1993-01-01. The Teaching Mission Teachers – Part II – The Lessons E-G
PART II
THE LESSONS:
EVIL
Q: In God there is no duality, no evil or good, only God – is that correct?
Rayson: That is correct, well, much good – no evil.
Q: Just only good?
Rayson: Yes.
Q: If all the circuits are open and the bad guys are gone, Satan, Lucifer – I don’t know all of them – then where does evil come from? Does God create it?
Rayson: God has created that which is imperfect, so that beings such as you may have a choice to either turn toward God and become a co-creator during a long passage and career toward Paradise and beyond, or alternatively, may choose to live as an animal and turn away from the ascension path. This latter choice is evil, sin, and sometimes inequity depending upon the manner in which it is undertaken.
Q: If we have choice, do we choose the way we die and when we die?
Rayson: You mean, the death of the body, or of the Spirit?
Q: I only understand the death of the body. The Spirit doesn’t die, does it?
Rayson: The Thought Adjuster will leave you if you earnestly and sincerely request that it do so. This will cause instant Spiritual death.
S: I was speaking of physical death.
Rayson: There are material aspects of your body that predetermine the potential that your body has for existence, in terms of time-span. However, you well know that you can easily choose to behave in ways that will shorten your life span. For example, reckless behavior, self-inflicted injuries, violence, unhealthy activities, and so on.
Q: Do we choose the material aspects of our bodies?
Rayson: No. That is your inherited legacy from your forbearers. Indeed there are some who undergo a full life-span for their body and a death of old age as young as eight or nine years by your reckoning.
Q: If we have choice, is there really such a thing as an accident?
Rayson: Yes. Yes there are mishaps that occur. You cannot control all of the factors in your environment, and this is understood. How could you possibly cause a boulder to roll off a mountain and crush you to death? This is certainly an accidental happening.
Q: Well, would not the TA give you a choice to be in that spot or not be in that spot?
Rayson: No, that is not the role of the TA.
Q: Do people get AIDS as accidents, or do they choose it?
Rayson: What do you think?
S: It seems to me that they choose it.
Rayson: Why do you say that?
S: By behavior, by choosing certain behaviors.
Rayson: It is not my place to comment on controversial cultural issues of your time, because to do so could seriously interfere with the goals of this teaching mission. But I encourage you, all of you, to think carefully about these areas that you have asked about, and arrive at your own conclusions.
Q: Are dreams an activity of the mind and do they need to be paid attention to? It has been my understanding that in the sleep state the Devil and his agents could get in there, because asleep we let our guard down.
Rayson: It has not been possible for beings to access your inner self since the time that Christ Michael walked on Urantia. Part of his job here was to alter some of the possibilities and potentials for spirit interaction with the beings of this planet. Had this planet not been interfered with as it was, the possibility that you propose in your question might well exist. But harm would not come of such an interaction under appropriate circumstances. Because of disobedience much harm came of external interference with the inner mind workings of Urantia mortals prior to the time of Jesus.
Presently your dreams do not consist of promptings or suggestions of beings outside of yourself. However, they may indeed include comments from your indwelling Mystery Monitor, as well as musings of your own deep subconscious mind. Should you pay so much attention to these? It is your choice entirely. (11/27/93)
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FAITH
S: I have a feeling that my strength and my security lies only in my faith, is that correct? It makes it possible to talk with you. Frankly, I’m uncomfortable – it’s a new experience. The fact that you exist and the way that you communicate is so foreign to conventional thought. I feel like I’m standing in a valley, about to climb a mountain, and the mountain is covered in clouds. And then you come along and the Urantia book comes along and blows away the clouds and I see this mountain, its 350,000 years high, and that you are on the same mountain. Is that right?
Rayson: That is just the foothills.
S: Are you that little guy way up on top?
Rayson: Somewhere there. Your faith is not your only strength and support. It is a crucial one, yes. But you have your Adjuster, you have your spirit guides, your Guardian Angels, the ones who love you. You have your own unique personality and your capacity for prayer to connect you instantaneously to Paradise. You have your ability to worship and grow and co-create with the Most Highs. You have so many areas of strength and connection to Father.
S: It’s nice to know. I understand that the Presence of the Father is closer than breathing, nearer than hands and feet. What I’m confused about is praying out loud. When you are praying out loud, is that only for the fellowship of those of like mind? Is that the only purpose of praying out loud, since the Father is within us?
Rayson: There is no purpose other than those which you assigned to such prayer. Believe me, when to seek to pray, even the quietest whisper of your mind-thought is heard loud and clear.
S: That’s how I prefer to pray, by being quiet.
Rayson: Then you certainly may do so, my friend.
S: I have a two-year-old daughter who has been in three near-death situations, and I just feel that the Father keeps trying to pull her away from me. How can I grasp on to her?
Rayson: Can you describe the situation?
S: One involved choking and another was a seizure.
Rayson: What was she choking on? [Answer unintelligible] I am sorrowed to hear of your child’s difficulties. However, let me reassure you that Father does not “take” people from life. This is a pagan belief that has no basis in Universe truth. Father loves your child as dearly as He ever loved any child of mortal birth. And indeed special love and protection is accorded to the babies who need it. Yes, they are prone to accidents.
And they are fragile, as you have discerned. Do you believe that you could do more to help protect your child from this end?
S: There are times I just can’t do anything.
Rayson: Are you fearful?
S: Yes.
Rayson: Have you sought guidance from others in this regard?
S: No,
Rayson: Can you think of any that might offer helpful advice in the particulars of how you might protect your child adequately? You may wish to seek such advice, my dear. Do not fear the Father. He is only good and has only love. Your child is struggling for material survival and will certainly thrive. She has much love from her mother, does she not?
Q: Yes. (11/27/93)
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FORGIVENESS
Our lesson today is on the topic of forgiveness. The practice of forgiveness is one of many means by which you as an individual can boost your own spiritual light, that shining aspect of yourself which is unconsciously perceived by your comrades in the flesh, but which is quite clearly seen by those who have passed beyond the material form or who have been created by other means.
In your strivings for spiritual growth, my friends, it may be useful to think of yourself as a beacon, a light, and consider how you can direct your actions in a way that will increase your own personal intensity. Remember that a light which may shine most brightly does so without noise, without harm. Be like the beacon of light that shines forth from the lighthouse.
Forgiveness, yes, it’s a way of boosting your light power, your brightness. A most noble spiritual attribute, one which does not come so easily to those of material origin, animal creation. Forgiveness involves the laying aside of anger, pride. Yes, your own greed and selfishness. And returning love where your animal self may have experienced insult.
When you practice forgiveness, you will know that you are on the right track when you sense an easiness within yourself, a lightness of being, some have said. It has been said that it is as if a great weight is lifted from one’s shoulders when forgiveness comes.
It is important to understand why forgiveness is difficult for you. That is because the animal is moved by primal urges, the instinct to survive, the instinct to feed, and the urge to reproduce. When an animal senses a threat to its ability to carry out any or all of these three urges, the animal is instinctively driven to strike out. Anger ensues. Pride wells up. And a chain of events occurs in order for the animal mind to protect the interests of the animal. This occurs in beings of animal origin as well.
Think to yourselves, my friends, of the times that the acts of other humans have angered you, lead you to harbor resentment and withhold forgiveness. How many of those incidents have truly involved a threat to your life? How many of those times has there really been a genuine and unquestionable threat to your family, to your capacity to earn a living? It is most likely that the vast majority of such episodes in your life have not been true threats to your material existence, much less to your spiritual existence. And yet it is the almost universal experience of mortal beings to carry a large burden of anger and resentment stored up over a lifetime about bygone incidents.
Like weeds growing in a garden, eventually such incidents can choke off healthy growth. Do not let this happen to yourselves. Assess your stock like the good gardener, carefully pull out the weeds. Yes, it is important to protect yourselves, but you must consider your motives. If you sincerely wish to increase your personal light, then make an effort to differentiate between the rare true threat and the common false threat. The false threats are meaningless, my friends. They can be forgiven so easily. And when you as living human examples behave in such elevated fashion, be assured that others will observe and imitate. Again, to behave in such a way is yet another step on the road to being in the world, but not of it.
Let the clean fresh water of forgiveness cleanse your mind. Let it wash away so much that hinders you in your aspirations to be like the Master, to further the goals of this mission, To be a worker helping to pull Urantia out of its turmoil toward light and life. With forgiveness comes joy and peace. This is the end of this lesson, my friends. I will receive any questions or comments now.
S: I am very, very touched by your lesson today. I think that what you’ve covered today is one of the foundations of what we need to learn and keys to our existence. Thank you.
Rayson: You are most welcome. My friends, when you neglect to forgive, it is as if there is a shadow over your spiritual light, like a cloud covering the sun. It is not necessary. There are so few things in your material existence that are worth holding onto with retrogressive behaviors and feelings, so very few.
And yet, of course, if your forgiveness is not sincere, it is not – it will not help you or anyone else. So keep that in mind as you work on your own capacity to be more forgiving. It will be a struggle. None of this is expected to be easy. But you will find it to be most rewarding.
Q: For the first fifty years of my life I said and felt that I was proud of my enemies. Probably during the last few years, I have been ashamed of my enemies because I haven’t made them friends. I feel that I’m doing pretty good along the forgiveness line, but I still need to work on it.
A: You need not necessarily embrace the person you forgive. Rather, you are expunging the negative feelings toward the individual from your own mind. Do you understand the difference?
S: Yes, yes, I do understand the difference.
Rayson: Were you to sense forgiveness toward those whom you refer to as your enemies, you would find that rather than being enemies, they would simply be neutral persons that you once…
S: And not friends …
Rayson: Yes, it is not intended that you necessarily must have intimate and close associations with all other beings on Urantia at this time, however, if your interaction can be peaceful, without rancor that would be most appropriate now. Do you see?
S: Yes, I think I’ve achieved that.
Rayson: Also, there is no reason why you cannot guard yourself against those who you sense may not have your best interest in mind.
Q: Thank you.
Rayson: Even the Master did that during His sojourn here, if you would review the chronicle of His life as presented to you. There is no need to hasten your own physical demise by putting down your protective behaviors. Simply, if you can refrain from hating the enemy.
There is power in loving your enemy. It does not mean that there are not some who would not harm you.
This is a complicated issue, and one which deserves lessons of its own. But there has been much misunderstanding of what forgiveness is and how it should be properly applied in human interaction.
But be assured, my friends, that your own personal feelings toward another individual or group of individuals are most powerful. Those which are imitative of Father are powerful in the sense of growth and movement toward light and life, and those which are regressive limit growth. Does that help?
S: Yes, it does. I think I see two different aspects to forgiveness: one is to the person being forgiven, and the other, most important, is to the forgiver himself.
Rayson: Exactly.
Q: Is there a difference between forgiveness on an intellectual level and an emotional level?
Rayson: They are both variations of the animal mind. There is a difference between the two – the two methods you discuss, and the spiritual – but intellect and emotion are both animal in origin, although there is the tendency to consider the intellectual workings of the mind to be more sophisticated than emotional. This is not necessarily true however. Because my thought takes structured and logical form does not necessarily mean that it is higher in its form. Does that answer?
Q: Yes, thank you.
S: I also join in the appreciation of a lesson that’s very helpful to me. That distinction between loving one’s enemies and not hating them, being able to forgive, that’s very helpful to me. I think I’ve perhaps been more forgiving than I’ve been able to acknowledge, and I understand I can certainly go further, but it’s nice to know that I don’t have to love my enemies, because that was keeping me from thinking that I had forgiven at all. I think that that’s not true now, if I’ve correctly understood your lesson.
Q: Regarding forgiveness, I am wondering if, as we grow spiritually and as we do forgive more and learn what that actually means and how that feels, if it actually becomes less and less necessary for us to forgive or that we more than likely are inclined to forgive immediately when we sense a transgression and then understand and then we forgo any of the pain and suffering or mental confusion or spiritual aberration that comes from harboring resentment?
Rayson: You have a good understanding of the concept. Remember, my friend, that at an earlier stage of the evolution of man an insult would be returned by an axe blow or the strike of a club on the head of the insulted. Slowly and arduously man has learned other responses to perceived insult. Now it is the time to let even those subtle but damaging feelings of anger, resentment, desire for revenge, and so on, pass by, and instead become more agile at the practice of instant forgiveness that you allude to.
Eventually, with practice, you will find that it will indeed become an automatic response. Some of you here, in fact, have done quite well in your work along this line, and I commend you. Does that answer?
Q: Yes. (09/25/93)
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GENETIC ENGINEERING
Rayson: It is unfortunate that as a result of the rebellion long ago certain social patterns have developed on Urantia that have glorified indolence and encouraged those who have no or very little spiritual striving to reproduce in large numbers. You do not help the mission on this planet by supporting such beings materially so that they can continue to reproduce and cause an even larger problem in the future.
As this meeting, this mission, proceeds on this planet, there will come a time when this enormous problem will have to be dealt with directly. The time is not far off, and it will not be easy.
Q: Rayson, are you saying that, in the view of both yourself and those involved in the teaching mission, and perhaps higher up the celestial hierarchy, Urantia is viewed as severely overpopulated?
Rayson: Not in terms of numbers, but in terms of beings of low evolution.
Q: Genetic stock?
Rayson: All of the genetic stock that you require to attain light and life is present on Urantia now. But there have been some unwise decisions allowing unchecked propagation of base stocks.
Q: So do you refer to more of a genetic retardation, or social retardation in terms of spiritual, evolutionary growth?
Rayson: Both. But not to a crippling extent, or better stated, it is not something that cannot be reversed.
Q: And this definitely is understood by those in power in terms of our physical government.
Rayson: Yes. Remember that Lucifer and Caligastia promoted the notion of total independence from the spirit leadings of God’s messengers on this planet. Had this not occurred, this situation would not exist presently.
S: Well, then today’s lessons extremely poignant for me. Now I understand the boundaries, the proper, healthy psychological or the psycho-spiritual boundaries of those of us involved in this teaching mission. As the mission expands and as our communications with the public expand, we should know what are our proper boundaries so we don’t cross the line into pity and empowering. I can see now you’re keeping us on focus and on track in terms of keeping this mission and the transmission of this mission a spiritual one and not a adolescent “save the world” mission.
Q: Rayson, what is the solution to this overall problem? How can we get the people who are unproductive and not working and so forth to become productive spiritual citizens?
Rayson: Well, a quick answer is this. One can never compel another Godward – that is a personal decision. However, an animal will do what it must do to eat. If it must stand in a line at a building to get a handout, it will. If it must work in a field, it will. If it must study in a school, it will. If you deal with those who abase themselves to the level of animal behavior, it is unfortunate but you must deal as with animals. Animals are driven by the desire for food, the desire for reproduction, and the desire for survival. Those are your keys. If animals are allowed to reproduce in an unchecked fashion, they will do so, particularly when they are well-nourished and do not need to work. Do you understand?
S: Yes, I do. (10/16/93)
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Q: Rayson, I wasn’t clear about the next step that you said had to be taken on this earth before we had light and life. Could you explain that a little further?
Rayson: Yes. Certainly. Many things must be done before this planet will be ready for the entry into light and life. But a critical step that cannot be gotten around is the business of eliminating from the human stocks those who heed not the Thought Adjuster and lead iniquitous lives. Until this is done, there will be enormous impediments to spiritual progress on this planet.
Q: I understand.
Q: That would seem to be looking at the characteristic of refusing to follow Father’s will as something that could be handed down through a family line. Is this what you’re saying? Or are you saying that we must wait for all of those people to die off? Not to eliminate them from human stock? Doesn’t this indicate a genealogical thing?
Rayson: Yes, there is a genetic correlate, and certainly there is a freewill choice correlate that is passed on from parent to child in family learning which must be eliminated.
Q: So that if a child in adulthood chose to exercise the right choices and to teach his children to exercise the right choices that would, in effect, have eliminated from that particular stock the flaw that the generations ahead of him had built into their family life.
Rayson: Yes, but when a culture allows the unchecked propagation of those who have no regard for the promptings of the Adjuster, there is a very deleterious effect on the spiritual life and progress of the beings in that culture. Those who have faith on a planet where there is relatively little contact with the outer universe – not outer universe, but the universe beyond the planet – can be fragile in faith and easily discouraged by real material success of iniquitous beings among them. This is not say that faith will be broken, but spiritual growth will be subdued compared to what might otherwise occur. Does that help?
Q: That helps, but then I’m wondering if part of our mission is to somehow besides helping those who are not now spiritually inclined to become spiritually inclined? Or are we supposed to be working for laws to limit the reproduction of those who generation after generation have taken this other tack?
Rayson: What do you think?
S: Well, it sounds like we’ve got a job that’s really going to raise a few resistances, I would say.
Rayson: Perhaps that is a good indicator that you are headed in the right direction. I cannot tell you to do such a thing, and yet I must encourage you to follow your mind in this way.
Q: In other words, you can’t tell us to do it, but you’re not going to tell us not to either, are you?
Rayson: Yes.
Q: Concerning the weeding out, the breeding out of criminals in society, I recall a paper in the Urantia book, paper 72, called Government on a Neighboring Planet, which describes how they’re dealing with crime on a nearby planet that also participated in the rebellion. It says that they’ve been breeding out criminals for well over 100 years now and they’ve been getting results from that. But it seems that it’s a really tricky thing morally for society to start making those sorts of segregations and decisions with regard to breeding and freewill choice for those beings. I was just wondering if you could comment a little bit more on that.
Rayson: Yes, it’s a move that requires enormous courage and continual reassessment and discussion in order to avoid tragic misconstruction of the purpose of such a program.
Q: As you say, the Father’s love is so great that we always have a choice, and there are people who may lead iniquitous lives for a period of time and redeem themselves and ask for forgiveness and continue the rest of their lives trying to be better and trying to do good. And it just gets really tricky with decisions to make about extermination. Do you agree with this?
Rayson: Yes. Specific instructions were given early in the life of this planet and much was lost as a result of the rebellion. Part of the purpose of this mission is to gauge whether Urantia is ready for another corps of instructors as was given many thousands of years ago.
Q: So you’re saying that that specific information about how to handle this problem, it was here and now it’s not, and you’re trying to decide whether we should have that specific information again?
Rayson: The information was here, and it will be here again. The timing has not yet been determined, however.
Q: With regard to this cleansing of the races, it leaves itself open to a great risk if fanatics try to impose one religious thought and say “this is the truth” with only limited human understanding, then try to eliminate all those who disagree with them – or to make it impossible for them to continue their breeding stock.
Rayson: Yes, that is very true. Such a step could lead to much tragedy and could plunge Urantia into a dark period as has occurred previously in its history, but we believe that Urantia is at the edge of a new age and is ready to implement such changes appropriately.
Q: I have another comment on that. In viewing the media, and how entertainment and news reflect violence and negative energy – you see so much of it on the news, all the situations, all over the world things are happening, just evil sorts of things. In a lot of ways, from my perspective, it seems like things are getting worse. Is that your perception of it in certain ways, or from your global perspective or planetary perspective are things getting better?
Rayson: One of your scholars once commented that good news never makes headlines. The indicting of the Urantia Book and the presence of this teaching mission have occurred because of the gradual and slow progress that has occurred on Urantia in a positive direction. Yes, you may have more awareness of sinful acts than you once did, and this may be true on a worldwide basis due to enhanced communications, but it is not that long ago in your history that a man could easily be hung because of his color, and that does not occur today.
Q: So as it’s getting worse, it’s getting better, I suppose, a different kind of thing, sort of, experience we’re dealing with on a multigenerational scale.
Rayson: As the circuits have opened and the energy has been up-stepped, the eyes of many are opening as if after a long sleep. Awakening is not always a pleasant experience, but it is far better than slumbering on indefinitely, is it not?
Q: Yes.
Rayson: It was Lucifer’s intent to promote the long sleep of indifference and Self-concern. This is finally falling away, and slowly but surely altruism is emerging. (12/12/93)
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GOODNESS
It is time, my friends, to again discuss the matter of goodness. You may be thinking have we not had many, many lessons on this topic? Why do we need yet another? Goodness is a very basic, very critical concept that has great depth, ranging from the most superficial aspects which are easily grasped by mortal beings all the way to mota and far beyond mota. You will go on learning about goodness all through your ascension career, so it is not redundant to have a lesson about goodness at this time. Goodness is a manifestation of our Father. When we behave in good ways we are imitating Father. We are showing Him to our fellows, and we are sending a message to Paradise in that unique way that all of our actions are transmitted. The message is a good one, and is greeted with pleasure by the Most Highs. And it makes this planet shine a bit more brightly in the cosmos.
Goodness is a building block. Your good act will stand for a long, long time as – I do not know the words to describe it, so I will use the word “spiritual” – as a spiritual entity on Urantia. And the good acts of you and your fellows through the history of Urantia go to build a solid edifice of worship to Father, like bricks or building stones, if you will. Those who have spiritual vision are able to see the good that has been done on Urantia just as if they were viewing building blocks, which is quite wonderful indeed.
We have discussed in previous lessons this matter of the vision of the one who is in material form as opposed to the vision or perception of the one who is in the spiritual form. What is seen by the material person is barely or not seen at all by the spiritual and vice versa. It is rather sensed by the spiritual.
Spiritual beings perceive spiritual things such as goodness just as firmly as you would perceive a table or a chair or a car or a stone. And the car and stone that you perceive and consider to be your real world are only sensed by the spirit. Therefore your perception, as a material being, of goodness and other spiritual things will be more of a sense, a sensing, a feeling, if you will, although that is not a good word. If you can grasp this concept and use it in your future observations as you go about your activities on Urantia, it will help you greatly to understand the dealings of the spirit, and it will also enable you to perceive more clearly the promptings of your Thought Adjuster – which are, among other things, urgings for you to do good.
This perception of spiritual things has been described as being of gossamer quality, like the faintest of breezes blowing across one’s face, in some of the Urantia religious tracts. This is a good way of describing it. Again, I want to remind you that when you work on your spiritual perception, the more you work on it, the stronger it will become. When you work on your goodness and its expression in your acts, the more you strive, the more good you will manifest.
There is an unfortunate fact of semantics in this language that equates goodness with value, but that is not the meaning of the spiritual concept of goodness as far as the material aspect of value. For you know that Father loves us all with no favorites. You will not become a teacher’s pet by striving to do good.
You are not in a competition with all others for Father’s favor by striving to be good. That is not how the universes operate. I know that it is difficult for mortal beings to let these ideas pass, and that is why I am reminding you. It is not good, better, best. One strives to be like Father because it is right. One strives to be good, to be honest, to be loyal, to be merciful because it is right – not because it is to be superior.
As you, my friends, become more spiritually attuned and develop your spiritual muscles through your actions, you will become more humble. And as you become more humble, more truly humble, the notion of superiority as it falls off your shoulders will seem increasingly to have been an unnecessary burden and hindrance. And your life will become easier for having discarded that notion, and that, too, is good.
Now, it has been said by some of your thinkers in the past that one should never let go an opportunity to do good. This is a most interesting utterance. Does this mean that as one comes at you with knife bared intending to harm you, you offer a bouquet of flowers? A fistful of money? A kiss? No. Jesus faced with that situation would surely have protected Himself, but He would not have necessarily drawn His own knife. And in not drawing his knife, His act would have been good. Do you understand?
Q: Yes.
Rayson: In doing good do you feel it is appropriate to offer things to people without any effort on their part? For example, giving food to the indolent, clothes to those who are capable but will not work, housing to those who will not maintain it, and so on. Is that good? Think upon this, my friends. Would Jesus do that? Did He?
But then, of course, we have another matter, the matter of healing. Disease is a complex matter which involves the interplay of physical factors with spiritual factors. Every disease known on Urantia contains both elements, and you will remember that Jesus did indeed heal those who came to Him without question. You may say, but is this not the same as giving a house to the man who will not work or clean his home? No, because a house is a material thing and disease is not a wholly material thing. A full understanding of the contrast between these two situations is a mota exercise which may be beyond the scope of this mission, but it does no harm to work on this, my friends. And attempt to resolve what may very well seem to be paradoxical. As you all strive to be good, you will in a sense be healers.
Be careful now, though, to differentiate between healing illness and catering to greed. Do not deprive your fellow Urantians of the personal adversity that is so necessary to their own spiritual growth.
Certainly you may help, but it is important to understand where the line is to be drawn. And it is very much an art to learn this method of discernment.
The life of Jesus is a study in goodness, and as I have often asked in previous lessons, I again ask that you turn to the account of His life as an example for you. Is there perfect goodness? Yes, in Paradise. Is there perfect goodness on Urantia? No, not at present, but there is the potential for movement toward light and life which is in the direction of perfection in spiritual terms. Is there goodness in animals? No, goodness is an advanced spiritual concept. Is there goodness in humans who are savages? That depends on the level of development, but if the savagery is deep enough it is possible to find savage humans who are bereft of goodness. Can a good person become ungood? Yes, by turning from God and plunging into iniquity. Can the reverse happen? Yes, by all means, with great effort and faith.
When does the human begin to grasp the notion of goodness? Shortly before the Thought Adjuster arrives there is in most human mortals a beginning of understanding of goodness. Certainly the pre-Adjuster mortal responds positively to goodness in other humans. But the capacity to behave in good ways is not truly present until the Adjuster arrives. That is not to say that infants cannot mimic goodness quite well.
We will stop at this point in our discussion and take questions, if you wish.
Q: Thank you for a very, very deep lesson on goodness. You said some things that I certainly haven’t thought about. Up until now I’ve had a rather simplistic definition of goodness as being roughly that which is in accordance with the will of God and evil as being that which is not in accordance with the will of God. Could you address that aspect of goodness?
Rayson: Can you be more specific, please?
Q: Yes, I think that I tested almost everything by whether or not I thought it was in accordance with the will of God. If it was, I thought it was good. And if not, I thought it was evil. This is a rather simplistic view, but it’s the test that I used.
Rayson: Of course it is the will of God that goodness be done, that goodness characterize the actions of freewill beings and, of course, the actions of perfectly created beings. However one can act not perfectly in accord with the will of God and yet still be doing good. There can be flawed good at the material level. It is not such a binary concept. If I understand you correctly, that is, it seems that you are presenting the idea of good as either good, in accordance with the will of God, or not good, not in accordance with the will of God.
S: That is correct.
Rayson: The aspects of the spirit are not so black and white. It is more a matter of what you call quanta. There is the first step toward goodness which is perceived by one and all in Paradise as a positive move, and the second step and the tenth step and the hundredth step and the millionth step. All are in the realm of good even if they are not wholly and completely a part of a life which is dedicated to the will of God. Material beings are understood to be flawed, to sometimes do the right thing with the wrong motive.
The wrong motive is not the will of God, but the right thing is. Do you understand?
S: Yes, I certainly do. Thank you.
Rayson: You are welcome.
Q: Rayson, would you say then that all goodness which mortals do in attempting to do the will of God, is within God’s will even though it may not be His perfect will?
Rayson: That is correct. That is closer to the concept. Yes.
Q: Thank you.
Q: During your lesson on goodness you spoke of spirit sensing. Do we have spirit sensors that sense some phase of spiritual reality as we do physical sensors to sense some phase of physical reality?
Rayson: Yes. Yes, you do. The lifelong promptings of your Thought Adjuster have laid up a store of information in your deep mind that enables you, if you will it to be, to sense along these lines. Think to yourself of your observations of random strangers and the senses you have had about them. Have you not had these feelings?
S: Yes. I deal with that in several chapters in my book.
Rayson: So you see that spirit sensing does truly exist.
Q: Yes.
Rayson: Have you found in your personal experience that you are able to work with this ability and cause it to be enhanced?
S: Yes, I certainly think so. Human beings saw many, many centuries before they ever understood sight. And they realized that it came through the eyes before they understood the mechanics of its coming through the eyes. We probably have spirit sensors which are spiritual in nature that we utilize all the time but don’t really understand. Is that correct?
Rayson: Yes. This is a small digression, but I think it is useful at this point. The sensation of pleasure that you all possess has been present, of course, since the earliest days of emergence from animal status and, of course, pleasure has been sought in many ways. But as man on Urantia continues to evolve toward light and life, the sensation of pleasure will increasingly be sought through spirit growth and attempts to carry out the will of Father rather than through animal strivings.
Q: Thank you.
Rayson: Just as sight was present for many eons before it was understood, so too was pleasure. And the pleasure that the ill person experiences when spiritual healing occurs is something that can be used to advantage by the one who wishes to do good. Do you see?
Q: Yes.
Q: You were talking about us having senses of goodness and that we’re able to increase our ability to sense goodness. Can you help with how to do that? Sometimes you sense goodness in somebody you don’t know. Sometimes you don’t sense goodness in somebody you don’t know and you find out later that you’re wrong – one way or the other. What happens when we sense something, maybe incorrectly, and how can we learn to sense it, do better at it? It probably has something to do with the fact of goodness not being all good or all bad, but I was wondering if you might say something more on that?
Rayson: Yes, that is a very good question. You are right that it is not all good or all bad. It is important when you put out your feelers – so to speak – for goodness that you look beyond the physical demeanor of the one you are viewing. It is easy to form a snap judgment without having enough information about the spirit of the one you are watching. This is particularly common at the beginning of your ventures along this line. As you work more and more to look for this in people, it will be useful for you to confirm your observations by gathering more information about those you observe. For example, by talking with them, by watching their behavior over a longer period and comparing what you amass in terms of concrete information to your initial impression. You will know that you are advancing along the line of spiritual perception when your instant assessment becomes more and more congruent with your assessment after long association. Does that help?
Q: Is this what the Master meant when He said judge not lest you be judged?
Rayson: Yes, among other things. He meant much beyond that when He said that, too. That particular saying had very far-reaching ramifications in terms of the administrative structure of the cosmos. Do you understand?
Q: Yes I understand.
Rayson: I am sorry if I seem vague in giving you instructions on spirit perception, but I am still working on this myself.
Q: Rayson, is goodness a state of being having to do with spirituality as well as a form of doing?
Rayson: Yes, and many, many other things as well. It is a basic spiritual concept that has many, many layers, many dimensions, many out-workings, and learning all of these will take you a very, very long time.
S: I think my Thought Adjuster’s been working on me along those lines, trying to understand this.
Rayson: But make no mistake, others can and do perceive this in you, even those of very limited vision, and you will sense this, too. You already have, many of you. Is that not true?
Q: Yes.
Rayson: It is magnetic. So be ready to deal with those who are drawn to you in a gracious and God-serving fashion. Did not our Master always have time for His supplicants?
Q: Yes. (10/09/93)
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Today’s lesson is on a subject that we have covered numerous times in the past, however today’s presentation will add a new dimension, hopefully, to your understanding. We are going to explore the topic of goodness and its role in your lives now, particularly now, but also later in your ascension careers.
I have sensed that some among you have been distressed by what you correctly perceive as a lack of goodness on the part of some of your fellow mortals on Urantia. This is painful even to Father in Paradise, and, of course, to myself and the other beings who are here as observers and participants in the present Urantia mission of upstepping and reconnection to the universe at large. So, of course, it is to be expected that this would be painful to you who must live in its presence. And as your spiritual growth proceeds you will become more keenly aware of spiritual retardation in others, as you have most likely already noticed.
So, you may ask, what can I do about this? How in my small way, as a lone individual, can I help? What would Father have me do? What is the right way? And your Adjuster will always, always say that the way of goodness is the proper path, if you would help Father to further the work toward eventual light and life on this planet.
Leading a life of goodness sounds simple, and yet even for Michael, as Jesus, it was not easy. Why should this be so? After all, it seems logical that to be good, to behave in good ways, would be simple. There are many reasons that goodness is elusive to mortals of imperfect creation. You are all aware of your animal origin and the strong influence that animal desires exert upon you in your daily activities. This is a very powerful force in pulling the individual away from the direction of goodness. And it is true that, on a material world of imperfect origin, behaviors that are not wholly consistent with goodness of intent can be very rewarding in terms of material success, accumulation of prestige, perceived mating desirability, access to leisure activities, all of those things that are so prized by the animal within you.
But your Thought Adjuster is always there, ever attempting to communicate with your deepest mind, and when you sincerely desire to commune with your Mystery Monitor about your own life and actions, you will each and every time be answered in detail with regard to the structure of your behavior in the direction of good and truth and love and beauty.
And, yes, it can be painful, as I myself know so well, to turn away from the well-learned and heavily practiced animal gratifying styles toward Father on the basis of faith alone and inner promptings that may seem at best vague. But, my friends, to do this, to consult with your inner fragment of God increasingly, and to heed, as much as possible, the promptings which you receive, is the way, the best way and the only way, for you to help to correct the deficiencies of your fellows and of course of yourself.
How can this be, that your own behavior, without a direct interaction with others, can yet act to undo or correct spiritual deficiencies in them? Even I do not fully understand this phenomenon, but I will describe it to you as best I can. All of what is exists in such a way that it works well when the ways of Father are followed. Things work well and most efficiently when the will of Father is heeded, and work poorly or not at all when Father’s will is defied. That is why the acts of a good person are so powerful, because you, my dear friend, acting as an individual of good will and Adjuster prompting, set off a chain of events with each proper and Father-focused act. This chain of events is most efficient, far-reaching and ripples across time in a most interesting way to have the most magnificent effect on all of Urantia, and indeed, on all of the universe. And it will penetrate each of your fellow Urantians to the core of his being.
I do not know why this is, but if you can imagine an arrow shot by an expert hand with a perfect bow flying through space with no friction, no resistance, that might be an analogy which would be helpful to you.
And what of the act of the one who is deficient, the one who rebels against the Adjuster, who wishes not to be good. The act of that one falls at his feet and truly goes no further. So ineffectual it is. You may ask but what of the one who murders? What of the one who steals? What of the one who enslaves, beats, or in many other ways seeks to dominate and harm other beings? Does not the act of that person penetrate at least one other? Materially, yes. Spiritually the only effect that wrong-doing can have on another being is to promote the spiritual advancement of the other, for remember that adversity always leads to spirit growth, as long as there is will to follow the ways of Father.
What of the one who harms a being who has not yet been endowed with an Adjuster, such as a baby? How is the baby with no Adjuster benefited spiritually by the adversity of its own murder or harm in other ways? Prior to the arrival of the Adjuster in beings of animal origin, there is more of an animal-like response to pain and suffering than after the Adjuster arrives. Yes, pain is indeed felt and causes suffering in the baby, but not as you would experience it, not at that level of intensity, so the baby is somewhat protected in that way. Spiritually there are guardian entities that surround the baby and enable it to depart the material body more quickly when conditions of inappropriate material action are being applied. And it is recorded in the life account of this person, the baby, that such events occurred. And when the Adjuster meets again with this being on the mansion worlds an increment of spirit progress is allotted to compensate for that which was lost.
Father suffers with you, my friends, as do I and all of the teachers present now and all of the beings present now at the most unfortunate behaviors inflicted upon Urantians by those who are unwilling to heed Adjuster promptings or who have even dismissed their Adjusters. It is our fervent hope that this mission will assist the human cultures of Urantia that presently exist to adjust themselves in such a way that such beings will be expunged. This must happen on Urantia. I cannot tell you when that will occur. It must happen on this planet in order for the next step to be taken toward light and life. Until that step is taken, the suffering will continue, and for now it is more important than it ever has been that you continue to strive for goodness in your lives.
Your glow will increase and be perceived, and the power of your actions will be magnified. Now that the circuits are open again there is more potential for the spreading of your own goodness than there has been on this planet for many ages, and as each upstepping of energy occurs, so too will the capacity for the magnification of goodness increase. Father waits for your progress and as you step forward, He meets you with a step forward toward you. He loves you very, very much, and has given you all that you need to fulfil your destiny.
I will stop at this point and receive questions.
Q: Thank you again for a very good lesson on goodness. I’m glad to see you’re continuing on that subject. Will you please address the problem of the individual who denies that God exists, who has no faith that he or she will survive, and yet, according to all human indications, goes about doing more good than those who believe otherwise, believe in the existence of deity and their own survival. What do you have to say about these individuals?
Rayson: There is no good behavior without faith in God, be it admitted or not. Were such individuals to truly disbelieve, they would not be good. How many have you known who have earnestly avowed deep and sincere faith, and yet their actions were not good?
S: Well, I’ve known quite a few that disavowed faith, and yet their actions were good according to human standards. I’ve also heard of those who avowed faith and believed they were going to survive whose actions were not so good.
Rayson: Perhaps the ones who deny faith and yet are good are not denying what you understand to be faith, but are actually denying established religion, as you know it. There is no requirement for participation in established religion for one to have faith or be good, is there?
Q: Are you saying that one can have living faith without knowing it?
Rayson: Yes, certainly. It is shown in the behavior of the individual. We all know the difference between right and wrong. And yet it is only the one who has faith who behaves in right and good ways, although it may not be recognized as faith-driven behavior by the one who is acting.
Q: That adds new meaning to the parable of the man who had two sons. He asked them each to do something. One said he would not. The other said he would. Yet the one who said he would, didn’t; and the one who said he would not, did. Is that illustrative of the point you’re making?
Rayson: Yes.
Q: On one occasion an individual addressed Jesus as good Master, and He responded by saying, “Why do you call me good? There’s no good except God.” Had He forgotten His Deity and looked only to His humanity at that moment? Did He put aside His Deity?
Rayson: No. His response was appropriate. But you must remember that it was His mission to set down learning for the entire period of human habitation on Urantia, and so He often answered in absolute terms rather than the relative terms that I am using for these lessons, as I have been instructed. In absolute terms, that answer is correct, but we are yet in kindergarten, my friends, and so we shall proceed at our pace for now.
Q: Is honesty part of goodness?
Rayson: The search for truth is connected to goodness.
Q: In relationships, to be honest although you know it’s going to hurt the other person, particularly if you’re dealing with people who you think are spiritually retarded, may create a big rift. “I know, or I feel, what I’m doing is the correct thing because what I’m doing is honest.” Is that good?
Rayson: It is always a good thing to behave in a truthful way.
Q: I can see no other way to act. Are there others?
Rayson: There are others, but they may not be consistent with the promptings of your Adjuster.
S: Anybody who questions that should study in depth the history of the earth and the way conditions really were 100, 200 years ago – maybe even before that. Things are getting better in the long run.
Regarding people who deny God’s existence yet do good in the name of humanity – those who profess a secular reason for doing good rather than a religious reason – the Urantia Book somewhere says that those who do good without believing in God, who deny God, when they do good there’s not as much soul growth because that is a social thing. They act for social benefits. It does do good socially, but there is not much growth in their own soul because of their denial of the existence of God. That’s more of a comment than a question.
Rayson: Truly doing good requires good intent. You cannot have good intent without faith of some sort. And while the person may deny adherence to teachings of formal religions, there must be faith and response to Thought Adjuster promptings in order for good intent and good behavior, truly good behavior, not social posturing, to occur. Supposed good action which is undertaken for show without sincere good intent underlying it may lead to no spiritual growth whatsoever. An animal may mistakenly do good, but does it grow spiritually? No. To undertake any act without consideration of spiritual consequences is to behave in an animal-like way, and the animal behavior does not promote spiritual growth.
S: Well, in all honesty, I don’t agree with that completely. I have a very good friend who denies God, yet who does good. There are others with whom I’m not familiar whose active secular goodness is because they really feel that in order to keep civilization on an even keel and to have social brotherhood they feel an obligation to do good things. And so they do these good things. It’s not a social posturing, it’s more like a business transaction; they do something good and they feel better, and believe that eventually that good will come back to them. And they feel that that is all, something that takes place without necessarily believing in God or any kind of Deity.
Rayson: Do they have good intent? Or self-serving intent?
S: It would depend on the person. But I think they have good intentions, at least they are not bad. I mean, they do something that we consider as good. And they have an intent that it’s going to do good to somebody. But they do it for the sake of humanity, for the belief that humans should act that way, not because of a belief in Deity who mandates or suggests the doing of the Father’s will.
Rayson: Do you believe that these people are God-connected? Even if they may not be aware of such connection?
S: Oh yes, they’re all sons of God, and they have a Thought Adjuster, and they have a soul. My point is that when they do do these good things their soul does not grow as much as if they did believe in God. And that is my only point.
Rayson: Thank you for your comment. (12/12/93) See Also TRUTH (12/18/93)
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GRATITUDE
Rayson: Tonight’s lesson is on the subject of gratitude. Gratitude is a subject that needs to be much clarified in the course of this teaching mission because the present understanding of gratitude on Urantia has been very much distorted through the influence of your religious organizations which have sought to gain materially by this means.
In the pure sense, gratitude is faithfulness to the Father who created all of us, and is expressed by action that is the reaction of doing the Father’s will, being of service to others, and so on, as exemplified so well by Michael during His incarnation on Urantia. When one experiences genuine gratitude in this fashion there follows a deep and lasting fulfilment which is most gratifying, not only from your material state, but also in those spiritual forms. This sense of fulfilment and happiness is, in its highest form, the most rewarding and ennobling of all experiences. When you are fortunate enough to have this experience, it is wise to cherish it, and remember it, and reinforce in your memory the actions on your part which led up to the feeling of gratitude and fulfilment, for these acts are a critical part of your efforts to mature your own budding spirit within.
You must react, children. Growth does not come to those who are inert, but is the result of a continuing, dynamic interplay between you, the individual, and the Father, within and without. You may ask, as Milcah does at times, “How can I be grateful when life is so difficult? When there is so much evil?
When my fellow beings behave in such non-Father-oriented ways?”
We are aware of the difficulty and intensity of your struggles on this fateful planet, and you may rest assured that the growth you personally experience as a result of your increased adversity on Urantia will be all the more enhanced. You have more help here now than at any time in the history of this planet, and if you can work at subduing your own animal senses, you will be better able to perceive the workings of all of the superhuman entities that abound here now.
But let us return to our subject. Gratitude, like all of the other universe virtues, is life-giving, health-giving, and energy giving. Genuine gratitude is experienced in all sincerity without the least notion of gain or loss. It is most likely true that no creature of mortal origin ever actually experiences gratitude until that day in the distant future when in the presence of the Father Himself. Therefore do not judge yourselves too harshly for not being able to have the purest gratitude. But work on it, for, like the other universe virtues – love, kindness, truth, beauty, goodness, atonement, and so many more – gratitude becomes stronger and better with hard work, like a physical workout.
If, in your mortal life, you are reduced to such a low point in your feeling that you cannot think of the least thing for which to be grateful, there is always the fact of existence. Such a gift is to be cherished. And really, without having existed, how could you ever go on to further work in the name of the Father? So you see, it all ties together. The fact of your existence is the major part that you take from one state of being, such as life in the flesh, to the next state of being. That you can take with you! And no material creation can take it away from you. You see, it is such an essential part of you. Only you can will it away.
We conclude the lesson at this point, although this topic will come up in future lessons. (01/18/93)
