2007-02-05-Origins of Thought, Recognizing TA
Marin #119
Contents
• 1 Heading
o 1.1 Topic: Origins of Thought, Recognizing the Adjuster
o 1.2 Group: Marin TeaM
• 2 Facilitators
o 2.1 Teacher: Nebadonia
o 2.2 TR: JL
• 3 Session
o 3.1 Opening
o 3.2 Lesson
o 3.3 Dialogue
o 3.4 Closing
Topic: Origins of Thought, Recognizing the Adjuster
Group: Marin TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Nebadonia
TR: JL
Session
Opening
Dear Mother Spirit and Michael, Thank you for your illuminating insights into the spiritual dimensions of our human reality. These past few years we’ve learned how to set ourselves aside and trust completely in where you want to take us. We know we can later read the transcripts and thoughtfully chew on the more meaty parts of your message, but for now, immediately, we just say: Take us away where you will. Let us once again ride along on your spirit and your presence. Amen.
NEBADONIA: Good evening, my children, this is your spirit mother Nebadonia. Well, you asked for it, so let’s go. One of the purposes of our lessons and the reason that Michael and I have given such extended ones is to let you ride along in our presence and, if you will, just follow our train of thought and how we reason, how we think about things. As you say it, you get a greater sense of where we’re coming from.
Lesson
(The origins of thought)
NEBADONIA: All this should help you recognize within yourself the origin of your thoughts, especially when they come from spirit. You can hear in your prayers to Michael and myself when we answer you directly. Then too so many thoughts that form a large part of your day come from the spontaneity, the generosity of your own Thought Adjuster. And so often these can be recognized by their transcendental appropriateness to the situation at hand, especially when you yourself have thought out something and feel yourself to be totally stumped for an answer. They come with a kind of inner relaxation, a being still within yourself, calming your panicked grasping for a solution and allowing yourself to perceive your Father Fragment’s suggestions. In a sense you just park here in inner space and wait for the conditions to be right for you to recognize the input.
You were talking earlier about remote viewing, and astral traveling, and other inner phenomena that mostly come from your Thought Adjuster. I’m sure you would find it interesting to reread those several chapters in your Urantia book dealing specifically with Thought Adjusters–the Father Fragments, the Mystery Monitors whereby our Father not only makes contact from himself to you and supplies the wonderfully appropriately thoughts; it’s also the way you share your life experience with him.
Your Urantia book calls this the personality circuit of the Father, which is just another way of saying our Father experiences everything you do—almost–as you; but here is one of the major distinctions between the Urantia book and our version of human individuality, and what other religious/philosophical systems have postulated. According to some of these systems of human thought and comprehension, you do not have quite the freedom from the Godhead that we proclaim you do. In these systems you are really little nodules of God, and not quite as divorced or autonomous from him as we say you are.
Many of these religions do have an intuition of your Father Fragment, your Mystery Monitor, but give it ultimate reality over and above your personality– which they see as, basically, more or less an illusion of the ego, of self-perception. Whereas we say your personality is your fundamental, unique reality that God truly sets free, even to the point of your ability to extinguish yourself, to cease to exist as an ongoing autonomous entity.
Tonight I would like to point out that your Thought Adjuster, this presence of God in your mind, is such pure spirit–the purest gift of God’s own spirit to indwell you, it is very contra-distinct from what you know of as conscience. Conscience is no more than the internalized morality of your particular family, culture, and civilization. This is why we say your Thought Adjuster, in its pure state, supersedes all ecclesiastical authority, all other human beings of whatever rank or position who may try to inculcate within you, or impose upon you, their notions of morality.
But we, like your Urantia book, do caution you that because of its pure state, it rarely reaches your consciousness directly. Just like the spirit of your own personality, it gets filtered down through all the ability, or inability, of your individual mind, your experiential mind, to articulate what it says. You can see this in a comprehensive study of the historical evolution of philosophy through all the more detailed writings, starting with the Egyptians, the Indian Vedas, the early Greek philosophy; in other words the oldest writings of the philosophical musings of the human race.
These peoples also had their Thought Adjusters, their Mystery Monitors, their Father Fragments doing their best to illuminate their partners’ human minds and provide the spiritual connections for their human subjects’ comprehension of reality. Yet the messages needed, for these people, as well as for yourselves, to come through a filter–primarily of language. A Thought Adjuster’s input is not limited to thoughts, but the basic feeling/meanings of your Thought Adjuster’s impressions, as well as those from your own spirit, have to be articulated in some way for you to comprehend them in addition to the primal feelings themselves.
This, my children, points up the main purpose of stillness, of just relaxing your own comprehensive abilities. For when you try to reason and ask a question of yourself in a certain context, it’s hard for an answer outside that context to make itself felt, yet that may be the solution to the current situation. You have to credit you do have this fountain of God’s spirit within you, separate and discrete from your own personality, that can suggest ideas and concepts outside of any context you have yet experienced. If you cannot put some stop to the business of your own mind and how you are presently conceiving things, how can you be open to something beyond you, something really new from an origin apart from yourselves? Yet isn’t this the most valuable thing you can be offered? Isn’t this the most useful tool your personality can be presented with?
(Recognizing your Thought Adjuster)
Many of you have known this during sleep when you have already thought about a problem from all different angles and have wrestled with it for awhile. You have an expression of “sleeping on it.” I know most of you have had dreams where you are wrestling with your waking problems—be they part of your family life or your job—and often this process works. Shortly after awaking you have one of those “A-ha!” moments you illustrate in your cartoons with a light bulb going on over your head. And there is the answer, sometimes completely outside the context in which you posed the problem. These are very thrilling and exciting, marvelous events that stick in your memory for a long time.
But this is why spending some time very regularly in stillness meditation is so rewarding. Like almost any other, I would say, art-form you need to learn–whether it’s picking up a guitar, or a brush and paint–you have to practice it awhile. It’s an exercise of faith. Because however much it makes sense as I’m saying it now, and you can understand what I’m saying, still to practice it does take faith just to hang yourself out there on the possibility, and hang in there until it starts to work. It may take fifteen or twenty minutes before you suddenly realize, yes, things are slowing down and becoming still inside. A very marvelous, pregnant-feeling vastness can come into your mind, very exciting and thrilling because it is profoundly alive. Suddenly it can seem very large inside as you wait more and more perfectly suspended, waiting more confidently for those wonderful feeling-thoughts of spiritual assurance to come.
For they usually do come from outside the context in which you conceive the problem or the next step to take, outside the encompassing feeling in which you entered meditation. This is God’s gift to you, my children. This is a way in which your soul, once it begins to form, can have an active role to play in your life through its co-author. Your soul had this potential of being not only a passive record—albeit a spiritual record—of your experiences, it can provide this creative direction to your life that is so much more than just a mental extrapolation of your current habits and routine ways of going about things.
So I invite you to think deeply about the nature of this presence of God within you. Read those three chapters on Thought Adjusters again to remind yourselves what a marvelous gift they are, and how to go about using them. This is that other-power, that power of spirit whose origin is God himself, come to indwell your mind, come to be the closest and most precious ally of your own self-power, your own spiritual creativity. Give it a chance. Entertain the possibility, and then carry out what it gives you with concrete actions. Practice your stillness meditation. Give yourself the chance to hear the voice of your Father Fragment. You are experiential beings, my dear children: make this contact with your Father Fragment a real and highly conscious experience. Add it to your soul. If you have any questions or comments this evening, lets experience those.
Dialogue
Student: Thank you for being here, Mother. I was just wondering if there was any value in pursuing psychic phenomena such as astral traveling, and like that? I went to a medical intuitive once and she told me things about myself that I hadn’t know if she could have known beforehand. So I was wondering if that had any value to be pursued.
(Evaluating psychic phenomena)
NEBADONIA: Yes, my son, this is quite a question, for as we have been teaching, value is of the spiritual realm. The value assessments you make do come from your own spirit, and this spiritual value permeates into all parts of your being—your physical and mental being as well. But here, as with other questions Michael and I have been asked about the reality of these psychic phenomena, we encourage you to be as open and truly scientific as you can be. In other words, entertain all possibilities. Don’t automatically rule anything out, whatsoever. Let your curiosity be wild and far-ranging. There is so much that is possible for you to experience and to evaluate, we would not deny you any opportunity like this.
But as we have also said, my son, the final evaluation is yours alone to make. And so we suggest you treat all phenomena equally—initially—whatever the source, whether you read about it in some science textbook, or in your Urantia book, your holy works like the Bible, or the Kabbalah, the Koran, the Upanishads. the Tao Te Ching. Some psychic phenomena such as astral-traveling where you experience leaving your body and roaming around the solar system awhile, or what you may feel is valid remote-viewing, or in your case, receiving a kind of psychic diagnosis of your condition; see if you can treat these all alike.
For it builds your self-confidence to entertain all possibilities, and it definitely feeds your soul when you can start to see a lot of parallels between all these separate and rather discrete, often superficially conflicting, systems of concepts and understanding. For this is how you build up your own unique philosophy of life, your own evaluation of what is real and what is not, your own understanding of how different systems of thought may be expressing the same basic reality only in different languages, pointing at an ever broader and more universal and fundamental ground that is simply the part of your human experience you can share. Recognize that the value you derive from your explorations can be somewhat independent from the sources, and in this you will be following in the footsteps of Jesus—Michael during his human life—when he valued the intrinsic meaning of things, regardless of their source. So yes, by all means, explore these fascinating and potentially meaningful experiences. But subject them all to the same scrutiny, the same proof—if you will. Then you will discover the value they have for you. Does this answer your question?
Student: Yes it does, Mother, and it puts a different light on the ideas I was forming in my mind. It’s a very clear answer. Thank you.
(Truth, philosophical simplicity, and spiritual unity)
NEBADONIA: Yes; because of your discussions before the lesson tonight, I went deeper into the nature of your Thought Adjusters and other spiritual origins, and how different cultures, at different times—different stages of civilization, have expressed very similar truths simply in different languages and philosophies. One of the most profound and necessary intellectual challenges before you is to find those singular threads running through everything you read and experience, for they can only be found by being open to everything. Keep in mind that true philosophical simplicity—finding these universal truths running through everything, is the exact opposite from what you mean by being simple-minded, or a fundamentalist, and settling for one small thing by excluding and denying everything else. True spiritual unity is a noble ideal and goal to pursue in your philosophy. So carry on in my love.
Student: Thank you, Mother.
Student: Yes, Mother, a few weeks back someone asked a question about Martin Luther King, and you or Michael commented that the path he chose was his own. Now I wonder why people like Gandhi, or Mother Teresa, or people who start great organizations and churches and such, why they have stepped up to the plate and, because of their convictions, have altered history, when so many of us—including myself—have not? I mean, what was or is within them that propels them to take these kinds of actions that alter history, while so many of us don’t?
(Cosmic responsibility)
NEBADONIA: (laughing a little): Now that’s a very complex question, my son. There is no simple answer because it points right at the unfathomable individuality that you all have, and the fact that, from a spiritual standpoint—not only God’s, and Michael’s, and my own—but even one you yourselves are capable of—personalities cannot validly be compared with each other. My own feeling is, the most important aspect of those personalities you speak of is a sense of what we call cosmic responsibility, or cosmic duty.
This is often expressed as: from those to whom much is given, will much be required. There is a movement of inner courage in which these individuals allow themselves to feel the full weight of that. And so they feel that their own inner vision and comprehension of what needs to be done, what can be done–being unique to themselves–is such a gift, they have a responsibility to carry it out. This is a sense of almost cosmic citizenship, and goes so deep and so broad, it transcends their immediate situation; which is why so many have expressed it as feeling they’re part of the movement of planetary evolution itself. They feel they are moving things along one more step congruent with the true progress of humanity. As Michael pointed out with respect to Martin Luther King, and I’ll point out with respect to the others you mentioned, this was a constant leapfrogging of faith—by which they could extend themselves, and then being open to all the feedback they got from the world–and allowing that also to affect them. The result made them effective, and not just wild-eyed dreamers walking around a foot off the ground.
So it was a combination of the ideals they could visualize connected with a inner ability to accept what feedback they got by exercising their faith–accepting that real experience and learning from it–growing. So when you look at their careers there was this constant growth, this refusal to stop along the line, that carried them to the end of their days–however long or short. Their commitment was constantly re-invigorated, constantly re-dedicated.
Again, these are just generalizations on what you requested as to their ability to do what they did. We also remind you, my son, that you can do this day to day in your own life with the people you meet. And you are doing it; you are hanging yourself out there on the faith to try our, and other, suggestions that appeal to your sense of values. And taking your knocks; making your mistakes; accepting your so-called failures; trying to learn from them as well as from your glorious successes. You take it all in and remain cheerful throughout.
Student: Yes, I sometime wonder how this whole planet would be different if we didn’t have the Gandhi’s and the Martin Luther Kings, if John F. Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated? I’m sure if Martin Luther King were here he would say he had no other choice, because of his convictions, and because of the injustices he saw. The same with Gandhi, or Nelson Mandela.
(There is no once for all time)
NEBADONIA: My son, here I am not in disagreement, but realize that part of their courage lay in the fact they were constantly presented with choices, and using their ability to compromise when it was in the best interests of their vision’s results. In this sense it was a continuous effort. There is no just stepping off once and not having to make that decision and commitment over and over and over again, day by day. This points up their humanness, their being plagued, as with every conscientious human being, with doubt, with laziness, with a sense of enough is enough: all these went into the mix. So that choice had to be made; and for you too has to be made, day by day through all the ups and downs of this roller-coaster you find yourselves on. For there is in many folks’ philosophy a single breaking point—whether you call it Satori, or Enlightenment, or [Anuttar]-Samyak-Sambodhi— a notion there is one great experience that will carry you the rest of your life. Let me suggest that that great experience is the realization there is no such great experience. (Mother laughs, and is accompanied)
Student: Or that we’re living it!
NEBADONIA: This is the deep realization that the commitment must be made over and over again. But in this there is hope, for mistakes can be made and yet not crush or stop you. You can keep your beginner’s mind and start over again—over and over.
Student: I guess I’m always—as you were expressing to (Name)—determining my values in my circle. I am guilty of comparing myself, not necessarily to Martin Luther King, but I see so many people putting themselves out there, taking that step of courage, and I don’t know what their motivation is–behind that– if it’s of any good. So I wonder if I’m personally holding myself back from experiencing or performing greater works. Maybe only time will tell.
NEBADONIA: This you can have very much in common with them. Because with all their successes, the great leaders have also had the humility to see the enormity of the task ever before them. They often had their moments of doubt and feeling very small indeed, comparing themselves to what they could see needed doing. A few weeks ago I answered a person who felt she was constantly in doubt as to her own value in helping others, and we reminded her this was just her way of trying to open herself; and it may be your way too, my son. This is your way of trying to keep yourself open to what you might do, and as such, is very healthy. Just practice your stillness and return often to the home base of spiritual security within you, for this is what gives origin to the courage to exercise your faith once again. And experiment! (laughing) You never know until you try.
Student: Thank you for that. I guess I just desire to live as God intended me to live—as every human was intended to live, from that primordial reality, that primal awareness. As you just mentioned to (Name), be open to the vast array of possibilities that exist within each and every one of us. I guess that’s my choice, and purpose.
NEBADONIA: Yes, we see you as very young and immature beings just starting out on an eternal path, and so we encourage you to be open to everything you encounter or can imagine. At this very early stage, don’t close the doors on anything. For what to one person might be some kind of silly physic phenomena, and validly so in their life, can be for another person the voice of their Thought Adjuster, the presence of God in their mind, coming in through this route–expressing its truth in this symbolical way. So by all means stay open and wondering, and yet wise, using all your experience to evaluate, as you need to, what is real and what is not.
Student: My only trepidation about all that phenomena, and what I see in the world, is that when someone experiences that, let’s say remote-viewing, their whole life becomes wrapped up in that. They seem to forget the source of that. For me, I feel like I want to dive into the source, and allow everything to find its own place.
(Inner, and ostensibly outer, reality)
NEBADONIA: Well, most of these psychic phenomena are intrinsically interesting because your overt society, with its empirical/science-correctness culture, denies their reality. But now you can see the balance between inner and outer realization, between self- and other-power I taught in a previous lesson. Here it can be a balance between your own inner sense of meaning and validity in whatever phenomena you experience–this inner reality, as contrasted to what your outer mass culture admits as real—keeping in mind that every individual out there is unique and has their own unique balance. Any expression of what is commonly considered to be real is itself a galloping generalization, for this varies enormously from one person to the next, and on different levels in each.
So enjoy your explorations. Keep your beginners’ minds, your willingness to stumble and fall, and pick yourselves up and start again. This is what truly fills your souls, these genuine adventures into the nature of God’s reality.
(Home)
Closing
NEBADONIA: And so we keep opening doors. Like with your delightful computers, every time you open a door and walk into a new room, you see another dozen doors—endlessly, endlessly. This prospect terrified some the earlier philosophers, this theme of no end…(Mother chuckles)…to anything. But then that is the promise of endless life, and the feeling/vision of an encompassing that is not only eternal but infinite. We call it home. And we welcome you to feel it this way as well. Be in my love. Good evening.
