acquire this building or not; it's what this is going to bring about -- the brotherhood, the integration, spiritual integration." I don't know, but I just don't seem to understand and maybe it's not really that important. They keep talking about clearing and anchoring vortex. Now, as Merium was speaking, I got this visual picture of the pouring on and the pouring out the shaft of light type thing, but are there actual negative places of energy?

TOMAS: It is as we discussed. Places are a reflection of the minds of those who attend them. I have heard it said that civilizations that have been destroyed by oppression have haunted history in the atmosphere surrounding the area where that civilization once stood. It is perhaps a gift of mindal machination, but it has no reality, from my vantage point. If it is not good, then it is not at all. You well know that in your life experiences the good remains and the pain is unremembered and even in the adjudication of the rebels, they are as if they had not been, and so that which has no value ceases to exist. How can something that does not exist take up space? How can anything negative be given a monument to its ignominious non-existence? Only good survives. Only love prevails.

Of course, a prison is an unhappy place and has been from its inception, but look at the mental energy that has gone into the creation of such a hole of confinement. It is unworthy of a kingdom-believer to dwell on reality that is not conducive to the grace and goodness of God and each other, for in an advanced and evolved era, even those in confinement will be understood and loved and rehabilitated. It is the mental configuration, yes, that creates that negative vortex, but that is not a vortex such as we are opting to promote. And it is also why I referenced the metaphysical realms as compared to the spiritual realms.

Leah: The word aura was mentioned, and I don't believe it is mentioned in the Urantia Book, but we do have people who read our papers who are interested in the Teaching Mission teachers who respond to things of this nature to discuss at the present time, regardless of whether they are printed in the Book or not.

TOMAS: Yes, and inasmuch as we are all a part of the Correcting Time, it is unfortunate that one must be fair and refrain from saying, "but my truth is more pure than your truth," and yet this is truth. Only the Spirit of Truth can ultimately prevail, but in the Teaching Mission, that is, even so, a facet of Correcting Time. We have our standards to uphold. And although it is wonderful to share community of spirit with the vast hosts of those who are not against us, it falls upon us, even so, to uphold our own integrity to our Mission, which is incorporated in The Urantia Book and which is under the administration of our Creator Father/Brother. These are fine lines, but worthy of understanding.

Auras are a part of the scaffolding. They are a wonderful part of the metaphysical understanding of energy and personality and color and design and, indeed, there are those who profess to see and God bless them for their visions. All cannot see. Some can hear; all cannot hear. And so we try to speak a language of full appreciation for everyone, for everyone's gifts.

The Urantia Book does not discuss auras, no, but it is a fine phantasm of understanding the nature of the spirit energy that emanates from a love saturated soul. Why should it not give off all the colors of the rainbow, for is it not indwelt by divinity and the parent and creator of all color and all order and all light and all music? It is only when one becomes "hung up" on these tenets of understanding that does not embrace the greater destiny that they become nit-picking points that separate people rather than congealing them into one divine vortex of believers -- sons and daughters of the living God, which we all are!

And that is the great vortex that we all seek. Even as we are here together, the four of you, the many of us, here in this room, these energies have created a vortex of energy, for we have received energy from the Father and He has embraced us in an embrace of peace and understanding of good will that has fed us all, each of us, that will give us energy, in order that we may go out from here, in order to radiate His love and energy into our arenas, that it may one day indeed be returned to Him from whence it came.

All of us aspire to contribute to this great, magnificent universal "vortex." In the meantime, there will be many little eddies that skim the surface of the water, that stir up the dragonflies, that create rapture for the water lilies. I am finished.

MERIUM: Tomas, I will not add to your repertoire of information. It seems you have covered all the area very well, and you did include the importance of not dwelling on the effect to the developing of that singleness of purpose into true spirit reality.

TOMAS: Shall we then embrace in oneness and remove ourselves, Merium, that these children might visit and frolic and attempt to manifest their personality expression in a delightful manner? Until we meet again.

TOMAS: Good evening. I am here this evening for your amusement, as well as many others. We have consulted, due to your mind-frames, and opted to allow for your pleasure an exercise in sensing circuitry -- a practice session, if you like.

I call to your minds that, having entered the Father's presence in stillness, having found peace within yourself, the Father then sends you out to carry His energy into your daily life; and now that you have each touched base with Paradise, I call you forth into the circuitry to play, to avail yourself of the circuits, that you might begin to foster an understanding of our working arrangement with you -- if your minds are amenable to contact with us.

Leah, your playful acquiescing to participate is not taken lightly, but is accepted as an offer also to access any and all identities that might make their way into your mind. It is in delightful oasis of time and space such as this that provides that opportunity to practice these contacts that give validity to your transmitter experience and that astound those who are aware of its taking place.

I will leave it to the various visitors as to whether or not they would like to offer a short lesson or an anecdote or a prayer or whatever they choose. The assignment for you three will be to remain on line. Do not ask questions, but rather avail yourself this evening of the circuits and, if you opt to, use the circuits to communicate. I will return in the course of the evening as your dutiful host. Have fun.

Hunnah: I'm sitting here feeling electric impulses on my head and the side of my face. If I was a bell that would ring, I would know that someone was on line, but I don't know how to participate unless . . . would that someone would be willing to get the ball rolling. They don't come through and say, "Hey, you, this is Joe!" you know? They don't do that and I would appreciate if they would. But, what do they do? Nothing! And You-know-who isn't helping.

Hunnah: How do we identify this, Trieste? I feel as if everything is in order, but I don't know how to proceed.

TRIESTE: In developing a sensitivity to prompts, you must of course avail yourself, and then you must await the, as you say, electrical charge or recognition of an energy. At that point you may assume that a personality is attached to the energy. The key is to recognize the personality. It is helpful if you can identify a door, an opening in the circuit, [so] that when that door opens, a particular personality emerges.

In the case of Gerdean, for example, Tomas always accesses her (in her mind's eye) from the upper left front portion of her cognizance; and I normally slide in through the back door on the right side. Daniel was known to make his entry into her consciousness at a juxtaposition opposite Tomas, that is to say, toward the right front upper lobe. These are cues that have developed over a long period of time.

When a new entity is coming on line, it may be that you do not know them, and so you cannot identify them. All you need to do then is open your mouth and say what they will have you say, and they may introduce themselves at a later time. And indeed it is not necessary, either, that they do, for the process itself is of value. Many times a visitor will come and, knowing that names are difficult for the transmitter will opt not to leave a name. Unknown speakers have always been welcome, however.

The key is that if you feel the "spiritual pressure" - the, as you say, electrical charge, the "psychic stimuli" or whatever terminology you recognize as a prompt, act on that prompt to understand that they are trying to make contact with you, and then avail yourself of them that they may direct your voice accordingly. Has that been helpful?

Hunnah: Yes, it has. In other words, if I . .. I should be aware of how I feel and if it's, like, Merium, I will feel a consistency in that area of myself . ..

Leah: I've only once felt any kind of an impulse and it was one time when we were downstairs, so I have no idea what you're experiencing.

VISITOR: I am going to step up to the mike here. It's good to be with you this evening. There is a large group of individuals here who are looking forward to sharing the line, and we appreciate your participation. Hunnah is having difficulty "leaving the room" so to speak; she is anxious for this demonstration to work. This is difficult to accommodate pre-conditioning. If the transmitter-receiver is accustomed to receiving impressions that they are allowed to articulate (it seems that way), there can be hesitancy in the operation of that system. This truly is a practice session. Another impression or condition is that every word spoken is to be a pearl of wisdom. Earlier this evening you discussed this, that the talks were brief [Ed: early in the TeaM) and now they have become social, laced with nuggets of truth and stimulating nuances.

Nevertheless, you are sitting in the light, you are focused, and the form of the manna is not so important but the fact that you are willing to receive it. Things seem to be flowing better now. There is a desire on the part of this T/R to have access to a mental voice that would reassure her, in spite of the fact she has had very receptive communications "beyond thoughts and words".

In a conversation today regarding communications, someone said to her, in spite of the fact she has had very effective communication, "beyond thoughts and words" -- in a conversation today regarding communications, someone said to her, "I would prefer not to hear a voice, because at times I question my sanity." So you see, what is satisfying to one may not be to another.

It is understandable that there is doubt and a little anxiety accompanying this strange mode of education. When he has gone through the throes of infant steps and has stepped up to sophistication, the poise that you receive in a transmitter's message... Do not think that you should be the exception to the rule, my dear. I think that I will let someone else speak for awhile.

MIDWAYER: I am a midwayer. I am designated by number. I have been here sharing your world for a long time. Even before you, I was. I was around for Machiventa and during Michael's sojourn here, and now again I am intrigued to receive assistance. We midwayers are overjoyed with the results of the circuits opening.

Your short lives have shown you certain growth, spiritual evolution. Your questioning moments are truly a blinking of the eye in comparison to those of us who have been here for a long time; but in perspective, you see, we too have, been here, in existence, but a brief time. We look to the angelic hosts and to other universe personalities for their seniority and their longevity to provide us the perspective that we engender.

It is cause for celebration to see the light coming. We have been here this long time and will remain on Urantia until it is established in Light and Life, and so I and we will be here long after you have gone and as you are working and playing and learning in the Mansion World experience.

Thank you for your help in bringing about this new age. The torch is lit. You have helped to fan the flame. I wanted to say hello and greet you and give you a pat on the back and those words are shallow compared to my true intent. You help lead us into our own release from this assignment, from our natal sphere on which we have served since the time of the Material Son and Daughter. That is all. Farewell.

VISITOR: Greetings. There is such a banquet of opportunity for subject matter this evening. Your lives have been very busy; your questions have been many; you have been both in a state of joy and sorrow, puzzlement and pleased with your discoveries. You understand when you keep a single eye that the road appears to be smoother but there are so many distractions that seem to pop your safety belt, so to speak, and it is puzzling to you and it can be draining, but in spite of this emotional roller coaster ride, we do go forth with confidence to apply what you believe to be coming from your platform of truth, and for this we do applaud you.

As I see it, there is a need here to assist you with your ability to be quiet, to be still, to allow yourself the discipline. Perhaps we better go back, all the way to the beginning and say, "It is such-and-such a time; I must go and be quiet." Pick your time of day. Ask for the loving assistance that surrounds you to bring you to the point of decision of breaking away from whatever it is you have that appears to be distracting you.

Man cannot serve two masters, and the dictates and the demands of others who are not enlightened are draining. You are so conditioned to play the rules of the game. "But this is my child! This is my husband! These are customers!" You have within you new selves to a new purpose. It is time once again to review your priorities. This is what's calling.

My arms are about you. Truly my hand is always on your shoulder and as you understand that you have your own conditioning and it is very persuasive. Hunnah has a memory of a friend who had read a book, a book of truth and light, and in that book it offers: "Who told you? Man or God?" I have brought this statement forth in an effort for you to use this statement when you find yourself having your harness, your human harness pulled on. Your harness is a tether of light and it allows you to be checked in, held in line.

I have chosen this metaphor so that I might approach this subject to you as a small group, and I know you can relate to it. Our hearts are filled with compassion. The dual aspects that you experience. As you are challenged, pause and redirect, and allow those who live with you or pass around in your daily life, know that there are priorities and they have priorities, too. Sometimes you do have to compromise, but not when it comes to living manna. First things first.

If you were in a position of government, you would have to apply the same discipline. If you were in a wilderness, finding your way, you would still have to bow to the allegiance of this new terrain. It is very difficult when you live among many who are heavily besot with confusion. Allow the light to make a buffer zone between that which is The Father's business, and that which is the child's tribulations of the man.

I hope that this little pep talk will help. And please remember that regardless of the name of the issue that is presented, it is nothing in the sight of God. Nothing. Your relationship with the Father is truly the only agenda. Go in peace and confidence. You are greatly loved. Thank you.

MACHIVENTA: [This is] an informal occasion, and so I thought I would come in smiling. I do not wish for you to have to recover from your astonishment on my account. It was only necessary for me to say "Big Mac" and you understood who I was. I could have as well identified myself as any one of a number of Melchizedeks and you would hear me say the same words, the same blessings, the same encouragement and the same acknowledgement.

But it is a practice of mine, in good stead, to visit occasionally with those groups of individuals who are maintaining a loyal diligence in the face of so much distraction. It is much appreciated that you forbear and manifest steadfastness of purpose. And, in keeping with your humor this evening, it is my pleasure to advise you that we are also amusing associates and compatible friends, not just drivers and teachers.

But I will not dally. I will leave you to your devices, in full confidence of the privilege that you all enjoy and that you respect. Were it not for the truth of your sincere reverence for the Master and for his plan of salvation, I could not come and enjoy you so intimately, indeed, so familiarly. Respect of the work and the integrity of the workers is uppermost. I will come again.

ADRIAN: I am Adrian and I will push through for I understand that in times of, shall we say "bliss", it is difficult to keep you moving. I would urge you, when you are in bliss, to carry it in stride and become comfortable with this state so that you can act within it. On the other hand, when you are stilled by your fear, I would then urge you to move also out of your fear, away from the paralysis, and in this way you are asserting yourself, you are asserting yourself FOR progress and AGAINST decline. It is a good stride. It is a comfortable striving.

I have noticed Gerdean caught often of late in fear. She sinks into a quagmire and, as if she were practicing yoga, embraces the fear, holds on to it, as if it were a saving grace, and I am happy to see that she has at last recognized her habit of succumbing to fear, for now that she knows what it is and that it is indeed an unreasonable fear, she can go forward. How marvelous that Merium has been able to plant seeds of growth within Gerdean from which we have already seen effective results. It is one of the advantages of having other people transmit teachers. This is community.

And in closing I would like to second the recommendation that you redouble your efforts in stillness, and I speak to Gerdean here in support of the suggestion, for if, Gerdean, you were to remember your time with The Father in stillness on a disciplined basis, you would not so readily succumb to those fears that you have begun to see and recognize. It will help you "pass by."

Dear ones, it is always a pleasure to have the occasion to greet you and to embrace you in the spirit. Until we speak again, farewell.

UNKNOWN: I would like to speak about confidence. Confidence is an accumulation of having made an effort. In a sense, if I may use the imagery, . .. ah, yes, there are several situations here in Hunnah's memory bank that I can use and one is very recent:

Pilgrims, of a sort, have ventured to a new land, and the land is not so hostile as it is foreign. The terra firma, the foliage, the temperature, the residents, they are all in great contrast from where the pilgrims have ventured, and in this climate, the ground is very, very soft, and the pilgrims have had to take boards (I use the word 'pilgrims'; take that word lightly, please) -- they took boards and they placed them ahead so that they could have a steady place to step. Sometimes the boards didn't seem to be available but they pursued; their clothing became soiled and uncomfortable but they pursued.

There is another imagery here from her journals where she has used the analogy of a lily pad, and without quoting the lines, she has said that these lily pads were placed "by care's preparation". Is that not beautiful? The new situation that you are encountering is providing lily pads, not boards. The lily pads are associated with the new life. The lily pad is associated with beauty. The boards are yesterday; they indicate the hardships of the times.

The lily pad -- I will use the lily and the lotus to indicate the new times, and unfortunately you are so conditioned regarding difficulty that you make it difficult! There was a time when a gentlemen would lay down his cloak for a lady to step upon. There are many other -- ah! How about the rug? The famous rug that went through the sky. Such a wonderful lily pad that was! -- But in this case, I am speaking metaphorically in this manner because I need to have you lighten up! You may take your chain and ball off! It is no longer appropriate!

Also in Hunnah's travels she watched a movie where the main character carried his armor in a great fishnet rope bag and hauled it on his back through the jungle as a form of mortification for the wrong he had done, and it took the innocence and purity and humor of a native to take his sharp blade and go over to the man and snap and release this terrible burden and this foolish sight that he hauled with him. The man was in great shock; he had lost his source of punishment, but in spite of that, he sensed an immediate relief.

I have come like a storyteller to you this evening to remind you that you have entered your rest. That, too, has been shown to Hunnah in the past, that our beloved Jesus, Christ Michael, has labored for you and brought you a long way, it seems, out of the muck and mire, out of the uncertainty, and lifted you up, weightless, free of heavy clothing, the clothing of the fibers of misunderstanding, untruths, other people's philosophies, and on this accumulation of journey of visions of visionary teaching for those who have decided that that's how they should be taught (for it is their limitation), it is necessary to remind you that your yoke is easy and your burden is light.

Your robe, your garment, is light, but out of habit you insist upon putting on the wrong costume. You have traveled far away from the hardships into My arms, and yet the memory and the sound seem to cling to you. SEEM to cling. I am speaking to you this evening to remind you that you have passed through the living waters, been lifted up into a shimmering radiance of truth being and that there is always a lily pad of preparation that has My strength and a mind set of confidence.

S-e-l-f. Please capitalize it. Your true self. The self that you long to be is the true self. The self that you know you are. You do no longer have to carry your burdens. You are in a new state of creativity. You have a new agenda. And you have permission to carry it forth. Without doubt.

Tonight I am the coach; you are my team. And how I love you! Did you know that I smile all the time? Like the Buddha. In the human, the smile is an act of surrender. Isn't that wonderful? I hope that you smile a great deal and that you hold your head high and when you think that you are speaking to someone, remember that there is only one to speak to and it is Me. I am your best conversation. I am your awakened state. I am the task of the day. And I am your radiant fulfillment. Oh joy!

That is dessert. And we know you like sweets. Speaking of food, I am giving you permission to look at it with new understanding. All your appetites, all your senses belong to the keeper of truth. They are gifts. I cleanse your palette. I open your ears. I clear your sight. I warm your hearts and cloak you with radiance and I send you forth on your journey that comes to you one moment at a time. Go in peace.

TOMAS: I am Tomas and I too will admonish you to go in peace, to savor the rejoicing of the evening, indeed, it has been a cream puff. We have all had a wonderful time. I hope you feel uplifted and replenished. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday. Good evening.

MERIUM: I am Merium and I would like to use the metaphor of a cup, briefly. It is bewildering to us sometimes why this richness that comes in doesn't linger long. It is because your cup is being enlarged. You will be able to have a greater capacity. Do not be hard on yourselves. The human condition is a whining child, a bewildered child. We come together to remind each other that we are becoming new in Christ. We are new, and you are allowed to be renewed. We bring you both comfort and good cheer. One moment, please.

DANIEL: I am Daniel. I have been summoned and it gives me great pleasure to attend your meeting. I have good tidings to bring from your peers in the spirit realm. I will convey how heartfelt and eternal these relationships are. It is true that when you develop a loving friendship with a personality, you recognize that personality even after a long absence, and when you are away from someone that you love, do not grieve the absence, for assuredly you are not truly separated, but only in your limited understanding are you separated.

In truth there is no separation. And when you feel the embrace of your loved friend after a long absence, you will recognize that it [the friendship] is as alive and vital at that moment as it ever was in its previous configuration. This is a lesson that only comes through time, for often you are not aware, by the nature of your existences here in the flesh, that this is a truth. In coming to conjoin with your group this evening I will convey that Gerdean was not so much saddened [the T/R wept] but joyed to feel my presence, an old friend; although my arrival did bring to mind her undying love for my beloved charge Rutha.

It is hard to convey to those who do not appreciate this Teaching Mission or the truths of this spirit reality, but the friendships that you develop in spirit are vital and eternal, are more real, in truth, than the many, many acquaintances and fellows that you encounter in your short lifetime in the flesh. It is and has been an honor for me to share your world, to become part of your living reality, to help you step into the light of truth. I will return one day to visit you again. As I have indicated, our friendship is not lost, but is found and is eternal.

TOMAS: I confess to having a fragile vehicle this evening, but she is stronger than she might appear, and much of her strength is due to her faith and her commitment to these higher truths and realities that we have mentioned and that Leah has approached in song. My words to you this evening have to do with Band-aides. It is well known to us who observe life on Urantia that there are any number of Band-aides that people apply to their situation in order to heal the wound, be it real or imagined, and it is equally possible for you to approach the teachers and the spirit realm as if it were yet another Band-aide that when you come and suffer, when you are in emotional distress, that your contact with us will provide you a Band-aide that will enable you to feel better and go out renewed.

I would like to stress to you, my friends and my children, that we are not a Band-aide, that the spirit life is not "the opiate of the masses," for as you are beginning to ascertain, being aware of spirit reality is not always easy. It is not easy to put these principles into effect in your life. "His yoke is easy and His burden is light," but it is also true that you have not all perfected yourselves, that as you learn and as you come into the light, as you indeed learn how to relinquish the old wounds and the old patterns, there is upheaval in the growth struggle.

We are not here to assuage your ills and soothe them to the extent that you no longer feel them, but we will comfort you as you learn and develop those internal lessons that will enable you to heal and grow, rise above, and walk through life's vicissitudes without them becoming an onerous burden of existence. We are not a perfume that you squirt over a foul smell in order that it should not disturb you, but we are a medicinal salve that will help the healing process.

Your pre-meeting discussions this evening testify to your sincere growth struggles. The fact that you, as a group of individuals, are able to objectively and yet with concern observe the ills of your society -- not in condemnation but in concern for correction -- is a vast step forward from where your concerns were a year ago. As you, to some extent, represent a fraction of the collective consciousness, you may feel hope that your concerns will be also the growing concerns of many others, and so the struggle is not on your shoulders without aide. Merium?

MERIUM: Aide. Good evening. Aide comes this evening as a warm embrace and it is certainly due and is welcome. We can certainly feel your appreciation and your colors are changing as your receptivity swells. The conversation this evening was enthusiastic with your effort to be non-judgmentally judging, and kindly self-disciplining. You were examining the programming of your lives, the conditions of the people around you, and it takes strength, it takes focus, in order to allow people who are not of the same ilk or have the same agenda to be very close to you. They are careless with you and they do not even understand themselves.

Your conversations were on target and I wish you well and all a speedy recovery in the new wave of what may seem an onslaught of misunderstanding. That is why it is so important that you take/grasp the reins when you feel a retort coming (because we know who is delivering the return, the reply that is not carrying love; we know that that messenger is a false one) and we encourage you to stop and not reply, but to cast it into the eternal fire.

It's as if it were some place that you could extinguish these things at hand, and you will find new techniques with which to do it. They will not appear as techniques so much as they will carry the power of defusing. I am reminding you that darkness cannot enter light, and when you find yourself vulnerable -- you were talking earlier about keeping a low profile -- this is the time for a low profile, when you do not feel at your best or your strongest. And there will be many days like that.

Recently my hostess here has been dealing with the pains of watching her friend live in a state of difficulty, of living between two worlds, and this is an art form that your new light self is allowed to maintain. You are a bridge between the new you and the world that knows not of the love of God. It is an art form and in your development you tire easily and need to retreat to the old way of being.

I am using Hunnah's reserves this evening. It seems as if the lessons repeat themselves again and again and you weary from it, but what you do not understand is that you are also being strengthened because you catch yourself now, whereas before you may not have. You will venture into the wrong area, yes, but you will not remain there as long.

TOMAS: It is time now that we ventured into your area. Have you questions to present for our discussion? Have you concerns that you would bring to your teachers and your peers for sharing?

Hunnah: There is a concern for our need to feel and measure progress all the time. You lavish your praise upon us. We are constantly faced by the challenges of the limitations of our material goods, and the basic needs. How do we keep from keeping ourselves in a state of need? It is so difficult. Can you take it from there?

TOMAS: I must take it the only place it can go, and that is in acknowledgement of your great need. It is innate, as you seek perfection, to strive even further for even greater perfection, and so there is a consistent and recurrent state of neediness. It is the un-comfortableness of that state of being that precludes many from consciously taking those steps that would bring them into a spiritual way of life.

The admonition "Be ye perfect" is highly fear-inducing, for it infers you must be willing to acknowledge that you are not already perfect. Granted, in your growth, in your relative perfection, you may enjoy and acknowledge the sublime peace which passes all understanding; you may know serenity; you may enjoy a certain aspect of personal light and life; and you may even glimpse moments in time and space wherein this light and life is extended to include others, and that is a joyous day indeed.

But as you assign yourself to ascend unto the Father, as you allow yourself to grow, you will recognize how far you have to go before ultimate perfection is attained. That recognition can cause discomfort. Your notion of failure is what is disturbing. Not that you are needy, but that you have failed to attain perfection causes you grief.

If you were to appreciate your growth process, that it is not a matter of attaining and then having completed the task, but that with each new plateau of perfection comes another surge of yearning for that next understanding, that next piece of experiential wisdom, that puts you once again back into a situation of needing -- the experience of needing, the support of needing, the encouragement -- and as you have obviously set out with gusto, we have been sent to encourage your growth, to give you those necessary and requisite pats on the back that will allow you to continue the struggle, the good fight of faith.

Remember, too, that you are becoming more aware of what you are doing. When you walked in darkness, it was not necessary that you receive accolades and encouragement so much, for you found your value in other things, indeed, in things and in people. And now that you are finding your reality in higher avenues of reality, you need to yearn for this same encouragement and companionship as you once found in your material realm, and so we encourage your bonding, your camaraderie with each other, with fellow believers, for they can encourage you when you stumble, when you grow weary; they can understand your humanness when you become impatient or when you know anger. Also we are glad to provide counsel and encouragement and yet new fodder for your growth mill as you assimilate these lessons of time and eternity. Have I addressed your concern?

Hunnah: Yes, you have. But I would like to have you approach it from another direction, if you don't mind.

Hunnah: I have met people lately who have been bewildered by their inability to get "grounded." It is as if sometimes life is so painful you don't really want to -- they want to be in the lofty place all the time and being back on the ground in daily grind is just so traumatic for them they don't want to stay; they want to fly. And I was talking with someone today about the human condition reaction if a person is threatened, to either fight or flight, and so we have this paradox: we have the fighters and the ones that want to put their wings on and leave the situation, and here in this room we have three people who have experienced both conditions. But the ones who want to remain in the lofty realm, suffer just as greatly as those who can't seem to get up off the heaviness of human dependency.

TOMAS: There is a mota that I will call to your attention. You may look it up for the exact wording but it refers to the fact that wisdom is not gained from the isolated mountain tops but from the depths of human experience, many of which involve anguish and suffering; that is where wisdom is learned. And it is easier to stay on the mountaintop of these sublime feelings, but eventually the sincere child will recognize its fantasy life and need to ground itself in order to serve that God which has given it existence, in order to serve its fellows that they too may rise, and rise together to those lofty heights of soul appreciation and spirit awareness.

Hunnah: Thank you. It reminds me of that line, "Don't worry, be happy," that all will be well and that this is the temporary situation.

TOMAS: Be prepared, when the friend falls from the lofty height and finds him or herself self knee-deep in mud, to be supportive, to not disdain the mess but to help them up, that you may tread the path together. Remember the boards that Merium spoke of? In your early ascension there are some rather murky pitfalls, but as you begin to develop your faith, as your roots are well grounded in the soil of spirit and in life itself, those lily pads are carefully placed such that you need not fall off into primitive planes of existence any longer.

It is necessary that the individual learn to love life, even that he learn to embrace disappointments and enjoy the sorrows of existence. These experiences are those which bring about wisdom. Remember that the greatest affliction is to have never been afflicted, for it is only in affliction that you learn wisdom, and so even the down times, even the dark nights of the soul, even the difficult passages of life, the sore disappointments and the tribulations of time, are a part of the divine plan. Even though it may not seem so in the experience, in reflection, after you have emerged and seen your growth, after you appreciate the lesson that you have learned, after you see the gift that you now have to give to those who follow behind you experientially, you will understand better the Father and his loving plan for you.

It is of course not fun to step off the pedestal and into the arena where there are wolves and bears, but it is being done all the time by courageous individuals, and these individuals are growing spirit muscle; they are developing, along with their sensitivity, thick skins that will enable them to work in the rough realms as well as in the sublime heights. This is cause celebrate; this is part of the full spectrum of your living experience -- the peculiar dichotomy of a full human being enjoying life in the spirit and in the flesh, a unified personality indeed.

MERIUM: Thank you, Tomas. While you were talking I was reminded that it is very easy to become self-absorbed in your spiritual journey, and that we must remember that everyone around us is in a different state of development and everyone will use the same situation differently. In Hunnah's background there is healthcare, and the person experiencing the problem is developing a tolerance and an attitude of cooperation perhaps in one way, as the person taking care of that individual is developing another aspect of him or herself.

Everyone is receiving their own assignment, and for those who lift the assignment up, they are the ones who will develop the benefit from it, those that count their blessings, watch for new opportunities and allow themselves to be strengthened by the great or the little amount of faith that they have. It is a time of growth, of expansion. It is to be used that way or it can be a time of heaping more burdens upon themselves and staying in the dark a little longer.

TOMAS: I have been as burgeoned with as much "stuff" as you have been and I would like to address some of your "stuff" with some of my "stuff," for that is what we do -- we share our inner life, and as you experience and express what you are going through, we express our part and we are family doing our part, as you said.

And now I would like to discuss that concept that was brought up recently, that being: presuming upon divine mercy. I bring it up because of the earlier sharing and also because of a question that was asked outside of session one day that we noted. Today, for example, it would appear as though Gerdean lost her temper and assaulted verbally a person that she had intended to provide service for, and before she or you think ill of her for her outrage, I will bring to your mind the truth about "presuming upon divine mercy."

It is not necessary for you to give and give and give until you are depleted. It is a fine line between serving and being used, and you need to determine that for yourself. The other question that was asked had to do with, when you are given an assignment, how long do you stay with the assignment? When does it become a matter of the assignment's needs versus the needs of the self?

I will bring in an analogy here of the child growing out of a pair of shoes. You know that it's time to buy new shoes when the shoes begin to pinch the feet and begin to cripple the child in his wearing of them. When the shoes begin to pinch, it is time to pick up your ears and observe where you are in your assignment, where you are in the service field, for it is not intended that your service be painful.

If you are allowing yourself to be unduly burdened by your concept of service, then perhaps you are allowing self-abuse. Do not be alarmed by that word. It is a human condition based on your need to help and not always understanding when it is appropriate to back off. You become invested in the situation and, if there is no one there to pick up the slack when you back off to nurture yourself or to take care of your next need or assignment, what's to prevent the situation that you have invested so much time and energy and love into, from falling on its face and all your efforts going for naught?

Any act of service has been beneficial and useful. Any excessive service is what we might call "enabling" and when you determine that you are enabling rather than serving, you are witnessing a situation that the recipient of your service is "presuming upon divine mercy." They have begun to feel comfortable with your desire to serve and they have gone beyond the requirement; they have gone beyond your ability to serve in the situation and pressed into usury.

At the point of your recognizing that … at the point when your toes begin to cramp in pain from the shoes you are wearing, from the moccasins in which you have been walking … that is the time to step out of those shoes and to step out of that assignment, for it does not serve to provide service where it is unjustified. Allow the Father to provide other avenues of assistance; allow the divine plan to unfold without you being on hand at every instant.

The truth remains that the self is not important, the work is important; but when the work has turned into a twisted excuse for service, it serves no one.

I know you have all "been there" so I will not linger on it unless any of you would like to delve into it, but it was something that was on the agenda to be addressed earlier and then it was compounded by your sharing this evening, and so it was a subject apparently that needed addressing, but I have finished my remarks. What say ye now as to our agenda? Are there other questions or is there commentary?

Hunnah: I have a suggestion that we have numbers like at the bakery, or at the meat counter, and that will keep us from hogging each other's space, but there is something I've just got to talk about here and then, Leah, it'll be you. In my work it is very important to involve the recipient of the service into some independent action solving their problem.

Managed home care is absolutely the big gun right now, that is forcing people to say, "can I really afford the luxury of a long recovery?" and this luxury of being in a recuperative state, longer than what they consider necessary, is no longer in tempo now, and it is amazing, you will -- the shoe has gotten smaller in the sense that they are given an ultimatum: "you have X number of days in which to rally" and for some reason, this will kick in, and that person will find themselves healing in less time than they would have before. It will permit that person to involve him or herself in a positive way so that the task is accomplished (and for some reason or another, I'm not very good at applying that in my own personal life), but it is something will be happening in some aspects of our lives -- not lounging in a particular mode, but that there will be action, especially for those who wish for divine assistance.

TOMAS: It is very true that as you have faith in someone, they are bolstered and they begin to perceive a certain amount of faith in his or herself. This provides a good support system; it is commendable and most often successful. Do we not encourage you? Do you not encourage each other? And, in truth, do you not -- in your own privacy -- encourage yourself? For there is faith, in fact, and it will motivate you to improve and succeed.

Many thrive on encouragement and praise, but when they presume to presume upon divine mercy, whether it be directly from the Father or through his various agencies, such as home health care, Hunnah, or any manner of personal service, then another tactic may be necessary. It is unfortunate, but it has been said and it is true that in certain individuals fear is a great motivator and that only as they discover that their support system will be ripped from under them do they begin to stand up and take notice that they had better do something toward making their next move in survival.

There are individuals indeed who cannot deal with the affirmative and positive aspect of growth but are still more comfortable with the pain and punishment kind of development. It is not a favorite of the Master or of the teachers or of any love-saturated soul, but you have heard the phrase "tough love" and unfortunately it must sometimes be rendered. It is my supreme hope however that as we cleverly and courageously look at these service situations, as we take them to the Father in prayer, as we glean guidance from our celestial helpers, the more evolved methods will be effective for your putting them to use.

As you grow in spirit, as you become more aware of your own contribution to your growth and the growth of others, your own dignity status of a self-respecting child of God comes into play and it is no longer appropriate that you be forced into growth for you have become willing and eager to grow, even when you know that it will be uncomfortable. You also have lived enough that you know that the discomfort will pass and that the effects of this growth passage will far outweigh any temporary discomfort in making those decisions and movements that will lend your path a further piece of ascension.

Those are the realms in which we work. Some are more amenable to growth changes than others. It is not always your opportunity to decide what service opportunity you will be given. If it were left up to you, you would quickly spoil yourself with only those experiences that were comfortable for you. In serving others you also learn, and so as you have mastered certain areas, you will be given opportunity for service in other areas that you might expand your palette and your resume of service qualities, that you may expand your own comprehension of the human condition in conjunction with spirit leading.

I tell you, when I am off-line, you chatter so fluidly! And then I come along and … I am beginning to feel as if I was ignorant of how to be a conversationalist. I make the suggestion that you provide commentary, and it sounds like a drill sergeant. I understand the method of transmitting sometimes lends itself to this staccato voice, but I am not staccato in my spirit or in my understanding appreciation of you, my fellows. Feel free to engage me. I enjoy our repartee. Leah, why are you so quiet this evening?

Leah: Well, it has something to do with the discourse you just gave and fear of rejection. I have a question on my mind, but there is the fear that it's going to be -- it doesn't really concern you and it's a curiosity question, but it does concern me, it's weighing on my mind.

Leah: My sister is going to have a party here on the Earth plane. When we reach a certain age -- like 40 or 50 -- we have big celebrations. She wishes to have a party for her husband. He plays in a band; he's a drummer in a band and the people in the band are artists and they tend to be temperamental, to a degree. She has asked two of the persons to come to the party and they have told her that if the third one was invited, they would not come; and she was incensed, and she was saying to me she couldn't believe that they wouldn't be appreciative of her husband's being there for them.

The reason they don't want to come to the party is because this other individual is alcoholic and has a reputation for ruining everything. And my sister said to me -- in fact, he ruined a child's birthday party recently. He sings in the band with her husband and he's a very sensitive person, but he has a problem and these two have taken a stand that they will not come. It was her intention that they have an evening of singing and playing with the many people and many different bands he has played with for the last 15 years, and this alcoholic person is one of the most recent, and she is in a real dilemma.

She says that she knows that it's true that this alcoholic person will probably be disruptive, but she's annoyed. And she confided to me -- I feel like it's an annoyance, too, like you always should include someone -- but she says she knows this man's history and probably everything they have said about this man is so. So, I guess I'm just looking for an opinion.

MERIUM This is so delicious. I would like to comment about this. First of all, I would like to ask Leah: are you carrying this?

MERIUM: Are you simply wondering if your sister is of the same persuasion as you, if you went to her study group and talked about the things that we talk about, how would she handle it? Or how would Leah handle it? I would like to look at it from two points of view, if I may help you.

Leah: Leah would have a much harder time handling it. My sister has already made her decision, but I have a sense of inclusiveness that gets me in a lot of trouble.

MERIUM: It is an opportunity to share a lighter touch, a loftier view of the problem. You are dealing with social etiquette. You are dealing with people's feelings. You are dealing with someone who has a reputation. You are dealing with the way we weigh our friends with our own challenges, and we like to pass them on to someone else to tell us what to do with a situation because it makes us uncomfortable. I am commenting here not to answer your question, but to level it out and look at it from an aerial view.

If it were your party, I would ask you to remember that everyone has a Thought Adjuster, to wish them well, and pray for their higher demonstration of social graces. I will encourage you -- because you consider it a problem to hear about your sister's dilemma and tell her that you are looking forward to finding out what's on the next paragraph and how she handled it -- because technically, from our point of view to you, there is nothing to do. And this is frequently the case. There is nothing to do but to listen, to hope that she will have the poise and the maturity to handle whatever social situations come up. It is easy to develop the habit of carrying other's burdens. I feel you are unnecessarily weighted. This does not just apply to you, Leah; it applies to everyone. Watch for the excitement in someone else.

Hunnah has a friendship, and a lovely friend, who is continuously weighted with bricks of personal problems. The person enjoys solving them, sharing them with her, and she had to make sure that she eased herself from the role of having to participate. She was supportive and would watch her friend solve the problems herself. She cannot stop this behavior, but it has helped Hunnah not to carry on the relationship with the troubles that the friend has, being almost as important as the relationship itself.

I have traveled a ways from "to be or not to be well," to "to be or not to be rude and disruptive" to "to be or not to be tolerant enough to put up with one more bad show." The point that I am making here is a little more far-reaching than just this group, and I hope that the readers who read this talk will be able to glance at some of the relationships they had and see if they cannot apply some of the wisdom our brother Tomas has offered you.

I hope you will let us know if the party was a success. We have lifted it up, even unconsciously, and offered it a higher solution and I wish you well.

TOMAS: I will follow up with a reference to our earlier conversation having to do with teaching a man to fish, that if he is taught to fish, that he can fish for himself rather than your providing him with fish on a regular basis and continuing to allow him to be dependent upon you for his very existence.

The similarities are inherent for your role as sister, is to teach your sibling how to fish and then you will not have to provide her with fish on a daily basis. I address you here to say that your inclination is to approach everyone equally as all being spirit indwelt and therefore all inclusive, and I would ask you to remember that this is not especially a spiritual occasion she is planning, but one which is inherently filled with merry making and revelry -- surely a dangerous environment for one who is unsure of his footing in the realm of imbibing.

The success of the party may well hinge upon his not attending, and if he were indeed not invited, it may be a method that his friends and family in the spirit could let him know that he would no longer be enabled, that he had begun to presume upon the divine mercy of their good social graces, to the point where he himself could learn to begin to fish. That is all.

Leah: Thank you. As a matter of fact that's more or less what I did. I listened to what she had to say and I asked her if these other two individuals were accurate in what they had to say about the alcoholic's behavior and she said indeed they were and that she knew that to be true. She seemed a little more annoyed about them telling her what to do.

TOMAS: It is certainly an affront to the ideals of your sibling, who has only the highest motive in having a celebration for her mate and for his beloved friends. It is irksome indeed that someone should say, by way of an ultimatum, what they will do that will impact on your ideals. It is indeed troublesome as a hostess to discover that two or three of your guests are so loathing of another that they would refuse to attend, that they could not transcend their personal difficulties to honor the host.

(It is, parenthetically, much the problem that Urantia has today, that the various sects cannot transcend their differences and give celebratory homage to the Father of us all rather than say that they will not attend if that other will be there; it is appalling indeed.)

But she cannot do much in this situation for it is not merely a psychological twist that she could cleverly and creatively and with spiritual guidance correct and therefore contribute to the growth of these individuals, because it involves a serious illness, and I would only ask that it be remembered that it is our Master's policy to love the sinner and hate the sin, and if the sin of alcoholism, in this case, has reached a point where it has rendered the sinner ineffectual or out of control, then it is the better part of valor to accept the situation as it is today in hope of a better tomorrow.

MERIUM: Thank you for being willing to share that. I might add that no question is a foolish question; no question should be regarded as too embarrassing for the group. Tomas is especially skilled at taking a question and lifting it up and making it a valid and useful tool, and we do encourage you to express it if you have something you would like to have discussed.

Ann: The last two days I've been in Advocacy for a Welfare Rights organization and something that I noticed about it is it removed me personally. I also receive welfare, and I found myself removed from my own problems more in the last two days than I have been in a long time, looking at it from another viewpoint. I don't consider it a problem, it's just an observation that I made. I think subconsciously I felt that I wasn't able to put it into words, and I don't know how long I'll be able to do that, this advocacy thing, because they are removing people from the roles, putting them in the work force. I think it's going to be challenging.

TOMAS: You have been challenged and true to form you have risen to the occasion. You have been able to take an objective point of view to what you have been subjectively experiencing and the new you is expansive and is benefiting of your understanding of the situation.

It is most unfortunate that the welfare system, as it is understood, was put into effect, for this kind of dependency is not healthy for individuals. It is a far greater benefit when the society will help an individual understand who he is and how he fits into society and then help him find his way in the society, again, teaching them how to fish and not merely casting them a fish on a regular basis for this does not solve the problem; it exacerbates the problem because it has now trained thousands of people to be dependent, and it is necessary, in order for the human race to evolve, that it begin to look NOT to the government for subsistence but to the Father and to its own innate resources.

Everyone who has a Thought Adjuster has the ability to find his or her way as is outlined in the divine plan. I realize that sounds vague and rhetorical, but it is a truth, and as your world can lift itself up from the quagmire of war and poverty and disease, it will begin to flourish, it will begin to brandish a self-sufficiency and self-respect that is powerful!

These individuals who cannot and will not end their regime of presuming upon mercy will be trodden underfoot. It is in many ways -- and do not marry me to this remark -- that the difference will be made clear between the animal and the human being. (One moment.)

I have been admonished that I have ventured far afield of my assignment by my sociologic diatribe. Remember that I was a sociologist in my human life. As a cultural anthropologist, these are some of the things that I dealt with and have found invigorating throughout my entire existence. Indeed, these concepts are exciting, but they are not necessarily what service I am here to perform.

I am, however, encouraged by your discourses and your thought processes along these lines, for as you individually begin to develop a social consciousness through true morality, then your spirit will have questions, your soul will ponder the latest developments, your heart will throb to the latest expansion, and this is where I may be of assistant, and NOT in criticizing your history, for, as we have often pointed out, it has been that way for a reason, but now we are into Correcting Time and it is exciting to see that these many ills are indeed coming to the forefront for Correction.

The lesson herein for you, dear Ann, is the advantage of the objective point of view. The subjective point of view allows you to feel hopelessly enmeshed in an emotional quagmire wherein there is no relief, but as you can put an objectivity on your life and circumstances, and indeed on your emotional reactions to life's experiences, you can begin to see from the farther view. You can begin to expand your understanding of who you are and how you can be, even in this "vale of tears." Well done, and keep up the good work.

One would not suspect from such a quiet Tuesday that so much truth could come to be placed upon the table. We have had some rotten lemons and we have had some sweet peaches, and it is coming time for us to close for the evening. Before Merium and I bid you a gentle good night, however, I will ask: are there any lingering concerns on your mind or heart?

Hunnah: I have a suggestion, Tomas. That we write down our homework from now on so that we can . .. I was going to suggest that we be allowed to lift up everything that makes us uncomfortable, hurry it to the alter, and ask for a new definition.

TOMAS: I find your suggestion very advantageous. Your intermissions have long provided us with fodder for our discussions, and as you express and reveal yourself to others, you also express and reveal yourself to yourself, thereby gaining greater insight. I like your suggestion, but I will remind you that when you allow yourself to be vulnerable and place your feelings and thoughts on the table, on display, you risk judgement from those who forget that they are not here to judge, and so let us timorously approach that enterprise and see if we can get into the swing of it. If these matters can be brought to the table in full understanding that there will not be judgement to bear, then we will have sincere sharing of the inner life, indeed, and we will have such a marvelous community of purpose.

Beloved flock, dear friends, and delightful children, we bid you a fond farewell until we meet again.

TOMAS: Good evening, my friends, I am Tomas. I am here with Merium and many of your other intimate companions in the spirit. We embrace you in the name of Michael and Nebadonia. I will not keep you long this evening, for unless others of you would like to transmit, this T/R is indeed depleted; happily so, however, and this is an indication of working hard in the field.

But, it is our pleasure to come in this evening and spend a quality moment of time with you, to comfort you in your busy days, for all of you have had a busy season. Part of it has to do with spring, and feeling the sun and new growth. You have the long winter's doldrums to shake off, and as the flowers sprout, so do you. It will take some time to redevelop your stamina from the long winter's sleep, but lest you think I accuse you of merely being lazy, let me indicate that in your activities you have also been withstanding the external stimuli.

Your saga, Hunnah, of your children's dreams bring to mind the hurricane, the peace in the center of the eye of the hurricane, that place which remains calm and stable while around it is a tumult of chaos and debris broiling in the air and wreaking havoc in its wake. You have known the tranquil eye of the hurricane and have seen the tumult outside.

I will remind you of one of our purposes, one of the purposes that conjoin you to us and spirit, and that is that as modern times become more and more chaotic, as the energy of fear and panic go on around you, you will be able to retain the security that is provided in the citadel of the spirit. As long as you can keep yourself focused in this eye, you will be able then to assist those who are around you, who are being bombarded by the storms of the revolution, much as your daughter was able to do in her dream, for truly these are significant times. The old way is dying and the new way is emerging.

These are cataclysmic times upon us. Times of high drama. It gives us great satisfaction when we see you maintain your steadfastness of purpose, when you remember to go within, seek the stillness, the tranquillity, for it allows for an anchor, not only for you but also for your immediate environment. Borrowing the word "vortex," you have created a stable vortex of reality.

Think not that your efforts go unnoticed. It is a real thing, you know, this spirit business. And as you keep your connection with spirit, you are a reality, a reality base, a teacher base, and folk will be drawn to you to the extent that they sense even unconsciously that you are in the eye of the hurricane, in that place of calm in their disease, in the winds of discontent and striving.

As you anchor yourself and as others also anchor themselves, you are providing a certain groundedness, for your feet are on the ground; your reality is a stability. It is understood that you get off key now and again, but more and more you are recognizing that when the winds begin to howl, you return to the Source, you find your bearings.

MERIUM: I was thinking I was going to do a solo this evening because you said that Gerdean was fatigued, but you have both risen to the occasion very, very well.

Many metaphors have been placed before me this evening, such as what would be on a menu. They are so diverse (and yet they are connected) that I am in a virtual smorgasbord because I would like to talk this evening about keeping one's focus in spite of external circumstances.

In the world, your brothers and sisters are struggling with the changes of weather, losing their possessions, and you have all had an opportunity to be lifted up and to look at your own possessions and see them with new eyes, and some of you are burdened with these possessions. You are beginning to feel as if your cupboards are too full already and you have various degrees of letting go of the valuables, and these valuables start to look like nothing in the sight of [Ed. - words lost through a distraction].

These possessions lose their power. They can become a burden to you, and you have mixed feelings about it, but know that as you keep your self-discipline and maintain your new strength in your new identity, that it is not a real problem. All through the centuries in your experience people have had to let go of their important possessions, as well as their achievements. They have rallied for their new sense of purpose and keep it fresh that they might have an enriching experience. One moment, please.

This mural that I'm painting is not going easily for me. I can feel resistance here. Two painters on one canvas, you might say. I do not wish to put words in your mouths or assume thoughts for you, but I do know that you have been stretched and that nothing is the same for any of you.

Tomas was talking about having people come in your way out of the clear blue. You wring your hands and wonder "whence cometh my help" and you review the information that you have at hand, that something is in the wings that you know nothing about, and it is when this happens often enough that it can give you courage to remember that in the past, your problems are solved out of the blue, and problems become opportunities.

Gerdean's life today has been a very good example, as her windfall has come into her. I would like to stop, please.

TOMAS: I would like to follow up for one moment, for I perceive that there is a thread; even as we speak I hear you speak of spring housecleaning and this is a way, too, of grounding and stabilizing and throwing out those things which no longer fit with you in your place of sanctification, contributing to the maelstrom unless they are appropriately dispensed with. Let us then take a short break and see what we can dispense with.

TOMAS: I am Tomas and I am back, but assuredly I was not even gone, for your intermissions are too revealing to miss. It is not so much that they are entertaining, Hunnah, as they are revealing. We have always found you relatively entertaining, but not always particularly revealing, and so what it is revealing of is your various attitudes regarding your own involvement with life.

Let me say to all of you that you are self-conscious, but as you seek to serve you forget yourself in the work at hand. When there is little work to do, it is playtime, and in playtime, you bring forth your childlike selves in delight of the experience. And so the danger of these times when we get together and you are not sufficiently focused or have adequate stamina to actually apply yourselves in attaining the morontial levels of comprehension and involvement, these lesser states are relative states of play or exercise, and we are not opposed to these states of communication or awareness or enjoyment; it is your preference, perhaps, to feel poignant and focused and assuredly we like that also, but it is not always possible, and so when I came on-line this evening and said I would not be delving deeply into ponderous matters, I was aware already of your mental and emotional states of being.

You are fully free to enjoy your relative perfection. It is still a community of believers who have come together to support each other, to enjoy the fellowship, to confide in each other and to play; and so do not decry your play. Do not begrudge your relative state of focus. Do you understand my message here?

It is nice to see you and Jay-Orzh communicating, Leah, as she indicates — the more the merrier. The relationship you develop with your personal teacher will help you clear the way for more focus and dynamic communication with the spirit realm, yes, with your spirit reality. Remember, my children, that in the ultimate, in the greater whole, there is no differentiation. It is the relative degrees of perfection that you encounter.

I hear you discussing the intent to communicate with your spirit companions and testifying that it is you speaking with your higher self or your Thought Adjuster and you are correct that it matters little in the long run and we have said as much, for you enjoy attaching names to personalities and identifying energy patterns and these do help you delineate for your mental comprehension, but the more vague and effervescent approach also works.

As we have said many times, you are very literal-minded, and your literal-mindedness bars the way to your own enjoyment of this marvelous opportunity that we have to engage in camaraderie with each other. It is through the circuitry established by Paradise, by the spirit realm. It is a wonderful opportunity for you to realize that you are not alone, that your planet has been released from its quarantine and that isolation has ended.

Yes, it is important that you strive ever onward toward your perfection goal, but it is also important that you savor the moment, that you enjoy your time in space. Just because you have nothing overbearing on your minds this evening does not mean that you are "flakes." It means that you are enjoying yourselves. You have had a full day. Tomorrow promises to be another full day, fearless and without anxiety, and so you are flush. Be at peace with that. One moment, please.

MERIUM: In spite of the flagging facial muscles of this transmitter/receiver, I am smiling. I am Merium and I am delighted to have another opportunity to meet with you in this way. I am actually more accustomed to the electro-chemical make-up of Hunnah, but I am not one to attach myself to anyone but he or she who can allow me to personality express/manifest myself, and so we'll go with this one for a time.

I must say your material environment is, on occasion, a dreadful place. It is so abrasive to those of us who have long enjoyed the more celestial spheres. It is a wonder that you grow in the spirit at all with your constant reminders of how dense you and your surroundings are, but it is also a testimony to the infinite love of the Eternal Parent who reaches down to His precious children to enable them to rise above the density and the darkness to find delight in Him, in the Light of truth, beauty and goodness.

It is astounding to us in the spirit realms how well you do. I don't know if you have been told this often enough yet that it has made an appropriate impact, but we are truly amazed sometimes at how well you do. Perhaps "ignorance is bliss" after all, but as you become aware and as you become sensitive, and as you yearn for light and life, truth beauty and goodness for your peers and for your environment, your yearning does not go unnoticed, nor is it unappreciated, for we too have shared that sentiment with you and we are so honored to have this opportunity to walk with you in your path and in your efforts to serve your fellow men.

You have a real job of it, my dear friends. Do not ever take it lightly, that your work is unimportant or that it goes unnoticed. Every hair on your head is counted and every effort that you make on behalf of the Father is permanently recorded. One moment.

HAM: I am Ham. I am so happy to have made it through the door. It is a thick door into your environment this evening, but I have knocked and the door has been opened. Greetings to you, one and all. It is a pleasure to be here. It is not an administrative visit particularly but you know well that we like to stay in touch, that we like to acknowledge your presence, your steadfastness, your efforts and your growth.

My colleague Merium has been visiting the neighboring teacher bases to compare notes with some of the other established teachers, in terms of how they inter-relate with their pupils, and I have enjoyed going with her on a couple of her rounds. At any rate, we are most pleased by her arrival and the eager reception she has received by you here in this teacher base.

The Mission grows. You cannot see from your vantage point. Perhaps Internet could edify you somewhat, but even there you would fall short of a full spreadsheet of activity in the realms of Teachers coming on-line, being assigned and teaching, and the mortal pupils who have grasped the concept that the Teachers have been implanting and are earnestly applying their truths into their arenas. The ascension plan of Michael is well underway -- has been, of course, underway for millennia, but has activated noticeably.

Beloved neighbors and loyal students of truth, be of good cheer in the harvest. Continue to plant your seeds. Continue to search out opportunities for service. Continue to comfort yourselves with your own fellowship and the fellowship of us who have been sent to help you in this upstepping process. Do not make the mistake of making light of your experiences -- in your arena or in your relationships with us. We are comrades. Good evening.

MACHIVENTA: I am Machiventa and I will also come in for a moment. I had to see what was going on since there was a lot of action here this evening. I know that it was not your action, little ones, but a lot of coming and going of spiritual energies, those visitors that you read about in your textbook, visiting students and so forth. We like to keep tabs on you, whether you are having a lofty lesson or a (can't find the word) less than lofty lesson. How difficult it can be with the language constraints! Let me commiserate with you who find it difficult to transmit teachers of one sort or another. The challenge is formidable.

It is not just your challenge, however, it is ours as well, to be able to reach you in ways that work for you and for us, that do not send you off into realms of fanaticism or incredulity. It is important that you maintain your integrity and your sanity in this process. We are representatives of Michael of Nebadon.

Gerdean: Michael is here. I don't think I'm going to transmit him, but he would like to be with us for a minute.

TOMAS: I am Tomas. Indeed, we have had a joyous evening. It is our hope that you are refreshed and lifted up, for did you not conjoin this evening in that light, that you be lifted up in the spirit? Seek and ye shall find. Ask and it shall be given unto you. Precious ones, are there questions?

Hunnah: It is my desire to fulfil this opportunity, to be able to assist in the transmission. If it could be arranged that there could be some kind of cue that we are "on the air" so to speak, it would be most appreciated. It is an honor to have our wonderful guests come in. Thank you.

TOMAS: Let me address your quandary, Hunnah and Merium, and it has to do with the circuitry. Perhaps we can have Van El apply a little juice to the circuits, for it is the circuitry that will advise you when it is time for you to be aware of a Teacher's needing to use your vocal chords. If you are connected, fine-tuned, you will become aware of an intense pressure. Not a physical force pressure such as the word normally brings to your mind.

Hunnah: I have a pressure behind my right ear, sort of tightness. I have to admit that when Merium spoke through Gerdean, I felt as if something that was mine had been removed. My granddaughter will say "Mine!" and I felt this sense of loss, for I had to acknowledge that she cannot share, so apparently there is a bonding that has taken place. And she mentioned the adjustment that she had with my energies that enabled her to come through … that is her. I could feel the shift perhaps?

TOMAS: And when I addressed this before, I indicated that I was not going to give her away and we had that little discussion regarding jealousy, for you see, I understand the human condition.

TOMAS: It is not a surprise to me and it will not be a surprise to you if you understand what you have experienced, and it is an emotional transference such as they discuss in psychology, as well as, perhaps, some dependency factor, but it is emotional, my dear, and this is where your difficulty lies. You have emotionally bonded with Merium. You have "married her" and now you cannot see the forest for the trees.

It is necessary for you to relinquish your personal hold on Merium; indeed, on all the Teachers; indeed, on everyone, for that connection is inappropriate and, although it may provide you with a sense of security, it is a lesser security than the flight of freedom into faith that the universe is controlled by the Father, the great Upholder. We all belong to him, you see, and although we are related and we are connected, we are not bonded in the classic emotional sense of the human animal.

Indeed, I understand the feeling you convey because I have seen it registered in Gerdean's emotional experience when she and I moved to Pocatello and suddenly I was popping up and through other mortal mouths. She sat up in her seat and said, such as your grandchild, "He's mine!" and it is a classic human reaction, but after the initial cold plunge, it is evident -- the wisdom of not marrying yourself to a specific teacher.

Although it is true that if and when a beneficial liaison can be established between a Teacher and the mortal voice, that partnership can contain long-lasting potential, such as Ham and Rebecca; it still does not mean that you belong to each other, for a Teacher is needed where he or she is needed, and it has not been unheard of that a Teacher be called away.

If you were to develop such a dependency, such an emotional bond on your Teacher, if the Teacher were called away, you would feel devastated, and the Father does not want that to happen. We do not want that to happen. It is not wise for you to become emotionally dependent on the Teachers. It is truly unwise of you to become dependent on us at all insofar as your development is concerned. It is necessary only that you develop an undying loyalty to your Thought Adjuster.

We are here to help you. We are not here to supplant your primary relationship with your Indwelling Adjuster, with our Father in heaven. We are all on the same team. Beware against emotional co-dependency, even into the spirit realms. This is part of the Correcting of Urantia. Has that been helpful?

Hunnah: Yes. May I comment? It pleases me that this has been discovered so early in the game, and it surprised me that I was able to have that experience, but I thought that it only related to this particular scene. In the meantime, why -- it apparently has to do with the circuitry, that any teacher would be able to come. Having one teacher come through at first, consistently, enables the transmitter to develop confidence in the experience. I don't know. It's too early in the procedure for me, apparently, to have any more to say because I don't have enough experience.

TOMAS: Your experience is moving along very well. Don't rush it. It is a process.

TOMAS: Even this one, with her years of experience, has not begun to tap her potential. I have spoken to her many times about her debilitating dependency on nicotine, which curtails our goals.

Hunnah: I had a question regarding that -- whether it be nicotine or anything else. It surprises me that an eradication of that pattern in her memory bank can't be what I would phrase as "cauterized" so that it is not -- how else do people have these almost massive healings? They are in a debilitated state, or mentally or physically -- and then Wham! Suddenly it's like, it's gone. What happens when that happens? We can talk about this at another time. We'll have to write it down; but I don't understand.

Hunnah: When I say "her" I'm saying any human being who would be in similar one-pointed direction, that they can't be released from some of the things that have us nailed here.

TOMAS: I cannot either give a blanket response, for individuals have different blocks, but it is fair to say that it is a matter of faith in one way or another.

Hunnah: In other words it can be such a complex problem that it's only like little deaths are the things that hold it in place.

Hunnah: I apologize. She doesn't seem to understand how when we listen to her how impersonal it gets, and I forget that. Even though I'm in this chair over here trying to do my own thing, I forget that it does make a person squirm. I'm sorry. She's been very generous.

TOMAS: How wonderful it is to be lifted up, and yet I will not continue at length, as I said an hour ago.

Hunnah: Maybe some night we can talk about how we can allow it to be released.

TOMAS: I am glad you are with us. I would like to spend more time with you. I would like to understand you better. I would like for you to feel the embrace of the spirit; indeed, I would like to know your faith and your story.

Ann: This topic of addictions has been very interesting. I've been running into a lot of people that have been having problems with that area, in that area.

TOMAS: I would say we will discuss it next week but possibly no one would show up [Group laughter] in anticipation, and so I will not threaten that as a scheduled lesson, but indeed addictions are fascinating in the conflict that they present. They are not interesting from here, except as they are a character study of the human animal. It is, however, too late this evening to go into depth in such a vast and fascinating subject as addictions, be they physical, emotional, personality, ad infinitum.

In freedom, then, let us give thanks. The Merciful Father provides our needs. Go in peace. Farewell.

TOMAS: I am Tomas. I am glad you recognize me. I have been enjoying your presence, your individual presences in company with your personal teachers, and I with my companion Merium have also been appreciating the presence of other spirit helpers and, not to be excluded, are the voices of the angels and of the birds.

I would like to speak briefly this evening regarding discovery, for as you go about your day, you overlook so many of life's wonders that you could be re-discovering in light of your new truth. You have become habituated to your senses, your sensory perceptions. You are depriving yourself of much of the joy of your human experience by not allowing yourself the thrill of discovery of that which is around you.

It is a good time to bring this subject into focus, for Spring is here, and there are new things each day to discover. The leaves have burst forth on many of the trees, those same trees that were mere buds last week, and mere bare branches last month; now there is the discovery of green, new life. And so it is a good time to think of discovery, for there is much to discover, even if you remain in the most obvious of realms.

It is a matter of taking for granted your life on one hand, and that is fine, but you also take for granted many of the potentials in the human experience that have become ho-hum by-products of your life. I would ask you now to look at your material environment, your Urantia, and see its wonders and discover its gifts anew.

The truth is that you become conditioned to follow a pattern, and although occasionally something will catch your eye, you overlook so many of creative gifts of the Creator Parent by not allowing the beauty to penetrate your consciousness. For you are allowed to appreciate the wonders of your natal sphere.

Indeed, it is one of the rights that you have as a human being, to enjoy life's offerings in the material realm: the way a light will shine on the bark of a tree, casting one side in deep shadow and illuminating the ridges and valleys of the crusty bark; the many colors and hues that form the bark; even to the life that circulates in and within this living tree. What cities and citadels of activity and grandeur take place in one common square inch of creation!

How long has it been since you have indulged yourself in a half an hour of looking at Mother Nature, of giving her your full and undivided attention and appreciation, of allowing yourself the experience of being enveloped in the sanctity of your native sphere, touching upon the atoms of nature and becoming one with nature, hearing the birds and the beasts, the insects, seeing how they play one upon the other, hearing water, hearing wind? What an environment you experience here! But you become so busy in your duties that you pass this by, this treasure, and wonder why then you feel hungry for something and you don't know what it is.

MERIUM: Good evening. Tomas has brought forth great stimulus for me because there are so many examples of appreciation here that I could touch upon in Hunnah's records, and there is one especially that is an activity that I feel would benefit many of you and it is to develop the appreciation of discovering new ways to do something, alternate choices for solving a problem, or for the use of some object. And when a challenge comes forth, to step back and say, "Wait. I do not have to go with the immediate response. There are many views of this situation and I am allowed to consider them all."

The answer that comes rapidly in from your intellect is frequently the one that must be shelved to allow you an opportunity to see the many faceted examples of how something may be solved or how you may respond to a given situation. The versatility of this skill is like an all-purpose tool for you. It can be a pleasure; it can be amusing. In Hunnah's recent experience she was playing Scrabble and she was not able to use all the letters; she left the scene and went about doing something else and came back and went to the board and saw a fresh opportunity using the same number of letters that she previously had but thought would not work.

And this is the way it is in life: you have in your hands certain information or choices and if you struggle with that, you seem to deplete the versatility of your ability to see new opportunities and I must say that you can glean the pleasures of your environment around any given situation the way my friend has brought to your attention, and especially with this time of year.

Some people have the ability to see challenges as opportunities as a part of their natural make-up. For others it is quite stifling, and it is a muscle that they have not developed, and therefore I have brought this to your attention in case you may be one of those who is simple-minded in problem-solving, and if you develop diversity of problem-solving, then you will certainly be able to develop diversity in your celebrating of your environment and those who are around you. Thank you.

TOMAS: Interestingly enough, my colleague and I have both suggested to you a way of stepping aside from your routine to reappraise your approach to life, and this was the practice that the Master used and that he encouraged his apostles to use. Every Wednesday they would take a recess from their teaching labors and go apart for relaxation and recreation; he himself would partake of stillness and solitude with the Father to review his circumstances, to return to the challenges and opportunities at hand refreshed and renewed, and bringing with it then the inspiration brought about by the absence itself.

When you return from a walk in the woods, or a walk by the pond, you re-enter your environment with a new appreciation for your environment in the large, and when you accomplish a new solution to an old problem, or find new ways of going about routine efforts, you have brought refreshment to your soul and delight to your mind. Our encouragement for you today, then, is to allow yourself discovery, not only in your spiritual realms, in approaching your personality and the personalities of others, but in the areas of your mind where you can discover delight even in what you would have considered tedious or in your environment where you can consider the miracle of creation where once you would have only seen a common scene.

MERIUM: I was thinking that I might send you on a treasure hunt, and it would be not one of material goods, but one of observation. And on your treasure hunt it will not require any effort. I would simply like to have you be willing to observe how many times you are aware that a kindness has been extended to you or that you have reciprocated, perhaps not to that person who gave you some good gesture, but that you allowed yourself an opportunity to be cooperative or helpful or perhaps simply appropriate in a light way and that you can observe the results.

This is an embellishment. This will embellish your day, the routine. We have talked about "lightening up," I guess you could say, Tomas. We are asking you to carry your responsibilities in the lightest way possible. Therefore, you will be able to be about the Father's business.

At the beginning of the evening Gerdean read in the transcripts about Christ Michael's acknowledgement of the smallest deed. The smallest deed brings a smile to him because he collects them like treasures. He knows that this is the magic of life; it does not lend itself to heaviness, but it is a blending and development of fellowship and silent celebrating.

And I hope that you will be able to come back next time and tell us about the wonderful treasure hunt that you have been able to experience this week. Thank you. Are there any questions?

TOMAS: I am going to follow up, Merium, on your most excellent suggestion and clarify that this lightening up is in appreciation of the joy of being a companion of the Lord.

Your early appreciation for this very serious subject and for the very deep suffering around you, caused you to carry this heavy beam, this cross, upon your own shoulders and present yourself in a ponderous way, solemn and sober. And there is certainly an element of importance involved, but there is also the truth that his yoke is easy and his burden is light, and how can you induce your fellow men into the companionship of this heavenly kingdom if you present yourself so seriously that they cannot regard it as inviting or enticing?

Remember that the Master himself recommended joyousness and happiness among his followers. Not to the point of frivolity, perhaps, but light-heartedness indeed. And when you are with each other in the understanding of his love, his love for you and for your peers, your brothers and sisters -- the security of knowing this should put you in fine humor. Not that you would gloat it over those who remain unsure of their spiritual footing, but that you can envelop them in your loving embrace, but lightly, that they may not feel threatened or intimidated by your strength and by your courage. Indeed, it is a socializing process, an extension into community, for all that is necessary to become a member of the brotherhood is to acknowledge that God is the Father.

Tell me, children. How have you been? How have you been faring in discovering your own personality?

Leah: Well, I found that I'm a lot more judgmental than I thought I was. But . .. I had said this once before … but I just see something that strikes me as distasteful in an individual, at least on the human plane, and I come to the realization pretty quick that this is a holy son of God. And instead of my humanness kicking into criticism, I just . .. it's almost become like a knee-jerk reflex to do a re-evaluation to say, "Bless you, holy son of God" in my mind when I encounter something that I don't care for. I'm only speaking of appearances, of course.

TOMAS: You are in the process of changing a habit response, and although these are time-consuming at first, eventually they will become second nature and you will not find your fellow men so offensive. Indeed, you will begin to find they are delightful, even in their ignorance; even in their clumsiness, they are still endowed with an Adjuster and with personality. There is always something intriguing to observe. Even when an individual is distasteful, they can be appreciated for something.

TOMAS: I would ask you, Leah, to not be so judgmental even of yourself, for when you embarked upon your response to my inquiry about your study in personality, you judged yourself as being judging. I would like also for you to begin to find qualities that are fragrant. I will invite an intermission and a temporary assignment for your pleasure this evening. I would like for you to essay the individual to your left and tell them what one quality you ascertain is apparent in them and that you find delightful.

Remember that these fruits of the spirit are part of each of you, and that besides those fruits of the spirit that we discussed at length, there are many characteristics of a personality that you understand in normal terms that will apply. Express to your neighbor, then, how you enjoy them, what it is about them that you enjoy and appreciate and find of value.

As you are told this, believe it, for it is how you are perceived and it is true that sometimes you do not perceive yourself as others perceive you, and so allow yourself the discovery of how you are perceived by your siblings. Let us then recess.

TOMAS: Again we greet you. This study of personality, this observation of personality, is an observation of the gift of God -- in which you are and in which you are unique --your personality. What you have been discussing this evening, as aspects of personality, are characteristics, are character facets of the personality.

Like in [Welmek's] analogy of the personality being the Christmas tree and the character aspects being the decorations upon the tree, some of you as a Christmas tree have an abundance of blue lights and silver foil, and this is how your personality presents itself. While another of you might be white flocked with red ribbons, and this is how your personality manifests itself through your character of white flock and red ribbon. And each of you as a personality is unique, depending upon your characteristics, your character. And you are in large part responsible for how your personality is decorated, for you have free will in choosing many of your characteristics.

If, for example, you discover that you are big on judging others, you can recognize that and do something about it. You can eliminate those branches, those ill-formed branches, from your tree. Prune your tree of the ill-formed branches. And those of you who find that you have an abundance of one ornament, and seek another, can allow that other to impress your life that you may develop yet more characteristics and qualities. Even so, you will always be your own personality. There will be never another personality quite like yours.

But the character traits, the characteristics, the fruits of the divine spirit, are such that you can develop them, polish them and to a great extent decorate your own tree. When you behold a personality who is decorated differently than you choose to decorate yourself, observe them as if you were making a new discovery. Allow yourself to appreciate how they have opted to present themselves … how the Father has opted to present Himself through that personality. And even though indeed there may be branches that need pruning, observe the character of the tree as it is and see if you cannot find beauty and potential in that tree that the Father has made.

This exercise in observing qualities about each other is trust-inducing. It enables you to accept each other and to testify to each other what you love about each other, and this is acceptable behavior. You can freely enhance another's existence, not by saying, "Oh, I love your dress!" or "My dear, how becoming is your hair-do," but rather by taking that deeper and saying, "Your tenacity is admirable" and "Your patience is inspiring" and do that with true sincerity and give your peers, your brothers and sisters, a new look at themselves. Allow them to hear their value that perhaps they have not heard before. Merium, did you opt to add to our discourse?

MERIUM: No, I think everything has gone really well. I'm pleased with the evening and I trust that all of our suggestions will be passed out into all those who have gathered and will be read in the transcripts.

TOMAS: We have been discussing the community for several weeks now and there was some trepidation that we would no longer focus on the individual, but that the individual would be swallowed up in the socialization aspects of the community. This is an on-going enterprise, for, as you understand, indeed, your personality becomes more and more fine tuned, but even so, you become more and more of the greater whole. You begin to operate as a part of an organism, more than as a separate entity, your separation syndrome vanishes as you ascend.

MERIUM: I would like to comment. Perhaps in our next session or in a session in the future, I would like to have us talk about ways that we may initiate change when it is appropriate. Change that resists the community as an extension of the individual, of development.

TOMAS: Very well. One moment. And so you see that our embarking into community, into teamwork, has not at all put you in a position of non-involvement, but rather, your involvement becomes even more acute, for it is now not a singular isolated personality, but a personality which conjoins and commingles with its peers. And indeed we shall venture into how change can be brought about through the cooperative living organism of a vital and vibrant community, particularly a community of believers. There are, of course, other projects that can be accomplished, social services, cultural events, merciful ministries and so forth, but we will broach these areas in due course.

It has been appropriate for today and for these several days, that we discuss the relationship that you share in your community with each other, for as you learn to love each other, to acknowledge the strengths that you have and that you appreciate in each other, the trust and the faith in each other is augmented and cemented.

It becomes easier, then, for you to pray for guidance for your fellows and for yourself and for your relationship when there is difficulty. You have the sensitivity of the guidance of Michael to help you when your communications falter, for we yearn to return to the fellowship of sons and daughters of the living God in human community such as we experience when we see you experiencing these moments of genuine friendship.

And so we will leave you for the evening, having a replete agenda under our belt. A full repast has been presented and digested. Continue through your days and your observations of personality, the marvelous discovery of creaturehood. Enjoy and farewell.

TOMAS: Good evening, faithful flock. We must not make the mistake of believing that just because you are few in number that you are small in your effectiveness, for as even one stands before the Lord and offers himself in service, with the faith of the size of a mustard seed, that one alone can move mountains.

TOMAS: I am well aware of the broadcast system, but as you understand, there is nothing more important than the work of one's realm, and I am begun with you who are in my immediate realm, for in service to you, we will serve the many. (Long delay.)

I will express this analogy of a sort that oftentimes when you have expended yourself in your material arena, or when you have fed yourself well, you become sluggish. Even as you abstain from your spirit circuits, you may become sluggish, and so often when I come to you in your configuration, it is like heaving you up; and although this is a little fish, I have had to heave her upon the spiritual shore and she feels like a whale.

I bring this analogy to your attention for sometimes in the process of coming on-line and becoming fully connected, it takes a moment of adjustment. As the mortal energies reach up and the spiritual energies reach down, this divine dance sometimes takes a few moments to become fluid. (It was simply a matter that the outside contribution caused a slight stumble; all is not lost.)

I am trying to work myself into a discourse. The connection is faint but it has been made. It has to do with your dignity status. It has to do with that realm of self-respect. Remember that the Master has said that self-respect will be restored to those of you who have lost it, and will be reduced for those of you who have over-much. And you here who are humble servants have a tendency to fall into that habit of under-estimating your own self-respect.

Much of this is because of your cultural conditioning and also much of it has to do with your religious conditioning. See that women have been regarded as helpmates and assistants and in many ways the inferior gender, second-class citizens; and also in terms of your religious conditioning, that self-effacing aspect of humility and turning the other cheek.

These have conspired to program you into attitudes that do not allow you to naturally lift yourself up, to naturally hoist yourself up onto the shores of spirit being. You hurry back to the warm waters of your culture, your conditioning. Of course, your growth indicates great improvement, but I will reiterate this truth again today, for I would like for you to incorporate this aspect of your personal growth, your personal correction, into our recent lessons having to do with personality, and also with the follow-up about the impulse to act when you are faced with a personality.

For how your personality is going to respond or react depends a great deal upon who you feel you are and what you feel is appropriate for you, particularly you as women who have been accustomed to not stalwartly standing abreast of your men-folk in spiritual equality and in human liberation.

There is some merit in pondering humility in terms of your approach to service. In the farther view, of course, it is the Father who does the work and we are his servants, but rather than maintain an attitude of servility, we would the better seek to serve through co-operation and indeed teamwork with all those spiritual forces and energies which conspire to lift us up, to lead us heavenward into those realms of Light and Life wherein you recognize your standing and your dignity status.

One might ask: How is it possible to stand tall, be dignified, profess a certain aspect of perfection, and yet remain truly humble? It is not a conflict to the sincere seeker of truth.

MERIUM: Yes, I would like to comment. Our goal here is to express one personality, not to have a portion of yourself judging whether you are in your worldly state or whether you are in an exalted state that is applicable to any given situation. When you are at your best, there is an effortless flow and a dignity that parallels it, that allows you to participate appropriately in a given situation. And as this becomes more and more apparent to you, you will realize that you prefer to be this one expression and this one personality, and not that previous conditioning or strain to where the values and the principles that you have been taught.

There is not a sense of a higher authority passing them out like rewards, but this quality of the fruits of the spirit is woven into one fine garment and one expression which is one you feel is "my best self" and when you are able to have this happen to you, everyone around you benefits. Those who want to behave in a better way are more apt to because the quality that you have achieved will enhance their finer demonstration.

Wearing your belief is what my message is about. Assisting you into an effortless awareness of observing what you want to be and that allows you natural dignity -- not artificial or false dignity. Wearing this new pattern that you have become -- all the time! Not just when you leave the house to go to the office or when you answer the phone. It will become such an established part of you that you won't have to, you might say, press a button and out comes the best you. It will become your natural state, even though it can be tested frequently; it is not a bullet-proof vest. It is just a refined quality of what you truly are in essence. Tomas?

TOMAS: The word 'noble' also enters in here, for as Merium states, this dignity is not an artificial dignity such as is seen in your courts and courts of old, but rather the regality of sonship, the nobility of divinity. Part of my desire to discuss this topic this evening has to do with the word "worthy" which I used in our discourse last Thursday in the Pittsburgh group, and there has been much consternation regarding the word "worthy" for some will beat their chest and declare their unworthiness before God as an example of one who is worthy; and there are those who feel that any indication of their own worth is egoistic, for they feel they have no right to aspire to divinity. And so this discourse has to do with how you feel about yourself in terms of your worth, but it is cloaked in the vernacular of self-respect and dignity.

Hunnah: This week I went back to work and I went to see my first client and I had the awareness of a poise that I'm not accustomed to, but that I would welcome to be in my demeanor at all times. It was as if it was my gift and my service, rather than the purpose for which I had arrived. Both were accomplished: the human need, at the level of the need, and the gift of this demeanor, as I would like to describe it, because I was aware of the patient (or, excuse me, the client) being aware of the difference.

In other words, it brought dignity to her to be addressed as someone of intelligence and dignity by the way I was approaching her. I'm probably not painting this picture well, but it probably was one of the most satisfying visits that I had, and I felt as if the level on which our exchange developed, was, in a sense, the healing aspect of the purpose of that visit rather than what it would normally have been.

And when you referred to dignity, it seems to me that when you approach anyone with an attitude that they deserve and have dignity, that that will click in place and it will affect the behavior of the individual with whom you are communicating. On the reverse side of the coin, which I also witnessed, in a conversation that I heard, was "Well, you never did . .." or "Well, you never could . .." and it's painful to watch how we unconsciously -- when we are operating at a lesser mode -- will tear down others around us.

So personality-wise, I was able to make these observations and also of opportunities I've had to express my appreciation of assistance I've had and the effect it has upon the person that I had been with. This has sort of been in my heart and I appreciate the chance to be able to express it. Thank you.

TOMAS: Thank you, Hunnah. And I would like to confirm for you that much of your presentation of your self, your integrated personality, was resultant from the time you spent apart from the work world, taking care of yourself, finding a pace which was accommodating for you, and then easing your way into your work from this higher plane rather than a rat-a-tat approach to business as usual.

It is always a good practice to slow down. Remember that Jesus himself was seldom in a hurry and that you can function infinitely better when you are operating in and through the spirit, which also is seldom in a hurry.

It sounds, in your recital, very much as if you were serving God in your work today rather than serving mammon, with the slight exception of your reference to your sister or brother as a patient or a client -- which places it back into the academic and conditioning mode and impersonalizes it; removes the dignity.

Hunnah: I'm glad you said that because that is exactly what I don't like to do. I guess I was just reaching for a word. But that is true, what you said, is that when you go around and you're back at the humdrum level, you don't think you are, but you are if you are referring to "them" or "patients." I like to think they are simply stops that I make during the course of the day when I'm out of the humdrum mode. That applies to everyday life, though, when you're just doing a routine errand; we're allowed to lift everything up.

TOMAS: Indeed. And you must yourself remain lifted into your own integrated personality. It is correct that the ideal is for the human and the divine to function together, but in perspective.

Leah: On the human plane, I heard Hunnah discussing the caseload was real people instead of numbers.

TOMAS: I am more interested, Leah, in what your soul has heard rather than what your ears have heard. Am I meddling?

TOMAS: Are you comparing your aspect of personality with itself or are you comparing yourself with others or are you comparing others to something?

Leah: Maybe you can answer that for me. I don't really know! It's all twirling around in a little ball.

TOMAS: It has certainly struck some kind of a chord. I feel you flutter. I would like to instill in you an understanding of this value lesson, for you are worthy of its comprehension and its manifestation. You are a noble woman, as well as a refreshing child, and there is no need to compare one against the other, for they are both you, and different times call for different facets of personality expression, all of which, in the ideal, are facets of the Father-bestowed personality.

It is that unfortunate discharge of conditioned responses which are set to undermine your own appreciation of your Father-bestowed personality, and those pesky conditionings are what stand in your way of believing that you are a rich woman, robust, abundant, strong, capable, noble, dignified and worthy of the love of God and of his sons and daughters.

Arm yourself, Leah, with your spiritual family. Garner from them those strengths which will allow yourself to be heaved onto the shore of your own spirit nature, your own well-founded, well-grounded, Father-bestowed personality -- that personality aspect of you which is filled with your own radiant purpose.

I do not offer these words as a command, my dear, but as encouragement, and again as confirmation for you, for your conditioning is deep-seated and like Jasmine, who has accompanied Hunnah in her growth this week, Jay-Orzh is at hand to accompany you in your investigations of your own spirit nature and how it is that the ghost of Christmas past continues to haunt you today.

Leah: Thank you. I generally understand you when I'm sitting in this room and I intellectually understand the things that you say and I feel a gut reaction, which, I think that's the soul reaction to the words you said. And I understand you're not speaking to just me but to everyone equally, but when I review the week . .. that's where the comparitiveness comes in.

Leah: I just don't know how to live it! I mean, I think I'm doing okay, but then when I hear you talk, I don't think I do anymore. But yet I really know that all is well. So perhaps I . .. I know that it is a learning process.

TOMAS: Child, you are your own worst enemy. I wish that you could see from my perspective how much you have grown, even in the short period of time that I have been here as your teacher -- and I do not take responsibility for your soul growth, for your development. These are steps that you have taken of and for yourself and for your relationship with Our Father.

You have not perhaps the perspective, but begin to convince yourself of how much you have grown. Begin to confirm for yourself how far you have come. Ask your personal teacher to reveal to you some examples of how it is that you respond to life today compared to how you responded to the same situations a year ago, or ten years ago, and see if indeed you cannot determine for yourself how you have grown.

If you can credit yourself with your faith steps, you will begin to see, in yourself -- not through my words, but through your own reflections -- your own value, your own worth, your own self-respect. You will then embrace yourself more readily for the steps you have trod. You will be more encouraged then to assume success in your daily living.

No one has yet convinced you how worthy you are and it is for you to personally go to the Father and allow Him to elevate you to your true status. Feel Him and you will know; and no matter, then, how insignificant your interchanges may appear, no matter how foolhardy your relationships may seem, no matter what, you will have that perspective of your own contact with divinity, indeed, your own divinity status through Him, that will confirm for you how real you are, through Him, and how important your work is and what a good job you have done!

You have been given lots of assignments, many colorful and difficult assignments. Your conditioning has contributed to your distresses, but they have also contributed to your adventures! Assimilate these unto yourself and be proud of your life: how you have come through it; how you have triumphed over many odds; how your spirit has prevailed through thick or thin, for even now, you sit eagerly and humbly in the presence of God and your peers in the spirit, and are at home with us.

TOMAS: I seek to strengthen you and for you to strengthen yourself in Him who is your great strength. Now. Merium?

MERIUM: Leah, please do not feel that this is a game of tennis this evening and you are being the ball. I would like to address the needs of reality living in human form and this is indeed the quandary. Humanly, needs -- emotional needs, especially, in a woman -- when they are missing, leave a terrible emptiness. And if you live long enough without them, you fail to expect results or to even address the fact that one does have emotional needs.

The word "champion" has come to my mind and I was thinking how we are secretly, but without definition, longing for a champion -- someone who will really understand and take our cause. If you live in a house full, without any understanding or appreciation of the level of reality that you have touched upon, a great pain can develop because there is no echo or harmony to the sounds that you have learned. And in this longing, even though you find in the forest some like-minded souls to companion you on this journey, the immediate day-by-day stress can become cumulative.

So in this need, for the absence you might say of the recognition of one requiring a champion, you can continue to struggle and not see any results of the masterful strides that you have made. I am asking you to allow yourself to become your own champion. Tomas has addressed the word courage and strength to you. You have it in you.

One of the favorite subjects these days, to those who are on the journey and tramping about in metaphysics and parapsychology, is the development of the male and the female qualities of an individual, and how women are developing their masculine qualities and using them as warriors in many cases, and their feminine, who they have diagnosed to be in terrible straits, like some type of wounded individual on a battle-field. This has created great drama in society today, but in truth it is the development of a release of an already whole and balanced and integrated personality that is light-filled and all-knowing.

In this higher way, we do not want you to see yourself as a divided household, but the dawning of a total individual who does not need to be repaired and who does not need to go around bankrupt or guilty. I want you to see that you are to be the champion of the Cause of this perfection that is coming into expression in you.

You reach, with compassion, to many around you. The compassion must be applied to yourself. You have all that you seek. If I could come down to you physically, I would put my arms around you. We all long to feel this touch. And in the human form, we are allowed to receive it.

During Hunnah's rather pleasant confinement, she has found that for the first time in her life, she has had a block of time given to her where she has been allowed to be good to herself, and therefore this that she has sought has made itself known, because she has allowed herself to be good to herself. It will not be as easy when the tempo picks up, but if you could treat yourself as if you are in charge of your own care and make it the most important part of your agenda, the fruitage will be great. All the concerns that haunt you or have left you to feel empty, and misunderstood, will be set aside while you continue to nurture that which you hope to become, that which you truly are, and everything which you will be involved in will be lifted. You will know. You will know, and THIS is the only issue at hand. This is the only issue at hand.

I hope that my words have come upon you like a soft rain. I hope they soothe you and that all the longing for credibility from the arena that has no credibility will fall away into the background like a gentle landslide and these false values that you have carried with you as armor will get lighter and lighter. You have chosen the best part. Do not slow down the process by bringing crumbs of the past. There is so much waiting for you, but your hands must be empty to receive it.

How dearly loved you are and I'm so pleased that you are so loyal and trusting that you have come here and revealed yourself so that we can teach through your needs. It will help many, because they will be able to reflect also on their own situations and take a look at their priorities. Thank you, Tomas.

TOMAS: Thank you, Merium. Brava! Indeed, you have recapped a year's worth of lessons on personal correcting and growth in your wonderful words, which do indeed fall like rain, a gentle spring rain upon the hungry earth.

Leah: I appreciate that, too. In my journal I -- well, I don't know if I do it or not, but I always sign, "Love and light are showered upon you. Love, Jay-Orzh."

Hunnah: In a couple of papers we have talked about this being a love tryst, an escape, and I remember when I was journaling, that's exactly the affection and appreciation that I felt was not present in my daily life. I felt as if I entered the arms of the true Lover who understood me in a way that I could scarcely understand myself. And the satisfaction derived from this is so comforting and strengthening, I really wish more people were able to allow themselves to indulge in this type of love-letter.

TOMAS: Recently I had an opportunity to have an in-depth and quality conversation with a young woman who chatted with me regarding her emotional circumstances. I had also chatted with her husband, and the scenario revealed the truth of the postulation that there is built within the psychological make-up of the human being that which reaches out to be held fast in mutual embrace, and although your understanding may be that it is animal magnetism or a facet of procreation or even in tactile appreciation and affection, the truth is that yearning is based upon your need to feel the great embrace of the Beloved Bridegroom, for indeed once you have been held in His embrace, all other embraces pale in comparison, and this is rightfully so.

It also allows the mortal to appreciate the relative nature of these embraces, for much of today's difficulties in terms of women's liberation and social mores and so forth, has to do with the heroics of husbands and the devotions of wives in the mistaken notion that this embrace will fulfill all yearnings of the soul, and although there is much merit to the family value and the entire scheme of relationship as established by the Father in heaven, that yearning which you feel is for the spiritual embrace, and as has been said, if you can accept that spiritual embrace into your life now and find its comfort, its security, its satisfaction, its warmth, its encouragement and so on, ad infinitum, you will not ever feel lonely. Even though you may feel alone and without a partner in the standard romantic sense of the word, you will have become partners with the Beloved and you will not feel alone.

This may sound like rhetoric to many of you, but it is truth, and it is soul satisfaction, and this pinnacle of reality and reality functioning provides, then, all of your mortal relationships with an added dimension of love, one which will permeate your environment and allow His love to reign indeed upon all those you meet. And truly this is the great romance, the great adventure.

I feel a certain settling of energy. I perceive a certain pacification attainment.

Hunnah: I sense the settling of a satisfaction, as if something had been taken care of and entering a rest. We can be talked to and talked to and talked to, but we have to let our words enter our cells, the cells of our body, and it becomes the manna. I was thinking of a song a friend wrote while I was in Infinite Way. The words go something like: "I have meat the world knows not of." And there were many stanzas in that song and it was very beautiful and it just fit because we're talking about a secret life that's becoming more public as we wear it. Our other church called it witnessing, but the best witnessing is silent.

TOMAS: This silence speaks volumes, for there are they who will look at you and recognize you, recognize that you have been with the Master, will recognize the God-consciousness within you, and even though you may all carry with you different philosophies or theologies, different tenets or creeds or scaffolding, if you have been touched by the Master, if you know Him, you will recognize your brothers and sisters in the spirit as those who have also been touched by Him. And so sometimes silence is even better, for when you start talking and muddling it up with intellectualizations and historic references, you can prematurely muddy the waters.

And that brings me back around to the assignment from last Thursday, that being to behold the personality and as you feel the impulse to act after that personality, how will you respond? Where are your motives? Are they in line with the Master's ideals? Are they in keeping with His will? Or are they self-serving? Are they lesser conditionings? Are they lower motives than you are capable of promoting?

It is an interesting assignment, for you are constantly encountering personalities and constantly feeling the impulse to act. What a cinema of opportunity for you to act for Him if you will let Him.

TOMAS: I am Tomas. With me is my colleague Merium and a number of midwayers. We have finally tucked in the animal and have given space now for your higher nature. Allow your puppy-dog natures to rest, indeed, to dream happy dreams, while we ascend in aspiration to more elevated happy dreams of the spirit.

We appreciated your socialization this evening regarding friendships and take heed that your friendship in the spirit is deepening. It is able to deepen because of your connection in and through the spirit. It is the spirit that unites you, and in this union of souls you are beginning to develop a genuine affection for one another. This is the outworking of the primary relationship, that being friends with God, and with yourself; now you are able to seek genuine friendships with others.

It is said in the text that friendships are an end in themselves, that it is not necessary to do anything in friendship other than to enjoy the fact of the friendship. If you are to enjoy each other, it is imperative then that you see each other through the eyes of the spirit, for in the eyes of the flesh, there is always something to interfere with the soul satisfaction that genuine friendship provides.

There are, in your culture, many aberrant kinds of friendships -- not really friendships at all but a poor excuse for a friendship, and these include relationships that are cloaked in cynicism and bonded by gossip; alliances against a supposed foe or gender; commitments made for less than altruistic reasons.

Friendship, as a result of love born of the spirit, accepts and appreciates and allows and enjoys without stipulation, without judgement and with joy. Friendships indeed are important, and they are learned as you yourself learn the value of a friend. A friend is not there to "fix it" for you, to fill an empty space, but to share time and space together in delight.

Friendships may be had among the opposite sex - exclusive of marriage - and they may be had in same sex relationships such as was enjoyed by you this evening and by other treasured friendships, even the apostles. When you can be so fortunate as to bridge the gap and have a friendship with your own blood relation, as in siblings or parent and child, you are truly blessed, for you have learned how to transcend the roles assigned to you and assume instead a position of affection based on Reality.

It is difficult for one to have friends unless they are friendly. Indeed, one must be friendly in order to cultivate friendships. But genuine friendships are not cultivated normally in the course of a short period of time unless the spirit is an active participant, an obvious interceder on behalf of this sublime friendship. It is also difficult for those of you who have taken on the yoke of ambassadorship to develop friendships with those you would "save," with those that you would bring into the kingdom, for until one is in the kingdom, wherewith shall you base your friendship?

Temporal matters are a foundation for friendships, certainly, as evidenced by millions of existing friendships, but only as they are infused with the spirit are they friendships that withstand the test of time and space. A friendship is an end in itself. It is not necessary to try to save one who is your friend. It is not necessary to attempt to include a friend into your spiritual life, for they are there by the nature of the friendship itself.

Jesus has been called the Great Friend for you could discuss anything with Jesus and he would understand, he would comfort you and hear you out, and if you were open to his advice, he would counsel you well and lovingly. Let your friendships then be as with the Great Friend. Merium, would you like to add to this discourse?

MERIUM: You have been quite thorough this evening. Friendliness is an attitude. It is an ideal attitude, like an all-purpose tool. If you were to approach the assignment, you would do it better if you had a friendly demeanor. [Putting T/R at ease] Friendship is interpreted in time in different ways. It is more like wine; it takes on a special quality in time.

There are many subjects written on friendship, many articles on friendship. We talk about the subject with you here though you could buy a book and follow and you would say, "That's not new! Why would they be talking about that?" but you must remember that in our friendship group, we are lightening the subject. We are lifting it up and allowing you to see the "new light."

In regard to friendship in time, there is an innocence and spontaneous delight as with a child as the child gets older. There is a pact of friendship with children as they get older and they rely very heavily on the support of friends. Friendships develop by degrees as you journey through your experience. And then there is the friendship that develops true "full-bodied," you might say, where there isn't any competition; it's as comfortable as a slipper sometimes, and yet it needs to be tenderly nourished like any special possession.

I do not feel that I need to embellish this subject in particular except to say that you have acquired new friends, invisible friends who have come to be with you here this evening, friends that you cannot share . .. relationships that you are unable to share with people in your social realm because they would not understand or it would be confusing for them. Children have friends that grown-ups and family cannot see, yet they may honor the child's ease of its reality and the friendships they are enjoying. This subject is varied and I don't really have anything I want to say about this right now, Tomas.

TOMAS: Thank you, Merium, for your contribution. It is good to hear you through Hunnah again.

MERIUM: This is regarding the support system that you have, whether it's physical, mental or emotional -- the human sense versus the new reality. Recently Hunnah was faced with some information that was making reference to her body, and at the human level she was very discouraged, and then in a moment she realized that she was not really depending on that part of herself. In the new way, her dependency upon a physical aspect was no longer the same, for she knew of a greater reality and a greater truth about herself.

I don't know if this will transcribe well, but you all have an opportunity to have a similar experience, and hopefully it will not be one that is disagreeable, but your trust and your values are not where they were and you will be finding this more and more, whether it's an empty purse or if it's mental information that you felt you needed to have and you found out you have all that is necessary.

This is a subject I am touching on because I would like you all to be sensitive to your, as has been said, to your divine inheritance, your discovery of a greater aspect of yourself.

TOMAS: Let me pick it up from there, then, for although your friendships here are developed and are an end in themselves, they are only as complete as is possible in the relationship that lies between you. There are times when your friend, your closest human friend, cannot sympathize with one of your belief systems or cannot feel sympathetic to one of your opinions, cannot commiserate with an emotional point of view. There are moments even in the most intimate and dear of friendships that there is a sense of separation, for it falls short of the intimacy that will take place as you ascend and as you attain greater perfection.

In those moments when you would reach for a friend and you understand that your close friend will not be able to understand you or commiserate with you on the point over which you wish to hover, herein is the time for you to appreciate the quality relationship with the Father, for there are times when your feelings, your prayers, lie too deep for words, cannot be conveyed, cannot be reciprocated.

Do not feel abandoned by your mortal associates when they cannot attain that pinnacle of support for you. Do not feel that they have disappointed you by not being as perfect as you would have them be. But rather rejoice in the knowledge that the Father has heard you, has commiserated, and has understood. Understand you are not alone. Rejoice also in the associations that He has provided for you that He has provided for you to develop. Those personalities that cross your path, that you through your friendliness of spirit attitude drew unto yourself in the nature of a good-spirited friend.

The phrase "love-saturated soul" rises to the top like cream. A love-saturated soul reaches out into the greater consciousness as a beacon, attracting those who would see that light, not seeing with the physical eye but with the spiritual eye. They will be drawn to you. And so let your spirit light so shine as to attract those who would be your friends in and through the spirit. This is the foundation of the brotherhood of men and women kingdom builders. This is the family of man under God and with God. Quietly let your spirit lights shine and also be responsive to the reflection of the Father's light in his myriad children, that you might form more friendships. My friends, how are you?

Iyana: Okay. I'm feeling much better. My body was acting up for a while, but now I feel as though I'm back to myself.

Iyana: Years ago I read that a friend is one who knows all about you and still loves you, and I always thought that was a very good definition.

Iyana: Okay. Another question. A righteous man. When I used to read about righteous men in the Bible, it always seemed to me that they were men who were straight and stiff as pokers, who would not bend. Now -- I could never understand that. To me that seemed narrow-minded -- now today, is it all right to think a righteous man is a man who has good morals and who understands?

Hunnah: Spiritual discernment? Perhaps someone who would respond instead of react?

Hunnah: Because over the years that has been one of my fascinations, that word, and a prayerful request was to have "righteous judgement" and I always felt that if I had any righteous judgement it was because I had been lifted into a state of higher consciousness, and then that would clarify whatever was going on for me, that I would be drawn into "righteous judgement." Anyway, I look forward to hearing a discourse on that subject.

TOMAS: And one day you shall have it. I would like to tongue-in-cheek remark that since I have known you, Hunnah, you have been intrigued by one sort of judgement or another and so it will require some depth of character on my part to deliver such a lesson and I will wait until such time as your righteousness has superceded your judgement.

Iyana: Could I make a comment? I've missed not being here to the transmissions. As you know, I come when I can. At least I've been doing my homework and looking through my past transcripts. I was re-reading Ham 1992 and they're the same lessons that we get today. Now, five years, doing the same lessons. I know that you don't have any time on your side, but that seemed a long time for us. But we are, very gradually, beginning to understand these things and I would like to know, is this, what you mean by giving us repetitions? That finally they will sink in and we will live by them?

TOMAS: Let me project a scenario -- that you are still finding this process a form of entertainment.

TOMAS: Eventually the entertaining aspects of it will subside. You will go through a process, then, of becoming impatient with it. You will remove yourself from it. And then you will discover your reality has been enlarged. And you will return with an attitude of investment. I am not necessarily saying "you" personally, Iyana.

Iyana: I can read them again and again because it just seems that you miss something the first time, or the second time and the third time.

TOMAS: I would like to acknowledge our able ambassador Ham and testify that his succinct wisdom has entertained the morontial realms of his students more effectively and over a longer period of time than I. I look up to Teacher Ham and I am still learning from him today and I am somewhat more advanced than you, and so these truths that are emitted, if they have value (which they do), you will grow in them each day. Although your growth may be unconscious, if you are willing to develop in the spirit, you will develop at an accelerated rate because of your willingness.

There are reasons for you to be here, and reasons that you come back. Some day you will see why you have chosen to learn in this Teaching Mission. The reason will be clear. At this point, we are still working on elementary lessons.

I will express a vision (poor word) that Gerdean had recently as she woke. In the nether regions of her mind she could see herself clearly as a 5-year-old child. She had been hearing the words to a song (music of "Little Brown Church" with words adapted), a hymn. I cannot recall the words, but it had to do with the house in the Wildwood [off of Wildwood, Elizabeth's house on the hill], and it referenced a favorite spot of our teachers. And this song was going on in her mind and she interpreted that it was the Teacher, the God Fragment, urging her to wake up and do morning stillness meditations and she had a 5-year-old snit and told God to leave her off -- exactly like a 5-year-old would do. And I tell you true, my children, you are in so many ways these 5-year-old children, having a snit and telling God to go away, that you are going to do it your way. And yet in your conscious mind and in your superconscious mind you are striving, you are working, you are rejoicing, you are attaining, but that small child about you each is still a willful child. It takes a long time for that willful child to grow up to spiritual adulthood.

My friends, and in many ways my children, I am here to hold your hand and sing songs and to tell stories and to plant seeds while you grow up, for I cannot make you grow up quicker than you can grow by your own growth process.

Iyana: Would that be a sort of a message telling us that we should be more sincere? more serious about this? That we should give it our all instead of lackadaisical?

Iyana: Well, I probably know that's what I'm supposed to do or I wouldn't say it.

TOMAS: … and if you feel truly dedicated, I believe you cannot do much more, but dedication is rather whole-hearted, if I understand your dictionary.

TOMAS: Indeed, you are to be sincere, especially in your relationship with Our Father. It is an earmark of truth when we hear sincerity in each other. It is soothing, it is comforting, and it is trust inducing to hear sincerity. It is real.

Iyana: I was reading about Jesus going up to the mountain. For six weeks! And communing with the Father. And I mentioned to Hunnah. I was flabbergasted to think that he was there for six weeks and here we can barely do our half-hour.

TOMAS: I will alleviate your angst somewhat, for although it is true that Jesus did go apart often, as you would do well to go apart often to commune with the Father, in many of his absences on the mountaintop, he was involved in administrative matters of the universe.

TOMAS: That chore does not fall upon your shoulders. Your realm, however, is as important to you as his is to him, and it would do you well to go apart with the Father to discuss the affairs of your realm.

Hunnah: Part of me is thinking I should keep my mouth shut and allow Merium something to say, but I enjoy the banter so much that -- that's my shortcoming. Of late I have been aware of being in almost a state of limbo. Our work ethic, I guess, impinges upon my understanding of being about the Father's business and allowing oneself to be in a state of rest. I heard a teacher talk one time about coming into the Sabbath, meaning that it was a time of rest, where you weren't ferreting around for information or looking for stimulus or looking for another teaching or . .. being restless, I guess. Is this state of rest compatible to being dedicated? Do the best you can? I know that's sort of a large …

TOMAS: Caesar would have you hurry, for it is more profitable for him if you hurry, and so render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, but render to the Father that which is His. And are you not His? Is your profession not His? Is healing not a part of the Infinite Spirit? Does not the Most High rule in the kingdoms of men?

This limbo that you say you are experiencing, infers that you had been in a full-bodied place and now you are at a half-mast place and you long for the full-bodied communion you had while on sabbatical. I am glad to hear you acknowledge that you feel changed, having now returned to the work place, for it tells me that you are feeling the lack that was once filled by your soul's devotion.

Do not succumb, Hunnah, to the whirlwind of Caesar. Look at the maelstrom of the medical milieu these days and hold yourself back from becoming caught up in that breakneck pace. It cannot keep up with the many ills. The many ills are exacerbated because of the condition of Urantia today, and you here are learning how to be the eye at the center of the hurricane. Find your strength in the Lord. Indeed anchor yourself in the God of all. It is vital that you remain firm in your purpose. It is understood that you will waiver, but, again, you are encouraged to be strong. Has that answered?

Hunnah: I guess. I'll have to think about it. I just think that I am in a place of growth and I can't judge it.

Leah: I heard Hunnah ask about rest and dedication, if they really went together, are they compatible. And I heard in my mind that somehow you need dedication to rest to allow yourself to recover, and I think that rest with the Father is referred to in the Urantia Book as recharging your spiritual batteries in worship. I don't know if that's exactly correct, but I believe it...

TOMAS: That is all right, and I thank you for your input. And let me also state, having been prompted by my able assistant/sister Leah, that the old way was to afford the Father time and honor on Sunday, and in the new way, it is a matter of honoring him all the time. Do not wait for Sunday to pay homage to the Father. Take Him with you wherever you go. It is not always possible for you to get away to meet Him on the mountaintop, and so take him with you as you can into your experiential valleys. Stop in traffic, stop in the linen closet, stop in the ladies room, stop in the produce department, and spend a quality, real moment in brief thanksgiving and worship, allowing yourself to become centered and renewed in that brief moment in time.

Iyana: When Ham spoke, he said eventually we will think of the Father all of the time.

Iyana: Imagine thinking of Him all the time! You wouldn't be worrying about anything at all, you'd just be up in heaven; you'd just be blissfully aware how wonderful life is.

Hunnah: This doesn't have to be in the transcript, particularly, but I was listening to a gentleman who was encouraging people to come into a balanced and healthy way of living, and one of the recommendations was to turn off the news one day a week. And I was thinking just now about allowing one of the human habits to go by the wayside and wither, if it's in our way, and we don't really know which habit it is because it's probably not the one that we'd pick; it would be the one that presents itself to us.

TOMAS: A number of teachers have recommended that you not watch the news at all!

Hunnah: Well, that's the goal. To wean away the toxic effect of the news. And to . .. but because we are so enamored with it, that they have you give it up one day for a week, and then week two you give it up two days, and it would be interesting to hear the conversation that people would be having once they got down to -- they said, by all means, know what's going on, but …

Iyana: You can just read the newspaper. You don't have to listen to the television.

TOMAS: You may begin by observing the excitable nature of the presentation. It is hype -- an emotional hype -- and emotions are exhausting, and so you become addicted to this hype which exhausts you.

Iyana: You know, Tomas, it's just as if you were sitting here at the table! I know that you're coming through Gerdean, but it's just as if you were here. Isn't it wonderful?

Hunnah: Problems don't change. We all live in a situation (well, most of us do) where the wheat and the tares are, and it's back to friendship. There are different levels of understanding. When you're living with someone whose appetites are not the same as yours, it's a challenge.

Hunnah: It's a full circle here, our conversation, but that's the art, I guess, that we are developing.

TOMAS: I will refer you again to the quality of letting your light so shine. It may not be seen in your back yard, but it may be seen miles away, and then you have given off your light. Indeed, your lights do shine often into the cosmos, even unto Havona.

Hunnah: …That sounds so incomprehensible. But thank you. That sounds like a fairy tale.

Leah: I was wondering. When you were giving the lesson, before, you were talking about, I'm not sure of the word you used, -- attempting to be an ambassador, and then you draw people to you, but sometimes the people become dependent upon you. Obviously because you allow it…

TOMAS: One moment. That is not true. It is not that you allow it. It is that they have seen your light and they hunger for it and they feel that they can sustain themselves through you. You have allowed nothing but that your light should shine. Their devotion is misdirected. Re-direct their devotion to the Source, and do not assume it as adulation for yourself.

Leah: Yes. I was speaking more in the material realms. I was just . .. The word "adulation" has got me at a loss here. I understand what the word means, but I'm just saying that...

Leah: The words are difficult but, you talked of friendship, and obviously ambassadors should be friendly, and...

TOMAS: An ambassador is not necessarily friendly, for he is not seeking friends so much as Reality, and not so much for himself as for they. Once they have been brought into the kingdom, then a friendship is possible. He is not selling something; why should he be friendly? If he is a love-saturated soul, he is allowing the Father to speak through him and say those things that the spirit would say. This is not the same as being friendly. Obviously he is loving, or the Father would not be able to speak through him. But friendliness is an offshoot, a side effect of a love-saturated soul, and so he is not seeking friends so much as he is seeking, yes, converts.

TOMAS: Not necessarily. I am intrigued and I keep interrupting your train of thought, but on the other hand, this is an exchange.

Leah [Laughing]: Okay. An example, okay? Of the Red Cross. And there are people in distress, and you have a friendly attitude. And you also want to go maybe a little bit further and help out where you can, and then if you were friendly to people, especially the downhearted, I don't see it so much as seeking a friend as sharing something with someone.

Hunnah: When you are friendly within yourself, then that part sort of takes care of itself. And when you deliver the service, there is something about your demeanor that allows a person to be comfortable. When you used the example of Red Cross, we're talking about what civilized man does for each other, and enlightened man serves two ways: enlightened man serves at the physical level while he carries his Life, which is a form of God. An attitude goes out that is something extra and it uplifts those whom he helps. Enough said. I don't know. I'm talking for the sake of talk. I don't know.

Hunnah: Oh. Now that's . .. You could say that about anybody at the table here. It puts it in a different light. Thank you.

Oh! Our worldly associations don't know about these names, so if Mary Kay goes down to the local activity and does charitable work, she's known as Mary Kay, but she releases the Iyana aspect of herself into the work.

TOMAS: Let us suggest that Iyana goes into the environment and acts like Mary Kay so that they can relate.

TOMAS: In this case, Iyana the daughter of God, is acting in conjunction with the Conjoint Actor, the Infinite Spirit, and she is presenting Our Father to her arena as Mary Kay so that they know, so that Iyana can present the Father's fruits to His children.

Iyana: I had an experience with this woman. I'd never met her before, but she started to tell me all about her problems and I had similar problems so I gave her advice, or I suggested that she do what I did, and to me that isn't giving advice; that's just being helpful … because I'd been through that experience.

Iyana: But that is why we look back on our lives and realize we have been through these things, as other people are going through. We can show compassion to them and give them understanding so that they will feel better with their problem.

Iyana: I want to thank you, Tomas, that I was able to be here tonight and to discuss things with you and to have you show me ways that I can do things.

TOMAS: It is most fortunate that we are brought into fellowship regularly, yes. It is a gift, this friendship that we share.

TOMAS: There are many who disdain the Teaching Mission because often it appears to be relegated to Dear Abby or group therapy or less than the ideal that the Teachers proposed in the beginning.

Iyana: No-no-no. Her "Dear Abby" meant that the problems were so minute. Like they would write to Abby. Not what you were giving.

Hunnah: I agree with both of you. This is definitely something that bothers some of the people that are in the group, but this reminds me of a song from "My Fair Lady" -- "Don't talk of love, show me!" -- and we're talking about "show me how!" I don't want to talk about it anymore; I want to live it! And that is what holds me close. Talk is just too cheap.

Iyana: I have respect for the Teaching Mission and we were just being a little facetious.

MERIUM: Hello again. I just wanted to come back on-line for the exercise. I am eager to put in my contribution as you well know and I don't want to lose connection with this T/R in light of my association with Hunnah. It is a well known practice in other communities that the teachers are prone to pop up anywhere, but in-as-much as you are dependent largely on Gerdean for teacher contact, and now Hunnah to some extent and a smattering here and there (hello Jay-Orzh), I operate thus, but I encourage you all to learn as you can and if you can.

Tomas made a remark earlier about when your light so shines that people come to you and you allow them to cling to you and the analogy is too close to go unnoticed, for he said that you must refer them to the Father, to the Source, and not to continue to come to you, and so those who might, might say that Gerdean, and perhaps Hunnah now, are self-deluded and self-seekers of glory, for the students come to the teachers that they provide.

And again I will offer up the same advisement, and that is that you need to go to the Source, to the Source which resides within you, within your own capacity for discernment and for absorption of reality and truth. You have within you that truth, beauty and goodness, which is of the Father. As you share your understanding of your intimate relationship with the Father, you are practicing those things that you merely listen to when you hear Tomas or I speak.

However, we are here to be your friends and to be helpful as you yourselves come together to be friends and to be helpful to each other. And so we keep this in perspective. It is the Father that we ALL turn to for the ultimate lessons and the ultimate prize.

Well, how wonderful again to visit with you and to see you here in this delightful group. I look forward to our next gathering. It is always a great pleasure for me to be able to contribute to this developing community. So long.

TOMAS: I cannot top that, and so I will allow Merium's words to be the cherry on top of our discourse this evening. I will see you when I see you. Stay in touch. Farewell.

TOMAS: We are so pleased with your endeavors in communication this evening. Merium and I stand with you in your noble desires to be heard and to make your message, your words, those of truth, beauty and goodness.

This exercise has long-range repercussions, as do all good habits. You will no longer resist the leadings of disciplined communication and you will be supportive of this technique in your community, thereby fostering a concept of communion not only with the Father but also with one another. You will begin to learn to communicate in the soul levels rather than on the superficial levels, which earmark your society. This is why the lesson has been difficult, for it is not common, but for those of you who have embarked upon a process of becoming more like God, you are amenable to those techniques which will allow for His will to be done.

My daughters, you have no concept of how much your expressions meant to us this evening. Indeed, Hunnah, your remarks caused a bit of a ripple on our side, for we saw a very well-integrated personality giving forth truth lessons in its expression of your inner life, one which was compatible to your human self and to your divine self. This practice of personality integration is a direct reflection on our lesson last Thursday having to do with the Thought-God, the Word-God and the Deed-God -- those three facets of Trinity, which you can know in your life as They know in Paradise.

I spoke briefly last Thursday regarding the Conjoint Actor and I referenced Thursday to something Iyana had spoken of last Tuesday. If I were not listening, if you were not listening, we would not be able to carry through on the theme of a conversation from one week to the next and have it hold value, for we would have forgotten these truths in the lapse of time and space. That they had value, however, lends credibility not only to the Teachers but also to yourselves.

Now in terms of my on-going theme of late, supported by my compatriot Merium, as well as those of us in the unseen realms who are working with you on Urantia for upliftment and enlightenment of purpose, we direct our focus again to that moment when your thought and your word are harmoniously in conjunction with His will, and you have awaited this impulse to act based upon the cooperation of your will with His will, and now the act begins, in and through the spirit -- Third Person of Deity.

I pause here, before you launch into action, to review the importance of self-mastery. Have you read in the text the lesson on self-mastery, Leah?

Leah: Yes, I did read it a long time ago. I remember that it was profound but I can't remember it presently.

TOMAS: It would do you well to review the lesson on self-mastery. It is in the text. It is not a full Paper. It is a segment. Perhaps you would do us all a favor now and read the lesson on self-mastery. We will be in recess.

Iyana: What does that mean, "the self-conscious bondage of a life of self-denial and watchcare?" What means self-denial and watchcare? That's down in the last paragraph. It says, "If then, my children, you are born of the spirit, you are forever delivered from the self-conscious bondage of a life of self-denial and watch-care over the desires of the flesh." Does that mean that it just doesn't bother you anymore? That you don't have to keep a watch on yourself anymore because you know that you're not tempted? I don't understand what that means, "self-conscious bondage."

Hunnah: One of the things that I felt or received an understanding of, to a degree, through the Infinite Way, was the understanding of your completeness, self-completeness in Christ versus this unending shouting definition of a self separate and apart from God, which is the Kingdom living on earth, without a higher connection. And Ching Hai refers to sentient beings, the sensual man, you of the flesh; and that is our bondage. Even better than the word "bondage," I feel, is our conditioning, and what we are doing is we are outgrowing -- we're not out-shouting it or anything, but our conscious awareness of our new reality, sense of ourselves, is established in us now, and therefore when the "Ouch!" of our daily life -- In our endless opinions and the pressures, we start to see that we are living in the world but not of it.

And that continuous daily test (I call it distraction, daily distraction) -- and when we start to wrestle with it, we strengthen it. We seem to strengthen it and distract ourselves even more from what we really believe in! I know in myself sometimes, when I have a problem, I become so compulsively and all-absorbingly distracted! And then you really get angry because you don't want that energy -- and I have a friend right now who's going through this -- is being depleted; this energy which is supposed to be "feeding the world" is going down the tube over an old reality.

Leah: I don't think you're supposed to say if it bothers you. I think you have to admit that it bothers you, but, like you said, you could say, "I'm not going to let it bother me," but the only way you could do that is if you turned it over. Norita called me one time and -- I think it was St. Teresa. There was a nun in a convent with her and I don't know, she rattled her rosary beads all the time or something, and St. Teresa was having a real hard time with her so finally she just said, "This person is really driving me nuts and I just can't seem to love her, so I'm just going to ask Jesus to love her for me," and she didn't have any problem with her after that. So it's simple trust. I tried that recently in the last couple of weeks in a couple of situations and sometimes I forget that I've turned it over, I take it back. I suppose I experience this as trial and error and recalling....

Gerdean: I'd like to make a comment on the reading. It says, "In the Father's kingdom you are to become new creatures; old things are to pass away, behold I show you how all things are to become new." Now when I read this, I recognize that these are things that I need to learn. I think much of the Teachers' talk of conditioning is related to this. Our conditioning is very deeply ingrained, but as we seek to become new creatures, then we need to put away, willingly set aside those conditionings that hold us up: the fear that we've lived under for so long, the shame that we've lived under for so long -- as a society! As a people! -- And be transformed, but I don't think that this happens overnight.

For example, it talks about here "the human heart is deceitful above all things" and we take our heart very seriously! Our human heart is deceitful! How do we determine between our "God heart" -- our God-loving heart with compassion and all those wonderful qualities of the fruits of the spirit -- and the human heart which is "deceitful, sometimes even desperately wicked"? I think this is where we need to look to determine "Who told you? Who are you going to follow? Man or God?" Is this something your human heart is tied in with or is this something that is becoming new?

Hunnah: May I comment on that? I have a friend who is a great Unity -- I guess you'd say of the steps on her journey, Unity has been one of her stops or schools -- and she will say, "Is it for the greatest good, the best for all? Is this decision for the greatest good? Is it going to cultivate and nourish your soul? Or is it going to satisfy you on a superficial level? We don't always want that answered. We're caught up in it in an essential way.

Leah: I'd like to respond to the question about the human heart. That's a biblical expression as well, about the human heart being deceitful, and I've always had a really hard time with reading that. And then I noticed in the transmissions, when they really want to make a point, they usually say, "in your heart of hearts." They usually use that phrase as opposed to -- I mean, occasionally they use "heart" but they designate that as opposed to our human conditioning.

Gerdean: Well, I know that my human heart deceived me a lot, and I fell into "foolish fears, divers lusts, enslaving pleasures, malice, envy and even vengeful hatred" for a long time, and I was not "cured" overnight. I had to look at some of those things and learn to understand them and allow my sonship to surpass my human-ness and allow it to take its place. I gained self-mastery over it where it was no longer necessary or desirable to do that! Like … promiscuity. You know. There is no promiscuity whereas there was. There are a number of things. It's not necessary… "When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping" … it's not necessary now for me to spend money to feel good. You know. These are replacements of value that didn't all happen in the blink of an eye! And I'm sure that I still have more that I'm going to learn in terms of self-mastery.

Iyana: Like computerized, more or less: always getting a treat all the time. The parents come home, always had something in their pocket for us, so we always-- Now, I've had so much love come from up there, I don't need my treat like that. I mean, I don't have to tell myself I'm giving myself a treat because I deserve it or I earned it or all that sort of thing. I never think of that at all.

Iyana: Well, you know, some people say, "I've gotta be good to myself." I never felt that way, in that sense.

Leah: Well, actually, that is a true statement, but sometimes it's misplaced. I've read a lot this week about loving yourself before you can love other people, and I've heard it and heard it and heard it, but nobody ever teaches you along the path, as you're growing up. You serve other people, so how do you learn to love yourself?

Iyana: How can you love yourself if someone is always nagging at you or finding fault with you?

Iyana: But if you're brought up to think you're special because you're God's child, and to separate it from the ego part, then they will know that they're special.

Leah: Well, all of God's children are special. There aren't any who are more special than any other.

Iyana: But they don't tell them that they're special. That's what I'm talking about.

Iyana: They think it makes a person egotistic if they say they love themselves. But this is entirely different from being egotistic. One of the papers we just read said we should be proud of what you do, what you're doing in the spirit way, that you're accomplishing what He has in mind for you. That's a wonderful article; I'm glad he told us to look it up.

TOMAS: I am glad you enjoyed it. My motives for having you read that passage at this juncture in your understanding of how it is that you do His will, how it is that you manifest perfection in your sphere, indicates also why it is that we have discussed your motives. Those of you who have been born of the spirit have indeed professed a desire to act in accordance with His will. You have said, "Father, it is my will that your will be done," and you commenced then to enter into your life, your arena.

Much of your lives are acted upon unconsciously. Much of what transpires in the evolution of you and your world happens in spite of you because it is the natural way that you evolve, that you grow, that the spirit is all-powerful and will not be defeated. But those of you who opt to be aware of the journey, who opt to participate in the efforts of attainment, and to reap the rewards of accomplishment, can contribute by understanding how it is that your motives, your intentions, can affect your actions and thereby affect those around you. Indeed, inhibiting or augmenting the growth of others.

As you stand in preparation to follow through on doing His will, in faith you will prevail, but much of your growth process entails -- almost by reflection -- discovering how you might have acted more wisely, responded more sensitively, and so forth. It is here that many of you "beat yourselves up" and fall into emotional realms which fall short of your own inherent glory, when these are really little assignments in the lessons of perfection attainment, little lessons on self-mastery. For you may be assured, as you have read, that your spirit will act in accordance with His will. The mota states, "The act is ours; the consequences God's," and God will make the best of any given situation. Such is His glory, His power. Such is in the Mystery.

When these little life experiences come about, you may regard them as exercises in self-mastery. In time you will discover that much that used to trip you up and cloud the path and befog your brethren is now a slick and glossy presentation and you have gone on to even greater refinements of kingdom-building. You are growing up. You are becoming responsible sons and daughters, co-workers of the living God. Always a child, yes; ever seeking Father's guidance, yes; but also shining His light in the darkness.

Are there questions? (Pause) Earlier I overheard Hunnah say she had temporarily resigned her post, due to the fact that she and Merium were partying late recently. Even so, Merium is, as am I, ever eager for another invitation. I will first allow Hunnah the opportunity, if she is willing, to bring our lady friend on-line.

Hunnah: Yes. I'd be glad to. Iyana and I had a little session the other night with Ruth. We invited Merium to join us and we had a lovely evening of sharing. We did not record it, but it was a full plate and we were very pleased to have received it. And it flowed nicely.

MERIUM: Good evening. It has been a pleasure to be with you this evening and I have truly enjoyed your conversations because they are in my corner, you might say. You have given me a wealth of verbiage to utilize -- if it occurs to me -- but this evening I would like to talk about helping you to cue in on the refined choice.

As an exercise, occasionally you may want to, review the way you handle a situation today as compared to the way you did in previous times. If you wish to see some mature growth that has taken place in your personal experiences, please, by all means, let yourselves reflect. I am very impressed with the sincerity and the thoughtfulness that you apply to your challenges, and it warms my heart to be a part of this group and to work with people who are so open to allowing the glorious, living Christ into their lives.

I would prefer to operate through the mode of answering questions, so if there is something that you can set to me rather than a discourse, I would rather do that. Is there something that has occurred to you that you would like to offer in relationship to a lesson that we have had? Or something that might be of concern to you that you feel others would benefit from hearing?

Gerdean: I have found it a frustration and -- of course, as you know, many times, since I'm transmitting Tomas I don't have an opportunity to ask questions, but when I do have an opportunity, I like to take advantage of it. I'm not sure if I just want to say this to put it on the record. I think, really, I need more than that … not necessarily your response to me, but to the issue. And sometimes,...

What I'm trying to say is, when I have a problem, when I voice a personal problem to my friends in conversation or in sharing time, I am not looking for a solution to the problem from my friends. I am looking to find out how I can get the answer from my God. I am trying to…

Many times I'll have experiences and complain about the experience, particularly how I'm handling it. How I'm handling it bothers me, not the situation itself. If I were handling it perfectly, it wouldn't be a problem. So my complaint is that I am not handling it as perfectly as I would like to.

Now I know that Tomas said something about "you're doing better than you used to," but even so, that's the juncture that I'm interested in. How can I do it better? Rather than voicing my concerns as to how to fix it -- I'm not trying to fix the situation. That will fix itself in its own course, because God's got the situation under control. What I'm concerned about is how I handle it and how I fail to handle it. Do you see what I'm saying? Do you know what I'm talking about?

MERIUM: I have several responses that I would like to present. First of all, I would like to ask: "Who is having the problem?" We are talking about Karen and Gerdean, and we have been talking about conditioning. We have been talking about the human conditioning and the new living way.

MERIUM: Yes, and when you find yourself wrestling with a situation, is it not a symptomatic that the lesser way, the conditioned behavior is at hand? And what I hear is that you are looking for some peace, and so I will ask you a question that has been asked in many counseling sessions: Do you want to fix the problem, or do you want to be released from the hassle of having made a situation of it, having allowed it to be defined as a problem?

Gerdean: It's really hard to answer that in the abstract, and I don't necessarily want to get specific, but -- I don't think I can answer the question.

MERIUM: When I asked that statement -- I apologize. I did not really want you to give me a specific. I wanted you to be able to hold this to your own personal sizing up of the situation at hand. Unfortunately it is the human condition to think that because they utter a prayer, that five minutes later the problem will be resolved. Many problems that people are dealing with have other individuals fueling the situation, and there is a frustration as to (a) thinking it is all your challenge; (b) that you are feeding it; (c) that you are allowing another to feed it; and what I want to do is call you home from all of the extended analysis.

When you find something is making you uncomfortable, I would like to see if you would like to try embracing it, in the sense that "this is the situation as I see it now; my old conditioning is reacting." But allow yourself to consider it a package and the package appears to be a quarrel or a dilemma, yet within that situation there is the answer which is that you are dealing with it because it has come to you to be resolved."

This is not new. The words I am using are not new to you, but I would like to point you at some surrendering as this integrated personality takes hold and is permitted more space, as it is not out-shouted in a sense. The exercise that you had this evening is not just a social interaction, but you can apply all the principles of the earlier exercise to your own round table of personal inquiry and definition when you have a challenge.

You can imagine the discomfort and the confusion as being that prattle of the spoiled child who wants to have it taken care of immediately or not allowing the parent to speak. If you can give yourself some space -- and even interject some humor here -- you will find that many of the arguments that take place are space-fillers. They are the child sound because the child does not like to have it quiet and it does not want to hear from the parent or the authority that has evolved within their consciousness.

I would like to add a new light to this subject. It will not go away. We will continue. If we were to meet for ten more years, we would be continuously challenged with a question such as yours this evening because it is of the human condition. And frequently problems can be starved out, the child can be told to be quiet, and it is not the same as burying your head in the sand. But sometimes stilling must take place in order to have any progress. I hope I am saying enough words that it will resonate that within you with that which already knows.

Gerdean: Well, I appreciate your words. I've heard them, and its adequate for the purpose, certainly, but -- I'm not arguing that it's a human problem because obviously if I were looking at it from a spiritual point of view I would pat myself on the back and say, "Hey, you're doing fine; never mind. Get on with life." But I could equate the situation also as Jesus, instead of trying to knock down the door, would simply open it. He would find out how to open it and he would open it! And I'm not real good at opening the door yet. I still scratch at it and look through the keyhole and hunt under the mat for the key. I mean, I bang on it! I'm not sure how to get the door open graciously, all the time.

That's all I'm saying is that as I don't know how to get the door open, I get frustrated. We've had discourse like this before. And I am certainly better at it than I used to be. In fact, it used to be I didn't care if I got the door open or not, you know. I am definitely improving. My concern is that when I do express my frustration at not being able to get the door open, I am not relating the information so that my peers can give me advice on what I'm going to find when I get through the door, or why would I want to go through the door in the first place. I'm trying to say that my motivations are spiritual as compared to human, but my frustrations seem to be more human as compared to spiritual.

MERIUM: First of all, let me talk about the door. What if the door did not even exist? What you're talking about is a limitation that has been drawn, that is a boundary that has been set up through conditioning, and that you have gone to a point where you have discovered a wall and it depends upon what side of this so-called wall you are standing on. If you are standing on the side where I happen to find myself, there isn't any wall. If you are standing on the so-called side of the limitation you had described to me, it is definitely a wall. So what I'm trying to lead you to is the fact that when you say, "I am trying..." then please back up and tell me who is trying. The new reality is trying? Or the conditioned sense of separateness? The separate self who is here on earth and lives in fear?

Gerdean: No. I am speaking to you as an ambassador of the kingdom and I am talking about getting through a door of communication. I am trying to bridge a spiritual gap. I am trying to communicate. I am trying to extend and expand spirit reality. I am trying to do His will as I see it. I don't know how else to -- I am not trying to get a Sear's charge card. I am trying to do His will in the living way. I want to open the door of communication between me and thee. And I would like to be more clever, more creative, more adept at opening the door of spirit reality between me and other people. And I get frustrated, either in my inability or in their inability to open the door.

Leah: This is what I hear. I hear that when you present a situation, that the other humans in the room hear: "This is your problem". Maybe it's just a matter of semantics. Maybe it comes across as: "These are the problems in my life." And the human reaction is, "Oh, you've got a problem. I've got a solution!" as opposed to -- what I really hear you saying is, "These are the situations in my life. I want to know how I can handle them better."

Leah: So I think I'm hearing what you're saying, but I don't think that other people are hearing. They, like, short-circuit you, like we were doing in listening to the other people. They short-circuit you with . .. If the word problem comes up, immediately there's got to be a solution.

Leah: Yes. I mean, you have a human problem, we'll take care of it with a human solution. So I hear the question you're asking, but I feel foolish because I feel like I'm giving the comments you don't want to hear right now, but I see your dilemma. Of course I don't know what the answer is, other than -- Well, yes I do know what the answer is. The spiritual side knows that the answer is communion with God.

Iyana: I hear the word "trying, trying, trying" and one of the messages we received from Jesus one time was that trying will never get you there; you have to do it. You have to just do it. And I, too, think that perhaps you are a little impatient. That is all.

MERIUM: My reply is compassion for you, dear. You want this to happen so badly that you're taking the kingdom by storm. You can hand a cup of water to someone who is thirsty and they will say thank you. You can anticipate another's thirst and be in error. What you do is make what you are available. Tonight's exercise in respect and proper timing was tangible, surely, in such a way that you will be able to apply it to yourself.

In order to have an exchange such as you had this evening, you had to have a change of tempo, and when this change of tempo comes about, it's like a stilling, and when you carry this stillness (which is not a negative quality), when you carry this stillness with you, you are carrying parallel gifts of orderliness, sensitivity, respect. And these will be emitted from you; you will not have to DO this. But in your human conditioning, you (you being everyone) are so used to having to DO something about something, you have forgotten that the meat of this whole quest is to allow yourself to BE what you truly are.

There is some favorite verse in Hunnah's memory bank that was just recently revived and aired, so let me share it with you. It is by Whittier.

There is more to that poem. It is also a hymn, but it is saying, in truth, what we really want you to seek is His peace. And as another teacher said, "We cry peace, peace, where there is no peace" because the old conditioning of having to fix it, change it, make it happen, are so deeply woven into the old fabric and you are in the process of dropping these old clothes; you have outgrown them; and the only cloak, literally, that you wear is one of light and peace.

And so the old teaching is to be Onward Christian Soldiers; the new expression is gentleness. Gentle strength and poise. And the Father will emit from you -- like a fragrance to that person whose Thought Adjuster is intact -- that invitation to join you in the higher expression. This will come about. You have already experienced it, but your zest and your zeal will be like the tools that are no longer appropriate at this time. They will be brought out only when needed. So it is peace that we seek, peace in our heart, and it will show.

Gerdean: Well, what about those remarks that Jesus made, such as, "I come not to bring peace but . .." whatever it was. I mean, he came here to kick butt!

MERIUM: Thank you very much for saying that Jesus said that. Jesus said that. And what did you read tonight in your Paper about this new being that you were going to be?

Gerdean: And that is precisely what my concern is. And that was what my question was about. It's a frustration of my own spiritual growth being construed, evidently, as a problem in my relationships with the people that I'm working with, and not what I perceive to be my true problem, which you have addressed.

MERIUM: What do you think of... Have you ever been "converted"? Or had anyone attempt to convert you? How did you feel?

Gerdean: It depends on who's trying to convert me. When I was converted into a daughter of the living God, I resisted but I was, even so, led by my Thought Adjuster and I was converted into a believer in a living God. I have been reborn. I'm having a spiritual experience. I am truly converted from a theological, philosophical way of thinking to an active way of living. It's -- That is the true conversion. I am not talking about one philosophy to another.

MERIUM: And it is true that when one discovers the new and living way they tend to be zealous, enthusiastic and impatient for fruitage. This is understandable. There are states and stages of spiritual growth. It will seem as if you periodically go through this aggressiveness and an excitement with it because there are different aspects of yourself that have recognized the light. When you make your first leap of faith and you decide that this is how you want to live, there is an assumption that it will happen in a total way, but it is an on-going journey. There is no deadline. And there are many individuals that you will interact with so that …

I will interject here Hunnah's favorite analogy for in her spiritual journey is the seasonal digging up the ground. She drives along and sees the fields that have been furrowed, and she notices that new fields are heavily clumped and it takes many passes of the plow to get it to be supple. Other areas have been plowed many years and the ground is refined and the land is cultivated continuously.

… so that in your own consciousness there is new harvesting of land that is going to be prepared for new growth, and when you have these moments of impatience and are perplexed, allow yourself to remember that perhaps there is a new area that has had ground broken and when you are having good days, days when you are feeling the comfort and satisfaction of having been well-seeded, many years of growth, much satisfaction of the fruitage, that we are not dealing with a small circumference of any particular name of any particular individual. We are talking about consciousness. We are talking about endless possibilities, and no limitations. So if you can think of yourself as being the Father's vineyard, and being part of his crop, perhaps it will bring some degree of patience with you and satisfaction and solace.

Gerdean: That is definitely something I can use, Merium. I thank you for that, because now when I see a large lump, I will just say, "It's just a clod of clay," and I won't feel bad about giving it a good kick.

Iyana: Merium, a lot of what you said applied to me when I was going gung-ho to have people in my home so that I could host a class, and the message all the time was, "It will happen in good time" and so I have stopped feeling that I wasn't doing my job because they're not banging on the door. And when I have somebody come and they don't come back again, I don't feel that it was my fault, that I'm still waiting for it to happen. And I think that I'm here on earth until this is fulfilled, so I am learning patience also, but not letting it hamper my spiritual growth at all. Thank you, Merium.

MERIUM: That pleases me. Supposing you needed some yardage for something you were going to make but it wasn't made yet or it hadn't come through or the parts hadn't arrived. You're building a new house here. You are expanding your temple. You had a little shed at one time, and some of you had to level it because it simply was not worth the time or effort to add on or improve. And we are building a great accommodating temple here to allow this beauty that you are to dwell in it, and some of you insist on keeping a four-room house.

It is rather like Noah. He was not asked to build a raft and put a few animals on it (for the sake of an old story). He was asked to build a great ark. There is a gentleman in this area who was told to build a very large church, and he kept saying, "That's too big; that's too big!" But he obeyed, and his church was filled because there is a large number to accommodate. Mortals are so used to looking at an external picture because they learn that way, but I want to reverse this picture as the development of yourself.

You are not a little nugget of truth. You are going to accommodate that nugget into a vast size, and if you allow this external limitation to dictate the size of the wonderment that you truly are, then you will be woefully miserable, and when you have pain in your daily living, it is because you are pushing back the splendor that you are and not allowing it to really escape, because there are two instead of one: the old man and the new creature, the new creation. And I know this sounds like …

In Hunnah's reflection of some of my talks, she has worried and said, "but you speak of the same thing all the time!" and then she is reminded that we have to, when we cultivate, we have to remediate and today for maybe your attention is better than on another day.

So I hope that you will continue to be patient with me. I will try to bring forth this calling as creatively as possible for you, to keep you alert, amused and satisfied and I just cannot tell you how well you are doing, but you will know when you start to hear your growth from an inward way.

MERIUM: Let us all do a little imagery for a moment and go out on a pier. It is not a busy port; it's down by a lake. And I would like to have you all sit down on the pier and let your feet dangle in the water, and just smile and say to yourself, "Isn't it wonderful that I am with a loving God who will allow me to witness what I truly am and what others are?"

TOMAS: Yes, Merium, I have been here enjoying the show. I myself have dangled my toes in the water and feel it a bit chilly for my taste, but the sun is warm. Indeed what imagery you have presented. But your message rings true and clear as "on a clear day you can see forever."

I didn't know that you could recite poetry, Merium. I am impressed! I have had a difficult time bridging the gap between my realm of operation and Gerdean's mental mechanism. I can access her words but I have not gone so deep as to read her poems. I am impressed. I have tried.

Even so, I understand in a more light and limber vein that tomorrow, Leah, you fly to London town.

TOMAS: We shall await you when you touch down for we are in Merry Old England also and your trip is guaranteed to be enchanting.

TOMAS: You will have, as Gerdean might say, serendipities, but as we would say, synchronicities.

TOMAS: Indeed it is! Iyana, it has been a pleasure having you in the neighborhood. I don't consider that you are really out of the neighborhood up north in Greenville, but having you in this close proximity has been great fun, a stimulus for many. Not just a pleasure for yourself, my dear, but for all of us.

Iyana: Thank you. It's funny, I was just thinking when you were talking to Leah, "Oh, I wonder if Tomas is going to speak to me?" So thank you.

TOMAS: Yes, you see, I know that if one gets a cookie, the other must have a cookie, and not any bigger! Aren't we funny that way. Don't think that we have completely outgrown those traits; even Merium and I have our own eccentricities of residue selfishness, but we have great fun with them and acknowledge the growth strides that enable us to live together harmoniously. In the more primitive realms, there are those who would kill for a cookie.

You are right to require and attain acknowledgement. You have earned the right to stand up and be counted. It is not even so much that you must make that demand for we want to acknowledge you and encourage you. We stimulate you that you may then stimulate us as well. This mutual admiration society is purposeful and is also equal. Our Father loves us all equally, you know.

I am just chatting. I am lightening up from a somewhat ponderous evening. A good one, a powerful one indeed, but as the evening grows late it gives me pleasure to wind down, as if with a melody, in order to sign off in good spirits ready for "real life".

We will miss you in your temporary absences, but you are well looked after. You will return soon. We are watching and we are with you. And so, my friends, my companions, and my loyal pupils, Merium and I bid you a dear and fond adieu. Farewell.

[Post-Teacher Session discussions on Merium's talk about Gerdean's zeal led to yet another reading, this one on "Why do the Heathen Rage" from page 1725 re: "spiritual assault."]

TOMAS: Good evening, my friends. I am glad to be with you, and glad that you faithfully come together to focus your attention on your spiritual nature, for it affirms your fortitude when you follow through with your intent to grow in understanding and when you subsequently learn to serve from what you have learned.

There is a grand attendance this evening. I realize you are not aware of our presences and your energy levels are not high this evening (perhaps due to your recent supper), but there are a number of visitors. We do not often have time or opportunity for so many as are here this evening but, in your vernacular, you could say that a busload has arrived, and since there is nothing pressing in your humanness this evening, you will enjoy the visits forthcoming.

Perhaps they will provide you with a lesson now and again as they greet you. Assuming this agenda meets with your approval, I will introduce them one by one.

MERIUM: I am Merium. You know me well. I am taking advantage of the open channel. I am not going to stick around and take up your time for I am a regular among you. I will act as hostess, however, in company with Tomas, and escort our guests into your arena. We are pleased to have this agenda this evening. You must realize that we in the spirit realms have no occasion for absence, for we are in constant contact through circuitry, which is even more real than your telephone systems. It is nothing for us to be in touch. In many ways we are closer even than you who live in the same vicinity, but I will not bore you with technical details. I will simply step aside and allow the fun to commence. One moment.

0802-AB: Jack here. Good evening, Gerdean, and friends in the fold. I am a secondary midwayer. I have been a friend of Gerdean for many, many years.

I have worked, for your information, very closely with her brother, your brother, Alan, who has been in residence on the other side of Urantia, in Thailand, and who has recently experienced a milestone in his earthly career, in-as-much as he has laid to rest his companion of many years, our co-worker named Bong who has translated to the Mansion Worlds, having expired from the devastation of advanced AIDS.

It is a joy for Bong to be released from the fetters of the flesh, and it is a joy also for Alan to know that his companion is relieved of the devastation of the deplorable disease that inflicts so many unfortunate creatures here on Urantia.

It has been a milestone for Alan because we worked so closely with this young man in his approach to death and through the eyes of the spirit which Alan brought to him, which significantly augmented his cultural frame of reference for death, which is and was a deep-seated Buddhist frame of reference. He, Bong, indeed anticipates a mansion world experience, which is a great step forward for the lad who might otherwise have looked forward to returning as a four-legged creature.

Also I would like to convey to Gerdean how well I regard her efforts here. Although I do not get to visit often with you, Gerdean, I am fully mindful of your attentions to your assignment and I am appropriately proud of your efforts. I suspected, when we met those many years ago, that you would graduate from "Juliet of the Spirits" to a worker in the field, and you have not disappointed me nor the others who saw you grow and develop over the years.

Your brother Alan is well. He will require some time to physically recover from the onslaught of the emotional and physical stress of the death experience and the loss of his companion, but he is heartened again by the freedom to prevail and to breathe free of disease for the first time in many years. We pray for his speedy regeneration of spirit. I have much work yet for him to do and he is a man of great vigor, despite his years.

My dear, and my dears, it has been a pleasure to visit. I will come again. As you understand, I am not truly far away, and I am assured our Father's will is being done in your arena. I therefore bid you a good afternoon.

Leah: Thank you. I'm so glad that you came. Gerdean has spoken fondly of you and it's a pleasure to meet you.

ROSE: I am Rose. I am a personal teacher. I am the personal teacher of your sister Nolus. You know Nolus as a worker in the field from the original Woods Cross group and as the wife of Jeremiah. I am visiting today on this bus. It is not often I venture so far afield from my garden in the west, but only because I am not invited. And so I have jumped at the chance to visit with you here for I love to get around. In earlier times, Nolus and Jeremiah often traveled far and wide in the spread of the Teaching Mission and I got to experience many environments and many personalities. I have been enjoying rapport with your personal teachers. We get to, as you might say, rub shoulders and compare notes. Always is it a pleasure to be in company with like kind, to meet new personalities and to rekindle the flame of friendships on-going through time and space. Thank you.

Leah: Thank you! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I heard Nolus speak about you in Arkansas.

HAM: I am glad to be among you. I am also glad that you are loyal in your efforts to attend to your spirit growth personally and the spirit growth of your fellows. Jesus often talked to his apostles about the importance of supporting your peers, of being a friend to your companions in these efforts of spreading the gospel. It is an indication of his understanding of the human condition that he would understand and encourage you to encourage and support each other.

It is, of course, true that in your relationship with the Father, through your Indwelling Spirit, you are not alone, and yet your lives are enriched beyond measure when you combine your energies and spirit loyalties with those who support the same truths and values that you support, whether these be in your intimate circle of believers or in your larger family of man, makes no difference. For you to be a companion among companions is a true gift, one which immeasurably loosens your hold on isolation and separation, ever luring you into the greater family, the greater camaraderie of kingdom builders.

This society of brothers and sisters in the spirit will not betray you, will not abandon you, for the spirit is true, the spirit is steadfast. You may rely on the spirit indwelling your brothers and sisters, and even though the mortal vessel may fumble, inwardly the Spirit of Truth will prevail. My friends, it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge how your spirits have prevailed in your lives and how you have encouraged this by your encouragement of each other. In faith, I am your friend and your companion in the spirit. I am Ham.

ALCON: Good afternoon. I am Alcon. I am known as one who gives lengthy speeches. I have a great font of abundance in my soul to give, for as I overheard earlier, it does not belong to me but comes from the reservoir of the First Source and Center and I am but an instrument, a funnel for His wisdom, His power, His grace.

I am ever appreciative of the Word of the Eternal Son and the Word as imparted through the Sons of the Son. I am myself an ascending son, as you are, and we are therefore on the ladder of ascension toward the Son, toward the Word, and so the words that are spoken in our work and play in the realm where we find ourselves is the measure of our capacity to be a funnel, a channel for the Word of God.

For those who would teach and preach, those words are made available. Witness, if you will, yourself when you find your mind is blank and an occasion presents itself. It takes nothing except your willingness to begin an outpouring of relating your perception of truth, beauty and goodness for those with ears to hear, and so I say to you who speak for Him in your work, you work with me also. We are words of the Word and we are sons of the Son.

I am glad you have endured me this evening. I am glad to have been able to approach you and spend a moment. It would please me to return again and practice with you further. It would behoove you all to become aware of your words and to begin to practice allowing yourselves to be a funnel for His words. Farewell.

Leah: Farewell. Thank you for coming. I hope you'll come again and anybody who spoke and anybody who doesn't get a chance, I hope you all will come again.

MURIEL: I am Muriel. I am a newly assigned teacher and I am struggling to make contact with my base of operations. I say struggling because the Hamilton [Canada] group has been in the throes of developing a conscientious and capable transmitter/ receiver. It is a difficult process and is made more difficult when difficulties beset the initial efforts. It is always an advantage to the teachers who come to instruct and companion you; it is beneficial also for you mortals who allow yourselves to avail yourselves so that we can practice with you. It is not a procedure that occurs in the blink of an eye. It is a process, as you who have worked with your personal teachers can testify.

I would like to convey my deep devotion to the assemblage of my assignment. I would like to foster faith in their midst. The Spirit of Truth is our noble companion, a trustworthy companion. It is the integrity of spirit truth that we seek to impart and companionship of our order for you of your order of ascension. We embrace you, Bertram and I, and look forward to those days when we can impress a concept into your mind that will take root and develop as Alcon said, as the Word. My friends, until we speak again, farewell.

Leah: Farewell. There's no doubt that the Hamilton group will appreciate your reassuring words.

WELMEK: I am Welmek. I am an old friend. I hope you regard me as an old friend! I have been observing your perspective of time and space and have noticed that in these few short years, less than a decade since Correcting Time has commenced officially, it seems that many of us have been around a lifetime already. Incredible as it may seem, we have! In some cases you might say we have been around several lifetimes, for your growth has accelerated tremendously.

Another observation we have made among ourselves and have often shared with you is how steadily you are growing, and we find that when you fall and feel you have never seen the light, we scratch our heads in amazement that you forgot that only yesterday you were jubilant and bathed in the spirit. How we are impressed with your childlike natures, for is it not true that children of the flesh are the same way. They can fall and stumble and cry loudly, look around, see something that amuses them, and be giggling and drooling in joy with the same tears they shed earlier in abject distress and sorrow.

I hope you forgive my analogy to you as infants. It is an analogy made in deep and pure affection. It is drawn not to indicate that you are such babies, no, but to indicate how vulnerable you are in your agondonter status. It is obviously an apparent reason why we encourage your friendship bonds, for as you encounter each other you uphold each other, you remind each other and yourself that you are embarked upon a very real task, a very genuine venture.

I have been away from Urantia on a venture of my own. I have not jumped ship. You must never fear that we are a figment of your imagination and that one day the light of truth will dawn on you all and you will abandon the idea of inter-morontial communication, for this is simply not the case. We are very real, but more than that is the reality that develops in your soul as you begin to work with spirit reality; even as it is a mere perception, it is none-the-less a part of eternal truth.

You have heard the analogy that truth may be compared to a pin prick of light, that if you were to see the full light you would be blinded, but the pin prick of light in total darkness is enough to allow you to understand that there is light and that you are not completely in the dark. Let your fellows also light your way. As you grow together, your appreciation of spirit reality will be expanded and enhanced and embellished as a result of that service which you perform for each other, in standing together and in standing with us in the march of the ages.

TOMAS (T/R #1): We are here, the entire busload and I. There are many, many who would enjoy an experience of speaking this evening; however, in regard for your time constraints, I will alter our format somewhat. We have, of course, observed you in your discourses and indeed have observed that when we are not on-line, you are full of questions, but when we are around, you cannot seem to think of any. I will present this challenge to you, and that is that if you have a question, I will direct the question to that entity who would like to deliver a response.

And so, if you are willing to "play that game" we can occupy ourselves gainfully in that manner. I also see that my able assistant Hunnah is eager to partake as a funnel this evening, and I will include her in our "game" if she is willing to play by our rules. That is to say, trust me and we will have fun. How can I help you this evening. Are indeed there questions?

Ann: I have a question, and it's probably a little bit selfish but I was wondering if I had a teacher and who it might be.

TOMAS: I appreciate your question. It is a valid question. I feel completely confident to allow Hunnah to bring your personal teacher through her that she may greet you. I am going to caution you all that names are difficult, but that does not preclude us all from the pleasure of her company and the thrill of expressing herself to you, her charge. Hunnah, you may come on-line and access Ann's personal teacher for her.

PHILOMENA (T/R #2): This is a very special time. It thrills me that this opportunity has presented itself, that I may come to you, Ann.

PHILOMENA: It is very reassuring I am sure for me as it is for you to know that we are here together. A teacher is an ever-present source. Let me use the analogy of the radio. If you happen to hear music or news, you would go to the radio or the television and turn it on. In order to receive that assistance and that up-date of your community awareness, you must believe that there is such a device available to you.

I use this analogy because perhaps my ever-present assets have been with you, but the concept of my availability to you as your companion, perhaps, has been withheld from you or it has been a lofty thing or such a force or individual that can be of help, so let us mark this evening as the celebration of -- as you said earlier this evening -- "appreciation dawned in me" and in your case some more, in a greater way, to the point where you have chosen, as Mary, who sat at the feet of the Master, to accept your rightful ownership of a part of your inner communication.

This evening as you people have gathered together, you are what you might say discovering, accepting and gathering your divine inheritance, and so as I come to you this evening, I would touch your hand and put another hand under your chin and say, "Ann, I love your smile, and it pleases me so much to be here with you." Is there something you would like to speak of, dear?

Ann: [Laughing] Not exactly a fairy godmother, but it's nice to know you have a guide.

PHILOMENA: The flash came to Hunnah of Cinderella and perhaps, like Cinderella, you have felt isolated and alone. In your isolation, your social isolation, a part of you is aware of the presence of that sparkling good fairy who will give you your wishes, but who has laid down ground rules. And I want you to know that there are very few ground rules for us. I just want you to be aware that I do exist, and I have been with you. I have been as anxious for you to have this moment as you would want it, as I would want it. It is an equal joy. You have, as is commonly expressed, opened the door, and has it not been much easier than you anticipated?

PHILOMENA: It will be interesting to see which manner of communication with me that you choose. You may have all manner of communication with me -- quiet talks and written words from stillness, or, as there is a Biblical expression, when the bridegroom cometh "when you least expect it" there will be an opening and I will be able to greet you. It has already been so, but now it is at the floodgate and you will find that this awareness will give you confidence and you will go forth into your day with less reservation because the day which you approach will be your day, not yesterday -- your new day, and we will celebrate your light, and even in moments of doubt, it will be a fresh opportunity for new interpretation. You are a quiet one. I will wait upon your cue.

Leah: Is Jay-Orzh communicating with me throughout my day? In my typing? Or...? Anyone.

MERIUM (T/R #2): Jay-Orzh is ever present, even now. Indeed, she is very pleased with your interest, your attentiveness.

JAY-ORZH (T/R #2): This is a time of strengthening, a housekeeping that is ever so subtle. I want you to remember one thing: that when we are in strong physical communication, these words put a light in your eyes, a smile on your face and a sigh in your bosom. While this takes place, remember that the vibrational change is resonating through you and it will affect all your decisions; it will alter your vision. It is what we call "meltdown" for all of the areas that are trying to develop greater depth, and it is a drying up and a dissipating of old established ideas that are no longer appropriate, and in these ideas are the old teachings.

It is as if you had a bookshelf and you kept all the books from the many years, so the books on your bookshelf are very sad stories. You will not take them to your friend's shop. They will simply sit there and will not be used. They will be left in the category of experience on earth. There are new waters, awareness, new opportunities and adventures in service for you. We cannot be dallying in yesterday's memories.

MERIUM: Hunnah used an expression earlier that was given to her about having much to receive. Truly it can be said of each of you here listening: you have much to receive and you know this in your heart. You want to get on with it. You have shed your tears in the human condition.

Abraham visited the other evening and proclaimed a singular purpose that will rise in you with new strength, and when this happens there is no decision, there is no seeking advice from others, you will know and act and speak and it will not be with severity; it will be with that marvelous speaking voice that you contain. Your voice is a soft, very comforting presence, and we are so pleased having you looking out with new vision.

It is important to have people who are learning to go out in the field on short notice, too! And you have a teacher communicating with you on a regular basis, but basically my message will be one thing: "Be of good cheer." You have all you need. It is at hand. It will flow through all your tributaries of your beingness and you will not have to be expressing your concern as to their destination. You will just feel the inner joy of being about your Father's business. You are deeply loved!

MERIUM: This is the voice of comfort and counsel. You were talking this evening earlier about the consistency of the personality that is in Christ. You listen for little nuances and changes in modulation in our delivery and our speech, but in essence Merium is the feminine voice. She recognizes gentle strength of one who knows who she serves, and so this will probably be the feminine sound that comes through well with Hunnah because she feels safe with it.

So to divide the counsel that comes through Hunnah and put it on names is difficult for her because she only knows counsel. It's as if it has to pass through a filter that is acceptable to her. The quality of the message, as it resonates with you on a personal basis, will make it more, perhaps, acceptable to you, but we hope that you will embrace the intent and the color that is released in a vibratory sense, in the vibrational sense of light and color.

Leah: I understand that it's the message and not the messenger, but what I was trying to ascertain, I guess, was if it was Jay-Orzh who was speaking or if it was Merium.

TOMAS (T/R #1): In essence, all of the beings who contact you who are in and of the Universal Mother Spirit, all of the personalities who attend you are offspring of Nebadonia. Under her are all the angelic corps and the many heavenly helpers. Assuredly the Melchizedeks are the joint offspring of Michael and Nebadonia.

And there are, of course, variations of parentage, but Merium speaks freely and truly of her association with the Mother Spirit for that message which would speak to you all, of the love and concern of the universe is filtered down and throughout the universe in and through the Spirit, regarded by us as the feminine.

You see how malleable and amenable we are in the Teaching Mission? We have no sexist distinctions. We have no feelings of inferiority, we who are male, for we are as loved by our Mother as by our Father, yet certain value holds. Think not that the Mother lacks authority and think not the Father is missing in tenderness. We have learned that the gender aspects change as we become less and less sex creatures such as you know them. You may construe any teacher as being an offspring of your Eternal Parents.

Indeed, often the chords are struck such that you feel you have heard from God himself, and it is encouraged that you embrace the message and the messenger in whatever comprehension you hold toward that messenger and that message. There are personalities. There is a distinction between Jay-Orzh and Jasmine and Trieste and Philomena. There is a distinction among the spirit personalities as there is between Leah and Hunnah and Gerdean and Ann, but when we are seeking truth, it is the truth that we seek.

Granted it is reassuring to know from whom the words emanate, but as you yourself learn to relate with your personal guide, you will be able to distinguish that voice, for it will know you more personally and more intimately than any of the group teachers who by and large are, you might say, more objective than subjective.

There was a comment earlier regarding how it was that one person could affect a community. I have an entity on hand who would like very much to practice transmitting in order to respond to that stimuli. One moment.

MERIUM: One with God is a majority. Let us suppose that you are Johnny Appleseed and that you have, in your consciousness, become aware of the fact that you are capable of planting a seed and developing, perhaps in this case, a business, so you have, not the legend for the evening, but in essence, someone who is going to plant an orchard. This individual, who has bonded with his awareness of the intent and purpose of his pattern in life, who has found great pleasure in planting trees and pruning them, coaxing them, and then discovering that the fruit is delicious so that it can be marketed.

If this person has the integrity that I have introduced to you, and brings this fruit to market, he not only brings produce and new opportunities for people who bake pies or put apples in lunch buckets, he brings himself with his endeavor, and if his personality and his consciousness is such, then he will affect everyone who comes to him, who has business transactions or who may work for him in his field. It can be anyone of service. You could pack groceries in the store, but when you are consciously aware of your love of God and you have dedicated yourself to the development of your consciousness, it will blend and meet others.

It is very much like that parable of the candle, giving more light. This has been very easy to answer in this mode, but what you are doing is you are carrying a common thread, and as you approach others you will ignite the spark in them, but not only once that spark has been ignited, it seems so very important to continuously protect it to keep this ember alive until it can take over and that individual learns how to bank their own inner God-fire, so I want you to think about your place in your daily experience, and let us lift it up.

We have a shop proprietress here. We have a gentle soul who has a loving acceptance of the diversity of mankind and is allowing herself to feel comfortable with those who are not "socially acceptable" but in her own release she will find herself developing new poise, comfort and acceptance with everyone she meets because she will be bringing forth her God essence and she will find that she is not alone. We have our traveler friend here, who enjoys people. She has already covered this territory; this is not a problem for her. She has a charitable nature and she is comfortable wherever she goes. And then we have someone here who is in the health field, who is dedicated to lifting their spirits and meeting the need at the level of need, so in essence we have in this room individuals who are already affecting a community.

But their external personality, who likes to worry and see results, has said, "Oh, how can that possibly be done?" It is already being done! We do not have to answer to that conditioned personality. Father is indeed about His business and there are many in the field, even though that statement is that there are enough in the field, but that is not true. There are enough in the field and the work is getting done. It is not only true that they are in the field, but that there is a legion of support for all who have even a speck of awareness. They have their Thought Adjusters and if you acknowledge your Thought Adjuster, you have acknowledged all Thought Adjusters.

"Acknowledge me in all your ways." And that is what we have been about this evening. It is as if it were a declaration and a kick-off of a new campaign and a new phase of development where you will be glorifying God in a sense by maybe using these words. You will glorify God all day long in all your ways, and you will indeed be that one in a community that is making a difference. Thank you.

VISITOR (T/R #1): Let me add the analogy of a dark room that is filled with a great crowd and one individual comes in who knows where the light switch is. As he or she turns on the light switch, the entire room is illuminated. It falls upon you therefore, to teach everyone how to find the switch so that they are not lost in the dark, for once they can turn on the light, there is no more darkness. Thank you for your contributions this evening. It has been a pleasure to experience your technique.

JASMINE: Many years ago Hunnah was taking piano lessons. If she was allowed to comment, I would not be able to tell this story, but she used to be filled with the glory of God (for want of a short version of the story) when she practiced the piano. And one day a song came through -- and the reason I'm bringing this up is it's very appropriate. "Do you know who you are and who lives inside of you? There's a treasure and a light that will surely set you free. If you turn on your light, it will help you live your life in the beauty and the bounty of his world." And of course it had, much to her surprise, a chorus, and it sounded like an old gospel hymn. "In the beauty and the bounty of his world."

So I tell you this little ditty (I have spared you my singing it), but I want you to think about those words, because you are indeed a treasure and a light and now you are going to live in the beauty and the bounty of His world in your new awareness. Thank you.

Leah: May I ask one more question? It's about names again. I was wondering if that entity that was introduced through Hunnah, along with Merium, just previously, what name was that entity?

Leah: Welcome. I hope you all come again. And anybody who didn't get a chance, I hope you come too! Anytime.

TOMAS: Are there any things that we have overlooked in terms of your soul needs today? I see beauty and indeed flowers; I see good cheer. I feel no lingering tears or sorrow, no shades of darkness. Merium, I believe we have completed our task for the evening.

TOMAS: As we wave them off into the sunset, then, we wave you off as well. Continue to see beauty in your week. I will see you soon. Our deep love to you. Good night.