© 2001 Séverin Desbuisson, Jean Royer, Anne-Marie Ronfet, Claude Castel, André Chappuis, Jean Davier, Jean-Claude Romeuf, Christine Baussain, Chris Ragetly, Jean-François Drouet
© 2001 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
Journal of the association L'A.F.L.L.U. French-speaking Association of Readers of the URANTIA Book
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¶ A Word from the President
Dear readers,
This summer issue will certainly seduce you with the emotions it will arouse in you and with the subtleties of some of its articles.
This time of year, and even more so the month of August, is particularly conducive to conferences of passionate readers driven by the “heart and the mind”. This year the United States and Canada will be the main organizing countries, but next summer, it is in France, in Dourdan, not far from Paris, that the spotlight of Urantian news will be turned. The invitation brochures, the conference website and the various packages offered will be finalized before the end of the summer. You will be the first to be informed, but also perhaps the first to be asked to help us prepare and implement this superb project to demonstrate Urantian brotherhood.
Happy summer to all,
Severin Desbuisson
President of the A.F.L.L.U.
¶ Summary
- The President’s Word by Séverin Desbuisson
- Brief reflection on the mind by Jean Royer
- The role of emotions in spiritual research by Anne-Marie Ronfet
- Truth and Lies or Facts and Falsehood by Jean Royer
- Ouestions — Answers: Democracy by Claude Castel
- The mystery of the Maries by André Chappuis
- Relaxation corner: Impressions of the future by R. and J. Davier
- The Angel by Jean-Claude Romeuf
- Gazette section:
- New panties by Christine Baussain
- Report of the Lumiêres meeting, May 18, 19 and 20, 2001 by Chris Ragetly
- After the meeting of May 2001 at N. D. des Lumiêres by Jean-François Drouet
- Errata by Jean-François Drouet
- Works available for sale
- Registration form
❧ 1955 URANTIA Foundation. All rights reserved. These materials from The URANTIA Book are used with permission. Any artistic depiction(s), interpretation(s), opinion(s) or conclusion(s) implied or stated are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of URANTIA Foundation or its affiliates.
Legal deposit: December 1997 — ISSN 1285-1116
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¶ Brief reflection on the mind
A discussion about the mind that has just taken place on the web (internet) leads me to ask myself once again the question of the bases of our understanding.
It is obviously not a question here of analyzing what the mind is in The Urantia Book, it is too complex an undertaking for a term that is used 1744 times (at least in its English form of “mind”); I would simply like to make a few remarks on the first definition of the word and even more precisely on the first sentence:
2. Mind. The thinking, perceiving, and feeling mechanism of the human organism. The total conscious and unconscious experience. The intelligence associated with the emotional life reaching upward through worship and wisdom to the spirit level. (UB 0:5.8)
Jean Royer
¶ The Role of Emotions in Spiritual Seeking
As we read the papers, we quickly see that we are not the only ones to experience emotions, whether in the superuniverses or in the central universe. Although we live in a mixed and unstable mode between our instincts of animal origin and our spiritual aspirations, other beings seem to experience purer feelings, feelings that have only goodness as their origin. An ardent desire seems to run through the vast universe, that of reaching God, that of resembling him and serving him.
As far as we are concerned, emotion in the very broad sense of everything that is felt at our level, whether it is of instinctive origin or aroused by the mind, places us in a situation of choice, constantly renewed.
Anne-Marie Ronfet
¶ Truth and Lies or Facts and Falsehood
Law is life itself and not the rules of its conduct. Evil is a transgression of law, not a violation of the rules of conduct pertaining to life, which is the law. Falsehood is not a matter of narration technique but something premeditated as a perversion of truth. The creation of new pictures out of old facts, the restatement of parental life in the lives of offspring—these are the artistic triumphs of truth. The shadow of a hair’s turning, premeditated for an untrue purpose, the slightest twisting or perversion of that which is principle—these constitute falseness. But the fetish of factualized truth, fossilized truth, the iron band of so-called unchanging truth, holds one blindly in a closed circle of cold fact. One can be technically right as to fact and everlastingly wrong in the truth. (UB 48:6.33)
Let’s take two examples: Peter thinks he sees Jesus walking on the water, and tells him to walk on the water too. He ends up falling into the water. The story is found in Matthew 14:22-32; Mark 6:45-51; John 6:16-21. We know that this is not factual. (cf. UB 152:4.1), but for Peter it is a truth, there is no falsehood. Let us recall what falsehood is:
Jean Royer
¶ Questions — answers
Response to Jean Royer regarding his article “Democracy” published in Le Lien No. 17.
- Democracy is the most logical system when people, through evolution, come to regard each other as equal citizens (in the Kingdom: as brothers and sisters). And majority rule makes it possible to resolve problems (at least for a certain time) without resorting to violence or weapons, when the whole of society has accepted the rule. This system therefore also implies that the minority temporarily accepts its defeat, even if it means calling the problem into question later by proposing another variant subject to a new vote. This is what is happening in Switzerland. And this is my answer to the question: To what extent are we prepared to accept democratic decisions that do not go our way?
- In this system, every person also has the right not to get personally involved by voting blank or not voting. This is, in my opinion, what Jesus did in 1625; he respected the choice of the apostles, without taking a position, certainly not wanting to find himself involved in these decisions subject to divergences. He taught them, at the same time, to work together to defend the same objective, and their choices also reflected in some way and provisionally (in the present moment) the will of the Universal Father. Hence his response in 1625: 9.
- Any democratic system is always in a progressive, non-linear and variable geometry evolution, I would say.
Fraternally.
Claude Castel
Response to the article by Jean Royer published in Lien 14 “The mystery of the Maries”
One of my grandfathers had 2 twin cousins. One was called Henri-Louis and the other Louis-Henri. Their parents (who were only expecting one child) had planned a compound name. When the second twin was born, not knowing what to call him, they reversed the first names of the first. In practice, they were only called by their first name: Henri and Louis.
The same phenomenon may have occurred with Mary, the mother of Jesus, who thus had a twin sister. The first may have been called Mary Anne (the second name being that of their mother) and the second Anne Marie. In practice, they were also called only by their first name: Mary and Anne.
Anne-Marie married Clopas who would have had a sister also named Anne. To make a distinction, the husband called his wife by her middle name. Thus, since Anne-Marie’s marriage, there would have been two sisters whose usual first name was Marie.
But did the Jews of that time use the system of double first names? Mary Magdalene is not proof of this since it is only a simplification of Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala. James Zebedee is not proof either since it is the addition of the father’s first name.
2000 years ago, was a twin sister referred to only as “twin”? If so, Mary (mother of Jesus) would have had 2 brothers, 2 sisters and a twin, the latter not being mentioned at 1347:01 or else, it would be implied: only her twin believed in Jesus.
Can anyone shed some light on the use of double names and the words “sister” and “twin” among Jews in the early years of our era?
André Chappuis.
¶ Relaxation Corner
¶ Impressions of the future
On the evening of the great feast, Jesus, in the midst of immense crowds, cried out:
“Let him who is thirsty come to me, and I will give him living water.”
So slaves, bare hands and feet
Danced for joy on the ruins of the ancient fortress
And yet, how many blue nights
Had exercised their silence in this place.
Radiant entities who had gone before us and read the book
They came to contemplate the party and mingle with us,
They agreed to persuade us:
We felt their help, their fertile and haughty presence.
The time was made dawn.
R. and J. Davier
Aix Group
¶ The angel
Flora was playing on the beach, a beach like all beaches: with the sea in front, blue or gray as you prefer, that’s not important. What matters is to imagine the little girl playing alone on the sand, by the sea.
An angel landed near her. She had known about the existence of angels for a long time. So seeing one was possible. She was not overly surprised by this sudden apparition, which she did not consider to be a supernatural phenomenon. The form the angel took is no more important than the color of the sea, and I will not give in to the temptation to describe it here. What matters is to imagine Flora talking to the angel.
Jean-Claude Romeuf
¶ Gazette section
¶ New releases
After a long wait, “Appendices to a Study of the Master Universe” are finally available. Many thanks to all those who, in one way or another, contributed to this edition.
Let us also welcome the publication of two readers’ works: the second edition, revised and expanded, of The Veil Rises, by Joseph Servant — a presentation by concepts of the teachings of the Urantia Book — as well as Journey to the Heart of a Child, by Guy Bourhis, a delightful presentation of the Adjusters.
Orders can be made by mail to the Montreuil office, or by telephone to the A.F.L.L.U. (0156 9335 13) or to Urantia France SA (0156 9335 10).
Christine Baussain
¶ Report of the Lumières meeting on May 18, 19 and 20, 2001
For the fourth time, Lumières welcomed us for the spring 2001 meeting. And the sun was out, which was not a luxury after the rather humid weather we had all just experienced.
Once again we were filled with rewarding emotions, new encounters that just need to be repeated and the joy of reuniting with familiar faces.
Arriving on Friday afternoon around 4:30 p.m., we were among the first, but Jean Royer was already hard at work, deep in conversation with two Marseillais we did not know; they were Max Masotti, a long-time reader, and André Croisé. We immediately got to know each other. Little by little, the arrivals accelerated. We held an informal meeting before and after dinner. The group thus formed consisted of about thirty people, including our Swiss friends, the Amblets, Michel Rouanet (a former member of the Avignon group, now living in the northeast), had come down with his whole family. The Parisians were well represented, with the president of the AFLUB, Séverin Desbuisson, at the head, followed by Joseph Le Dain, Christine Baussain who is the representative in France of the Urantia Foundation at the same time as the very efficient secretary of the AFLUB, Myriam and Robert Gallo and Patrick Papini all long-time readers. New faces from the south-east also came, among them: Nina de Olivera and Nanou Jaspart, from the Pyrenees came Marin Raaymakers and Saskia Mÿsbergen who enchanted us with her talent as a harpist and singer, from the region near Paris came a new young reader, Yann Radenne. Yves Guillot-Goguet came from Isère, We were pleased to meet Louis Gardy, Xavier Grandvaux and Jean-François Drouet again. Almost the entire Avignon group was present, while the majority slept and ate at Lumières, a few of them returned home in the evening.
The subject of the meeting was: “Material Handicaps in the Adjuster’s Indwelling,” page 1199, chapter 5. In this connection, there has been a correction made in the latest edition of the French book. In the previous edition, which some participants had, the title of the chapter was: “Material Handicaps in the Indwelling of Adjusters.” This was an opportunity to make them feel the very personal way in which the Thought Adjuster works in the mind of each of us, on a very individual basis, so that this experience is personal.
At the end of the last session we all participated in a group prayer for one of our reader friends who needed it, this prayer released a tangible, palpable, very felt spiritual force. It is an experience that must be repeated as often as possible, because not only is it beneficial to the person for whom we pray (and who knew it, because we had warned him), but also for all the participants who gain a certain spiritual elevation from it.
After lunch on Sunday, May 20, everyone made a date for the next meeting of the fall, at a location not yet set for the moment, but we hope to be able to confirm the date and location in the Link. It is always with a heavy heart that we leave each other like this, finding that the meeting is too short, but happy to have made new acquaintances that we will be happy to see again.
Chris and Nicole Ragetly
Even on Urantia, these seraphim teach the everlasting truth: If your own mind does not serve you well, you can exchange it for the mind of Jesus of Nazareth, who always serves you well. (UB 48:6.26)
Jesus was the perfectly unified human personality. And today, as in Galilee, he continues to unify mortal experience and to co-ordinate human endeavors. He unifies life, ennobles character, and simplifies experience. He enters the human mind to elevate, transform, and transfigure it. It is literally true: “If any man has Christ Jesus within him, he is a new creature; old things are passing away; behold, all things are becoming new.” (UB 100:7.18)
The Urantia Book
¶ After the meeting of May 2001 at N.D. des Lumières
For those who could not participate and expressed regret, for those who did not intend to, so that they regret it, and for the participants so that they remember the moments they loved.
Our meeting on Saturday morning began with fervent prayer for two seriously ill people.
In the months preceding the meeting, I had prepared a text that I then read, in order to nourish and broaden our reflection. It will be found below, with a final completed part, including a contribution to the symbolism that we are recommended, in 966, to research.
Jean-François Drouet
¶ ERRATA
Two texts, which I had communicated to some participants in previous meetings, were published in links no. 16 and 17, without me requesting this publication.
They contain errata or deleted parts that may distort them or make them more difficult to understand. The main points are given below.
Jean-François Drouet
Text: Proposal 2002 (Link #6)
The accentuations have all been removed; however, some were important: in order (2nd paragraph), in measure (§2-3rd paragraph)
At the end of paragraph 1, a deleted parenthesis referred to previously communicated texts: in particular the first paragraph and the reflection diagram. These references prevented this paragraph from appearing simplistic and could allow the interested reader to request their communication.
Last line of paragraph 2), read: "And we are jointly responsible for it
Penultimate paragraph, read: "Not only does this abolish…
The last page has been deleted; it contained the subject which constituted the title of the communication: a complementary proposal for the 2002 meeting … which has since been taken into account.
Text: The Mason and the Great Architect (Link No. 17)
Last paragraph on page 6, read: "-You see, you’re making me angry,… (with the pronominal change, the scene also changes meaning!)
Page 7-1st column, the penultimate paragraph has been deleted: (this deletion makes it difficult to understand the mason’s main fault and therefore the parable and its symbolism):
"In the following days, he began the earthworks for the foundations but also to create a pond. There was a spring on his land which flowed towards the other side, but it was enough to divert it to use it; which he undertook to do.
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