© 2009 Horacio Gamboa
© 2009 Urantia Association of Spain
¶ Energies and the mind
The spirit can dominate mind; so mind can control energy. But mind can control energy only through its own intelligent manipulation of the metamorphic potentials inherent in the mathematical level of the causes and effects of the physical domains. Creature mind does not inherently control energy; that is a Deity prerogative. But creature mind can and does manipulate energy just in so far as it has become master of the energy secrets of the physical universe.
When man wishes to modify physical reality, be it himself or his environment, he succeeds to the extent that he has discovered the ways and means of controlling matter and directing energy. Unaided mind is impotent to influence anything material save its own physical mechanism, with which it is inescapably linked. But through the intelligent use of the body mechanism, mind can create other mechanisms, even energy relationships and living relationships, by the utilization of which this mind can increasingly control and even dominate its physical level in the universe.
Science is the source of facts, and mind cannot operate without facts. They are the building blocks in the construction of wisdom which are cemented together by life experience. Man can find the love of God without facts, and man can discover the laws of God without love, but man can never begin to appreciate the infinite symmetry, the supernal harmony, the exquisite repleteness of the all-inclusive nature of the First Source and Center until he has found divine law and divine love and has experientially unified these in his own evolving cosmic philosophy.
The expansion of material knowledge permits a greater intellectual appreciation of the meanings of ideas and the values of ideals. A human being can find truth in his inner experience, but he needs a clear knowledge of facts to apply his personal discovery of truth to the ruthlessly practical demands of everyday life. (UB 111:6.4-7)
At this point, we can see how the different human disciplines of all kinds, which so often surprise us with incredible skills and abilities, are all assisted by the spirit. Human minds can manipulate the energies that they have been discovering and putting them at the service of humanity. They also make it clear to us that the mind without assistance cannot influence the material, except in its own organism, from which it cannot be separated.
The assistance of the mind are the 7 assistants of the mind, which are the creation of the Divine Minister of the Local Universes. These spirit minds are similar in character but diverse in power, and all share the nature of the spirit of the universe in the same way. Although they are hardly considered separate personalities from their creative mother, they have been given the following names: Spirit of Intuition, Spirit of Understanding, Spirit of Courage, Spirit of Knowledge, Spirit of Advice, Spirit of Worship, and Spirit of Wisdom.
The function of these spirit helpers of the mind is so important that since the beginning of the primitive worlds they have been there, conditioning the course of organic evolution. This explains why evolution is purposeful and not a mere accident. They represent the ministry function of the mind of the Infinite Spirit, which is given to the lower minds through the Mother Spirit of each Local Universe. The helpers are the children of the Universe Mother Spirit and constitute their personal service to the material minds of the realms. As long as there is a mind of these characteristics, the helping spirits act in different ways.
They spread their influence on all differentially inhabited worlds. In other words, each one separately seeks the capacity of reception to be able to manifest. They are found on the worlds of the Life Carriers, they indicate to the supervising Life Carriers the quality of the mind function of the helpers, wherever they are and in any organism of intellectual status. Quantitatively, the Life Carriers have complete information on all the helpers, but qualitatively not on the last two, since they are recorded directly in the immediate presence of the Divine Minister on Salvington and are the personal experience of the Universal Mother Spirit.
They always accompany the Life Carriers to the new planets, where they will implant the existence of life. Because, as we already know, where there is life there will necessarily be minds to minister. They are not entities; rather they describe them as circuits. Furthermore, they do not act apart from the universal presence of the Divine Minister, and are always subservient to the action and presence of their creative mother.
They tell us that they lack words to describe them. What is left for us then? Humility, humility and more humility.
They describe them as follows:
- Spirit of intuition. Quick perception, primitive instincts and inherent reflexes, directional endowment, and other self-preservation of all mental creations. This helper is the one who acts most widely, in the lower orders of animal life, and is the only one who makes functional contact with the non-teachable levels of the mechanical mind.
- Spirit of understanding. Impulse of coordination, rapid and spontaneous association of ideas. The gift of coordinating the acquired knowledge, the phenomenon of reasoning, quick judgment and quick decision.
- Spirit of courage. Endowment of fidelity in personal beings, the basis of the acquisition of character and the intellectual root of moral fiber and spiritual intrepidity. When illuminated by the facts and inspired by the truth, this becomes the secret of the impulse of the evolutionary ascent through the channels of intelligent and conscious self-direction.
- Spirit of knowledge. Curiosity, mother of all adventures and discoveries, the scientific spirit, the faithful associated guide of the spirits of courage and advice; the impulse to direct value endowments towards useful and progressive paths.
- Spirit of advice. The social impulse, the cooperation with the species, the ability of creatures to harmonize with their fellow creatures, the origin of the herd instinct of the lowest creatures.
- Spirit of worship. Religious impulse, the first differential impulse that separates creatures of mind into the two basic classes of mortal existence. The spirit of worship eternally distinguishes the animal with the associate of soulless mind-endowed creatures. Worship is the badge of candidacy for spiritual ascension.
- Spirit of wisdom. The inherent tendency of all moral creatures toward orderly and progressive evolutionary advancement. This is the highest of helpers, the coordinating and articulating spirit of the task of all the others. This spirit is the secret of minded creatures, which maintains the practical and effective program of ascent in existence. It is the gift of creatures to exist despite all the pitfalls that life offers us at every step, that ability (many times inexplicable) to survive. Coordinates all the experiences lived and the present opportunities that all the other 6 helpers can present to the mind of the organization in which they are serving.
“Wisdom is the goal of a purely mental and moral existence.” (UB 36:5.12)
These spirit helpers of the mind are magnificent endowments that we receive in this life, without which we would really be in a very bad situation to be able to function on this planet. I am going to cite some of these aids.
For example, helper number 1, spirit of intuition, has among its prerogatives the directional endowment. This endowment allows all beings with a mind to distinguish the 4 cardinal points without major problems. The four points of the compass are universal and inherent in the life of Nebadon. All living creatures possess bodily units which are sensitive and responsive to these directional currents. These creature creations are duplicated on down through the universe to the individual planets and, in conjunction with the magnetic forces of the worlds, so activate the hosts of microscopic bodies in the animal organism that these direction cells ever point north and south. Thus is the sense of orientation forever fixed in the living beings of the universe. This sense is not wholly wanting as a conscious possession by mankind. These bodies were first observed on Urantia about the time of this narration. UB 34:4.13
Thus, they reveal to us a great mystery in the world: how migratory birds do it, knowing exactly which is north and which is south, and even more fully aware of the four cardinal points, which allows them to cross continents, change hemispheres for mating, move away from winters, etc. The same happens with fish such as salmon, whales, dolphins, etc., which, like birds, always cross the oceans with well-defined courses.
The first moral choice of a human child is indicated in the seventh adjutant mind spirit, which is instantly registered by the local universe Creative Spirit, immediately transmitted by the universal circuit of gravity mind of the Conjoint Actor to the Master Spirit of the superuniverse in question, who dispatches that information to Divinington, for the coming of an Adjuster to said mind.
The physiological endowments and anatomical structure of every new order of life are in response to the action of physical law, but the further endowment of the mind is a gift of the mind-helping spirits in accordance with the innate brain capacity. . The mind although it is not of physical evolution; It depends entirely on brain capacity, this being conferred by purely physical and evolutionary development.
Through almost endless cycles of gains and losses, adjustments and readjustments, every living organism goes on changing from age to age. Those who achieve cosmic union endure, while those who fall short of this goal cease to be. Page 670 pt.1.
They decide the type of mind for each creature, depending on the innate brain capacity of each new being. Therefore, they have direct interference at the moment of mental endowment, a mind that they themselves will help to evolve from the most animal state to the most morontia possible during life in the flesh.
Living mind, prior to the appearance of capacity to learn from experience, is the ministry domain of the Master Physical Controllers. Creature mind, before acquiring the ability to recognize divinity and worship Deity, is the exclusive domain of the adjutant spirits. With the appearance of the spiritual response of the creature intellect, such created minds at once become superminded, being instantly encircuited in the spirit cycles of the local universe Mother Spirit. (UB 36:5.15)
With this we have that when the mind is activated it responds to the Dean Physical Controllers, that is, it responds to the energies of the universe, therefore it is proof that the mind is energy. Then, as it evolves and receives help, and before recognizing the Deities, it is the helping spirits who control it. And, with the spiritual response of the intellect, the step is taken to be incorporated as superminds, of the circuit of the spiritual cycles of the Mother Spirit of the local universe.
In each step we take, in each hour that we live, each thing that happens to us on a daily basis, each time we look at people, when we drive or get on public transportation, anywhere in the world, it will be through our minds that we must be aware of our lives. We have within us presences of different cosmic and spiritual natures, which have been given to us to help us evolve, and spiritualize ourselves as much as possible. We know how difficult it is, even more so with this magnificent revelation that has brought us together here and now in this place. Talking about spiritualizing ourselves is, as we already know, practically impossible in this world, but let these magnificent presences, of which we have become aware and aware through revelation, guide us to the eternal destination, and we leave it in the hands of our Adjusters. our will.
“The survival of mortal creatures is wholly predicated on the evolvement of an immortal soul within the mortal mind.” (UB 36:6.5)
Helping spirits have no direct relationship to the highly spiritual and diverse function of the spirit of personal presence of the Divine Minister, the Holy Spirit of the inhabited worlds. They (the helpers) are earlier. Furthermore, they are the ones who prepare the appearance of this Spirit in men in evolution. Helpers provide the Universe Mother Spirit with varied contact and control with the living creatures of a local universe.
Nonspiritual mind is either a spirit-energy manifestation or a physical-energy phenomenon. Even human mind, personal mind, has no survival qualities apart from spirit identification. Mind is a divinity bestowal, but it is not immortal when it functions without spirit insight, and when it is devoid of the ability to worship and crave survival. (UB 36:5.17)
Evolving morontia minds. The expanding consciousness of the evolutionary local universe personalities in the local universe ascending careers. This is the bestowal of the local universe Mother Spirit, in liaison with the Creator Son. This level of mind connotes the organization of the morontia type of life vehicle, a synthesis of the material and the spiritual which is effected by the Supervisors of the Morontia Force of a local universe. The morontia mind functions differentially in response to the 570 levels of morontia life, revealing an increasing associative capacity with the cosmic mind at the highest levels of attainment.
This is the evolutionary course of mortal creatures, but mind of a nonmorontia order is also bestowed by a Universe Son and a Universe Spirit upon the nonmorontia children of the local creations. (UB 42:10.5)
Extremely complex and highly automatic-appearing cosmic mechanisms always tend to conceal the presence of the originative or creative indwelling mind from any and all intelligences very far below the universe levels of the nature and capacity of the mechanism itself. Therefore is it inevitable that the higher universe mechanisms must appear to be mindless to the lower orders of creatures. The only possible exception to such a conclusion would be the implication of mindedness in the amazing phenomenon of an *apparently self-maintaining universe—*but that is a matter of philosophy rather than one of actual experience.
Since mind co-ordinates the universe, fixity of mechanisms is nonexistent. The phenomenon of progressive evolution associated with cosmic self-maintenance is universal. The evolutionary capacity of the universe is inexhaustible in the infinity of spontaneity. Progress towards harmonious unity, a growing experiential synthesis superimposed on an ever-increasing complexity of relationships, could be effected only by a purposive and dominant mind.
The higher the universe mind associated with any universe phenomenon, the more difficult it is for the lower types of mind to discover it. And since the mind of the universe mechanism is creative spirit-mind (even the mindedness of the Infinite), it can never be discovered or discerned by the lower-level minds of the universe, much less by the lowest mind of all, the human. The evolving animal mind, while naturally God-seeking, is not alone and of itself inherently God-knowing. (UB 42:11.6-8)
¶ Jesus and the mind
Only in a matter of degree is the mind of man superior to that of the animal level, apart from the highest and quasi-spiritual ministrations of the intellect. Therefore animals (which lack the faculty of worship and wisdom) cannot experience super-consciousness, the consciousness of consciousness. The animal mind is only aware of the objective universe.
Knowledge is the sphere of the material or fact-discerning mind. Truth is the domain of the spiritually endowed intellect that is conscious of knowing God. Knowledge is demonstrable; truth is experienced. Knowledge is a possession of the mind; truth an experience of the soul, the progressing self. Knowledge is a function of the nonspiritual level; truth is a phase of the mind-spirit level of the universes. The eye of the material mind perceives a world of factual knowledge; the eye of the spiritualized intellect discerns a world of true values. These two views, synchronized and harmonized, reveal the world of reality, wherein wisdom interprets the phenomena of the universe in terms of progressive personal experience. (UB 130:4.10)
This magnificent definition of mind and consciousness are the words of Master Jesus, in one of his many speeches and conversations with Ganid, the young Indian with whom he traveled with his father Gonod, from April 26, 22 AD. de J. C. to December 26 of the following year, 23 d. from J.C.
Being with the same young man, he asked Jesus: but Master, what do you mean when you observe that man experiences a superior form of self-awareness than that of the most evolved animals? And expressed in modern language, this is how Jesus responded:
My son, I have already told you much about the mind of man and the divine spirit that lives therein, but now let me emphasize that self-consciousness is a reality. When any animal becomes self-conscious, it becomes a primitive man. Such an attainment results from a co-ordination of function between impersonal energy and spirit-conceiving mind, and it is this phenomenon which warrants the bestowal of an absolute focal point for the human personality, the spirit of the Father in heaven.
Ideas are not simply a record of sensations; ideas are sensations plus the reflective interpretations of the personal self; and the self is more than the sum of one’s sensations. There begins to be something of an approach to unity in an evolving selfhood, and that unity is derived from the indwelling presence of a part of absolute unity which spiritually activates such a self-conscious animal-origin mind.
No mere animal could possess a time self-consciousness. Animals possess a physiological co-ordination of associated sensation-recognition and memory thereof, but none experience a meaningful recognition of sensation or exhibit a purposeful association of these combined physical experiences such as is manifested in the conclusions of intelligent and reflective human interpretations. And this fact of self-conscious existence, associated with the reality of his subsequent spiritual experience, constitutes man a potential son of the universe and foreshadows his eventual attainment of the Supreme Unity of the universe.
Neither is the human self merely the sum of the successive states of consciousness. Without the effective functioning of a consciousness sorter and associater there would not exist sufficient unity to warrant the designation of a selfhood. Such an ununified mind could hardly attain conscious levels of human status. If the associations of consciousness were just an accident, the minds of all men would then exhibit the uncontrolled and random associations of certain phases of mental madness.
A human mind, built up solely out of the consciousness of physical sensations, could never attain spiritual levels; this kind of material mind would be utterly lacking in a sense of moral values and would be without a guiding sense of spiritual dominance which is so essential to achieving harmonious personality unity in time, and which is inseparable from personality survival in eternity.
The human mind early begins to manifest qualities which are supermaterial; the truly reflective human intellect is not altogether bound by the limits of time. That individuals so differ in their life performances indicates, not only the varying endowments of heredity and the different influences of the environment, but also the degree of unification with the indwelling spirit of the Father which has been achieved by the self, the measure of the identification of the one with the other.
The human mind does not well stand the conflict of double allegiance. It is a severe strain on the soul to undergo the experience of an effort to serve both good and evil. The supremely happy and efficiently unified mind is the one wholly dedicated to the doing of the will of the Father in heaven. Unresolved conflicts destroy unity and may terminate in mind disruption. But the survival character of a soul is not fostered by attempting to secure peace of mind at any price, by the surrender of noble aspirations, and by the compromise of spiritual ideals; rather is such peace attained by the stalwart assertion of the triumph of that which is true, and this victory is achieved in the overcoming of evil with the potent force of good. (UB 133:7.6-12)
We will find in UB 161:3.1 the reference to the human and divine minds of the Master. The awareness that was growing in the Master of his divinity, gradually until baptism. And since from then on it was absolutely optional for Him to depend on his human mind or use the knowledge of both his human and divine mind. They tell us to understand that the Master did not want his followers to know that he was able to discern their thoughts and plans. Often, we are told, they watched him act with only the human content of consciousness; then they saw him in conference with the leaders of the heavenly hosts of the universe and discerned at that moment the workings of his divine mind. They also saw the operation of his combined personality of man and God, activated by the seemingly perfect union of his human and divine mind. And finally, they tell us that this is the limit of their knowledge about these phenomena and that they do not really know the full truth about this mystery.
What can we from our condition add to this: just have humility and more humility.
In closing, I will refer to the mind of the Supreme, that magnificent God of experience, to which every evolving creature personality is a part of Him. We, each in our lives, are a phase of the experience of the Almighty Supreme.
Throughout the evolutionary ages the physical power potential of the Supreme is vested in the Seven Supreme Power Directors, and the mind potential reposes in the Seven Master Spirits. The Infinite Mind is the function of the Infinite Spirit; the cosmic mind, the ministry of the Seven Master Spirits; the Supreme Mind is in process of actualizing in the co-ordination of the grand universe and in functional association with the revelation and attainment of God the Sevenfold.
The time-space mind, the cosmic mind, is differently functioning in the seven superuniverses, but it is co-ordinated by some unknown associative technique in the Supreme Being. The Almighty overcontrol of the grand universe is not exclusively physical and spiritual. In the seven superuniverses it is primarily material and spiritual, but there are also present phenomena of the Supreme which are both intellectual and spiritual.
We really know less about the mind of Supremacy than about any other aspect of this evolving Deity. It is unquestionably active throughout the grand universe and is believed to have a potential destiny of master universe function which is of vast extent. But this we do know: Whereas physique may attain completed growth, and whereas spirit may achieve perfection of development, mind never ceases to progress—it is the experiential technique of endless progress. The Supreme is an experiential Deity and therefore never achieves completion of mind attainment. (UB 116:1.3-5)
With this I end this work, which is oriented to the human mind and its assistants, all given for our ascent to our Heavenly Father.
When man fails to discriminate the ends of his mortal striving, he finds himself functioning on the animal level of existence. He has failed to avail himself of the superior advantages of that material acumen, moral discrimination, and spiritual insight which are an integral part of his cosmic-mind endowment as a personal being. (UB 16:7.5)
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/