1997-03-22. Working In Harmony
Butler PA #24
Topic: Working in Harmony
Group: Butler TeaM
Teacher: Tomas, Merium
TR: Gerdean, Hunnah
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.
Lesson
Transmitting
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?
Grace
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 being-ness 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.
Harmony
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 understanding 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.
Closing
And I too have concluded my pas de deux around the rink.
MERIUM: I think that this has been a time well spent. Thank you.
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.
Have a good day, my young ones, and do come again. Farewell.
