© 2000 Christine Baussain
© 200 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
Thank you all for your responses about a common practice based on the Urantia Book. The reflection was clearly brewing, so it opened up, even if it was a little delayed, a little “off”, since so to speak everything happened by telephone.
So where are we today?
It was first necessary to clearly define what was being discussed, since the concept of “practice” resonates differently for everyone: an expansion of a field of consciousness such as that provided by the Book almost inevitably leads to a change of attitude towards the world, another way of behaving, a new basis for the pragmatism linked to life on earth. Imperceptibly the teachings of the Book imbue our being in the world and take on, in a centrifugal movement, through each person and in each person’s own way, the cloak of action. In the sum of individual solutions, the theory is embodied, becomes “practice”, with, towards, around, with the intention of, etc.
But this same word “practice” also designates the ascending, centripetal path of actions, exercises and other concrete ways, more or less spontaneous or regulated, that man attempts to connect with God and to experience Him directly and consciously: prayer, oration, meditation, contemplation, psycho-physical purification exercises, etc. This is what we call religious practice properly speaking, and it was the subject of my intervention. (But since faith is enough, some theoretical natures will say, what is the point of all that? Perhaps, the fact remains that the adjutant of adoration also likes to express himself when we let him, and that he sometimes even does so in a sufficiently imperious way that the necessity of this experience becomes vital. So let’s not wrinkle our noses.).
The personal, even intimate, non-shareable side of this practice is obvious - the strength that one draws from it too. Evolutionary religions, anxious to use this potential for themselves, have therefore always sought to give collective forms to this practice, in order to increase the feeling of belonging to the community, the strength of cohesion, and ultimately, the power of impact and expansion of the group. The results as presented to us by today’s world are not always engaging, and readers of the L.U. in particular are wary (which perhaps explains their difficulty in expressing themselves publicly on this subject?)
Now, and the Book says it well, there is a treasure hidden in collective practice, a treasure for each and for all: “The characteristic difference between a social meeting and a religious gathering lies in the fact that in contrast to the former, the latter is imbued with an atmosphere of communion. In this way, human association engenders a feeling of community with the divine, and this is the beginning of common worship”. (UB 103:4.1) It is therefore a question for us, who present ourselves as sincere and committed readers, of putting aside our fears and our taboos to begin gently, with flexibility and tact, to think in this direction - in any case those who feel attracted by such an approach.
And there you have it, the first result is not so bad! Here, in disorder, in a bouquet, are the proposals contained to date in the bottle:
Without forgetting to start by taking good care of our relationships - interest in one another, mutual assistance, regular telephone calls, holiday postcards… (Remember that, to the extent that you love one another, all men will know that you are my disciples. UB 191:4.3) we could also
Nice topics for reflection, aren’t they? In the meantime, if you would like, for this barely opened debate to continue - under the sign of the last two adjutants, of course! - let’s read and reread chapter 7 of booklet 87, and nothing can happen to us. See you soon, I hope, for other reflections and/or suggestions!
Christine Baussain