2005-04-03-The Collective Consciousness

Session

Opening

TOMAS: Good afternoon, precious friends. This is Tomas – companion, teacher, guide and friend. How are you this afternoon?

Reneau: Hi, Tomas. Well, thank you. And yourself?

TOMAS: I am relatively well, thank you, for I am about the Father’s business and believe myself to be on the right track. For that, peace of mind plays greatly into my sense of wellbeing. This is a lesson I learned when I was mortal. Or, I began to learn it, anyway, and have added my collective consciousness to that construct along the way and, by the way, I have also let go of much of the constructs I have created, through my collective consciousness, in search of the pearl of great price, which is my soul.

Reneau: What do you mean ‘collective consciousness’?

Dialogue

TOMAS: In this case, I am urging your consciousness toward your mind, your personal perspective on life, as it is a reflection of the collective consciousness of your experience ~ the collective memory of your interaction with all that you have gone through, all that has gone on before that has contributed to your current frame of mind.

Reneau: That’s what I thought you meant. Could you answer my question about the awareness of consciousness beyond this life? Do we ever then experience a life on another planet where we are born as a babe and we don’t remember and live a life, such as we have done here, and we won’t remember until after we die then gone on to other lives? Is that part of the collective consciousness, too?

TOMAS: It would be in a very broad sense, but there are limitations within the divine structure that disallow your having another mortal experience on another material world, for you will leave here to become a morontia being. It is not possible for morontia beings, of your sort, to return or be returned to a former state.

Reneau: Hmmm. We only advance.

TOMAS: Only are you advancing, yes. I realize there are theories abounding, postulation and speculation as to what variations on this theme may be allowed, for "there are always exceptions to the rule" you think. In your search for knowledge you have the right to investigate.

Reneau: So could part of the collective consciousness be cellular memories somehow passed on through generations and remembered in a later generation, is that possible? Just like our immune system is handed down from our ancestors, our mothers?

TOMAS: It is not the right phrase to use: "cellular memory," although inherited biological defects or peculiarities are often genetically passed down. Yet more overbearing is the behavioral manifestations of other kinds of illness and imperfection and deficiency.

Reneau: Biologically inherited?

TOMAS: Sociologically inherited and biologically reflected, for the mind is, in many instances, more powerful. However, it is also true there is inherent imperfection in evolution, as it reaches for its ultimate culminating state of being, as you do in your ascent toward perfection ~ this you share with all living things that grow ~ to fulfill your potential.

You are wondering about what you remember when you transfer over to the morontia state of mind and being, correct?

Reneau: Yes. Does that collective consciousness continue?

TOMAS: Largely, no, for it is a function of the material mind. And the material mind is no longer accessible on high. Although memories of experientials are retained for as long as they serve to reflect for you those experiences which are contributing to your ultimacy in personality enhancement and advancement. Since personality is a part of what survives, it is what God has come to you for. He wants your personality with which to function, and thus you get to go along for the ride. Forever!

Reneau: Whee-ha!

TOMAS: Better than failsafe.

But, do you remember in the same way that you can sit here remembering events from your life and sharing companionably with others that which you remember, such as, "I remember in high school we used to…" or "I remember my mother telling me . .." -- those are memories of this life which enrich this life, but the memories that are transferable and eternal are the experiential memories shared with others which reflect back God-enhancing messages.

"God-enhancing." Do you realize what this means? Can you take the concept of "God-enhancing" and apply it to yourself in terms of your own personality gifts, given over to Our Father and Infinite Mind, in order to reflect Paradise values in and through your personality techniques of dispersing love, mercy, goodness, wisdom and all those things that constitute the divine perspective?

This process entails the recognition of that which stands in the way. It would otherwise be all downhill, with no need for you to develop, through traction, in exercising yourself for the strength that is inherent in Sonship, as long as you stay in good spiritual shape. So to answer your question, yes, you will have memories, but they are not the memories you immediately think of from your mortal perspective.

You will not remember the negative emotions that are a part of the collective consciousness of this environment. You will no longer be influenced by the energy of this environment. And since you are moving into a new mind, you won’t be taking your mental environment with you. Therefore, you will be able to say goodbye to guilt and shame, grief, anger, envy and the like. They will not serve you in Mansonia.

Reneau: So why not shuck them now?

TOMAS: It is a part of your animal nature to have them. And they continue to serve, but the challenge is to master them.

Reneau: That’s what I mean by …

TOMAS: To ignore them, overlook them--

Reneau: -- is just to repress them.

TOMAS: -- or be in denial of them. And they are valuable tools in the human experience, since many individuals are NOT God-conscious and are self-interested exclusively, and the intelligent human animal will use whatever it can in order to get its needs met. It’s "Survival of the fittest."

This is one of the reasons people don’t want to talk about religion, don’t want to know about God in your daily life and have their daily life disrupted by the presence of God, either in their environment or in their minds. This is foolishly suicidal behavior. But still you are charged to go into the arena fearlessly and in faith of being led, of being companioned, and of being assured of eternal survival. Even as you go through the valley of good and evil, all the more reason you should look to God for sustenance and seek to find Him in all living things.

Reneau: He certainly is manifesting in a beautiful Spring.

TOMAS: Isn’t it a wonder, this creation of Theirs, which recycles beauty in such a harmonious fashion? It is dependable!

Reneau: Thank God!

TOMAS: That is what we are doing: thanking God for the renewal of Spring, the sense of new beginning that comes each year with the thaw, having rested and survived the winter, coming through the hibernation and dormancy into the stirrings of hope.

Reneau: Rebirth. That was uplifting, just like the plants coming up, it’s uplifting, coming out of the soil.

TOMAS: It is a gift from God and available to all. The sun rises every day, even though it is also true it does not always shine on that which is beautiful. The fact remains the child of God thanks God for each new day that dawns, in faith of its dawning.

Reneau: Each day.

TOMAS: Each day.

Reneau: It keeps us from taking ourselves so seriously. In spite of what we do or say or think, the sun comes up and the moon comes up and the sun sets and the moon goes around and…

TOMAS: It is necessary, however, for a people to understand the goodness of God in order for them to want to enhance that goodness. When God has never been good, when the only thing they have ever known is abuse, abuse is good.

Reneau: But all those memories are left behind.

TOMAS: They will be left behind when you leave here and arrive on Mansonia, yes. One of our long-range goals is to attain a level of maturity of civilization on Urantia that will disallow this despair and darkness. I may ask to stop teaching.

Reneau: Today?!?!

Gerdean: Why, Tomas?!?!

TOMAS: Because it’s hard to be a teacher. I don’t intend to be serious, but I am, and my work with you is serious, but I am incessantly causing conditions for growth that reflect in people being angry with me.

Reneau: What people?

TOMAS: It doesn’t matter. Those who are growing … like yourself. You prompt my discourse by saying something about taking ourselves too seriously. I take myself and my work very seriously, and thus I feel--

Reneau: And there are humans on the earth who take themselves too seriously.

TOMAS: Like whom?

Reneau: People who feel, like, self-important; and that don’t have a sense of humor about things, that don’t see the humor and the love and the goodness flowing; that are too stern and take themselves and their cause or whatever too seriously, as if with no room for love or compassion in their ….

TOMAS: You mean they are ruthless?

Reneau: Well, they take themselves too seriously, without seeing the love and compassion and mercy for other people and other circumstances than….

TOMAS: They are not my students.

Reneau: No, huh-uh. I just meant people in general who take themselves too seriously, is what I meant, Tomas. It was one of those big, broad, generalized statements.

The seriousness of these lessons, I find different. It’s a different – yes, indeed, we are very serious about this and I agree, and I love it! And I love you. And I, too, am very serious about these lessons and my spiritual life, and so I take that in generally seriously, not in general just myself. You know.

TOMAS: The concern I have is that in the due diligence to do Father’s will, there may be even well-intentioned good people being manipulative of the spirit in their ambition to advance their perception of God’s will. Much of this is ascertained according to the psychic circle, although I am not able to make accurate assessments of such a refined nature as to what psychic circle it is on which anyone operates. It will reflect, to a certain extent, in density, and by density I do not mean stupidity.

Reneau: But density of matter.

TOMAS: And density of consciousness, as well. There are some that are so blind to the spirit that battalions of destiny guardians are assigned to watch over them until such time as they are able to arise to the occasion and take hold of His garment, so to speak, in order to begin making those soul-making decisions that will enable God to see his child -- if this makes sense to you. Or, as they might have said in biblical times, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Reneau: There seems to be a lot of people who are blind without knowing it, who are veiled without being aware that they don’t see and don’t hear, or they are just seeing and hearing in a different way that seems strange to us.

TOMAS: This is not strange at all, for ever and anon another is always exceeding your capacities one way or another. Always and infinitely. And yet few enjoy being reminded that they are not what they might be, unless it is delivered in a loving or encouraging way, yet that is not the mental approach of those who are in the darkness such that they cannot even see that there are others, much less how to concern themselves about their well-being.

Reneau: I think it must be hard being a student, as well. I know I am not as diligent as I should be, although who knows what one should do or … it’s hard to know sometimes.

TOMAS: This is true particularly when you are not letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, and this is how it is that you walk around in faith as a child of God, innocent and free. This is possible for anyone regardless of their beliefs unless, of course, their beliefs make them be in denial or unhappy – and there are plenty of those around.

Reneau: They’ve given themselves permission to be unhappy.

TOMAS: Even my students are an assortment of maladjustments which I am commissioned to work with, but every time I mention something, your feelings are hurt. And so I cannot do a very good job with what I’ve been committed, myself, to do. It is not my job to be anyone other than who I am and do what I do perfectly (or as perfectly as I have learned how, thus far), but if I am ineffective and/or if I am so effective no one signs up for my class, what kind of instructor am I?

Reneau: Dedicated.

TOMAS: I am a teacher. I am of the Teacher Corps. I am here to teach you to be teachers, as well. How you opt to become teachers is your personal interpretation of what these teachings are about.

Of course, I am concerned about you all as individuals, but that is only one phase of our work together. There are other phases as well, and they are not necessarily consecutive, they are concurrent, and I have an obligation to meet my obligations in both contexts, and even yet more that I have not revealed.

Reneau: Because we wouldn’t understand it? Because we’re not ready for it?

TOMAS: Because your minds are already filled with too much of a selection of soul-making decisions. It is our goal at this point in the Correcting Time to continue to encourage you to learn to live as if the divine will was the will you choose. In other words, the spirit life has the highest priority.

"Seek ye first the Kingdom, and all things will be added unto you." The Kingdom is the key. What is the kingdom to you? The kingdom you are seeking may not be the same kingdom as is being sought by others, even your significant others. And imagine your surprise when you discover you are working against each other, in opposition to each other because your perspective on the Kingdom is not complimentary but counter-productive.

Well, in my opinion, it is the responsibility of the conscious being to find out the root of their aberrant behavior and correct it, but if there is no sense that their behavior is in any way aberrant, it is senseless to attempt to cooperate, for in the cooperation you are only feeding the illusion.

"Seek ye first the kingdom" is going to depend on what you regard as your kingdom. If it is your house, your business, your body, your job, your lifestyle, your political party, or your nation, you are doomed to have your reality shaken for it is not the ultimate and bottom line reality, it is only an illusion of reality based on your perception. And that is not necessarily synonymous with the will of God, no matter how well intentioned you may be.

And if and as your resistance to counsel is such that you reveal yourself as having no problems, or no questions, your illusion is complete and there is nothing I can do.

Reneau: But if you believe the kingdom is within,…

TOMAS: Then we stand a chance of combining our resources as they are all from the same Source. That Source itself will begin to activate and actualize a greater reality that is more than the sum of your parts.

And we are still teetering on the brink.

If you think this does not cause an atmospheric tension, that all earth is under the influence of, it is only because of the relative density of your perception. It is as the saying, "if you are not outraged, you’re not informed." If you are not agitated, if you are not stirred into some kind of action, it is because you are complacent or dense.

Reneau: Or overwhelmed.

TOMAS: Overwhelmed is a state of mind brought about by attempting to assimilate too much, too quickly. Like the child who gulps its food, it does not take long for the child to learn to take smaller bites, but it is helpful when the adult teaches the child how to take small bites so that they don’t choke, how to chew the food they’ve been given, so that the body can digest it. It seems the hunger is so great, the food is consumed in such great gulps,…

Reneau: And there is so much of it.

TOMAS: … it has become a habit to expect big bites, big helpings.

Reneau: I meant "overwhelmed" in the context that it seems like there’s so much that seems to be going wrong with everything, and those … when you do try to keep informed, and … it’s just … the negativity is what’s overwhelming! And I wonder sometimes – we all know that negative vibrations affect us in a negative way, you know, make us upset or nauseous or whatever, but that if the negativity is also being broadcast through the air via satellite, radio waves and TV waves, is that a negative energy per se when it is being broadcast, versus something that is being broadcast of a good energy, of a peaceful news, of something good happening … is that a real thing, is, I guess, what I’m asking, that can permeate the world and their thinking and their attitude and their feeling? Not just if they have their television set on and they are watching it but streaming through the airwaves as it does, does it have a negative or positive effect on us?

TOMAS: Surely you jest.

Reneau: I don’t know. I was just wondering. So you’d have to have your TV set on to watch it, in order to be influenced by its negative…?

TOMAS: No. It is in the ethers. There is tension in the ethers. You don’t need to watch TV to know there is stress in the world. It is reflected in the behavior of the culture.

Mother Nature itself does not reveal this chaos, except as it has been damaged by it. But the physical reflection of the material world is only one dimension. There is another dimension that involves etheric energy.

Reneau: That’s why it feels so good just sitting in the forest or in a quiet nature preserve place.

TOMAS: Where you are somewhat protected and buffered from the fumes of fear and hostility. But fear and hostility are polluting your environment, there is no question.

You have seen the studies of water that depict a droplet when it is polluted by chemicals, as compared to when it has been prayed over and saved from hostility by its surroundings of peace, greenery, and even classical music. This is how the material world you live in is connected with the self.

Sometimes the limitations of language are more apparent than others, but I err on the side of simplicity as often as possible, so that I don’t give misinformation, but don’t over-simplify my message, either, if you will, by using the terms that I use that are part of your phraseology, as my own. Or, you might say, I am asking you not to bring my messages down to a dead level, but allow them to live ~ in your consciousness ~ as a seed ~ that will help bring about an augmentation of your consciousness of yourself in such a way as it will help you, enable you, to become a better servant, a happier individual through righteous living ~ because of self-mastery and being able to respond in the spirit as compared to the common reflex. And this is what contributes to your sense of being overwhelmed.

It is not me doing it to you, but you doing it to yourself!

Reneau: After all, we are the ones that set our own schedules and timetables and work jobs and habits and hobbies, etc.

TOMAS: I love you very much. I feel for you when you are struggling, when you are involved in your conundrums of growth throes, as deeply as I do when you are naïve and innocent, brightly lit lamps of spirit luminosity.

It feels heavy in this (T/R’s) head today. It has been an effort to make my words convey the concepts I have in my mind to deliver to yours. But only time will tell whether or not I have met my obligation as a Teacher, and that is to have helped you plant within yourself those seeds which will germinate and sprout, which result in fruits of the spirit for you and from you, as the branches in his vineyard manufacture the wine that brings such joy to the many and serves as a sacrament as well.

We are immersed in the local universe broadcast surrounding the translation of Pope John Paul II. While he is not in the reserve corps as you are inclined to understand, it will come as no surprise to you to know that he has served Urantia well in his capacity as a Son of God in one of the reserve corps. We are enjoying what you might call "ceremony" – Pomp and Circumstance for his arrival – for we have been expecting him and will no doubt benefit from his experience after he has adjusted to his new assignment here and we have a chance to witness his humility in person.

A man of God (and I intend here to include daughters of God equally), is a pleasure to behold. Seeing you overcome the handicaps of time, watching your spirit push against the dark earth and reach up to the sun is always an inspiration. Those of you who grow under more difficult circumstances always have a cheering section on high, devoted to "the underdog" as you know here. And those who have walked the "straight and narrow" with dedicated resolve to follow Him, are righteously assigned those positions in the kingdom which will allow for services to be rendered on behalf of Him who sent you.

And we in the Teacher Corps, and those above us, and those below us, and those in concert with us, are most heartened by those of you who reach for the Father and find him ~ and then apply yourselves consciously into attempting to do that will ~ whether or not you build any empires or establish any institutions. But all efforts on behalf of the mortal estate are acknowledged. It’s just that I cannot judge them. Like God himself, I can only work with what I’ve got to work with. Show me what you want me to work with. You take the reigns of your own evolution. You take command of your own ship.

Don’t forget, however, how everything is connected. Isolation is ended. And so you reap what you sow ~ through cause and effect ~ and while you may win the battle, you may lose the war. Let us therefore rally behind the Prince of Peace and let His priorities be the inspiration for our own.

Closing

Thus, I will be back if you will.

Reneau: God willing and the creek don’t rise.

TOMAS: God willing and the creek don’t rise. Yes.

"Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things will be added unto you." "The kingdom of heaven is within you."

Amen.

Farewell.