© 2017 Georges Michelson-Dupont
© 2017 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
This presentation focuses on the importance of studying The Urantia Book with others in a stimulating setting, with a dynamic and progressive method. Taking seriously the fact that we are exposed to the teachings of The Urantia Book, gives us the immense opportunity to become a better person by developing our cosmic consciousness and improving our spiritual perception, that is to say, to better understand and live the will of the Heavenly Father.
The words of Jesus resonate in our hearts:
““The new kingdom which my Father is about to set up in the hearts of his earth children is to be an everlasting dominion. There shall be no end of this rule of my Father in the hearts of those who desire to do his divine will. I declare to you that my Father is not the God of Jew or gentile. Many shall come from the east and from the west to sit down with us in the Father’s kingdom, while many of the children of Abraham will refuse to enter this new brotherhood of the rule of the Father’s spirit in the hearts of the children of men.”
““The power of this kingdom shall consist, not in the strength of armies nor in the might of riches, but rather in the glory of the divine spirit that shall come to teach the minds and rule the hearts of the reborn citizens of this heavenly kingdom, the sons of God. This is the brotherhood of love wherein righteousness reigns, and whose battle cry shall be: Peace on earth and good will to all men. This kingdom, which you are so soon to go forth proclaiming, is the desire of the good men of all ages, the hope of all the earth, and the fulfillment of the wise promises of all the prophets.” (UB 140:1.2-3)
Jesus invites us to take our place in this kingdom:
““Whosoever would become great in my Father’s kingdom shall become a minister to all; and whosoever would be first among you, let him become the server of his brethren. But when you are once truly received as citizens in the heavenly kingdom, you are no longer servants but sons, sons of the living God. And so shall this kingdom progress in the world until it shall break down every barrier and bring all men to know my Father and believe in the saving truth which I have come to declare. Even now is the kingdom at hand, and some of you will not die until you have seen the reign of God come in great power.” (UB 140:1.6)
- STUDY the teachings of The Urantia Book at your own pace, in a progressive and methodical manner in an environment without space-time constraints.
- EXPAND your cosmic consciousness by studying booklets or given themes.
- ENHANCE your spiritual perception through new intellectual acquisitions.
- SHARE your experience with other truth seekers.
- MEET Urantia Book students from different cultures and religions around the world.
- BUILD social brotherhood based on the teachings of the Urantia Book.
Each of us, to the extent of our means and according to the depth of our commitment, is an ambassador of this new kingdom on earth. The term “epoch” is very important here because it represents a new era for our planet Urantia. We are no longer citizens of the previous era where spiritual confusion, religious competition and social selfishness reign, destroying our world.
As ambassadors, we can choose to invite others into this new realm by attracting them with our spiritual fragrance and by judiciously sharing in selfless service what we have learned from our study of The Urantia Book and by sharing our spiritual life. The UBIS School was created and designed to assist you in this new endeavor.
The UBIS school is a real adventure that is part of our times and is long-term. It is made up of a team of volunteers, women and men who are dedicated to building something substantial and lasting that will help readers of the Urantia Book.
This company was born at the end of 1998 in response to a need expressed by isolated readers to be able to study and share the teachings of the Urantia Book in a fun way, without constraints of time and place in a structured and stable framework. It was made possible thanks to new Internet technologies.
The UBIS school operates on an “Open Source” educational platform called Moodle. I suppose many of you are familiar with it. It is characterized by its ease of use, its flexibility of customization, its interactivity, its numerous work modules and its interface translated into more than 120 languages.
¶ THE PURPOSE OF THE SCHOOL
The goal of the school is to help expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception as the authors of the Urantia Book encourage us to do, within a structured framework with a progressive study program and dynamic teaching inspired by that which Jesus practiced in his time.
¶ THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHOOL
The school has set itself the following objectives:
- Accompany new readers in discovering the teachings of the Urantia Book.
- Explore complex concepts through a progressive and structured approach to facts, meanings and values.
- Help to experience the teachings by sharing with other participants.
- Provide a framework for learning to work fraternally as a team.
- Gain experience in presenting and sharing the teachings of the book.
- Train instructors with a view to supporting students in discovering the lessons.
¶ THE SCHOOL IN A FEW WORDS
Today, the UBIS school offers courses in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. More than 120 people collaborate voluntarily in its operation, of which 14 are permanent and constitute the board of directors, the others are teachers or more precisely “monitor-animators”. More than
750 students spread across five continents have opened a permanent account and participate in the courses. The school has delivered more than 250 different courses for beginners, confirmed or very advanced readers.
¶ ORGANIZATION OF COURSES.
A school year is made up of 3 terms of 10 weeks each. Registration takes place during the first 2 weeks of September, January and April. The course begins with a week during which each participant introduces themselves. Then follow four periods of two weeks, each period being broken down into a first week during which the participant reads the proposed passages based on the subject of the course and answers three questions out of the six proposed; the second week sees all the answers pooled and the participants discuss and share in a spirit of great fraternity. The last week is the opportunity to write an “essay”
¶ SCHOOL PEDAGOGY.
It is the key to its success. It is based on 3 dynamic principles:
The revelators are the true teachers and the exposure of students to the texts through the suggested readings is fundamental to the expansion of cosmic consciousness and the enhancement of spiritual perception.
The instructors-facilitators do not interpret the lessons. They prepare their lessons on a particular theme or booklets by selecting passages to read. They propose a path of discovery through the game of questions and the participants are invited to answer them. The discussions which take place the following week are led by the teaching instructor.
The contribution of each student and the sharing of their spiritual life inspires the participants and encourages the progress of all. This phase is essential because it allows the exchange of experiences and stimulates the faith of the participants.
¶ THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS PEDAGOGY.
The question-answer-sharing cycle is very effective. The first week of suggested readings and seeking answers to the questions posed helps to clarify many preconceived ideas, advance understanding through new revelations, and increase appreciation for the facts of God, the law of God, and the love of God. In this active phase of reading and seeking, as the mind absorbs new revelations, the Spirit of Truth can work effectively to bring forth new meanings that the Thought Adjuster will use to enhance spiritual perception. A dynamic then develops between the human mind seeking God and the Thought Adjuster revealing God.
The phase that then opens allows us to appreciate the responses of the other participants, to share their experiences of the teachings and to discover other spiritual sensitivities in an atmosphere of great fraternity of soul communion based on the desire to do good to others. This results in spiritual stimulation and an increased appreciation of our responsibilities towards our Universal Father, but not only that.
¶ TRAINING OF MONITORS-ANIMATORS.
The teacher-monitors are former students who want to get involved in this service adventure and adhere to the school’s teaching methods.
Who can become a teacher-monitor? Any person who is well advanced in reading the Urantia Book. It is enough to have followed at least 2 courses as a participant and to follow the training provided by the school after which he will be assisted during his first courses by a more experienced colleague.
¶ CREATING A COURSE.
The school welcomes readers of all levels, but potential students must know the level of each course in order to choose the one that corresponds to their knowledge and level of experience with the book. This is why the school identifies each course according to the grid “for all readers”, “new readers”, “advanced readers” or “confirmed readers”. and the instructor will choose the level of his course from one of the three.
The teacher-facilitator should keep one of these categories in mind when selecting the topic and passages that students will read. The same is true for the questions that students will answer. For example, a course on Thought Adjusters (107, 108, and 109) might be intended for new readers, while a more difficult course, such as “The Power-Personality Synthesis,” would be for advanced readers.
Then he chooses a theme to study, for example “power-personality synthesis,” or a booklet or series of booklets dealing with the same subject, for example Thought Adjusters (107-108-109).
The quality of the course requires that the instructor-teacher has a good command of the subject he chooses and that he is able to develop a clear and logical guideline for presentation and progression. Then, depending on what he is trying to share, he will set a study objective and build a progression plan that will serve as a guide for the choice of directed readings that will contain the answers to the questions he will ask.
Aware of the particularity of this pedagogy, the school has developed specific training aimed at giving the instructor a methodology for reflection and a development plan based on the search for facts, the discernment of meanings and the discovery of values.
The search for facts: We call a “fact” anything that is a current reality in the cosmos, whether material, intellectual or spiritual. The instructor must identify the facts that the revelators expose and which emerge from reading the paragraphs. This phase of the analysis is essential because it is what will provide the content of the questions to ask according to the level of the course that the instructor wishes to offer and the meanings that he wishes to bring out. The Urantia Book classifies the facts into 5 categories (See UB 101:4.6 ).
Searching for questions: They must be relevant to the desired goal, in direct relation to the guided readings and lead the participant into a dynamic of research in the text which must lead him to reflect on the meaning of the facts in relation to his inner life.
Discernment of meanings: Let us remember that “meaning is something that experience adds to value, it is the appreciative awareness of values” (UB 100:3.4). It is therefore unique for each person. Discernment of meanings, that is to say the qualitative evaluation of experiences is the basis of spiritual progress, it is founded on the intellectual recognition of spiritual poverty, coupled with personal awareness of the thirst for perfection, the desire to know God and to be like him, the sincere intention to do the will of the Father who is in heaven. (UB 100:2.1). Reading, questioning and answering must provide the participant with an increase in his capacity to discriminate the value of true meanings and allow the process of devolution-revelation to take place, the discovery by oneself of true values.
¶ IN CONCUBSION.
I would like to end this presentation by listing some of the benefits that both participants and instructors will gain from participating in a UBIS course.
For participants: it is clear that the participant will benefit based on his personal investment, his sincere motivation to deepen the teachings of The Urantia Book and the desire to share in all humility with other souls in search of his inner life.
By providing an opportunity to discover new facts that illuminate the spiritual teachings of revelation in a structured setting, the instructor-facilitator engages the participant in a dynamic inquiry of personal discovery. This process brings out higher spiritual meanings and prompts the human will to make the adjustments accordingly and the intellect to make the transformations necessary to be inspired by the Spirit of Truth and allow the Thought Adjuster to spiritualize the mind.
For instructors: first there is the joy of serving and being useful to others. “Spirituality immediately indicates your closeness to God and the extent of your usefulness to your companions.” (UB 100:2.4). Then, the process of preparing a course trains the mind to synthesize data in a logical approach and to present it in a coherent and progressive manner. UBIS trains people to become teachers. Finally, the structured operation of the school invites the various participants who are all volunteers, let us remember here, to work in a harmonious atmosphere of sincere fraternity conducive to the training of teamwork.
I therefore invite you all to experience taking a course. You will find the course schedule and all the information necessary to register on the Foundation website urantia.org.
Finally, and to conclude, I would like to thank on behalf of the Trustees, Associate Trustees as well as the staff of the Urantia Foundation all the people who organized this magnificent meeting and allowed me to present the UBIS school to you. I would also like to greet all the participants, some of whom come from very far away. This meeting, here in Budapest, consolidates a little more the universality of the teachings of the revelation and their diffusion.
“Ganid was, by this time, beginning to learn how his tutor spent his leisure in this unusual personal ministry to his fellow men, and the young Indian set about to find out the motive for these incessant activities. He asked, “Why do you occupy yourself so continuously with these visits with strangers?” And Jesus answered: “Ganid, no man is a stranger to one who knows God. In the experience of finding the Father in heaven you discover that all men are your brothers, and does it seem strange that one should enjoy the exhilaration of meeting a newly discovered brother? To become acquainted with one’s brothers and sisters, to know their problems and to learn to love them, is the supreme experience of living.”” (UB 130:2.6)
Georges Michelson-Dupont
Director of the UBIS school
Would you like to progress in understanding the teachings of The Urantia Book?
Are you looking for new friends to share the teachings of The Urantia Book?
Do you want to gain experience to become a study group facilitator?
If your answer to these questions is YES, then UBIS is for you. Join us and experience the joy of meeting students from all over the world in a fraternal study environment at the following address:
ubis.urantia.org