2001-01-05-Perspectives

Session

Opening

Altern (Bill): Greetings my friends, I am Altern, and I have been given the honor of addressing you this evening. How pleased I am to be in your presence along with my partner, Lori. Indeed have we been partnering together in ways which have brought me great joy, and have been beneficial, of course, to this my dearest friend.

Perspective

But tonight I have the honor of speaking to you all. I wish to continue the metaphor, but more than a metaphor, of altered perspective, for indeed is this a key ingredient in a successful portrait of life. Your text describes the classic example of the restriction of perspective transformed by enlargement, so that the larger perspective holds considerably more truth and accuracy. (Ed. Note: In the Urantia Book there is the classic example of the narrow picture of a savage primitive man glaring and holding a weapon. The reader is not impressed with the man's ferocity until the picture is enlarged to include the saber toothed tiger in front of him and his family behind him. 100:4.5) Perspectives can be altered in many ways. One is by enlargement. Another is by a different point of focus. A third has to do with shading and lighting. A fourth has to do with direction of approach, which is similar to, but different from, focus.

Let us begin with focus. What you pay attention to is what will occupy your thinking. This is obvious to all of you who give any thought to the education process, for without attention there can be no successful input of experience. If one's attention is focused upon what is wrong with the world, then indeed one's perspective will be distorted in the direction of that blackness, and so the world will appear to be largely a place of malevolence, discontent, despair, greed, anger, etc.. It is clear that there is enough darkness occurring about this planet that if one were to solely focus upon it, the light within them would be darkness indeed; and then how great would that darkness be! But, on the other hand, there is evidence of progress and hope which is ignored by many in the commercial news media because of the false belief that it would be financially unprofitable. Because of this focus on the negative it takes effort and intention to discover where God is at work in human hearts and associations . Coming from the direction of Spirit results in a different perspective than coming from the direction of self. Coming from the direction of self-centered ego one sees the universe in revolution around oneself. One sees other people as objects, as means to ends; one sees a world of scarcity, of competition, of conflict and of despair. But come from the Spirit, the direction of God, and the world is entirely different. One sees, instead of objects to be manipulated, brothers and sisters to be loved. One sees a world of overflowing abundance, of complete emotional and spiritual security, of a peace that drowns all conflict, and a love which smothers all hatred! Coming from the direction of the Spirit one happily allows oneself to orbit around the Center, the very First Source and Center of the Universe, comfortable and secure in the bonds of love gravity which draw you to that Source.

A small perspective is of necessity less truthful than a larger one, for less information is contained in a smaller space than in a larger one. Because we are mortal to begin with, our perspectives are limited by our finite condition. But these mortal limitations are seldom ever reached by the average person. Most people are content to work within a very small framework on a very small canvas. Take a larger pallet, use more space, and you have the opportunity for greater truth, beauty, and enhancement to a life of goodness. In order to enlarge one's perspective, change and growth is imperative. This has been one of your major tasks for years now and I merely point out that it continues to be a task which we will be embracing all the way to the Paradise Corps of Finality, and even beyond that into the unknown expansion of God the Supreme, the Ultimate and the Absolute! When the light of life shines in your hearts, when the wells of eternal water spring up from within your souls, then will your shading and your color, your mood, as it were, be altered always in the direction of spiritual enhancement. Often a mood will color events in a person's day so that when the events are described to another, that person may interpret the meaning of those events quite differently than the speaker does. Let us say the speaker's mood is depressed, gloomy, possibly grouchy, and then the events of the day will all feel and taste and smell and look gloomy, grouchy and depressed. However to another person, who is in a good mood, the events can be interpreted in quite a different fashion, very positive experiences indeed. You are all familiar with fact that mood can alter memory so that its hard to remember what one thinks and feels like in a very different mood than the one that you may be in.

You are all artists, my friends, whether or not you paint, sculpt, do craft work, write stories, or compose music. Nevertheless you are all artists. You are creators of yourselves, co-creators with God; and you do present to other people the canvas of your life in your thoughts, in your feelings, in your actions, in your intentions, and most of all in the unconscious overflowing of the love which dwells so deeply within your souls.

Tonight I ask you to pick up your brushes, or whatever your tools, with renewed vigor! I ask you to enlarge your perspectives, to change your focus, to use all the bright colors and positive shadings which you are privy to in your spiritual interchange with God. Let this New Year bring forth from you unexpectedly wonderful progress! And I wish you all the very best in this project. Good evening.

Daniel (Bob S): This is Daniel. Greetings my students, my friends, my colleagues. We have just been treated to an excellent presentation by our brother. I trust you all took his message to heart for his words will have great value to those who seek to implement them. I wish also to thank our brother, Altern, for his excellent presentation. We seek to rotate personal teachers through the teaching corps when the opportunity presents itself.

We have one further item of business before us tonight. One moment, please, while we get ourselves prepared.

Confidence

Scaramouche (Bill): Greetings my friends, I am Scaramouche, one of Bob's teachers. I have not permanently left the planet although there has been some speculation along that line. I am here to greet your New Year, and to greet my good friend, Bob.

We have been on a most interesting journey, have we not? Next week you celebrate the conclusion of nine years and the start of your tenth year. You have been brave and faithful companions. You have opened your minds and hearts to new experiences. You have trusted us, and our messages to you. You have trusted us in our friendship with you. You have received our love and returned it. Indeed is the universe a loving place. It is so strange to me to be on this darkened planet where so many people think that there is not a universe of love and care, but a meaningless empty void, devoid of purpose, where chance evolution has produced only one intelligent race in the cosmos! I find this astounding and totally untrue as you well know.

My thinking for you this evening is simple. Be not afraid of anything. Have no anxiety. Our Father cares for each of us as if we were his only son or daughter. And yet there is a vast universe of caring spirits, angels, teachers, companions out there, as well, to do the outworking of that overcare of love. Remember our Master taught us that when we pray we should be reminded that our needs are known even before we utter a word. And God will care for us in the best way, no matter what our limited perspective may suggest. So I wish you well, and now Daniel is returning to offer a time for questions and answers, or commentary. Thank you and farewell.

Daniel (Bob S): This is Daniel. How fortunate we have been to have two of our eminent teachers available to speak to their prospective charges and to their friends gathered here this evening. We now come to the end of the presentations and it is time to see if there are any loose items to be tied down before we say good night. Are there questions, comments or concerns that you wish to raise at this point. The floor is now open.

Dialogue

Lori: Well, I want to thank Altern for being there for me when I finally decided to turn back in, and for coming what I felt was so easily. That means a lot. And thanks for sharing tonight, Altern, in the way that you do and speak. That makes me feel not crazy. [[[Laughter]].]

Altern (Bill): My dear, it has been my greatest pleasure to continue this discussion of perspective this evening. Crazy is such a multilevel term in your culture. On the one hand it can mean that one is unhinged mentally. [Laughter.] But on the other it can mean that one is brave and willing to step out beyond the bounds of propriety. If you are crazy, it is in this fashion, my dear.

Virginia: Altern, when you said ‘out of bounds,' (Is that what I heard your say?) I thought like maybe we were painting beyond the canvas someplace. Is that what you were saying here?

Altern (Bill): Yes, it was. It is refusing to be limited by the box or whatever place your perspective takes place in, and expanding and going beyond. There is a term in your culture ‘thinking outside the box,' that actually was my reference point, as well as the painting metaphor.

Virginia: Thank you.

Minearisa (Bill): I am Minearisa. Hello, my friends. I wish to let you know that I have not abandoned you and that I will be here this year with a role in presenting our curriculum. I will not at this time specify what we have planned for you for it is always under some degree of review and modification as per our supervisor's recommendations. Here I refer to Machiventa and Christ Michael. It is however, a curriculum containing what you may term as surprises, but then hasn't it always been that way? [Laughter.] It will not become dull or boring, my friends. We are excited to see you steadfastly behind the oars of your ships of faith pulling in the direction of your heavenly destination.

Are there further questions for these two teachers, who have spoken, or on any other subject at this time? [Short pause.] Hearing none I will bring our time together to a close. Next week, as has been the case in the past, we have an impressive roster of celestial guests all of whom you are most comfortable with; and indeed the only problem will be that everyone will not be able to address you, for we are, after all, gentlemen and ladies and we will not step on each other's feet in our eagerness to present.

Closing

Would you all please stand and join hands while I offer worship to Christ Michael and Mother Nebadonia.

Dear parents: I personally thank you for coming to this space to create your universe and bringing it into existence with all the abundant life therein. I thank you Michael, my Father, for the privilege of serving on this your planet of nativity, and having a role in bringing it to its intended completion. On behalf of all who are here on the celestial side, we worship you even as we, through you, worship They who are the First Source and Center, the Second Source and Center and the Third Source and Center. May we Melchizedeks, mortals, Seraphim and all orders of intelligence strive to bring this universe of Nebadon into Paradise similitude and glory. Bless these little ones here, brave mortals that they be, as they take this year into their arms and embrace it, and in the process give themselves once again to do the will of Deity. Send them with peace in their hearts to their homes, I pray. Amen.