2006-03-09-Prayer & The Divine Order

Session

Opening

Prayer: Jesus, come into my presence. Allow me to be aware of you. Let me feel your guiding hand. Help me be your conduit. Clear me of my prejudicial attitude so that we may be of service to these your children. Send whichever of your agents you choose. We are eager to hear from any and all universe personalities that want to teach us and spend time with us. You, of course, are also welcome. What a privilege it is to live a life that allows you to reign supreme as you do, spirit-led life, such a joy.

Tomas: This is Tomas, allowed now to come in and prevail where Gerdean left off. I pick up with the concept of prayer, the communication that goes on between the parent and the child, the infinite and eternal life giving relationship. This simple concept is truly the foundation of the universe.

Lesson

There is nothing complicated about prayer, but it is not the same as magic. There are many remnants of the ghost cults that linger in your subconscious and they affect your approach to prayer: the good spirit – bad spirit conundrum. You may rejoice in the knowledge that there will be no bad spirits again in your consciousness, for the evil one is no more, and his associates are without power or influence, unless and as you in ignorance opt to follow their lead. But as you maintain your relationship with the divine with goodness, truth and beauty, you will be able to ascertain the truth, beauty and goodness of your self, and thus your dealings with others.

Prayer is really a matter of order, orderliness. If you think of a doorway, narrow doorway with two people attempting to enter the doorway at the same time, you will see their bodies run into each other, their shoulders knock against the other. And one pushes, as does the other, and so they block each other from going through the doorway. This is rather how it is with prayer. It allows one thing to go through the door at a time, thus allowing a free flow of movement.

There was a question today. (Please note Gerdean’s interference here. Her mind immediately went to the emails she received, and her mind interjecting thus shut down the circuit. I need to now put her at ease and recover my connection. One moment please.) You win.

Let us go to the letters, the email questions. Here is one from F. It has to do with Mary, the mother of Jesus. With your permission, F, I will quote your question. (Yes, of course. Thank you.)

Dialogue

"I was raised Catholic," he says, "and I was taught everything that you probably know about Mother Mary ascending to the heavens. We of course know that this is not entirely accurate. The Urantia Book mentions that she passed away some time after Michael’s seventh bestowal. However, being her so important a figure in Michael’s incarnation, virtually nothing is said of her life and death after Michael ended his bestowal. I would have expected at least the same detailed information as that given about Joseph’s life and death. Most of the people that I talk to are Catholic and are simply blinded by the traditional belief in Mother Mary. Can this knowledge somehow be expanded?"

Tomas: Let me thank you for your question, F, and for your efforts to present expanded truth to those you serve. Mary, mother of God incarnate, is indeed revered by millions of people. And naturally those who love her would like to know all the details of her life. In fact, you will notice a resurgence of interest in Mary, Jesus’ mother, as well as Jesus’ grandmother and other entities surrounding his life here. For all these stories are related to our Creator, and thus there is a desire to know.

Mary died, as most folk do, a natural death brought on by the ravages of time, and nothing spectacular surrounded her passing. The reason Joseph’s death is discussed in the Papers is because it was Joseph’s untimely passing that provided Jesus the opportunity to become Father-Brother to his siblings, thus giving him invaluable experience in raising children, which, as you know, is one of the requirements for ascension. And so without fathering children on his own, or with any other mortal, such as is popularly thought these days regarding Mary Magdelene, he did nonetheless experience parenting.

And let this be a lesson to you. The parenting experience is not contingent upon the actual birthing, but the parenting experience. And there is a difference between the biological and the sociological. Therefore those who adopt children or raise the children of others also gain in that experience of parenting.

But getting back to Mary. Mary’s heyday came when she was chosen to give birth to Jesus. And while she retained respect for the idea of his being the Son of God incarnate, as advised by Gabriel, she was never a convert, as were many others. And so, even though she provided the cradle in which Jesus was born and raised, she was in all other regards just another woman of the realm. Now when I say just another woman, do not mistake me, I am not downplaying the importance of all women. I am simply saying she herself was not lifted up by her own faith, but by the fact of her giving birth.

In a way it is unfortunate that the idea of giving birth has been so exalted. But I cannot argue the sentimentality involved in this fact of nature and grace because, again, it is a part of the parent-child relationship, and therefore precious and real. But Mary should not be worshiped for having given birth, as no woman should be worshiped for having done what women have done from time immemorial, and that is to reproduce and replenish the earth, and bring forth sons and daughters for the living God.

She was certainly chosen. She was selected from a number of prospective parents, and she certainly had much to offer. And so she deserves her laurels. She may have engendered more had she fought for his faith, as did his baby sister Ruth, but her motherly attitude overwhelmed her, even her faith.

There are other questions.

I have questions here on paper. But do you have questions, you who are my hearers? Then let me refer to those that are written. M had a question, not necessarily for me, but I liked it. He has been reading The Urantia Book and says, "In general, I’d like to understand the specific repercussions of the rebellion on present day society, norms, civilization, institutions, morals, habits, traditions and culture. The more detailed the better."

Well, this is my kind of question. It gives me a chance to delve into the challenges that are part of the Correcting Time. The specifics are too many to enumerate. The principal has been set forth many times. I myself set forth the principal in the allegory of the farm, and that the farm, which represents your planet was mismanaged by those in charge at one time, such that those who live on the farm and manage it have certain ways and means which are not necessarily in keeping with the good sense, efficiency and wholesomeness that otherwise might exist.

If everyone had been allowed to approach life as if through the auspices of the parent child relationship, the child who trusts its loving parent quickly learns to look to the parent for everything. And the parent wisely provides the child’s needs without indulging it in ways which will curb it’s curiosity or interfere with the child’s learning to grow by his own experience. There is a tenderness and delicacy that exists between the parent and child that we know of as love. And so when the love is missing, it is missing the mark completely. Thus you can look around you and see all the many ways that love is missing the mark.

When God wields his authority over his child, he does so in a manner that will not frighten the child. He does not need to bellow in order to get the child’s attention. He does not need to punish or inflict pain in order to get the child to be responsive. He does not laugh when the child falls. He does not scold when the child errs. When you look around in your world and see these things, you see the influence of Lucifer.

There is a great tendency to be rational and reasonable about this business of living, and certainly man, and I mean women too, is rational. Homo sapiens can reason. And thus it is set above, set apart from other animals of the realm. And while man takes great pride in his ability to reason, reason alone is insufficient. Likewise, women have a tremendous nurturing quality as a part of her being homo sapiens, which wants to care for, nurture. And this, while essential, is also inadequate. And so both men and women, from their rightful vantage point, fall short when they neglect to transcend their gender role and prejudices to seek the will of the divine in each instance that would call for a decision.

How many times a day do you decide? Think on that. Of course, it will depend upon what day it is. On Saturday, perhaps you make as few decisions as possible. On Monday, perhaps at the office you must make far too many decisions for your liking. But these decisions, while they matter, are not singularly the decisions I am trying to bring to your attention. I hear someone chewing. This is a decision. What shall we have for supper? How does God act in that question? Where is the divine will in such a decision?

There is nowhere where God is not. And yet, to overlook the divine in every decision is to revert automatically to habit. And habit is acting without consciousness, without conscious, mindful, willful determination to choose the best possible course under all circumstances. It affects everything, and thus everything needs to be reevaluated and reconditioned in the light of what you know now, as compared to what you didn’t know then. And this is where it requires your courage and your stamina to not just follow blindly, because that’s the way its done, but to mindfully do the right thing, not based on reason or intuition, but based on divine truth, beauty and goodness. For that is what will ultimately prevail, and what will ultimately assure your survival and render you most useful.

In the process of breaking that question down into its hundreds and thousands of component parts, we could spend an eternity, perhaps. But the point is that you are admonished to make decisions, more decisions, and yet more decisions. And doing the same one again and again and again will produce the same results. And so until you are happy with all the results of all the decisions, there is work to be done. Until you are settled in light and life, until we stand in Paradise, there is always something to do, some challenge to undertake, some vital purpose to fulfill, some adventure to experience. What a tremendous joy this is, this living in love, in conscious awareness of the relationship we share with eternal parents, and with our many other parents who help to transform us into the noble sons and daughters we are destined to become.

What a nice group you are. It is exciting for us to reach into your realm and see you reaching back for us. I don’t want to say, "as we reach down, you reach up," because sometimes its simply that we reach across. You have a commercial here that is well known: reach out and touch someone. This is what we do, reach out and touch someone, not just in the superficial and glib manner of a three dimensional being, but in deeper terms. For those of you who know that life is more than a temporary adventure between the highlights of birth and death, it is a step in the long walk toward Paradise, one leg in the journey home. What a pleasure it is to reach out and touch someone, to share the consciousness of walking the path alongside others, acknowledging the relationship with divine energy and personality adding a great dimension to our lives.

Other questions?

J: Recently my own mother passed away or transitioned, and even though I have come to a certain more comfortable understanding about what happens after physical death, partly because of my Urantia studies, I still felt a real sense of loss. She and I were so close. I guess my question is when our loved ones pass from this life, and when they are resurrected, would for example my Mom also feel such a sense of loss as I felt for her here, like a separation feeling?

Tomas: It would not be the same, but it would be deep, certainly. She now has a farther perspective, and thus she is able to appreciate things which you have yet to experience. She no longer needs to act in faith, for she is assured death is an experiential learning process. Your experience is limited by your mortal perspective, and this is not a fault, it is simply a facet of the human condition. Let me say your tendency, your inclination to miss your mother is natural and healthy. She has been there for you since your birth and before that. Without her you would not exist, and so there is a natural loyalty that even transcends love. As you grow in life and share experiences as sisters, or as daughters, or as partners in life experiences, you develop love, and that love is eternal. Even though it is experienced between blood relatives, it is nonetheless true that love survives where family does not.

Let me clarify. The fact that she is your mother here is an earth bound relationship. When you meet your mother on high, she will not be your mother; she will be your sister. The fact of your mother-daughter relationship will be a part of you, but as if it were a faint memory. You will both look toward Nebadonia as your mother, and seek guidance and counsel from her and her angelic helpers.

And so the mother attitude is something you will be drawn to and respond to for ages to come. What you miss is having her here physically, and this is the loss of a physical creature. As long as you are a mortal, you will miss that. But the pain will subside, the sense of loss will diminish as you over time begin to respect and remember those things about her which will be with you for eternity. And those things she gave you which contributed to your lasting value, not just your social skills for this life, but those which you have adapted to your eternal career. This parent-child relationship is truly priceless.

It is through this tender association that the love emerges, that appreciation is a wellspring of affection that pours forth even in the face of temporary conflicts or difficulties, teaching you that love will prevail. Love is eternal, and divine love is unconditional, even as it offers conditions for your growth.

J: Thank you so much, that’s very useful. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Tomas: I appreciate your listening ear.

F: Hello, Tomas. I just want to say that I really appreciate you. It is indeed fantastic to spend some time listening to your messages. And I really appreciate the fact that you always consider my questions, even though I probably, after thinking about it a while, might consider some of them maybe a little bit foolish. But you always take your time to answer them, which is something that I really appreciate. I am really looking forward to working with you in the future, I hope for a very long time. I really love that. I wonder if you would have a message for me, or just some advice, that’s all.

Tomas: I will respond to you, and perhaps there is something in it for you. I want you to know that this ability that I have to respond to your questions is something I learned from Michael, our Father-Brother, who always had time for me and my questions. Many of my questions, like yours, are born of curiosity and ignorance that, if I were patient, would be answered if I just thought about it, or if I lived a few minutes longer, because experience is such a good teacher. But the truth is that we who are elders respond to those of you who are eager learners. We spend a lot of time whetting the appetite, planting the seeds, stirring the stew, as it were, so as to allow it to develop at its best. And those of you who come forth, as you do frequently, are good indicators that we are doing something right.

I will speak in defense of those who do not yet formulate questions, for they too are invaluable, if only by their attendance. I have talked before about the sound of one hand clapping. It would not do me much good to come here to speak to you if no one showed up.

And this is the wonder and joy of this rapport we are developing, that will in fact and indeed be ongoing. We will work with another for ages to come in one way or another. And I have learned from you as you have learned from me. And this is where our relationship is truly blessed. This is where we are brothers, where we are both students of those who know more than we do. For while I can pass on my wisdom, and you can stimulate my experiential growth by your questions is also reality that we are all expanding and forming greater dimension of divine reality as we pursue this course, as we actualize ourselves as a result of our investment in the process.

Illuminating, like the sunshine, those growing days, those rainy days, those endless days of reflection that you experienced before the reopening of the circuits. Look at the bounty that is guaranteed from this fortuitous combination. The harvest indeed is great, and will continue to increase. It is a privilege to work in these fields with you and for you. Bring the sunshine! You can be the sunshine.

L: Thank you for speaking and being so clear. I am very thankful to be part of this group, as everyone is, I would imagine. I have a lot of questions, but you have been speaking for a long time tonight, and I am a little shy.

Tomas: I am a notorious windbag. Several of us are vocal.

L: There was a metaphor: create a clearing and illuminate the portal, let your little light shine, sort of concept. I really liked that in one of the transcripts I was reading about not being a door, but being an access point as it were for communication to flow through. We don’t need to account for it ourselves, necessarily, or judge the effects, or even be too particular, because I found myself when I just finally begin I can actually speak a lot clearer if I haven’t preassembled the words.

Tomas: Certainly.

L: Well, anyway, I am going to be contributing more, and I feel an exponential sense of personal power, so it’s a lot easier to be humble, and more power to us all. Lets illuminate the universe.

Tomas: I acknowledge you completely, L, and look forward to our future discourse.

M: Teacher Tomas, I was hoping to hear some comments this evening about the prayer that you suggested, a group prayer. I have suggested to others that we continue with that process. I wonder if you are aware that we were doing that, and if you would speak of it.

Tomas: I am aware that prayer is under the focus of your attentions of late, and that it is enhanced not only by the obvious need for prayer on your world, but in your hearts. You know that development of the desire to worship is an inherent part of your soul growth, and so is prayer, for it has untold benefits and it takes on many forms. As I was saying earlier, however, it is not so much the words that matter as the attitude. And the attitude that I was trying to impart was one of divine order. And so as you pray you are aligning yourself with divine order. This is how it is that prayer benefits the individual prayer as well as those individuals or situations the prayer projects himself into. For essentially he is taking the divine order of love into the trouble spots of those areas that he determines need divine assistance.

Did you hear my analogy of the two people going through the doorway at the same time?

M: I was not on the call at that time.

Tomas: It was shortly after that I got distracted and was unable to continue. So I will pick it up from here, now that I know I have your attention. When too many people try to go through a door at the same time it becomes a real traffic jam. And there are a lot of traffic jams going on on your world right now. If we use that analogy, there are a few really bad snarls, and several of them are creating considerable fatalities. So these are areas that would do well to have prayer focused on them, not only by those who see the event, but by those who are unwitting participants in the event. Because when one struggles in the midst of a traffic jam, or a snarl, it often makes it worse. You know how it is when you have a snag on your fishing line. If you pull too tight and too hard, it only makes the knot worse. Better to allow space in that line so that the possibility of release still exists. For it is in fluid order of following the divine will that those snags and snarls will be able to become undone, so that the natural order will be able to resume.

Now one look at your newscasts can cause you to throw up your hands in despair that these snarls will ever be resolved. They go back thousands and thousands of years, some of them. In fact, relating to M’s question, they go back all the way to the time of the rebellion. But do not despair. It is an orderly universe, and Urantia is a part of the universe. Therefore, this problem will be solved. This planet will be realigned. Prayer is probably the most effective thing you can do because it enables you to stop pushing, stop pulling, stop making matters worse, and trust in the divine countenance.

M: Thank you. That’s just wonderful to hear.

Tomas: It does not mean that you are unconcerned about what’s going on in the world. It means that you know where the power is, the real power, not the little powers that are striving to prove how powerful they are. No, those are like the big shouldered persons, each trying to push their way through the narrow doorway. They only block the flow. Back off and allow the divine order to prevail. Soon the dam will break and the water will flow forth.

Therefore, when you pray, put yourself in the position of not telling God how to do the job, not trying to convince God that this side or that position, this principle or that theory, this culture or that nation needs to do this, that or the other thing. That is not effective prayer. That is merely making the matter worse, for then you set yourself up to have God be your traffic controller or your politician. God is so much more than you realize. I don’t mean you individually; you generically. Only because eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, you have no perspective from your finite vantage point. At least not adequate to see that things are unfolding as they should, as they must, given the circumstances of the condition of this world, which has spent so much time in quarantine. As the light of the sun shines, a lot of these will unravel simply because people will be able to see more clearly. As the tensions are allowed to be relieved, there will not be the tremendous sense of ferocious tenacity or vicious need to retaliate.

R: The attitude of our prayers should be, we can choose the attitude of our prayers to be as tender parent rather than busybody.

Tomas: Absolutely. Or jurisprudence. The parent of all the human races, all the nations, all the cultures, all of you have suffered under the quarantine. None of you are seeing clearly. Allow the divine love to enter into you. Know how much you are a part of all that is true, beautiful and good. Look to the divine within you and allow that to be your focal point. Eventually you will recognize that focal point in everyone else as well. And those that are engaged in cosmic insanity will die of their own destruction. You need not concern yourself about that. Keep to your own resources. Have faith and have patience. Fear not. Transcend as much as you can by not taking sides, by not allowing ignorance or prejudice to enter in by letting love be your source and your sanctuary.

Closing

I sense the hour is growing late. I am not constrained by your clocks, but I am mindful of time and space as something you need to answer to. And so I will conclude this evening’s session with a tremendous show of appreciation for your attention and your purity of spirit which seeks to know God and serve him more effectively. This is the light in my eyes. See yourself in there. Farewell.\