Sondjah011506NOCO78_
– Preparation For Afterlife
– January 15, 2006
Northern Colorado TeaM, #78
Loveland, Colorado
Teacher: Sondjah
Topics: Preparation for the afterlife
Your life record is in your aura
The “stain” of agondonters
Order of Light
The strength of your decisions
Take up the challenge
What is life really about?
Religion of your choosing
Negative self-images
Q & A: Labels
Bestowal of personality
Rules about returning to native planet
Strong-willed children
TR: Daniel Raphael
SONDJAH: Good afternoon, this is Sondjah.
(Group welcome.)
SONDJAH: Your teacher, Rayson, is away at this time, and so I am your teacher for today. I hope you will accept my presence here today.
(Group: Absolutely! With pleasure!)
SONDJAH: As most of you know, my normally permanent assignment is as a Melchizedek Teacher in the mansion worlds. So much of what I have to teach you has to do with that, to help prepare you for that eventuality of you being part of the afterlife, the afterlife of which, dominates 99.9% of your existence in the infinite realm. Your time here is a very, very small portion of your total infinite experience.
Yet, this small experience—this brief experience as a mortal—colors the rest of your existence as an immortal being. It will follow you, be with you, even as a Finaliter, after your embrace with the Creator, albeit it will not be that strong or that pervasive. Nonetheless, it will remain in your records, in your aura, in your being for others to see. When they hail you and greet you, they will know that you have come from Urantia. They will know that you are an agondonter; you will bear that significant essence of a unique being – your personality. And thus, you will be a distinctive individual; your record of accomplishments, your passage through the many life experiences that you will have as a morontial being, then as a spiritual being, will be written for all to see. It will carry your proud record of decisions that you have made over the eons; your accomplishments, your challenges, your over-comings, your growth. And it matters not how quickly you accomplish all of this, for time is not of the essence. Time is a substantial part of your mortal and morontial existence, but lesser as a spiritual being and surely not relevant as you passage on to become a citizen of Havona.
My work as a teacher in the morontial realm of the mansion worlds is made much more challenging by individuals as you—who are agondonters who have come from the quarantine. And though you, who come from the quarantine, are of a minority of a population of those who passage through the mansion worlds, you nonetheless also color the classrooms with a significant presence that other worlds do not have. I could say that many of you are a “rowdy lot,” and I would be accurate! Even some of you who are quite docile, have a lot of “backbone,” and this, my friends, is exceptionally valuable, for it is individuals of character who truly become and have the potential for advanced leadership and advanced followership.
There are exceptional—truly exceptional—individuals who attain these realms from worlds from outside the quarantine, those which are not yet in the Days of Light and Life. Truly exceptional individuals come from planets that are still transiting through the evolutionary eras, but have not been damaged, have not been in darkness for so many generations — individuals whose genetic structure does not contain the darkness of quarantine. I am not saying that you are blighted—surely not—but you are much like those remarkable cells under a microscope, who and which are invisible until they are “stained.” And you, my friends, have a “stain” upon you—not a “bad” stain, not a “good” stain—just simply a “stain.” It has made you from translucent-clear to colorful, so that you stand out and are visible among others.
When you socialize with other morontial beings in the mansion worlds, when you are in a group—let us say, in the plaza—and others come upon you whom you have not met, they will instantly recognize who is from the quarantine. And you can receive this with equanimity, you could receive it with shame, and you could receive it boastingly. Though your world was in rebellion, with all the other worlds, you as an individual, need not be a “rebel,” unless you choose. For you, the challenge is to make the fine, discerning distinction between a person of character, a person of backbone, a person of strong beliefs and a headstrong appeal, and one who is a rebel. I will leave that with you as food for thought, during your mortal lifetime.
Now, imagine, if you can, a parallel for my being here and you being here with me: Let us say that I am your drill instructor and you are part of my platoon. My job is to help you become fine, strong, powerful soldiers of righteousness, for my discipline is willing, heartfelt, generous and courageous. And of course, some of you who are the strongest, could become—will become—the finest soldiers in Michael’s army of light. Let us call this army an “Order of Light.”
How will you adapt to that, and how will you adopt those disciplines? Now in this mortal lifetime, this era of individual soldier training—which is a lifetime to you—you can go through many tactical challenges, ones that will raise you to a higher consciousness, or ones that will break you.
Each of you is exposed to the same challenges of mortality. Some of you come from privilege, wealth and power; some of you come from exceptionally humble roots, who are often powerless and impoverished. Who chooses to accept the will of Michael and Nebadonia? What efforts will bring you to willing acceptance and eternal commitment, to the path of the Order of Light? Will you choose a lifetime of slogging through muddy trenches in training, under the barbed wire of life, over the burning anguish of life’s experiences? Will you struggle to climb over the hurdles that life brings to you?
I hope each of you has an answer to these questions, for the answer is quite simple. Is anyone willing to guess? Or would you like me to provide the answers to you?
Student: Do it with Jesus’ help?
SONDJAH: Correct. Other answers?
Student: Do it with increasing communication with our Thought Adjuster.
SONDJAH: Very good. More?
SONDJAH: You will do it by the very roots and soil of your mortality; you will do it by your own self-will. You will choose; you will decide that you will succeed and you will overcome all of these challenges, with the aid of your Thought Adjuster and the instruction of Michael, and those beings of light who are among you. You will do it through the very strength of your decisions.
No one escapes mortality without making significant decisions for their immortal life. Or, if they do end up in the morontial existence and have not made those decisions, they will be informed and be required to make a decision, to follow along and lead their life in the Order of Light, or to give it up. Your life is all about decisions. Decisions, decisions, decisions! Not decisions just on Sunday, but every day. Not just in the stillness of your meditations, but every minute of your waking day. When you lay your head upon your pillow at night, let your last thought be of a decision of willing acceptance to take up the challenge that exists in your mortal life; the challenge “of” your mortal life.
On the lighter side, I understand from your history that you have had evangelists, who came along in tents, then preached and spoke and called upon individuals and exhorted them to come forward and make a commitment to Jesus, pay their tithe, and be on their way with a clean heart. Is this correct?
Student: Uh huh. Yes.
SONDJAH: Well, forget the tent! (Much laughter.) I am not here to exhort you; I am not here to cajole you, twist your arms and shout in your face—I simply wish to inform you that this is your life; this is your choice. And your choice makes a great difference in the afterlife.
I can tell those who have made a decision and lived that decision throughout their life, when they come to my classroom. I know that they have begun that long journey—yes, inasmuch as I read their record in them, in their aura—I do see that, but also outside of that, I see it in their mind activity, in their presence in the classroom, through their “words,” through their “thoughts,” through their dialog with their fellow students; through their dialog with their instructors and master teachers. It is quite evident that there has been growth prior to the transition to the immortal life.
And as you have been told before, there is no break between your growth here in this mortal realm, and your morontial career, when it begins. Your spiritual growth, your spiritual career, has already begun! You simply—just as in high school, walk out the door and go to another classroom, next session. A brief hiatus between classes; that is death, and it is very brief. Exit one classroom, and enter another; it is as though you had gone from a one-room schoolhouse, K through 8 in the country, to high school in the city, with a large campus. And when you complete your morontial existence, you will go to Uversa University; and after your spiritual career, you will enter into your post-graduate experience in Havona, and later on in Paradise. But it has already begun. It is not a foot race where you are in the starting blocks, and the gun has [just] fired. You have begun the onward journey.
I wish I could put in a real, existent form what I am trying to tell you today. I wish I had some morontial golden ribbon to tie around your wrist, to fasten it with a bow, so you would never forget that you are on a golden journey — a golden experience, with yourself and Michael, your Thought Adjuster and Creator. And I would tie it with a bow because, truly, you can untie this bow if you wish and stop the journey. Or you can tie it again, so that it does not come undone.
I know that you have made a decision to join the afterlife. My wish for you, with this golden ribbon, is that you would not forget the journey, from moment-to-moment, minute-by-minute, hour-to-hour, through your lifetime, that the decisions that you make about your thinking, affect your speech, and your behavior. These all register with you when you graduate. I wish even more that I could reach out to the rest of your planet and tie ribbons upon everyone’s wrist. They would wake up in the morning and look at their wrist and see this golden, shining, dazzling ribbon, and say, “What is this? My! What is this? It wasn’t here yesterday.” And perhaps they would become curious to know more about it, just as some followers of Jesus were curious to know earnestly, sincerely what his message was really about. The question is, “What is this life really about?”
Oddly, it does not really make much difference which religion you are from, or which religion you use, as long as you are sincere. Almost all religions are God centered, have an aspect of them that looks to the afterlife. No religions that we know of that are God centered call upon you to have a riotous life, a licentious life, one of wanton destruction of yourself, your morality, and those around you. The religion that you accept is really none of our business; it is your business. You choose what feels comfortable. And we adjure you to commit to following it through, to examine your feelings about your religion, and if you are not comfortable with it, understand why. Make a decision; find a religion that feels comfortable to you.
Follow easily; Jesus never said the yoke is heavy or impossible to carry. These are reins upon a bridle, upon a large horse of faith; you simply lead yourself into the future of your life, knowing that it is good, that you are loved, you are wanted, you are needed. Knowing that, you will be more at peace in your world. Again, on another hand, it matters not what religion you have, as long as you are comfortable living. Sometimes living comfortably has nothing to do with your religion—it is simply your basic beliefs about your life and your process of living in this world.
Some of you were not treated well when you were raised, so your outlook is dim, your anticipations, expectations of treatment by others is harsh and negative and you have come away with your experiences during your formation years, with a negative self-image, negative self-esteem, and self-worth. Don’t accept that. That is a choice. This will not change in your mind until you refuse to accept it. It will not change until you refuse to accept and adopt, [the] loving presence of Jesus in [your] life, the true understanding that you are loved—simply loved—because you exist. You are simply loved by him and Nebadonia because you are living evidence of the eternal, undying faith, of your Creator in Paradise.
Each of you carry that spark of eternality within you — your Thought Adjuster. This is an investment of immense proportions. You are loved, appreciated and accepted; you truly do have a place in the universe that is reserved for you and you alone! You are loved, because you “are.” To put it in the singular, grammatically incorrect state, you are loved because you “is;” you always “is;” and you always will be “is,” because you exist now. You are joined as one personality, with your Thought Adjuster. And when you think of yourself as “are,” think of yourself as a plurality of two—yourself and your Thought Adjuster. You “are” important!
You may be familiar with this—you recall Morley’s ghost, don’t you—clanking around with chains? What are those chains? Those are the dead weights of unloving childhood experiences. And my friends, those experiences that you developed, most of you, as adults, have accepted for yourself. Choose to drop them away, and become beings of light. Join the Order of Light.
Rayson regularly has a time for questions. Do you have any questions regarding the lesson today, or any other topic that I may address?
Student: I have one based on Rayson’s lesson last time. He was talking about being stripped of our labels, except perhaps the one about being a child of God. What about labels or aspects of our experience that have spiritual significance, like being a parent or a caregiver, or a philanthropist. Are those positive labels worth keeping, or do we need to get rid of all labels altogether?
SONDJAH: We would recommend that you get rid of all labels. It is not the labels that are important, but of the growth that you received through the activities under that label. You are not a philanthropist, but you are a generous individual. Yet, that does not stop with your mortal existence, but goes on to be a part of you as a morontial being. What I am getting to is that you are not “beings of doing.” Being generous is a state of being. “Doing” generous is an activity, which is outside of your being.
To label yourself as a philanthropist or a parent is to “do” that; but to “be” a parent you understand the activities of doing parenting things, and through doing parenting things, you have come to appreciate, I hope, the wisdom and discerning factors of “being” a parent. This aspect of “being” is most important, because it will follow you and the labels will fall away.
Your teacher, Rayson, has taught you well to leave these labels behind, to let them go now, not to be a “being” doing nothing, but to be a “being” in service, without recognition of what it means. To be your best at whatever you do is the most important thing. To be an individual of great service in all aspects is what you will be seeking to do through the duration of your immortal spiritual existence. You “do” to learn to “be,” and you “be” to learn to “become an I AM.” In the “I AM” of your being you are an immortal being; you are that which is God in expression in the eternal realm.
You can truly be useful, an incredible resource to the Creator in the eons and eras of the universe of universes to come, through your capacity to be of service. These concepts may be difficult to wrap your mind around, but this is the essence, the very “being” of what you will become. You will not only be emissaries of God, but you will be God as emissary through you. Your “being” nature, and “I AM,” will be with you throughout the universe in this close identification with the Creator. The label I would suggest you seek to embrace is to “be” and live in the “now.” Accept your activities of “doing” as a process of becoming greater, to learn those roles of “being” that will assist you to become of immense service in your lives to come.
A more simple answer I could have given would have been to say, “Yes, adopt positive labels,” but I challenge you to release those to the higher level of your existence, to be in peace, to be in service, to be a great parent, to be a wonderful, uncompromising philanthropist of service. Thank you for your excellent question.
Student: Thank you.
Student: I have a question. Can you tell us at what stage of beginning that personality is bestowed? Is it before, during or after birth?
SONDJAH: It is not so much important to know “when,” as it is to know that you “have.” Do you dear child, know that you are a Child of God?
Student: Yes.
SONDJAH: Then you have personality. Is that sufficient?
Student: It seems that when babies are born, you notice a distinction between one and another, of your own children, or other babies. It seems that they certainly vary.
SONDJAH: Most certainly, and it is a wonderful experience to behold the variations between individuals, but you will know that there is personality when you behold an on-going temperament of that individual, that will follow them throughout their life. You will know that some are generous, and uncompromising in their love of others, not because they are thoughtless, un-deciding infants, but because they have chosen this is how they express themselves.
It is not so much a matter of time; we can say that they are given personality upon conception, or at the time of birth, though that is non-essential for personality bestowal. And we could say it is bestowed when the Thought Adjuster arrives, but you know yourself, that a personality is in existence before the arrival of a Thought Adjuster. I am trying not to lead you astray into the larger morass and tar pit of when there is personality and when a child, as embryo, might be terminated or aborted. These are not discussions we care to go to. Personality is not a political issue, and it exists and perseveres whether the individual lives a full lifetime, or experiences passage before birth. Thank you.
Student: I have another question. We have been told repeatedly that people do not return to their native planet after our passage to the mansion worlds, but I am wondering if it is possible on the mansion worlds, to sense, visualize or know of some progress, what’s happening on our home planet, say particularly of those we leave behind, those we value, those we care about?
SONDJAH: There has always existed a capacity of those who have passed to project their presence similarly as celestials and angels can project themselves to another location. It is difficult to explain—the capacities of personality, the capacities of will, capacities of love—are quite boundless. Your guardian and her supervisor thoroughly take into account your intentions when you are in the afterlife. Your capacities to do good and to learn from those experiences are taken into account.
How can I explain to you that there are rules, guidelines of the universe and of the mansion worlds that are, as you might call them, “campus rules.” Sometimes, some of you nonetheless, even without willing cooperation of your “house mother,” or “house father,” go outside after dark, do you not? The universe is not arbitrary; the will of the Eternal Father, First Source and Center, is magnanimous! You have self-will that is God-like. How you express it is your choice. Know that your angelic celestial supervisors will not condone or assist you in doing wrong in the afterlife; neither will they hold you back from expressions of love and service that are consistent with your training program. I cannot answer your question in hard, definitive terms, but surely, if you read between the lines, you will know what I am saying. Thank you.
Student: Thank you!
Student: A little while ago, you spoke of how strong-willed some of us Urantians are. Over Christmas, when I had all of my grandchildren with me, I noticed that that was a characteristic of every, single one of them. Do you have any suggestions on how to both live with children who are very strong-willed against what their parents think is in their best interests, without squashing their self-concept?
SONDJAH: I will defer your question to a Nursery Supervisor. When you ask again in another session, this same question, ask for the Nursery Supervisor, and one will be there to assist you. Thank you for your question.
My friends, I wish to thank you for your presence today, your intentions for being here, your decisions for being here, and your commitment, which is evident in your on-going attendance. Do not forget these three essential elements of living: The proof of life and your will is evident in your intentions for living, your decisions to live it, and your commitment to follow-through on those decisions. I will answer you for now that strong-willed children are a wonderful blessing, but only at twenty years hence. (Laughter.) Good day.
(Group gives thanks to Sondjah and to Daniel.)
