© 2023 André Desjardins
© 2023 Urantia Association of Quebec
André Desjardins
St-Alexis-des-Monts
Editor’s note This text appeared in a condensed form in the November 2022 publication of the UAI “Journal”. We are publishing it here in its complete version as intended by the author.
*N.B. [This thesis on psychic circles is taken from papers 110 and 111 of the Urantia Book as presented by a Solitary Messenger from Orvonton.]
An archangel of Nebadon states: “You should understand that the morontia life of an ascending mortal is really initiated on the inhabited worlds at the conception of the soul, at that moment when the creature mind of moral status is indwelt by the spirit Adjuster.” [UB 48:6.2] This quote indicates that morontia life actually begins on our planet at the formation of the soul by a sincere moral choice announcing the indwelling arrival of the Thought Adjuster. The joint formation of the morontia soul with the Adjuster opens access to the morontia worlds and it is possible for a human personality to know and experience the morontia life during his earthly life with the absolute conviction of being part of this great morontia family.
The Urantia Book gives us all the information about the activities in these schools of education and training on the morontia worlds as presented in Papers 47 and 48. These papers give us the opportunity to study and join these morontia schools during our earthly life without waiting for physical death. Man has the power to transcend time and space and live as if he were in direct contact with the Heavenly Father through his vast personality circuit and through the indwelling presence of the Thought Adjuster. “Man’s ability to transcend himself is the only thing that distinguishes him from the animal kingdom.” [UB 111:6.9]
The morontia nature of the soul necessarily involves the first steps in the morontia life, and its evolution enables human personalities to enter the morontia worlds accompanied by their Indwelling Adjuster and assisted by other mental and spiritual influences. All of these influences are essential in guiding personalities in the evolution of their morontia souls within the psychic circles. The 7th psychic circle heralds the beginning of morontia evolution for personalities and “signifies the united function of the seven adjutant mind-spirits under the direction of the spirit of wisdom, the encircuitment of the mortal creature in the influence of the Holy Spirit, and, on Urantia, the first functioning of the Spirit of Truth, together with the reception of a Thought Adjuster in the mortal mind. Entrance upon the seventh circle constitutes a mortal creature a truly potential citizen of the local universe.” [UB 110:6.13]
The 7th circle is the starting point of morontia soul evolution and is the first circle for personality attainment, since it involves the unification of the seven adjutants, the influence of the Holy Spirit, the functioning of the Spirit of Truth, and the reception of the Thought Adjuster. The psychic circles represent a personal mental attainment and a practical realization of the seven adjutant mind-spirits through the attainment of human status and the reception of a Thought Adjuster for the personality. Attainment of the 7th circle transforms the personality into “a true potential citizen of the local universe.” Like the adjutant spirits, the psychic circles comprise seven stages of individual and progressive personality growth. “It is difficult precisely to define the seven levels of human progression, for the reason that these levels are personal; they are variable for each individual and are apparently determined by the growth capacity of each human being. The conquest of these levels of cosmic evolution is reflected in three ways:” [UB 110:6.7-1210.2]
The last reference cited reveals the difficulty in specifying the progressive mental levels when entering the 7th circle; it concerns exclusively the volitional attributes and the sovereign status of the personality. The Solitaire Messenger also mentions: “The seventh circle. This level is entered when human beings develop the powers of personal choice, individual decision, moral responsibility, and the capacity for the attainment of spiritual individuality.” [UB 110:6.13] Four elements are distinguished in this seventh circle and represent the point of view of the Solitaire Messenger of Orvonton. The seventh circle is in reality the first for the personality and is the beginning of personal progression through the higher circles; it triggers the phenomenon of its personal evolution within the psychic circles accompanied by its Thought Adjuster. “Entry into the seventh circle marks the initial functioning of the true human personality.” [UB 110:6.1]
The seventh circle is not very well defined in relation to the others but concerns exclusively the status of the human personality; they form a set of four elements as stated previously and are considered as the first four circles and demonstrate the advancement and personal evolution of the personality within the psychic circles from the outermost 7th.
- 7th circle: Personal choice.
- 6th circle: Individual decision.
- 5th circle: Moral responsibility.
- 4th circle: Capacity to achieve spiritual individuality.
Considering that the ascending career begins with a personal choice favorable to the arrival of the indwelling Adjuster, then it would be fair to state that the 7th circle concerns a personal choice associated with the absolute sovereignty and free will of the personality. Associating these four elements, beginning with the 7th circle through a personal choice, the 6th circle logically implies an individual decision through that personal choice. An individual decision commits the personality in the 5th circle to moral responsibility for that individual decision, and finally moral responsibility weaves the link to the 4th circle: spiritual individuality through the sovereign will and free will of the personality. This first circle is composed of four separate elements but can be coordinated simultaneously by a sincere moral choice, underscored by an individual decision, a commitment to moral responsibility, and one’s ability to attain spiritual individuality. It is through the status of the personality, and it is always through the primacy of its will, that these four circles can function in harmony. This is the reason why the 7th circle is little defined by the Solitaire Messenger because it concerns only the evolution of the individual status of the human personality.
After attaining the status of spirit individuality through the first four circles, the personality emerges in the inner third circle of its morontia evolution and is personally assigned a seraphic guardian: “The Adjuster’s work is much more effective after the human ascender attains the third circle and receives a personal seraphic guardian of destiny. While there is no apparent concert of effort between the Adjuster and the seraphic guardian, nonetheless there is to be observed an unmistakable improvement in all phases of cosmic achievement and spiritual development subsequent to the assignment of the personal seraphic attendant. When the third circle is attained, the Adjuster endeavors to morontiaize the mind of man during the remainder of the mortal life span, to make the remaining circles, and achieve the final stage of the divine-human association before natural death dissolves the unique partnership.” [UB 110:6.14]
The 3rd psychic circle represents a culmination for the personality in its personal development after the attainment of spiritual individuality through the association of the four elements of the 7th circle. Its irruption into the 3rd circle denotes an improvement in its cosmic accomplishments and in its spiritual development upon the attribution of a personal seraphic guardian associated with its Inner Adjuster. “From the seventh to the third circle there occurs increased and unified action of the seven adjutant mind-spirits in the task of weaning the mortal mind from its dependence on the realities of the material life mechanisms preparatory to increased introduction to morontia levels of experience. From the third circle onward the adjutant influence progressively diminishes.” [UB 110:6.20]
As soon as the personality has reached the 3rd circle accompanied by its seraphic guardian, it approaches the 2nd circle; the circle where “the Adjuster endeavors to morontiaize the mind of man during the remainder of the mortal life span, to make the remaining circles, and achieve the final stage of the divine-human association before natural death dissolves the unique partnership.” [UB 110:6.14] The morontia life of a moral personality begins on its natal planet from the conception of its soul with its Thought Adjuster; it is through the 2nd circle that the Adjuster strives to make the mind of the personality morontial during its mortal life by mental transformations, by a way of being, acting or reacting according to the events of daily life favoring the progression of the morontia soul.
The attainment of the 1st circle “represents the greatest possible coming together of the material mind and the spiritual Adjuster in human experience.” [UB 110:6.15] This 1st circle is the final circle of progressive attainment of a human mortal before fusion. Eternal fusion always depends upon the absolute will, the free will of the personality and its dedication to doing the will of the Paradise Father and not of the Thought Adjuster.
In summary, the seven psychic circles are presented as follows in the order of the inner evolution of the human personality:
- 7th circle: Personal choice.
- 6th circle: Individual decision.
- 5th circle: Moral responsibility.
- 4th circle: Capacity to achieve spiritual individuality.
- 3rd circle: Phases of cosmic accomplishment and spiritual development.
- 2nd circle: The Adjuster strives to make man’s mind morontial during the remainder of his mortal life.
- 1st circle: The greatest possible rapprochement between the material mind and the spiritual Adjuster in the experience of men.
The crossing of the psychic circles is part of the personal experience of the human personality in its morontia growth during its temporal life and is the fulcrum opening access to the mansion worlds. As presented by A Solitary Messenger of Orvonton: “Therefore does a seventh circler go on to the mansion worlds to attain further quantitative realization of cosmic growth just as does a second or even a first circler.” [UB 110:6.18]
Psychic circles are related to mental transformations and the individual progression of personalities in the aspects of consciousness or unconsciousness; they are in operation whenever the personality uses its mental capacities in its quest to live divinely according to the will of the Heavenly Father. The morontia life begins with the formation of the soul on our planet; its growth and evolution always depends on the decisions, free will, and absolute will of the personality.
Although psychic circles always concern the mental aspects of the personality, they are divided into four different segments: “Psychic circles are neither exclusively intellectual nor entirely morontia; they concern personality status, mental attainments, soul growth, and attunement with the Adjuster.” [UB 110:6.3]
- personality status,
- mental accomplishments,
- the growth of the soul,
- agreement with the Adjuster.
¶ Cosmic Levels of Psychic Circles
The Solitary Messenger also mentions: “Perhaps it would be better if these psychic circles of mortal progression were termed cosmic levels.” [UB 110:6.16] Psychic circles address the personality directly and are levels of individual progression involving his cosmic evolution within the circles in accordance with three different aspects: attunement to his Thought Adjuster, the evolution of his morontia soul, and the reality of his personality.
- Attunement to the Adjuster. “As the mind becomes spiritualized, it approaches the presence of the Adjuster in proportion to the crossing of the circles.” [UB 110:6.8]
- Soul Evolution. “The emergence of the morontia soul indicates the extent and depth of mastery of the circles.” [UB 110:6.9]
- Reality of Personality. “The degree of reality of individuality is directly determined by the conquest of circles. Persons become more real as they rise from the seventh to the first level of mortal existence.” [UB 110:6.10]
¶ The Circles of the Thought Adjuster
While the traversal of the psychic circles is related to personality evolution, it also intimately involves the Thought Adjuster, since he evolves within these circles in conjunction with the associated personality. The Adjuster emanates from the Highest Source of Divinity and joins the human personality at the seventh circle and progresses together to the higher circles. “The Adjuster is your equal partner in the attainment of the seven circles—the achievement of comparative mortal maturity. The Adjuster ascends the circles with you from the seventh to the first but progresses to the status of supremacy and self-activity quite independent of the active co-operation of the mortal mind.” [UB 110:6.2] The progression of the Psychic circles of the Thought Adjuster is in conjunction with the associated personality, but his inner work of spiritualizing the human mind is autonomous and does not involve the personality’s constant awareness of it; the autonomy of the Adjuster can work in the mind unconsciously without its active cooperation in unselfish service to its human associate.
The seventh circle mentioned is the first contact of the personality with its Indwelling Adjuster by sincere moral choice. This circle is where the Adjuster joins its human associate on our planet for the purpose of traversing the higher circles in correlation with it. Despite the efforts of the Indwelling Adjuster to morontialize the mind of its human associate during its mortal life, it is subject to the will and primacy of the personality by the exclusive gift bestowed by the Heavenly Father with his prerogatives of free will. The Indwelling Adjuster is entirely dependent upon the goodwill of the personality for progress within the higher circles; it can never go against its absolute will or compel it to form an eternal union with it.
Psychic circles can be viewed from the divine perspective of the Adjuster; they are recommendations rather than demands upon his human associate to assist in his elevation within the circles. The recommendations of the Thought Adjuster to his human associate are manifested by personal entreaty:
“And now, without injury or jeopardy to the subject of my solicitous devotion and without intent to overchastise or discourage, for me, make record of this my plea to him.” Then followed a beautifully touching and appealing admonition. Among other things, the Adjuster pleaded “that he more faithfully give me his sincere co-operation, more cheerfully endure the tasks of my emplacement, more faithfully carry out the program of my arrangement, more patiently go through the trials of my selection, more persistently and cheerfully tread the path of my choosing, more humbly receive credit that may accrue as a result of my ceaseless endeavors—thus transmit my admonition to the man of my indwelling. Upon him I bestow the supreme devotion and affection of a divine spirit. And say further to my beloved subject that I will function with wisdom and power until the very end, until the last earth struggle is over; I will be true to my personality trust. And I exhort him to survival, not to disappoint me, not to deprive me of the reward of my patient and intense struggle.” [UB 110:7.10]
This divine admonition of the Adjuster is addressed directly to the personality concerned and is entirely dependent upon his willingness and consent to follow these recommendations since he is the holder of the gift of personality from the Heavenly Father. The Adjuster cannot resort to actions contrary to the absolute will of the personality and his ultimate goal is to form an eternal union with his human associate and that of the human personality is to attune itself to the Divine Adjuster by traversing together the psychic circles. This beautifully touching and heartwarming entreaty of the Adjuster contains seven benevolent recommendations from his divine perspective addressed directly to his human subject. These recommendations are the stages of mental development to be traversed by the personality; it would be more accurate to use the term “divine directives” from the Thought Adjuster to his human associate in order to traverse the seven psychic circles.
These recommendations do not necessarily follow the established chronological order of the psychic circles but are seven phases which his human subject must pass through to achieve the greatest possible rapprochement with his Indwelling Adjuster. The Adjuster’s ultimate reward is to form an eternal union with the associated human personality but always depends on the absolute privilege of his will and his sincere cooperation in passing together the seven psychic circles as recommended by his Indwelling Adjuster:
- gives me more faithfully his sincere cooperation,
- bear more cheerfully the obligations that I have put in place,
- executes more faithfully the program that I have arranged,
- go more patiently through the trials I have chosen,
- follow with more perseverance and enthusiasm the path that I have traced,
- receive more humbly the credit that can be attributed to him as a result of my incessant efforts,
- I urge him to survive and not to disappoint me, not to deprive me of the reward of my persevering and intense struggle.
On the human will our achievement of personality depends. Circle by circle I have patiently ascended this human mind, and I have testimony that I am meeting the approval of the chief of my kind. Circle by circle I am passing on to judgment. I await with pleasure and without apprehension the roll call of destiny; I am prepared to submit all to the tribunals of the Ancients of Days.” (UB 110:7.10)
¶ 
1st recommendation: Give me more sincere cooperation.
For the indwelling Adjuster, the cooperation of his human associate always depends on his willingness, faithfulness, and perseverance in seeking the best way to live a human life in worship, wisdom, and perfection by sharing with him all experiences of survival value despite the uncertainties and vicissitudes of human existence. “Thought Adjusters succeed or suffer apparent failure to the exact extent that mortals succeed or fail to cooperate with the plan to lift them along the ascending path to perfection.” [UB 110:3.2]
¶ 2nd recommendation: Support more cheerfully the obligations that I have put in place.
The Thought Adjuster is of divine origin, and his inner work involves exclusively the spiritual aspect of furthering the evolution of the morontia soul and is not concerned with the earthly obligations of his human associate but assists him in his evolution through tests of faith, courage, and loyalty despite the uncertainties of life and the vicissitudes of planetary existence. The Thought Adjuster does not bestow material and physical privileges upon his human associate; his function is to stimulate his mind to the elevation of his spiritual perception by living an ideal of human living despite the material obligations of his earth life. “Do not, therefore, look to the Adjuster for selfish consolation and mortal comfort. It is the business of the Adjuster to prepare you for the eternal adventure, to assure your survival. It is not the mission of the Mystery Monitor to smooth your ruffled feelings or to minister to your injured pride; it is the preparation of your soul for the long ascending career that engages the attention and occupies the time of the Adjuster.” [UB 108:5.6]
¶ 3rd recommendation: Runs more faithfully the program I have arranged.
The Thought Adjuster is of divine origin, but his nature is prepersonal; he has not the quality of a personality of his own. “The divine spirit that indwells the mind of man—the Thought Adjuster. This immortal spirit is prepersonal—not a personality, though destined to become a part of the personality of the surviving mortal creature.” [UB 0:5.9] The technique employed by the prepersonal Adjusters consists in his desire to weld himself and his human subject into one nature in an alloy of divinity and humanity. Through the exclusive bestowal of personality by the Heavenly Father upon will beings with his prerogatives of choice, the Adjuster is enabled to attain personality through his human subject. The prepersonal Adjuster thus acquires the qualities of a personality by acquiring a personal expression according to the distinctive features and uniqueness of a personality through this human-divine association. “And so will the final product of this union of divinity and humanity eternally be the son of man and the son of God.” [UB 109:1.5]
The Thought Adjuster adjusts according to the will of the personality and depends upon its desires to submit its will to the will of the Heavenly Father; it is a prisoner of the will of the personality and depends upon its cooperation to achieve its program of attunement with a personality. The Adjuster is the will of God submitting to the goodwill of the will of the personality in order to live with it the experience of perfection in an ideal of life based on true worship and by a wisdom enhanced in mental meanings and spiritual values for the evolution of the morontia soul.
¶ 4th recommendation: Go through the tests I have chosen more patiently.
The tests chosen by the Adjuster are tests of faith, courage, love of truth, and loyalty of his human subject in spite of the uncertainties and demands of everyday life. These tests serve to stimulate the personality’s mind, strengthen its character, develop its loyalty, and through its love of truth are opportunities to produce fruits of the spirit during life by gaining wisdom through spiritual experience. The absolute perfection of the Adjuster can experience these tests only through the agency of the associated personality; he cannot do violence to his human subject by physical tests, nor can he subject him to any corporal punishment or impose any restraints against his will.
All experience gained through tests of faith, courage, love of truth, and loyalty contributes to the development of noble character and the attainment of experiential wisdom. Wisdom grows through mental adjustments to the events of daily life by providing the personality with opportunities for perfecting experiences with its Indwelling Adjuster. The absolute perfection of the Thought Adjuster emanates directly from the Highest Source of Perfection, and it is always through the associated personality, which is the opposite of Divine Perfection, that it finds the means to live the increasing experience of perfection through the expression of the human personality.
¶ 5th recommendation: Follow with more perseverance and enthusiasm the path that I have traced.
The Thought Adjuster has no limit to the amount of spiritual experience the personality may acquire for spiritualization, but he is always limited by his prerogatives of choice and his sovereign free will assigned to his will. The path the Adjuster has marked out for his human subject is to form an eternal human-divine union. “The Adjuster is so patiently waiting for the hour when he and you will be one for eternity.” A human personality motivated by living faith, faithfulness, loyalty, and perseverance in seeking to do the will of the Heavenly Father gives the Adjuster the freedom and power to act freely in his mind in conformity with the Heavenly Father’s divine directives of perfection. This intimate association affords the Adjuster opportunities to access the inner experience of a human life in its quest for perfection by experience. “They are the prisoners of spirit hope confined within the minds of men. They long for the divinity attainment of your mortal minds that their loneliness may end, that they may be delivered with you from the limitations of material investiture and the habiliments of time.” [UB 107:6.2]
¶ 6th recommendation: Receive more humbly the credit that can be attributed to him following my incessant efforts.
Personality is the exclusive bestowal of the Paradise Father upon will beings, and the Adjuster, being prepersonal, can express himself only through the voice of personality; it becomes the expression of the Indwelling Adjuster. The prepersonal Adjuster is destined to become a part of the personality upon the manifestation of a sincere moral choice announcing his presence in the human mind. The efforts of the Thought Adjuster convey the inner impulse impelling his human subject to seek the best of the divine nature within himself. It is through the Adjuster that the human personality can attain the quality of divine perfection, and it is for the Adjuster to have the supreme experience of perfection through association with a personality. “Therefore, as with all beings who live and function in the present sphere of the Supreme, so must Thought Adjusters acquire experience.” [109:1.3-1195.4]
The Thought Adjuster is the inspiration and spirit of God in us and is entirely dependent upon the absolute power of the personality, its will, its effort, and its desire to continue its search to do the will of God. The Thought Adjuster is spiritual in nature, but its inner work is entirely based on the mental basis of its human subject. This complicity with a human personality becomes for the Indwelling Adjuster of perfect origin the means of living with its human associate of imperfect origin the experience of perfection. Through its inner work of spiritualization, it gathers all the values of spiritual experiences acquired by the personality for the benefit of its morontia soul. The credit for the spiritual values and mental achievements acquired rightfully belongs to the personality through its personal efforts for the benefit of its morontia soul, but without the inner inspiration of the Thought Adjuster it is impossible for the associated personality to attain the quality of the divine experience of perfection.
¶ 7th recommendation: I urge him to survive and not to disappoint me, not to deprive me of the reward of my persevering and intense struggle.
This exhortation is the last request to his human associate before his final consecration to attain eternal personality. The ultimate reward of the Indwelling Adjuster is to attain personal expression through human-divine association but always depends on the willingness, sincerity and free will of the associated personality. The ultimate goal of the Adjuster is to merge into one personality with his human associate through his perfect divine origin allied with the imperfect human origin forming an alloy of divinity and humanity. “To acquire eternal personality, the divine Adjuster depends upon the sincerity of the mortal’s free will.” [UB 112:5.5]
The Thought Adjuster shares with his human associate every experience of survival value. All efforts of a human to overcome the difficulties of his material life and all mental efforts in his search for perfection in wisdom and worship become opportunities for the Adjuster to spiritualize these experiences for the evolution of his morontia soul. “Why do you not aid the Adjuster in his work of showing you the spiritual counterpart of all these persistent material efforts? Why do you not allow the Adjuster to strengthen you with the spiritual truths of cosmic power as you struggle with the temporal difficulties of creature existence? Why do you not encourage the divine helper to comfort you by clearly showing you the eternal panorama of universal life as you perplexedly view the problems of the passing hour? Why do you refuse to be enlightened and inspired by the universe viewpoint while you toil amid the handicaps of time and struggle through the maze of uncertainties that beset your mortal life journey? Why not allow the Adjuster to spiritualize your thoughts, even though your feet must tread the material paths of earthly endeavor?
The great disappointment of the Adjuster is when his human subject gives up the struggle toward the path of perfection bound up with the sovereign free will of personality conferred by the personal gift of the Heavenly Father to beings endowed with will. “They are persistent, ingenious, and perfect in their methods of work, but they never do violence to the volitional selfhood of their hosts. No human being will ever be spiritualized by a divine Monitor against his will; survival is a gift of the Gods which must be desired by the creatures of time.” [UB 110:2.2]
Editor’s note The second final part of this article will be published in the journal Réflectivité in the February 2023 issue, until then we wish you an excellent year 2023!