2000-05-07-Self Evaluation
N Idaho NID #148.1
Contents
• 1 Heading
o 1.1 Topic: Self Evaluation
o 1.2 Group: N. Idaho TeaM
• 2 Facilitators
o 2.1 Teacher: Olfana, Evanson, Tomas, Elyon
o 2.2 TR: Gerdean, Jonathan
• 3 Session
o 3.1 Opening
o 3.2 Lesson
3.2.1 Providence
3.2.2 Self Evaluation
3.2.3 Security
o 3.3 Dialogue
3.3.1 Gratitude, Expression
o 3.4 Closing
Topic: Self Evaluation
Group: N. Idaho TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Olfana, Evanson, Tomas, Elyon
TR: Gerdean, Jonathan
Session
Opening
OLFANA: (Gerdean TR): I am Olfana, good morning. I ask you to envision my embrace and my smile. I radiate to you our Father’s affections. This is an opportunity, indeed, for me to be here in your grouping, and I am delighted to be able to be the one who reminds you of the provisions which are provided those of you who follow after Him.
Lesson
Providence
OLFANA: The Father provides all of our needs. The needs of all the ascending and descending and [[Stationary Sons] of God are pre-established. It is in the divine plan as to what needs will be, and so when you alter your configuration, your understanding of your growth and place in the universe, your relationships, your needs are anticipated even before you are aware what they will be, much like your prayers are answered before they are even voiced. It makes me happy to be able to reassure you of the bountiful goodness of a our Creator who has seen to it that your earthly needs are inherent in your physical existence and your spiritual needs are provided by the spirit realm.
When you come to the realization of this great gift you realize again how well you are loved and how great are our Universal Father and Mother to care so tenderly for the needs of their children. Those of you who realize this are less inclined to struggle and grapple for that which is inherent in your sonship. You can thus apply your energies to positive pursuits in service.
We have a full house once again today, and I am glad to be in attendance. I will enjoy your gathering even as others share. Be well.
Self Evaluation
EVANSON: (Jonathan): Hello, Evanson speaking. I have elected to comment on self-examination today to place a positive or, more appropriately, delightful spin upon it.
You know that in your education an exam often brought feelings of trepidation, worrisome thoughts that you might not measure up to a master’s standards, that perhaps your studies weren’t thorough enough or that even though you have studied hard there would be a trick that you would fail to perceive and fall to the wrong answer. Many times a mortal will avoid the examination of self for fear of the discoveries wherein you do not measure up to your own standards dictated by your ideals and your hopes for who you would become. I would encourage you to not perceive examination as like an exam wherein you must put a check in the right box to be graded as to your success or failure but more treat it as an exploration.
Let curiosity, the excitement of discovery, draw you to deeper understanding of your own makeup, the complex integration of your behaviors and thoughts and emotions. There is a thrill to be had in discovering better who you are just as an athlete experiences when attaining a new goal of prowess and ability. To jump over the bar one inch higher reveals to the athlete an ability sought for but until then considered a non-possession, yet all the while it is the same physical body, the same personality training, even the same bar to jump. What was considered not present beforehand becomes an attainment after the fact. To examine yourself is to unfold more about you that is capable of being revealed, and by that I mean expressed in your daily life. So, fear not that you will find the flaws, but be intrigued that you will discover present yet dormant aspects of yourself that you can activate. I have finished my comments, and I thank you for listening.
Security
TOMAS: (Gerdean): I am Tomas. It is good to be with you on this brilliant Urantia morning. Spring is in bloom; hearts are young and gay. It is the new year, the new season, new beginnings after the frost and after the barricade of the crossover into the new millennium. Around the world there are those who are stretching and reaching in order to attain new goals and, like the athlete, attain new records of feats accomplished. This wonderful attitude realizes the human quality of hope. This quality is available to all. “Hope springs eternal” and in this time of year it is resplendent. The joy to be found in the appreciation of a hope which never dies allows a man, a woman, to be aware of the fact of the non-threatening reality of our God and His universe.
Threats are not a part of our Father’s nature. Threat has to do with a determination to survive instinctually. It’s part of your early heritage. Is it not true that your language incorporates the concept that a thunderstorm threatens? Yet is it not also true that a thunderstorm brings rain, feeds the earth and thus feeds the people? The human has for a long time assailed himself with the perception of threat, threat of debt, threat of isolation, loneliness, alienation. These are ignoble beliefs basing themselves on the ghost cults and beyond. You who are modern men and women of sound religious inclinations are risen above and overriding, overpowering, negative influence, for your compass leads you unerringly back to the pure peace of new hope and new beginnings, refreshing your day and your approach to life anew.
Be aware of how your animal condition and even your social conditioning have prepared you to be protective of yourself from threats or perceived threats. As these perceptions are allowed to dissolve in the rain, the sun of clarity will radiate your new appreciation. It would seem we are having an afternoon of vignettes and anecdotes, and I am so pleased to be a part of your community fragrance which is beyond reproach in its fellowship effects. That is all from me today.
Dialogue
JONATHAN: : Could I ask a question?
TOMAS: : I’d be delighted.
Gratitude, Expression
JONATHAN: : On the subject of gratitude, I realize at times I don’t express thank-yous where appropriate. I have a vertical sense of gratitude expression but lack the horizontal. I thank people for favors and receive thanks for favors asked, yet I overlook them in the workplace or family life. For example I don’t thank the drummer for playing in our band because we all agreed to play. I’m looking for your advice on how I can be more alert to that or how to change my behavior.
TOMAS:: The decorum of fraternity is at issue here, and it has to do with yearning to acknowledge divinity in all its aspects. In your culture you have thank you notes, formalities, please and thank yous that accomplish the purpose of manifesting good manners. When you step on someone’s foot you say, “excuse me” regardless of the relationship, friend or foe, spouse or stranger. But your query encompasses a greater realm of value than mere manners.
You understand, each of you, in your relationship with our Father that He is mindful of your attitudes and feelings, your expressions of appreciation for your peers. Even though you may not voice these expressions to them you know that your Father has registered your gratitude and acknowledged that it is provided by Him and His vast family. Yet, as you say, it is seemingly difficult for you humans to express genuine appreciation to each other for much of the satisfaction that you garner in life through your association with them.
But the essential truth is in that your relationship with your Adjuster, your Father within, is such that its reality in constant contact with other indwelling Adjusters has not only garnered that truth and that appreciation for the other but has already launched it upon a new plateau of realization for the relationship between the humans. Thus, whether it is spoken or unspoken, all benefit from your attitude of gratitude. The fact that you don’t automatically or often effuse about your appreciation for each other is in many ways made up for by the benefits accruing as a result of the association.
When you find yourself fed spiritually, socially, even emotionally or financially you tend to respond affirmatively, and this is fodder for growth which, perhaps above all things, we have observed the human dislikes and that is boredom. If you help to keep another alive and from being bored you have been of service and have spoken loudly to their souls that you care about them and that their lives mean something of value to you.
I guess I am saying it is not necessary to contract for more social forms, but it is never redundant to remember on occasion and to make so bold as to express to your fellows unbidden what a fine fellow you think they are.
Jonathan: Thank you. I assume it’s implied when actually another might benefit from an overt expression. I tend to recoil from turning a cooperative thing into a subservient thing, asking for something. I fail to realize that expression horizontally is like team spirit. We need one another’s rally of appreciation.
TOMAS: : Yes, this can be shown through your attitude as well or better than through phraseology. Remember the Master’s life was a prayer. He lived his life as a prayer. You know too that a prayer which is an expression can be rejoicing, supplicating, communing, pondering, or any number of different qualities. It is the attitude that is at the heart of the question. Those of you too who are sensitive to the yearnings of those in your range of influence are aware, or will be made aware in communication with your Adjuster, that when an individual has a soul-need to have acknowledged his value, it will come to you to bring that forth in some manner appropriate to feed the sheep. Again it is a matter of trusting this beneficent circumstance of sonship such that you allow for these moments to become real.
Not everyone needs to be incessantly acknowledged. It is sometimes the better part of valor that any relating is unnecessary. It will depend on the configuration of the circumstance. As a faith son in desire of being of service, it will be made clear to you what course of action is deemed appropriate. You are seen by us to be such wonderful wildflowers. We find great delight in your countenances. Nothing is lacking in you.
JONATHAN: You’ve given me much to ponder.
TOMAS: : Pondering is good. I am given a picture of a bovine animal masticating in a grand field under a mighty tree. This is pondering, as distinguished from the picture of self-examination which somehow conjures up visions of microscopes and scalpels. Ponder away.
ELYON: (Ginnie): This is Elyon. I would like to add a brief comment on your consideration of gratitude, encouragement, whether it is given or received. You all know very well how much children need to be encouraged, validated. As children of our Father you also benefit greatly, as we have observed when you are presented with loving words from our Father and from those of us who can see beyond your scope. We all understand and realize thoroughly how much you enjoy our company and our words of encouragement. You as children, especially on this planet that has been blighted with choices which plunged your kind into a tailspin, we realize how much it matters that you be frequently encouraged and supported by us. So we recommend highly that you also adopt a habit of verbalizing your gratitude. It certainly will not cause any harm.
You are a race that needs this kind of support. We again encourage you to be physically able and willing to convey your gratitude. No one here can say that they do not appreciate an accolade now and then. I would encourage you to do it more frequently than now and then. It is much easier to proceed on a path of spiritual growth with help from wherever you can get it. Again, your early training, the early history of your culture, has put a damper on your willingness to accept and believe that you can have these things and that you are somehow in default if you desire them. You are children, and I mean that kindly. So you indeed benefit tremendously by encouragement from each other or from us who give you this often, because that is our main purpose for connection with you now: to support you and encourage you to continue on your path.
Closing
ELYON: So, I end this gathering by giving you my support, and I heartily suggest you make a habit of acknowledging your appreciation of your fellow travelers. It is fine to feel good when you receive this. It is okay. We want you to be happy and joyous and comfortable. That is all.
