© 2023 Ivan Stol
© 2023 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
¶ Material and Mental
As the following excerpt tells us:
“It is the presence of the seven adjutant mind-spirits on the primitive worlds that conditions the course of organic evolution; that explains why evolution is purposeful and not accidental. These adjutants represent that function of the mind ministry of the Infinite Spirit which is extended to the lower orders of intelligent life through the operations of a local universe Mother Spirit. The adjutants are the children of the Universe Mother Spirit and constitute her personal ministry to the material minds of the realms. Wherever and whenever such mind is manifest, these spirits are variously functioning.” (UB 36:5.1)
This clearly determines that the circuits of the adjutant mental spirits have a direct action on organisms and their evolutions. And the Divine Minister is directly associated with these influences because in the same paragraph it is said:
“The adjutants are the children of the Mother Spirit of the Universe and constitute her personal ministry to the material mind of the realms.” UB 36:5.1
In addition, according to recent scientific data and the recent appearance of “lepigenetics”, our DNA would be made up of 90% of a part whose functioning remains unknown and responsible for communications between cells through messenger RNA. These parts would even be sensitive to influences such as positive thoughts, lights and music or sounds. There are plenty of techniques today to improve one’s health by acting either at the material level (naturopathy, light therapy, music, breathing, yoga) or at the mental level (various meditation, behavioral sciences) which ultimately act at the cellular level to modify behavior.
If we continue reading, we have the following passage:
“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)
This amounts to saying that we remain in the domain of mental-material association as long as we do not elevate ourselves spiritually. And it is the adjutant mental spirits of Adoration and Wisdom which allow this transition from the material mind to the spiritual mind, but how!!!
¶ Mind and Spirit
Our mind is material, it uses the adjutant mental Spirits to function. These, although spiritual circuits, function at the material level. Even the Spirits of Adoration and Wisdom function on the material levels of the human mind while still providing it with a capacity to recognize qualities in the analysis of experiences. So, there are other factors that allow us to function at higher levels.
First of all, there is the Personality which is given to us and which has a sensitivity to Spirituality and which gives us the awareness of things. This awareness of the functioning of our mind associated with this sensitivity to Spirituality will allow us through the spirits of worship and wisdom to recognize certain values.
Next, we are provided with an Adjuster, described in Paper 107. The next paper instructs us on his functions, particularly this passage:
Thought Adjusters appear to come and go quite independent of any and all other spiritual presences; they seem to function in accordance with universe laws quite apart from those which govern and control the performances of all other spirit influences. But regardless of such apparent independence, long-range observation unquestionably discloses that they function in the human mind in perfect synchrony and co-ordination with all other spirit ministries, including adjutant mind-spirits, Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, and other influences. (UB 108:4.3)
It is quite edifying to understand one of the important mechanisms that helps us to spiritualize and evolve towards the Spirit. Nothing seems more inaccessible!
However, it is the reading of booklet 111 which will instruct us on the mechanisms of evolution towards the Spirit. How does this adjuster operate in us?
Though the work of Adjusters is spiritual in nature, they must, perforce, do all their work upon an intellectual foundation. Mind is the human soil from which the spirit Monitor must evolve the morontia soul with the co-operation of the indwelt personality. (UB 111:1.1)
This passage informs us of three things:
- It does not connect us directly at the Spirit level
- It creates a Soul whose potential to function is at a morontial level
- The WHOLE human being (the Personality) must want it
So, you will ask me, How to rise to the level of the Spirit!!!? The following paragraph tells us:
“There is a cosmic unity in the several mind levels of the universe of universes. Intellectual selves have their origin in the cosmic mind much as nebulae take origin in the cosmic energies of universe space. On the human (hence personal) level of intellectual selves the potential of spirit evolution becomes dominant, with the assent of the mortal mind, because of the spiritual endowments of the human personality together with the creative presence of an entity-point of absolute value in such human selves. But such a spirit dominance of the material mind is conditioned upon two experiences: This mind must have evolved up through the ministry of the seven adjutant mind-spirits, and the material (personal) self must choose to co-operate with the indwelling Adjuster in creating and fostering the morontia self, the evolutionary and potentially immortal soul.” (UB 111:1.2)
It would therefore seem that a potential linked to the Personality and the Adjuster allows a functioning of a cosmic mind with Spiritual discernment on condition of cooperating in the construction of the Soul. This means, in fact, that the person will use his discernment to seek, within his experiences, the higher values which will allow the development of his soul. The next choice will consist of using these values as a way of life in future experiences.
If we analyze the following two quotes:
“Material evolution has provided you a life machine, your body; the Father himself has endowed you with the purest spirit reality known in the universe, your Thought Adjuster. But into your hands, subject to your own decisions, has been given mind, and it is by mind that you live or die. It is within this mind and with this mind that you make those moral decisions which enable you to achieve Adjusterlikeness, and that is Godlikeness.” (UB 111:1.4)
“But man does not passively, slavishly, surrender his will to the Adjuster. Rather does he actively, positively, and co-operatively choose to follow the Adjuster’s leading when and as such leading consciously differs from the desires and impulses of the natural mortal mind. The Adjusters manipulate but never dominate man’s mind against his will; to the Adjusters the human will is supreme. And they so regard and respect it while they strive to achieve the spiritual goals of thought adjustment and character transformation in the almost limitless arena of the evolving human intellect.” (UB 111:1.8)
It is clear that we still function within the framework of our material mind, but since this same mind seems to have almost unlimited capacities, there seems to be real potential for evolution if we listen to our associated divine help.
But this evolution is gradual and the intermediate state between the material and the spiritual seems to be the morontial. This little passage suggests it to us:
“Mind is your ship, the Adjuster is your pilot, the human will is captain. The master of the mortal vessel should have the wisdom to trust the divine pilot to guide the ascending soul into the morontia harbors of eternal survival. Only by selfishness, slothfulness, and sinfulness can the will of man reject the guidance of such a loving pilot and eventually wreck the mortal career upon the evil shoals of rejected mercy and upon the rocks of embraced sin. With your consent, this faithful pilot will safely carry you across the barriers of time and the handicaps of space to the very source of the divine mind and on beyond, even to the Paradise Father of Adjusters.” (UB 111:1.9)
Moreover, it is quite clear that we must pass through 250 morontia levels to reach the functioning status of the Spirit level.
These two passages clearly explain to us where the seat of this evolution towards the Spirit is located:
“The material mind of mortal man is the cosmic loom that carries the morontia fabrics on which the indwelling Thought Adjuster threads the spirit patterns of a universe character of enduring values and divine meanings—a surviving soul of ultimate destiny and unending career, a potential finaliter.” (UB 111:2.2)
“The human personality is identified with mind and spirit held together in functional relationship by life in a material body. This functioning relationship of such mind and spirit does not result in some combination of the qualities or attributes of mind and spirit but rather in an entirely new, original, and unique universe value of potentially eternal endurance, the soul.” (UB 111:2.3)
Here, the Personality gives us capacities to the evolving self which can thus use them with the material faculties and its mind to develop values through its experiences which ultimately, with the adjuster, together construct the soul, that is to say the support of our self in the making.
Finally, chapter 111:3 that I invite you to read, explains to us that, although this Soul does not seem to function during earthly life, it is recognized by the mind more or less partially and this Soul is more and more conscious of the mind and the Adjuster and the more its reality emerges, the more its influence is felt until the moment when the mind gives it the reins to lead its life. At this level, it is the alternations between faith and meanings which direct the acts of the Personality and the evolving SELF.
¶ Conclusion
As you can understand, it seems that we have the possibility to rise to a higher level of understanding of Spirit if we really want to, and for my part, this is the potential path to merging with that Spirit which will bring us so much if we wish it.
Furthermore, although it is difficult to bring purely spiritual concepts into our minds, there are still levels to reach that few men have reached or even dreamed of reaching, which leaves significant experiential potential.
Sharing Ivan Stol’s thoughts, in all Fraternity.