© 2007 Johanna Beukers
© 2007 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
After spending 3 days in Goult, a stay overflowing with friendship, dynamism and reunions, I have the immense pleasure of telling you all, dear members and readers of The Urantia Book, about the great success of this national meeting which took place from May 10 to 13.
A success which is the fruit, not of chance, but of an excellent and laborious organization on the part of the president Michel Rouanet and his entire team. And then obviously, thanks to the very large participation which reached a record number rarely reached, namely forty-four people.
Alongside a core of loyal “old” members: Chris and Nicole Ragetly, Jean Royer, Jean-Claude Romeuf and Marina, as well as readers from all regions of France (Brittany: 1,100KM, Paris and Nancy) as well as from Belgium with its president Jean Annet, then François Dupont and his wife, I was delighted to meet a number of new faces.
Unfortunately, Swiss readers were once again conspicuous by their absence.
I would also like to mention the flexibility and availability shown by the hotel manager who had to “invent” solutions to satisfy participants who registered very late. And to complete the subject of “fed and accommodated”, I would like to congratulate the cook and his team for the quality, diversity and abundance of the meals.
The majority of participants having arrived Thursday evening by TGV or by car, the joy of the reunion was as always very intense. The same evening a presentation was made in the large Oliviers room made available to us to get to know the new ones.
Friday morning at 9 a.m., after a moment of silence, the program began with a number of presentations given by 4 people, who opened the debate around the 2nd major subject in a series of 4, namely: “Do our self and our ego block the progress of our soul?”, thus forming part of the initial theme “Origins of the Individual”.
Anne-Marie Ronfet began this very sunny morning with her speech concerning the Self. In-depth work was carried out by her to try to define the complexity of the Self through the approach of a large number of scientists and philosophers.
This was the case of psychoanalyst Heinz Hartman, who in 1937 was the first to take the global initiative to publicly address the concept of the ego.
Freud, as well as Jung, then Kant each developed the subject of the self, of the unconscious and then the human soul in published works, which AnneMarie was able to highlight to draw a parallel between all these seekers of scientific truth.
Then followed in the 2nd presentation, Christine Baussain, who presented, and this brilliantly by heart, all the states of the Ego in the mind treated in psychoanalysis which can haunt, slow down, block, then even definitively stop the spiritual evolution, or other, of an individual. This presentation was accompanied by schematic examples on a number of separate sheets giving each time a particular state of the Ego.
After a brief coffee break, it was me who was invited to read the presentation I had written on the subject of the ego this time. And I chose to stick mainly to the texts of the UB, interwoven with a number of philosophical quotes given by authors who attempted to prove, with a centralized ego, how to achieve happiness.
The 4th presentation was presented to us by Georges Michelson-Dupont who chose as his subject the personality, cornerstone and gift of the Father to allow us to unify all the often complex aspects represented by the ego, the self, the identity.
Each exhibitor had around twenty minutes, a half-hour debate then followed each of the 4 presentations.
After lunch, as well as a half hour of group meditation under the trees for those who wanted it, 4 workshops were formed, each including a moderator and a rapporteur.
On Friday evening, after the meal and a meditation retreat for some, we attended a meeting of all the IR’s (regional intermediaries) present. Michel Rouanet highlighted on a large screen the future ideas and projects to allow sometimes isolated readers, and study groups in general to meet regionally twice a year. An ambitious project that seeks to establish the solid base of an increasingly vast network of readers with a single goal: to make the Father known to as many people as possible through the UB and thanks to a growing community fraternity.
We finished the evening at 11 p.m.
Saturday morning at 9 a.m., after 3 minutes of silence, we began the Extraordinary General Meeting with, firstly, the vote for a new board of directors made up of 11 members plus the president, making 12.
Each member of the Afllu was invited to write 12 names on plain paper to democratically determine the council which must assist the president, and which now has the right to elect the new members of the office, namely the president, the vice-president, the treasurer, and the secretary.
This being done, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who voted for me, for their trust which I will try to honor in all circumstances in the face of Afllu.
After lunch, everyone had free time on Saturday afternoon to go for a walk or to swim in the pool until 4 p.m.
Then, the workshops resumed to continue, define and then conclude their subjects.
Saturday evening, after dinner and a 30-minute meditation, the newly elected council members withdrew to vote on the future new office of Afllu for the next 2 years, a period specified in the new Statutes drafted by Michel Rouanet. Session of which the secretary will be responsible for making a separate report of this testimony.
Sunday morning, the floor was taken by the 4 rapporteurs who shared with us their conclusions on the 4 subjects. A midday meal, then many hugs marked the end of a very enriching meeting from all points of view.
Thank you to the organizers! See you soon in Aix-les-Bains in November with the next speech topic: “Relationship between the Adjuster and the Individual”.
Johanna Beukers