© 1999 Anne-Marie Ronfet
© 1999 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
The following article is inspired by reading the “Center of Being” by K. G. DURCKHEIM [^1], a German psychotherapist who lived in Japan for a long time. A disciple of Jung, he tried to reconcile Western and Eastern spirituality and only treated people with psychological problems due to a spiritual quest. In fact, he was interested in what is common to all religions: a method to help man access “Transcendence”.
But under different names, we can find the characteristics of the cosmic mind described in booklet 16.
Dürckheim: “The three great distresses of the human being are:
Man experiences three negative forces:
The first is the experience of Death, which destroys. Around him, the seasons pass, friends sometimes disappear, leaving him with the bitter taste of separation. He fears for those he loves and he himself must face the idea of the afterlife, of nothingness. However, an intense Life surrounds him, exalts him. He has the strength to live, the desire to exist. He sometimes feels a kind of Fullness in the face of life, of the world around him. The Father lives through everything that exists and whether he is aware of it or not, man feels a sense of appeasement.
The second human distress is the confrontation with the absurd. It is a terrible experience because it leaves a deep feeling of injustice and disorder: a sensation of chaos. Thus the young man who goes to war against his will, the innocent wrongly condemned, the victim who has nothing to do with what happens to him feel an immense sense of the absurdity of life. And yet, in the midst of despair, if they accept the unacceptable, they can find at the heart of the meaninglessness of existence a deeper, more essential meaning. At that moment, the human being attains a wisdom that goes beyond ordinary knowledge. It is serenity rediscovered. Beyond the disorder of the society that surrounds him, another meaning appears. Each thing leads to its realization. Everything that is alive succeeds. The human being needs this profound order. If he does not find it in what surrounds him, the universal Order can soothe him.
He can also experience solitude. Sometimes at a very young age. If he is poorly surrounded, unloved, he will become a sad being. Because human beings have a deep need for contact. They cannot stand isolation. However, even if they feel abandoned, betrayed, they can, if they manage to overcome their ego, feel a sense of communion, of love. This is possible. Because human beings live in a Whole that encompasses them. They are part of the world. So, they are no longer alone. The feeling of belonging to the world reassures them. Unity overwhelms them and brings them deep security.
We can notice that these three great experiences are undergone by the subject. They cannot come from him. They surprise him. He must face them. Such is life… The individual must live his destiny and learn from it with courage. Did not Michael drink the bitter cup on our world? Absurdity - Disorder - Death. Man must then go beyond his ego to reach a greater awareness of his being, beyond human contingencies.
Fortunately, we do not all face such trials and yet at a lesser intensity, and acting in conjunction with the great cosmic forces that permeate our world, it is the negative forces of existence that push us forward towards the light.
Dürckheim: “The three qualities which are revealed in a transcendent experience make up what I call the trinity of Being:
Plenary — Order — Unity”
“In everything that lives you will encounter:
“The cosmic-mind-endowed, Adjuster-indwelt, personal creature possesses innate recognition-realization of energy reality, mind reality, and spirit reality. The will creature is thus equipped to discern the fact, the law, and the love of God. Aside from these three inalienables of human consciousness, all human experience is really subjective except that intuitive realization of validity attaches to the unification of these three universe reality responses of cosmic recognition.” (UB 16:9.1)
To finish :
Dürckheim: “A common objection is that Transcendence is external to man. This objection is fair for those who identify man with his ego alone. In this case, transcendence is at an infinite distance from man… In Heaven! But what is transcendent for the ego can be an immanent reality for man considered in his totality. In this vision, transcendence represents the core of the person._”
Anne-Marie Ronfet