© 2019 James McGarry
© 2019 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
By James McGarry, Hobart - Presented at Canberra Conference on September 27, 2019
In this presentation I speak briefly about my background with The Urantia Book, my favourite parts of the book, and how it has changed by life. This document outlines a general summary of the main points of my presentation.
¶ How I Initially Came Across The Urantia Book
From a very young age (roughly eight to ten years old) I was introduced to The Urantia Book by my father who had been a reader for several years prior. Almost every Sunday we had a reading, focusing on short sections, and paraphrased according to my capacity to receive the teachings of the book. I always enjoyed these study sessions and remember asking countless questions to the point that we would often not complete a single section of a paper. This continued on for a few years, on and off.
¶ What Motivated Me to Read and Study the Book?
Having reached adulthood, at the end of twenty-one, I felt a great need to deepen my understanding of life and all its complexities. I would say that my general fears and anxieties about life were naturally starting to become apparent, as is normal at this time in one’s life. This was part of my motivation to begin reading The Urantia Book, as it was always at the back of my mind. Other than that, I felt the need deepen my relationship with God, which was largely limited beforehand. It took me roughly six months to finish reading it, and by the end I felt greatly satisfied by what I’d discovered.
¶ My Initial Impressions of the Book:
- The level of detail was quite astonishing for me. The precision of language to convey specific meanings and definitions, the order of universe beings and realities, and the immense detail on God (being far more balanced — a mix of western and eastern concepts attributed to God) and making God far more detailed in regards to how we can come to understand and have a relationship with Deity. God became far more real to me as a result.
- The logical consistency of the book. Everything just seems to make sense because nothing contradicts itself as far as I can tell from having read the whole book.
¶ What Parts of the Book Resonate with Me the Most, and Why?
The first few papers on the Universal Father because:
- It’s the greatest revelation of God as a personality and his perfect nature (truth, beauty, and goodness – love) that I have come across.
- It is truly personal and makes God easier to relate to. The father concept helps to relate to God, and implies we are all a part of the same spiritual family.
- God’s personality is not presented as a great mystery that only few people can uncover – anyone can come to know and love God through their own capacity to receive him.
- God loves us unconditionally – we don’t have to prove ourselves to him to be worthy of his love. Nor is he a respecter of persons (God’s love is universal). It is also easy for God to forgive – infinite mercy.
- We are taught that salvation is based on faith alone (even a small flicker), not conformity to dogma or creeds. Furthermore, the concept of hell being a real place is proven to be false according to The Urantia Book, as it would be a contradiction of God’s loving nature.
- God does not get angry or wrathful. The God of The Urantia Book is wholly beyond the human level, so naturally it is not reasonable for God to have negative human emotion. Divine affection is what we should solely expect from God.
The Thought Adjuster papers because:
- We come to know that we are guided through life with the help of the Spirit of Truth and the Thought Adjuster (TA), which brings great purpose and direction to my life.
- The TA gives us the ultimate opportunity to become perfect like God is perfect, in the qualitative sense.
- Greatest act of God’s divine ministry.
- The level of detail regarding how our mind is being spiritualised by the TA which makes it easier to devote my life to the will of God. Also helps form a more intimate relationship with the divine spark within me.
The Jesus papers because:
- They are liberating – they free you from the bondage of fear-based religion and the natural uncertainties of life.
- Studying the religion of Jesus has real practical significance for both the world and our individual selves. It re-orients our personality to the divine will – knowing about the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man replaces the old, immature attitude that you have towards life and other people.
- We are taught that Jesus did not come here to redeem us for our sins. He came here to teach humanity what it means to demonstrate God’s love and to reveal God to us personally. This is a radical improvement upon the old Christian view of Jesus’s life.
¶ Has the Book Removed any Fear or Uncertainties About Life, Death and Beyond? How So?
Yes, because:
- Life situations are not perceived as daunting prospects as a result of the guidance of the Thought Adjusters.
- The wonderful detail of the afterlife is so reassuring that it obliterates the fear of death.
¶ Has the Book Changed the Way You Live in a Positive Way? If So, How?
Yes, because:
It helped me to integrate all the previous spiritual/religious teachings together in a unified manner in accordance with the teachings of The Urantia Book. Buddhist teachings on mindfulness helped me to separate my seat of identity with the mind – to see the mind as a tool. However, these religious teachings on mindfulness (being present) merely talked about the cessation of suffering as the goal, rather than a powerful tool to access higher states of thinking in the superconscious, and for the use of effective prayer and worship (getting closer to God). The Urantia Book, therefore, helped me to go beyond what evolutionary religion could provide – it helped me to understand that Truth without goodness (service to humanity) is incomplete. The teachings from The Urantia Book have had profound implications on my life in several ways:
- Letting go of old habits and cultivating positive daily habits (e.g. even small things like what I eat and drink) that help me to align closer with the spirit. In other words, cultivating a philosophy of living.
- Shifting my consciousness away from the old adjutant mind towards the soul mind. Being conscious of spending more time in spiritual communion (i.e. prayer, meditation, and worship) helps facilitate this and thereby facilitates greater receptivity to spirit influence on my mind. I’m now much more conscious of every small, or big, decision that I make in my life in accordance with God’s will.
- It’s helped me interact with others and form relationships far easier because you know everyone has a spark of divinity within them. I am now more conscious of forming my relationships with others based on unconditional love, as well as being conscious of how the ego interferes with my interactions with others. I’m also more aware of looking for opportunities to be of service to people around me.