2013-08-01-Framework of Beliefs
Lightline #407
Contents
• 1 Heading
o 1.1 Topic: Framework of Beliefs
o 1.2 Group: Lightline TeaM
• 2 Facilitators
o 2.1 Teacher: Tomas, Midwayer Jack
o 2.2 TR: Gerdean
• 3 Session
o 3.1 Opening
3.1.1 Philosophy
3.1.2 Belief
3.1.3 Revelation
o 3.2 Dialogue
3.2.1 Children, Smile
o 3.3 Closing
Topic: Framework of Beliefs
Group: Lightline TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Tomas, Midwayer Jack
TR: Gerdean
Session
Opening
Prayer: Father God, Mother Spirit, and all of the extended family that we enjoy and are privileged to be a part of, we rejoice in being part of this tremendous undertaking, this marvelous adventure and this tremendous opportunity to learn and to teach and experience. Help us to go boldly into our experiences in confidence of learning what we need to learn and in anticipation of meeting friends that will enrich our lives and give us opportunity to express ourselves such that others will know the warmth of fellowship, the stimulation of creative imagination, the comfort of friendship, confidence of mutual trust, the joy of living and the gift of mercy. Provide for us, if you will, Heavenly Parents, a teacher who will speak to us where we are, of our needs and our abilities. Thank you. Amen.
0802-AB JACK: Jack here. Good evening, kids. I’ll get the car warmed up, get the motor humming as it were, so we can putter on down this road and get somewhere, enjoy the scenery. We have Tomas with us this evening. He recently indicated he would like to address the group and so without further ado I will step aside and let Tomas have the floor. One moment.
Philosophy
TOMAS: Greetings, friends and students. I am Tomas, your teacher. I am a member of the Teacher Corps. I am a philosopher and part of my purpose in being here as a teacher is to introduce the field of philosophy so that we might all enjoy the benefits of philosophic thought and discussion. Not everyone is a professed religionist. Not everyone is interested in talking about God or Jesus or religion or angels or those things that you enjoy as a result of your commonality with other religionists, and yet chances are everyone would enjoy a bit of meaningful exchange now and then, a bit of philosophic tete-a-tete that stimulates the mind and prompts the heart to stir in a way that the Thought Adjuster can be activated by the will of the man, woman or child that you have engaged with in this philosophic tete-a-tete. And thus you serve by contributing to the expansion of the light of truth.
In this way you don’t need to … What’s the phrase? … “beat each other over the head” with the tenets of your belief. Philosophy is in many ways related to psychology, in fact, and while it includes something of how you feel about a situation or an idea, it enables you to rise above the emotional aspect of such feeling and focus on the thought behind the feeling. This mind arena of choice is where those decisions are made which advance or retard your progress, and with your progress, inherently come the progress of the human race, and so naturally we are concerned about keeping the thought processes of you, our students, up and focused on the work at hand.
Belief
TOMAS: I’d like to speak a little bit this evening about beliefs. Beliefs are not always dogma, they are not always doctrine, but they are what you are taught, directly or indirectly, from the time you are tiny, by the environment you live in, beginning with your parents and your immediate family, extending out as your grow into the extended family of aunts and uncles and neighbors, and into school where your beliefs are enlarged by and through education, and also through your own experience. And this process goes on throughout your life, never really ending, always enlarging; even when there are those who want to attain a level of belief that suits them and they want to stop growing or entertaining other beliefs, even so, the process continues because experience continues. The very act of aging itself provides opportunities for beliefs to change.
And so changing beliefs is a constant. It is always a construct of some sort that will modify and change with each new step you take into greater comprehension. Each philosophic point you undertake is like an appetizer for your beliefs to expand, therefore you do well to be creative in your philosophic discussions so that you don’t turn people off at once with your pronouncements but rather leave the door open for seeds of new truth to be planted.
Beliefs are kaleidoscopic. Every time you look, they have changed. They are always fascinating to behold, but the slightest movement will cause an alteration in the structure of the belief itself, and yet you continue to build and rebuild your beliefs because they present a structure upon which you can build a paradigm for living your life — a philosophy, if you will.
It is good to be able to find those with whom you share beliefs, but never will they be exactly the same. There will always be differences, some subtle, some not so subtle, but there are those who have such a need for structure in their life, in their mind, in their belief, they are willing to deceive themselves and short-change themselves by holding fast to a belief system that serves the purpose of holding off fear on one hand and yet denying truth on the other.
It is a courageous soul who is willing to acknowledge the fickleness of his or her beliefs. They serve as a framework for understanding life, but they are not life itself. Beliefs provide a scaffolding upon which you may develop your faith but they are not faith itself. I should say not upon which but beneath which, for faith underlies beliefs. Faith is at the core of your reality. But beliefs are adornments, accessories — essential, even so, toward understanding the world in which you live and your place in it. As such, they are extremely personal and intensely important, even those beliefs which are glaring error still serve an important purpose to those who hold fast to their belief because they provide something for them to stand on until such time as they can stand more fully on their faith which is in the process of developing.
It can be terrifying for the fledgling to have the scaffolding removed that leaves them dangling in thin air, as it were, without something to believe in. Those that experience such a trauma are often deranged by the experience, and may become even more rigid about their beliefs, for without them, they cannot bear to feel that Unknown, that great unknown that yawns and would swallow them up if they had not faith.
Part of our efforts here are to help you develop your faith so that your soul can grow. And to develop your soul so that your faith can grow. Beliefs play an important part in this process.
It is designed that your early beliefs give way to new beliefs, that early beliefs provide a foundation of value – meaning and value –that can be incorporated into your soul, as a part of your soul. You can begin this process immediately upon your first selfless decision, your first moral choice, which brings your Adjuster into the picture. Henceforth it untiringly helps you develop this soul by up-stepping your meanings and values through increasingly sophisticated beliefs.
Sophisticated may not be the word that conveys what I want to say. Santa Clause, for example, is something that many children are taught to believe when they are children and parents are very careful to protect their children from those who would say that Santa Clause does not exist until the children reach a point where they can pretty much figure it out for themselves. In this way, the child is allowed to grow its own comprehension, its own consciousness of what is real and what is an illusion. But what they can do while they are living in this lesser level, is instill in the child the values – meaning and values – that such a being as St. Nick presents: the spirit of giving, for example, that is something they can take with them into their next comprehension of the next belief that will serve them to learn yet more lessons. And so, life continues with new beliefs, new illusions of what will make them happy.
Eventually you can and do learn that many beliefs serve limited purpose, and you are eager to be done with them quicker, with less resistance than when you felt you wouldn’t be able to live without them. You are more willing to entertain new beliefs that might enhance or embellish the ones that work for you. You become more open about beliefs. You even begin to admire others for their beliefs and how well they stand behind their beliefs, or how their beliefs enable them to function in life’s situations, be they battle, retail, government or wherever.
Revelation
TOMAS: The value of revelation – epochal revelation – is that it provides something to believe in that is not created by your parents or your schools or your teachers or preachers. It is taught by those on high and brought to your world to provide a new scaffolding of belief under which your soul may grow, through which you may operate. And the advantage of epochal revelation is that even though everyone has their own personal interpretation of what this revelation reveals, there is a united … there is unity in the meaning and value that it holds that feeds your faith and stimulates your soul. That very reality is something you have in common. It may be one of the few things you have in common, but it is adequate. It is sufficient to band you all together regardless of the myriad beliefs you may have in that profound unspeakable appreciation of that which you know, deep within you, not because of your belief but because of your faith.
Your soul hungers for the same truth, beauty and goodness as all the other souls throughout the universe — harmony, clarity, fidelity, filiality, peace. When you set out to proselytize your truths, when you set out to convert humanity, when you go forth in search of the lost sheep, when you stand on the platform or on the mountain top and speak or sing or praise or teach that deep within you is the eternal voice, speak with the eternal voice. It is far more powerful than your beliefs. Yes, it is something new to learn. But what progress have you made by the battle of wits that comes from insisting that others do or do not believe as you do? Set your beliefs aside for the work.
I conclude my sermon and hand the mike back to midwayer Jack who serves as our liaison; I will remain here in the company of others as we observe and listen for your response to these words and vibrations that may or may not bring forth from you questions or comments. Amen and farewell.
0802-AB JACK: Jack’s back. There’s something oddly satisfying about sitting through a lecture given by a reputable instructor. There are some who feel that sitting in a classroom of some professors — those whose classes are always filled — is a privilege. I usually feel privileged to hear the Teachers speak. I have great admiration for their integrity and their creativity in conveying to the mortal mind those morontia thoughts that will contribute to the light of truth on Urantia. Inasmuch as their goal is ultimately to teach you to be teachers, it is amusing then to see how well you have paid attention and how energetically you undertake to put those principles into practice in your own life. In the meantime, if you’d like to engage in the time we have left, open your channel by pressing star six on your telephone and as they say on The Price is Right, “Come on down!” and we can engage. Do you have questions?
Dialogue
Children, Smile
Eva: Yes, Hi. I have a question, Jack. I enjoy being in the classroom. This is Eva. I wanted to ask you. Why is it children smile? I’m speaking of tots. And I do appreciate what I’ve heard. It does resonate very deeply, but I’m eager to ask about this because they should, by all rights, from what I’ve observed, they are too young to be smiling and they should be doing it only when they are adults. Is this spirit imbued? Why that beautiful, heavenly, beatific smile?
0802-AB JACK: Because life is brand new, and they are having an adventure! They look around and everything is amusing, everything is stimulating, everything is friendly. Some toddlers are more gregarious than others, there are some that are shy, that smile a little less, but nonetheless they are eager to smile given the opportunity; and there are toddlers that are quite extroverted, who enjoy the playground and the day care center where they can interact with others; and overall they are all just having the time of their lives learning more about the world into which they are born, without overmuch thought or concern; they experience a great deal of sensory stimuli, which is something that everyone enjoys, it’s just that over time you become conditioned to feeling stimulated by sound and color and it no longer gets the same reaction from you as it does youngsters.
They have not been taught to fear. They are open to everyone, not realizing that there are brusque and rude people as well as bullies and (horrors) pedophiles. There are those who enjoy frightening little ones and over-running them simply to prove to themselves how big they are. These practices then become exacerbated unless they grow, unless they are stopped at this early formative age. Gradually the bloom of youth gives way to the requirements of society. They must learn disciplines, tie their own shoes, sometimes they need to grow up entirely too fast. And so they scowl more, they frown more, they are less reluctant to greet everyone openly and with confidence of their friendship
So you see most children are happy creatures. Those who are given ordinary prenatal care and a loving mother, who were well fell and fear not, who are protected by their daddy, have every reason to smile, just as you, my dear, as a new child in the kingdom, have every reason to smile. Only as you discover that what you thought was a friendly face is actually a bully or a frightened animal or (horrors) a pedophile or any number of other asocial or sociopathic personalities can continue to stay open and welcome humanity into your consciousness as being colorful and amusing, indeed they are your family. Is that helpful?
Eva: Absolutely! Yes! I’m around children. I see—I pick up their innocent delight and it’s something that makes you want to go back to that time while retaining the good things you’ve learned. It’s not being Pollyanna-ish; it’s just pushing the other into the backdrop of life, and still going forward and finding the joy and fellowship and warmth and camaraderie and look at the balloons and look at the colors and smiles all around you. It’s good to know it’s a direct engagement. I was wondering if it is true that they have so recently fallen from heaven, and that is part of what I was wondering, did the Lord bring them down here with a little extra gift, to segue over into our world. It’s good to know they can pretty much make use of what we make use of, too, so yes, it does help.
0802-AB JACK: Look at the animal kingdom, which babies are, truly, a member of. The baby bear cubs, baby kangaroos, baby panda bears, baby penguins, baby puppies and kitties, baby birds, these are all charming creatures and to see their interaction between parent and child is endearing and delightful.
Eva: It is, but they don’t smile. We know that we have something that they don’t and that’s why I was wondering, how do children know to express that delight? Is it what sociologists say that we amassed that over the eons, that we smile to show our enemies that we don’t have a knife in between our teeth. It’s something that was culturally imbued. No, it’s just that children are in a state of delight, of human delight. Or don’t know.
0802-AB JACK: : It is, of course, a part of the inheritance of the human as compared to the animal kingdom, but there’s not that much difference at that early age except as you were talking about the smiling, the literal muscular configurations in the face, but …
Recca: If I may suggest something here. This is Recca.
0802-AB JACK: : Yes, Recca!
Recca: The birth through just prior to the arrival of the Thought Adjuster, when the child is — a human child we’re talking about here – ever-widening encircuitment is the seven adjutant mind-spirits of the universe mother spirit contributes, I feel, at least from my observation of my own children, produces not only joy in the parent and then understanding in the parent, it reinforces that parents care and nurturing of the young pre-adjuster child and gives the ground of the child more opportunity to grow within the five adjutants which we are all aware of : intuition, understanding, courage, knowledge and council. To reach that decision point, that altruistic ‘other person’ decision point that smile, that response to the world, has entered into that new and wider theater of growth.
Eva: That was my point exactly. It seemed as if they were already imbued with the Thought Adjuster, when I noticed, first started noticing how all encompassing their smile was. It lit up their face, it lights up everything around you when you see a child smiling. They draw you in and I was wondering was it possible they haven’t yet been indwelt.
0802-AB JACK: : They are indwelt by the adjutant mind-spirits, as Recca was talking about. The first five are shared with the animal kingdom, which is the analogy I was attempting to make. When the Thought Adjuster arrives at approximately age 5, that is when they begin to function with the 6th and 7th adjutant mind spirits and at that point their growth takes off into another plateau, dimension –
Recca: Dimension. Actually dimension, yeah.
Eva: Beautiful. They are beautiful, and we can learn a lot from that. Thank you, Recca.
Recca: You’re welcome.
Eva: Thank you, Jack.
Closing
0802-AB JACK: : You’re welcome. We have run out of time and it is always sad for me to call our time to a close because I so enjoy it but I also appreciate the time constraints of the human condition and the structure of your belief about time, and so I will let it go for this evening and cut you loose with thanks for your attendance and your attention. I look forward to our next engagement, our next interaction, as do all of us on the higher planes look forward to you reaching up so that we may reach down and find each other. Later!
