© 2023 Claude Flibotte
© 2023 Urantia Association of Quebec
Claude Flibotte
Sainte-Julie
¶ Introduction
The mind, this reality with which we can communicate and interact with our environment seems so natural to us in this world, but this power seems so mysterious to us at the same time. From the first words in The Urantia Book, the author tells us this: “IN THE MINDS of the mortals of Urantia — this being the name of your world — there exists a great confusion…” UB 0:0.1. So, let’s try to eliminate some of this confusion!
¶ What was there before the mind?
To this question, we could answer that there was the spirit and the energy since God is that, and we would be right! But, let us look a little closer at what happens at the origin of all things. Although in Paradise, time and space do not exist, and at the absolute level everything is existential, infinite and eternal, we can still, for our understanding of finite beings, admit sequences in the appearance of realities knowing that all these events are concomitant. Thus, when the I AM endowed with a will of its own decided to reveal itself by diversifying itself, this theoretical I AM ended up in the realization of the personality by becoming the Eternal Father of the Original Son and simultaneously becoming the Eternal Source of the Isle of Paradise (UB 0:3.21-22). In this event, we see that the Father and the Son (let’s exclude the Isle of Paradise here since it is not a person) are “prior” to the Infinite Spirit and the universe of Havona. Since mind is commonly associated with spirit (UB 9:6.5), God being spirit, something other than mind is attached to these two deities. The revelators teach us that the Universal Father and the Eternal Son are endowed with a premind, the ancestor of the absolute mind of the Third Source and Center (UB 6:6.3)
¶ Origin of the mind
To better understand our subject, let’s take a close look at its origin!
As mind, God functions in the Deity of the Infinite Spirit; (UB 1:2.10)
With the following quote, we see that it is up to the Infinite Spirit, the God of the mind, to bestow this precious gift on all living creatures.
God the Spirit—Conjoint Actor, Universal Integrator, and Mind Bestower. The Infinite Spirit, the Third Person of Deity. (UB 0:2.14)
Thus, the existence of mind is one of the characteristics of the nature of the Infinite Spirit (UB 0:5.5). Of course, this mind is an absolute mind since this deity is present at this level of existence in Paradise.
¶ When did the mind appear?
The papers of the Urantia Book expose to us exactly this moment concomitant with the appearance of the universe of Havona, of its billion worlds, of its multitude of perfect beings, of the universal gravity of the Isle of Paradise, and of the spirit gravity of the Eternal Son.
There now flashes through the creation of the Gods the second form of energy, and this outflowing spirit is instantly grasped by the spiritual gravity of the Eternal Son. Thus the twofold gravity-embraced universe is touched with the energy of infinity and immersed in the spirit of divinity. In this way is the soil of life prepared for the consciousness of mind made manifest in the associated intelligence circuits of the Infinite Spirit. (UB 8:1.5)
¶ Variations of the mind in creation
The absolute mind of the Infinite Spirit cannot fit the material human being any more than a glass of water could hold all the water in the ocean. Also, this absolute mind is declined in decreasing degrees to fit the material forms. From an absolute reality in the God of mind, it becomes a subabsolute reality in the cosmic mind in the Seven Master Spirits, then morontia mind for beings of this type, and finally material mind for us evolutionary human beings and for animals, a gift from our divine mother, the Divine Minister of Nebadon, the companion of our Creator Son, Michael of Nebadon.
The mind presence of God is correlated with the absolute mind of the Conjoint Actor, the Infinite Spirit, but in the finite creations it is better discerned in the everywhere functioning of the cosmic mind of the Paradise Master Spirits. Just as the First Source and Center is potentially present in the mind circuits of the Conjoint Actor, so is he potentially present in the tensions of the Universal Absolute. But mind of the human order is a bestowal of the Daughters of the Conjoint Actor, the Divine Ministers of the evolving universes. (UB 3:1.8)
¶ Definition and characteristics of the mind
As for a general definition of mind that can be attributed to all living creatures, the revelators tell us this:
Mind is a phenomenon connoting the presence-activity of living ministry in addition to varied energy systems; and this is true on all levels of intelligence. In personality, mind ever intervenes between spirit and matter; (UB 0:6.8)
On the other hand, for a definition more specific to our human species, the revelators still tell us this:
- Mind. The thinking, perceiving, and feeling mechanism of the human organism. The total conscious and unconscious experience. The intelligence associated with the emotional life reaching upward through worship and wisdom to the spirit level. (UB 0:5.8)
¶ Possibilities of the human mind
At birth, man is considered to be part of the animal kingdom, but through the ministry of adjutant mind-spirits over the human mind, the potentiality of personality has every chance of manifesting.
… capacity for human personality is potential in the cosmic-mind endowment of the human being. (UB 5:6.6)
Obviously, a material mind, left to itself, cannot claim, as a temporal identity, to attain eternity of existence. To attain such a goal, this individual must identify with spirit, the true reality in the universe of universes.
In the inner experience of man, mind is joined to matter. Such material-linked minds cannot survive mortal death. The technique of survival is embraced in those adjustments of the human will and those transformations in the mortal mind whereby such a God-conscious intellect gradually becomes spirit taught and eventually spirit led. This evolution of the human mind from matter association to spirit union results in the transmutation of the potentially spirit phases of the mortal mind into the morontia realities of the immortal soul. (UB 1:3.7)
Thus, it is by living our daily life in accordance with the directives of our Adjuster and by accomplishing through multiple experiences of wise and constantly mature choices that we come to do the will of the Father while resembling him more and more, that is to say by becoming more and more divine.
… Everything divine which the human mind grasps and the human soul acquires is an experiential attainment; it is a reality of personal experience and is therefore a unique possession … (UB 3:5.16)
The human mind or if you prefer the intellect, has a primary utility in our existence. It is thanks to the mind that we are in relation with our environment and in communication with other people. It is thanks to this intellect that we have developed our culture, our knowledge, our technologies, our sciences, our art forms, our philosophy and our religion. But, our mind also possesses powers that are more or less hidden from us! In booklet 42, we learn that it is thanks to the power of the mind that our own human body takes its origin! It is through the connection between the cosmic mind and the ministry of the adjutant spirits-minds that this occurs (UB 42:12.11).
Mind is always creative. The mind endowment of an individual animal, mortal, morontian, spirit ascender, or finality attainer is always competent to produce a suitable and serviceable body for the living creature identity. (UB 42:12.9)
The mental state of an individual greatly influences the health of his body or his illness. Many examples can be found in today’s society and even in the story of Jesus’ life. We are all familiar with the placebo effect, where individuals afflicted with an illness are split into two groups. One receives an experimental drug and the other, a sugar pill. We find that a certain percentage of people who received the placebo are healed by the sheer force of their minds fueled by the belief that they have received the drug.
Strong religious faith coupled with superstitious belief can also drive the mind to perform extraordinary phenomena.
The tertiary seconaphim, at least those classified in the order of Holiness of Service are mind-reading and soul-revealing angels (UB 28:6.19). Several quotes from the book refer to the mind and angels including (UB 113:1.8).
In the appearance of the primary midwayers, it is a unique combination of the material and the spiritual, thus the mental power of the hundred of the staff of the Planetary Prince who engendered them (UB 77:1.2). On this subject, I have the intuition that on the mansion worlds or elsewhere, we will have the leisure to create certain things and certain beings by the power of the morontia mind if this is compatible with the divine will.
When Adam and Eve sinned, the mental disjunction with the mental gravity circuit of the Spirit deprived them of their immortality (UB 75:7.5).
A certain form of mental transmission is possible here below, but very little recognized or used. Among the celestial artisans, some of them specialize in this field.
Mind-energy manipulators. These are the experts of intercommunication between morontia and other types of intelligent beings. This form of communication between mortals is practically nonexistent on Urantia. (UB 44:5.3)
When we are in Paradise, in association with another finaliter or with a Havonian, we will have the chance to perfect a mental concept of a spiritual virtue not yet expressed which will result in the trinitization of a new living being personalizing this concept (22:8).
Obviously, the most grandiose phenomenon in the power of the mind is the creation of the soul in cooperation with the divinity that inhabits us! Furthermore, we must not forget this:
GOD is unity. Deity is universally co-ordinated. The universe of universes is one vast integrated mechanism which is absolutely controlled by one infinite mind. The physical, intellectual, and spiritual domains of universal creation are divinely correlated. (UB 56:0.1)
¶ The reason for the presence of the Adjuster in the human mind!!
As mentioned in the previously noted quotation UB 1:3.7 where it is stated that the work of the Adjuster is to make us divine, the search for a spiritual unification of all creatures in a diversity of creative expression is magnificently in keeping with the will of the Universal Father. On Paradise, unification in the absolute I AM is manifest in the reality of the three basic energies of material, mind, and spirit, the source of all realities. The mind of man, that mechanism acting between material and spirit (UB 0:6.8), not being the monota of Paradise (the living, nonspiritual energy of Paradise UB 42:2.19) nor the spirit of Paradise, this mind cannot effectively respond directly to the Universal Father. This is the reason for our apparent inability to communicate “viva voce” with God here. So, the presence of the Adjuster in our mind and his divine adjustments are essential to divinize this mind, and co-create something other than material, the human soul, a morontia reality, our new, slightly more perfect identity.
The omnipotence of the Father pertains to the everywhere dominance of the absolute level, whereon the three energies, material, mindal, and spiritual, are indistinguishable in close proximity to him—the Source of all things. Creature mind, being neither Paradise monota nor Paradise spirit, is not directly responsive to the Universal Father. God adjusts with the mind of imperfection—with Urantia mortals through the Thought Adjusters. (UB 3:2.5)
However, in order to encourage us a little, it is written that an individual having reached the first psychic circle, can on certain occasions, make possible a reciprocal communication between the Adjuster and his human subject at least, to a certain extent (UB 110:6.22). Failing to reach that point, a certain phase of consciousness of our soul develops in order to feel the presence of the Adjuster in us.
As the soul of joint mind and Adjuster creation becomes increasingly existent, there also evolves a new phase of soul consciousness which is capable of experiencing the presence, and of recognizing the spirit leadings and other supermaterial activities, of the Mystery Monitors. (UB 5:2.5)
¶ The goal of the personal mind associated with the spirit!
Just as the infinite personality of the First Source and Center, the Universal Father, unifies the seven Absolutes of Infinity, each personal being will seek to unify his various components and experiences through the gift of his personality received from the Father and will invariably return to the Father.
Personality inherently reaches out to unify all constituent realities. The infinite personality of the First Source and Center, the Universal Father, unifies all seven constituent Absolutes of Infinity; (UB 56:4.2)
The eternal quest is for unification, for divine coherence. The far-flung physical universe coheres in the Isle of Paradise; the intellectual universe coheres in the God of mind, the Conjoint Actor; the spiritual universe is coherent in the personality of the Eternal Son. But the isolated mortal of time and space coheres in God the Father through the direct relationship between the indwelling Thought Adjuster and the Universal Father. Man’s Adjuster is a fragment of God and everlastingly seeks for divine unification; it coheres with, and in, the Paradise Deity of the First Source and Center. (UB 2:7.7)
¶ A word of encouragement as a conclusion!
If, after reading this text, you still find it difficult to fully understand this marvelous mechanism within us, here, in conclusion, is a quote concerning faith and the mind!
Is *faith—*the supreme assertion of human thought—desirable? Then must the mind of man find itself in that troublesome predicament where it ever knows less than it can believe. (UB 3:5.9)