© 2008 Dominique Ronfet, Guy de Viron, Ivan Stol, Claire Mylanus, Chris Ragetly, Anne-Marie Ronfet
© 2008 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
THE Urantian LINK
No. 43
Summer 2008
Journal of the A.F.L.L.U.
French-speaking Association of
Readers of The URANTIA Book
¶ Imprint
No. 43 — Summer 2008
The URANTIAN LINK is the journal of the French-speaking Association of Readers of the URANTIA Book. This association is a member of the UAI, the Urantia Association International.
Headquarters
1 rue du Temple
F-13012 MARSEILLE
04 91 27 13 20
afllu@urantia.fr
www.urantia.fr/afllu.htm
Publication Director
Dominique Ronfet
Editor in Chief
Guy from Viron
Reading Committee
Jean Royer
Chris Ragetly
Printing Help
Jean Annet
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20€ per year (quarterly publication 4 issues)
Legal deposit
December 1997 — ISSN 1285-1116
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125 copies
© 1955 URANTIA Foundation.
All rights reserved. Materials from The URANTIA Book are used with permission. Any artistic depictions, interpretations, opinions or conclusions implied or stated are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of URANTIA Foundation or its affiliates.
¶ Summary
- Prelude: A Word from the President — D. Ronfet
- Action plan: The IRs
- Edito: The Editor-G. de Viron
- Guest: Pending
- Le Point: Dinard — Y. Stol, CI. Melanus
- Study: Agondontaires — Chris Ragelty
- P’tit sucre: What if happiness — Fondation Fr L.
- In poetic case: Spring — M-A Martin
- Discovery: Painting 123 — D. Vallat
- Reflection: Exist-A-M. Ronfet
- Emotion: With two wings — D. Ronfet
- The Market Basket: Warrior’s Prayer — Unknown
- Humor: Jesus and football — Belgian priest
- P’tit Coin: Brother Dominique — D. Ronfet
Illustrations (4): GAME LOVE YOU,
Editions Jouvence — Marol
¶ Prelude: A word from the President
At our general meeting of May 24th, which took place in Dinard, Brittany, a vote brought your servant to the position of President of the AFLUB. This renewal, linked to the duration of this mandate but especially desired by our previous President, Michel, should allow him to focus his energy on more personal imperatives. But do not worry, he will never be far away, at the heart of our small community.
I must nevertheless pay special tribute to the work carried out with him: for 2 years Michel strengthened our structures which, like a tutor, should allow the AFLUB, that is to say all these scattered reading groups, to continue to develop by knowing who to contact (creation of Regional Intermediaries, hyperactive secretariat, website) and, thanks to our strengthened statutes, to better understand our “raison d’être” as an association.
Dominique Ronfet, President of the AFLUB
¶ Action Plan 2008: The agenda: Groups — AIU — AFFLU
| Readers Group | Upcoming Meetings/Gatherings |
|---|---|
| Paris/Ile de France | every 1st Saturday of the month, Hôtel Normandy, Salon AFLUB, 7 rue de I Echeile 75001 PARIS |
| Vaucluse | Once a month, at each other’s homes. Next meeting on June 28th at Chris Ragetly’s in Générargues |
| Var | Once a month. Next meeting on July 12. Location to be defined. Ivan must contact Andrée Fina to agree to receive us. August 21, Michaêl’s birthday: meeting of the two groups, Avignon and Var, at Johanna and Max’s in Sollies-Pont, Var. Buffet composed by all the participants |
| Alsace Lorraine | Contact Pascal Coulombe |
| French-speaking Switzerland | A Thursday evening at the beginning of the month at Ariane Cornu or Rachel Perroud. July 16, 2008: at Octavie Jung’s, Saint-Amour |
| ABFU | Contact Jean Annet 0032 (0)81 43 34 04 |
| Brittany | Every Tuesday afternoon and Saturday afternoon every 15 days We organize THEMED weekends or weeks on request in Fr, An and NI At Claire and Henk Mylanus’s, La Méaugon |
| AIU | April 2009, Malaga Project 2011, Marseille |
| AFFUB | November 2008, Paris |
¶ Announcement
On May 24th, the AFLUB general meeting was held. Minutes were written by our secretary Max. No doubt you will honor them and come and consult them on our site: http://www.urantia.fr/EXTRANET/admin.htm
¶ Editorial
Recently appointed editor (in chief) of the AFFUB quarterly magazine, currently Le Lien, my new task will essentially consist of energizing it a little and giving it the colors that afflutists expect from it. How will this be done? Well, thanks to all of you who will read it, comment on it, feed it …; because alone, it is mission impossible!
So, here it is, I tell myself that we, the community of readers of The Urantia Book, possess the most beautiful, the most alive and the most attractive LINK there is: that of spiritual knowledge thanks to this fifth Revelation! We receive it graciously, in direct line from our Elder Brothers so affectionate towards us and so patient to see us manifest it wisely! What a wonderful boon! There is no more sumptuous good here below!
Guy
¶ The Point: on Dinard
The study of personality in a friendly and well-organized setting (thank you Claire).
This mysterious and elusive personality, presented by Anne-Marie under the gaze of solitude and associativity, by Claire through what she is not and what she is, and by Chris in long commented definitions extracted from the UB, will remain difficult to discern from the identity in others. Normal because it lurks in the middle of the different parts of our WHOLE and tirelessly weaves the fabric of the functional links of our elements in order to give them a reasonable coherence. However, it makes itself felt more in ourselves revealing its prerogatives (choice, decision, discernment …) and this exciting faculty of having the consciousness of our consciousness.
Ivan Stol
¶ National meeting from May 22 to May 25
This time, it was the turn of our beautiful region, Brittany!
It was on the Breton coast, on the banks of the Rance, in Dinard that the meeting took place. In a Breton manor, splendidly renovated. All the rooms have exposed beams and some of the fireplaces are made of stone; the manor itself is built of granite stone as is proper in Brittany, surrounded by a flowery and green garden, all this in an idyllic setting exuding tranquility and beauty.
Dinard is a seaside resort, which like everywhere in Brittany, has kept the wild character of its coasts while being very friendly for tourism. It is the strength of Celtic culture that has been able to keep its history and heritage while living in its time. The manor is located on a point in the sea, opposite St Malo, a privateer city and birthplace of Jacques Cartier who discovered Quebec in 1534.
Claire Mylanus
¶ The study
606 Urantia — Satania 24 Jerusem — Norlatiadek 70 Edentia — Nebadon 84 Salvington U Minor the Third 3 Ensa — U Major the Fifth 5 Splandon — Orvonton 7 Uversa
Notes — II — .Agondontaries, Finaliters and Trinitized Sons of Achievement
(Quotations from The Urantia Book are in italics. To emphasize their importance, some passages have been put in bold.)
Do all Agondontarians become Mighty Messengers?
CMR
¶ P’tit Sucre: What if happiness could be cultivated?
“Cultivate” is rich in various meanings that also apply to happiness!
- In the first sense, it is to grow in order to harvest. Happiness is cultivated like a garden of which we would be the gardener. Everyone has their own vision of the ideal garden and achieves it in their own way. Likewise, our vision of happiness is personal to us and the means to achieve it are our own responsibility. Gardeners know that, apart from a few pretty wild flowers, nothing grows and flourishes without care. Moreover, nothing is assured because nature can decide otherwise. Our happiness is similarly at the mercy of factors that seem to escape us.
- To cultivate is also to maintain, develop, perfect an aptitude. Happiness is cultivated like the voice or memory: it requires regular training. In the quest for happiness, the priority training is on positive thinking. Although we are differently gifted in this regard, we can all progress.
- Cultivate is also said of the practice of a science or an art. In this case, it would rather be an art, like that, for example, of navigation or the conduct of men. Because happiness is not a science, in any case not an exact science where the same causes produce the same effects.
- Cultivating an art is to apply oneself to mastering proven principles and to implementing appropriate means. When it comes to happiness, proven principles exist and we accept them or discover them gradually. For the means, we have the testimonies of happy people. In fact, progressing in happiness is above all working on attitudes towards life since happiness is only the induced result of our way of life.
- Finally, cultivating also means maintaining a relationship over time. To last, any relationship must be nourished. Applied to happiness, this verb perfectly illustrates the conviction that underlies this work: happiness ends up settling in those who put themselves, with perseverance, in the required conditions. It can behave as a faithful companion for the rest of life.
When autumn comes, gardeners have not exhausted all their pleasures: new flowers are added to those that still believe themselves to be in the beautiful season. In the autumn of life, happiness rewards those who know how to cultivate it.
“Cultivating happiness over the years”, extract from the Francis Léonard Foundation (CH)
¶ Little Poetic Juice
¶ 1. Spring
I have been around for a long time
Uncertain shores
Pale as a spring
To distant promises
Lazy willows
Generous foliage
Seemed dripping
Inflected on the grass
Sometimes I threw
My anchor in the river
And my heart watched
A current that waters it
I have sometimes landed
Market near the riverbank
A friend noticed
Waiting for me at the inn
But when evening came back
I resumed my wandering
Towards this unknown goal
What does my departure call for?
I sailed for a long time
Uncertain glimmers
They adorned the spring
Of distant riches
Marie-Augusta Martin GE
¶ 1. Birds of passage
In each other’s arms, let us fly, Love,
Like these two birds this morning in space,
Bearers and messengers of a song that surpasses them,
Soon out of the horizon, caught up in the dawn.
Hold our breath, let us escape, Love,
At the height of vertigo and all to our audacity.
Fervor preserves us in its state of grace,
Let’s not stop, and never turn back.
The earth is at our feet, our gaze is celestial.
Let us lighten the desire, let us intertwine our gestures:
So many dance steps in the unfathomable ether,
So many touches to recognize
The end that directs us and, more vacant than air,
May we in ecstasy disappear together!
Excerpt from “Vaste Ciel”, Luce Péclard (Swiss poet — friend of the Editor)
¶ Emotion
Have you ever dreamed of seeing an angel speak to a survivor who had recently arrived on the Mansion World? Even if it was an “interim” angel.
Your wish will almost come true when you go see the play “Avec deux ailes” by Danielle Mathieu-Bouillon with Véronique Jannot and Marc Fayet.
This comedy combines emotion (relationship with one’s past), humor (angel waiting for a fixed-term contract) and a real reflection on post-mortem destiny (change of level, relationships with one’s past, etc.) which should remind you of some of your readings.
So treat yourself by bringing together tenderness and imagination: go see this play.
This play is currently being performed in Paris at the Petit Théâtre de Paris, rue Blanche 15, 9th arrondissement.
But should probably shoot in France, I hope near you.
Dominique Ronfet
¶ Reflection: On the feeling of existing — (Personality and Reality)
Presentation on personality – Dinard meeting, May 2008
When I think about this meeting that therefore carries the personality, the question that comes to my mind is to ask myself: Am I real? What makes me feel that I am really alive. Perhaps I am an illusion? And if I am real, how can I become even more real?
Some people need to go bungee jumping to feel like they really exist or to spend several months alone on a boat… Putting your life in danger is sometimes a way to feel more alive.
¶ The Market Basket: A find: the prayer of the spiritual warrior
I am what I am.
Through the faith I have in my beauty, I develop confidence.
In gentleness, I have strength.
In silence I walk with the gods.
In peace I understand myself and I understand the world.
In conflict, I see only an opportunity to choose peace.
In detachment, I am free.
In respecting all that is alive, I respect myself.
In eternity, I have compassion for the nature of all things.
In love, I unconditionally accept the evolution of others.
In giving, I only receive.
In freedom I have power.
In my individuality, I express the Divine Force within me.
In service, I give what I have become. I am what I am:
Complete, Whole, Healed, Saved, Eternal, Immortal, Universal and Infinite.
In the gratitude overflowing from my heart for the incredible gifts I have received, I feel and teach my specialty: Inner Joy and divine gladness.
And so it is.
Unknown author
Low budget, high value:
The Gift of Love by Joel Goldsmith (€10)
The 10 Secrets of Love by Adam J. Jackson (€8.5)
A great site for meditation:
http://www.laparolequotidienne.org/
A bright illustration:
The Light of Life by Thierry Gauthier (€20)
A practical manual:
How I Put Dr. H’s Truth into Practice Emilie Caddy (10 €)
A traveling companion:
The Art of Spiritual Healing by Joel S. Goldsmith
A Well-being guide:
Living Younger by Dr. Deepak Chopra
¶ Humor: JESUS invents football
Excerpt from a homily given by a priest to young people, near Braine-le-Comte (BE). To be read with a little humor, like a text by Giovanni Guareschi presenting the Christ of Don Camillo.
Already on the shores of Lake Tiberias, Jesus had taken two oars and planted them in the ground; He had stretched a fishing net between the two oars: He had just invented the first goal! And the field? Oh, the field was much larger than it is now: his field was the whole world! Of course, for reasons of convenience, the outlines of the field have been reduced to those we know today. But something very important has remained: what is there in the middle of the field? Something big, very beautiful: a large white circle… an alliance… the alliance between God and men.
You are probably wondering what role He played: He did not play, He was the trainer, the coach, the guide. And He had a team of 12 apostles. His role was to guide them.
Unfortunately, one of the apostles wanted to play alone, to go his own way, he excluded himself from the team. They remained at 11. That is why, since then, on all the football fields in the world, teams are made up of 11 players.
At the beginning, the team was progressing well, the progression was beautiful. Of course, they received blows, but that did not prevent them from gaining ground.
Then there was a pause: half-time. Jesus was taken away from them.
Quickly, the disciples hid, returned to the cloakroom, isolated themselves. But Jesus made it clear to them that he continued to be with them, but ‘differently’. He gave them all the instructions.
We must be very collective. If we want to go alone, be personal, think only of ourselves, it is certain, we will not win. If you want to go alone, without worrying about others, you will be ‘offside’. We must circulate the ball, which meant: circulate the love of God between you; do not keep it to yourself, you will lose it. Circulate it as much as possible, give it as often as possible.
And they came out again, they went back onto the field for a second half much longer than the first, harder too.
Always be attentive: that’s another rule. Never think you’ve won. Don’t lose your concentration, otherwise you’ll step on the ball and you’ll concede.
Forgive others for their mistakes, continue to work with them as a team, and give them another chance to do better. Always put yourself at the service of the team.
And finally, the last question was: what makes a team win? It is because it has “team spirit.” And that spirit, for a team of Christians, is, of course, … the Holy Spirit. Today, we are the ones on the field to spread God’s love. It is up to us to give the best of ourselves by following God’s instructions.
Oh yes, it’s true: it was God who invented football!
Never had an assembly laughed so much during a homily and, without doubt, had been so attentive from one end to the other, without missing a single word of what was said.
The message was received. It remains to be lived!
(Quoted by ‘Dimanche’, June 25, 2000, page 7)
¶ Little corner: from Brother Dominique
Good morning,
Is sincerity possible?
Is sincerity beautiful and deceptive like a reflection?
“But it is your fear that blurs your vision, my friend.”
Maybe, maybe, yet…
“If sincerity is desirable, then you must know lies and fear.”
This proposition, freely paraphrasing page $51 $ 9 of the $UB, could answer my question.
Experiencing the shadow to reach the light.
It’s not bad.
In the end it all comes together: light without shadow is light without object.
A flat life, a life without perspective.
Sincerity would therefore be the aspiration to live in full light, as one is.
That is to say, in the making.
Here we are.
Dominique Ronfet