2001-05-01-On Friendship

Session

Opening

Cora(Bill): Greetings, my friends, this is Cora, your host for the evening. Daniel is away on another assignment. I welcome you to this domicile, this lovely mortal dwelling. Indeed, this is going to be "personal teacher night" once again, as we have done in the past in small gatherings on particular occasions.

Lesson

Friendship

I wish to talk about friendship. In the past, friendship has been construed as reciprocal mutual interaction. Each party in a friendship benefits from their connection with the other person and each party provides benefit to the other person. There are mutual interests and shared values; but all too often a sense of exclusiveness and possessiveness between the two friends. This view of friendship comes from animal origin, evolutionary experience, for early humans did band together primarily for protection and for the mutual benefit that such an association gave them as compared to the isolation and danger of individual survival circumstances.

Tonight I wish to continue the ramifications of membership in the Kingdom of Heaven. In this Kingdom of the brotherhood and sisterhood of God's sons and daughters we are all not only siblings, but potential friends. Our interests and values are profoundly alike, for we own common allegiance to the spiritual government of the Master Universe, to the very Gods on Paradise and to their Creator Sons and Creative Daughters. We view each intelligent being as our compatriot, as our equal, spiritually, as more kin than even the older idea of blood kinship connoted. As you have learned, and are learning to view other people with spiritual eyes and see past their apparent differences, viewing them as a dear brother and sister, you also are expanding the boundaries of your friendships enormously. Of course there will still be those people with whom you have more compatible personality interactions than with others, a topic you have already touched on this evening. Feel no regret when this occurs, for this will continue to be your experience, especially on the lower levels of universe progression. As you grow stronger in spiritual strength and your morontial substance moves from primarily material weight to spiritual lightness, and the ratio of the mix changes, you will also experience a broader, greater, and deeper affectionate connection with others.

Put aside completely your culturally driven need for judgment, without losing your perspective of discernment. Decide, finally, that it is not your job to judge yourself or another, as we have been teaching you these many years. You are not competent to do it, for yourself or the other individual, and therefor, it is not your job. Broaden the base of your understanding. Develop the ability to emphasize with another's life and you shall move from understanding to tolerance, and finally to loving friendship. My time is now completed, for we are going to try and give everyone present here who have you as their charges, the opportunity to speak briefly. I thank you and I given you my love. I am Cora. Good evening.

Anxiety

Loretta(Bill): My dear friends, I am Loretta and I am amused with you all. For after all this time with Daniel's emphasis on mistakes, taking risks, trusting the Father, letting go of shame and guilt, why should any of you, including this TR, worry about such trivial things as to whom a name is fixed or any other such fact?

[Ed. Note: There was a discussion, not included in this transcript, about whose teacher Loretta was, and joking about the TR's request for information]

I wish to talk about letting go of anxiety. When I was a mortal I struggled with this natural propensity to defend myself and try to control my surroundings. I was on guard for signs of danger and was something of a worrier. Therefor, (chuckling) I am qualified to speak about anxiety.

Indeed, it is important to exercise your mind and face your fears head on. We have said this many times before; it is a wisdom known to your enlightened leadership on Urantia. Nevertheless, it is practiced by very few people in its full reality. Many people do not begin to face their anxieties and worries, (which are all milder varieties of fear), until they become so crippled with this pattern that their lives become dysfunctional. You, on the other hand, are all doing well in this regard, and so I do not need to dwell on the more fundamental aspects. What I wish to touch on this evening is that wonderful, graceful, acceptance of God's true love which is understood to be a greater control and a more wonderful assessment of your life than your minds can possibly engender.

When Jesus said, "Have no anxiety", he reminded his disciples and Apostles that the Father knows your needs before you ask Him. Indeed, the Father dwelling within each of you knows your needs better than you will ever know them in this mortal life. But He cannot arbitrarily work in your behalf unless you grant Him that permission. God loves you enough that He will not coerce or manipulate you in any fashion. Therefore, the answer to the problem of anxiety is entirely in your hands. It is up to you to decide to allow God this overcare. His intention is always there, but until you take the reins out of your hands and give them into the hands of God, you will still be guiding the horse, which is your life.

Finally, in talking about letting go of anxiety, I am not at all referring to letting go of discernment, of planning, of careful and thorough work. None of these things are indicated by letting go of anxiety. The anxiety that I refer to is the result of self direction. Its cure is to turn to your divine Pilot within and give him permission to provide you with the guidance that will march you forward from one victory to another over your animal nature, as you evolve more and more into that splendid morontia being whose survival of death insures your Paradise ascension finality in its greatest and most complete form.

Worship

Larenzo(Bill): Ah, yes, Larenzo, here!

I agree with my sisters who have expressed their appreciation for their opportunity to speak to you. It is not as though Daniel is a taskmaster who does not permit us to have our say, so that we have to await his departure before we can speak! (Laughter) Our roles are primarily individual with each of you, as you know. But we are also desirous of the role of group teacher, at least on a part time basis. And so we do often request of Daniel, Andronason, and Minearisa time on the docket. But, as you can see, it doesn't happen very often. This is not because we are inferior (chuckling) in our ability to communicate truth. It is just a difference in roles.

My thoughts tonight are directed toward worship. I wish to be able to instill in all of you the thrill of contemplating this whole great adventure of ascension to Paradise. You become so bogged down in your everyday routines, so preoccupied with the nuts and bolts of getting from one minute to the next, from one hour to the next, and one day to the next, that sometimes you cannot look far down the road and see what that shining goal truly is, eons distant, but still our ultimate destination. Paradise will signal the completion of our perfection. We will then have fulfilled the command to become perfect in our realm as God is perfect in His. But Paradise will not be the end of our destiny, it is just a major step, for after that the future is unknown in finality, although much is known in partiality.

To worship is to take your mind and place it in the hands of your Spirit within. It is to foretaste your presence on Paradise. It is to anticipate the embrace of the Universal Father in the completion of your ascension career. It is to anticipate standing face to face with God, Himself, in person in His residential dwelling!

To worship is to contemplate the Love that creates the universes, so that God can share His personality with other persons; so that He can share His joy with His sons and daughters. To worship is to contemplate the love that anticipates your every need, that counts the hairs of your head, that knows every sparrow that falls, that knows all, and upholds all, and works for the good of all, and yet notices, yes, even dwells within each one of us!

Take more time for worship, my friends. I could never say this too often! Do not regard it as a chore. Let it nourish your souls. Let it provide fuel for your true soul growth and spiritual energy to do service for your brothers and your sisters. Without worship your service energy will flag and diminish. Without service your worship will become stagnant. But that is another topic.

I will conclude my remarks with my affirmation of love to you all, and of joy in this wonderful service of being a personal teacher. Good evening.

The Teachers

Alkon(Bill): I am Alkon. Isaac has been neglecting me lately, because he has been conferring with his own indwelling Spirit. I do not feel neglected and, indeed, I am not. I am happy that my job with him has been successful. Please don't misunderstand me, he hasn't reached perfection at all. He is delaying until there is time, our mutual project, which is to write some new music. So I have agreed to withdraw until he is ready for that task. And why am I telling you all this? So that you will be more at ease with your relationship to your teacher.

We teachers are not here to forever be the focus of your guidance and contact. Our purpose is to facilitate your awareness of your divine Monitor within, to actually listen for the guidance and understanding that this Monitor gives. We are not here to be an intercessor between you and God. We are here to share to our experience, our strength, our hope, our love, and to be your cheering section as you move forward on the road of progress. I am not going to speak on a topic other than what I have just stated, that our job is to ultimately work ourselves out of a job. But, don't worry, as long as you desire us, I anticipate you will all benefit from our continued association.

Dialogue

Judgment, Discernment

Marty: . . . . I am fully aware that we should not judge others at all. But I have always thought that I needed to judge myself so I learn right from wrong and the better way to do things, etc. Is that not a judgment or what do you mean by not judging yourself?

Cora(Bill): Thank you Marty, for that comment. This is Cora responding.

I also used the word "discernment" and I made a distinction between the two. Your understanding right from wrong is a matter of discernment. Your self evaluation of moral value and spiritual worth is a matter of judgment. Yes, if you have made a mistake, certainly we are not contrary to Daniel's whole exposition on the importance of knowing your mistakes and trying to figure out what causes them so you can avoid them in the future. All of this is a matter of discernment. Judgment implies an internal judge who causes you to feel unworthy and guilty. It is a usurpation of the function of conscience when your mind decides that it has enough information to competently reach a verdict of guilty.

In the universe judgment is the function of a group. Judgment is never accomplished by one individual. Even the judgment of the Superuniverses is a triune function of the Ancients of Days acting as a trio. Therefore, it is impossible for anyone to truly judge themselves or others for they are a single individual as well as the fact that they don't have enough information. They neither have the ability or the role of judgment.

Virginia: I would just like to thank you, Larenzo, for your beautiful description of worship. It's an incredible thought to me, as our destination.

Worship

Larenzo(Bill): Letah (Virginia), my friend, this is Larenzo. You have no doubt read in the Urantia Book where the worship of the residents of Paradise becomes so overwhelming that it takes superangels, Supernaphim, with special powers to control the wave of exultation and joy that comes over the residents thereof. If you can think of a moment in your life when you have been supremely grateful, when you have wept with tears of joy because of some spiritual understanding or some soulful contact with the presence of God, imagine what it would be like to actually be there in His resident universe, in His proximate presence. I have never been there, of course, and yet even at my lowly stage of morontia development I have had more of those moments than I ever had in the flesh. So, cherish these times and practice this stillness and this worship, as you are all doing. My intention is for you to continue your participation in it. Thank you.

Group: Thank you, Larenzo.

Closing

Klarixiska(Bill): This is Klarixiska. My, such a pleasure it has been to be intimate with you, our dear students, our dear friends, our dear charges. We truly treasure our times when you can hear us or feel us. And, you are all doubters. Not a one of you is exempt from this comment. After all, most people on this planet would consider this sort of contact as ludicrous, possibly dangerous, perhaps unstable, mentally. And yet, you practice. You believe. You continue. You TR despite your doubts, despite your human nature. So, while I acknowledge that you are doubters at times, I wish to dwell on the fact that you are faithers more than you are doubters. You trust much more often than you falter. You love much more than you dwell in resentment and anger. You are all progressing. You are all moving forward in the ways that Daniel so beautifully illustrated.

Yes, eventually we will work ourselves out of a job, if that job is seen as a more reliable contact than that great indwelling Mystery Monitor. But we will not work ourselves out of our friendships or our relationships to each of you. We will continue to be there with you. Did that clarify what might have been misunderstood in the commentary previously? (Pause) We wish for you, as you become more and more aligned with God, to actually trust the words you hear in your mind that claim to be your indwelling Spirit. It is your destiny, when you reach the first circle, to actually commune in this manner. It is the goal that Jesus reached before his baptism, which was a gradual process. His communion with God became more and more clear until he could say, "I speak the words my Father gives me. My teaching is not my own, it is my Father who acts and speaks through me". This is the goal of mortal life. This is what was meant by "working ourselves out of a job". That job will be much more completely done by the proper personage, namely that pre-personal Spirit within you which will one day be welded, fused completely with you, so that you two will be one. . . . .