© 2015 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| The Unconscious and the Superconscious | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 71 — Autumn 2015 | Publications on the Urantia Book |
In the new edition of Link, we invite you to explore some concepts from The Urantia Book in an interactive way, a bit like a study group. Questions on a given theme will be asked with a list of readings suggested to answer them.
These questions will also be posted on the forum and those who wish will be able to exchange their points of view. For a first attempt we have chosen the following theme which will be spread over four issues of the Link.
The Inevitable Injunction
¶ Introduction to the study.
FOR us mortals, the final goal of time is perfection. The means to achieve this goal is to “do the will of the Father.” This involves not only God providing us with the evolutionary means to achieve this goal but also revealing His will to us through personal and epochal revelations. In return, we must willingly agree to cooperate wholeheartedly with the Divine to actualize perfection.
In this Link we will examine what the authors of The Urantia Book reveal to us about the means and methods of God’s plan of perfection; how God reveals His will to us through a fragment of Himself in each of us; and how the life of Jesus can inspire us on the path to perfection.
In the January 2016 Link we will continue our investigations to understand what these divine gifts are, how they work in us, the importance of seeking “the will of the Father”, the extent of our free will and its responsibility towards our “first duty and supreme ambition”.
In the April 2016 Link we will attempt to understand what “doing the will of the Father” means and its implications in our daily lives by observing how Jesus effectively made it manifest during his life on Urantia.
In the September 2016 Link we will conclude this study on the advice given by the authors to work further towards the unification of our will with that of the Father and the contributions that other spiritual helpers from our local universe bring us in order to gradually become like God.
¶ Introduction to the first period
God is perfection and His goal for the universe as a whole is perfection in every aspect of the supreme, ultimate and absolute levels of reality. That is why “be perfect, even as I am perfect” is the inescapable injunction and doing the will of the Universal Father is the only way to achieve it.
This statement raises three questions:
What is perfection? Perfection over time is relative and shows different levels of progressive achievement.
Does God have a plan that would make the achievement of perfection possible? “And the whole arrangement of living existences on the worlds of space is centered on the divine purpose of elevating all creatures endowed with will to a high destiny, the experience of sharing in the paradisiacal perfection of the Father.” (UB 2:2.5) answers the Divine Counselor.
How can we know his will? Being finite creatures we cannot know it unless he himself reveals it to us through epochal or personal revelation.
The authors of the Urantia Book, by providing concrete answers to these fundamental questions, give us practical solutions that can be used in our daily lives while broadening the fields of our cosmic consciousness.
Question 1: Read the following sections: UB 1:0 ; UB 26:4-11.
Perfection, the Divine Counselor tells us, can be absolute, relative or imperfect in seven conceivable types. (UB 0:1.17). The present goal set by God for us ascending creatures is perfection on the finite level of existence. It is progressively actualized by marking stages, intermediate achievements of perfection. For example, fusion with our Thought Adjuster denotes that we have eternally and irrevocably chosen to do the will of the Father (UB 111:3.1) which constitutes an experiential achievement of relative perfection of our will in relation to this goal.
What are the other achievements of relative perfection that we will actualize during our upward adventure? Using the list of levels of perfection found in the Introduction (UB 0:1.18-24) can you rank them?
Question 2: Read the following sections: UB 7:4; UB 107:0; UB 194:2
The Urantia Book reveals to us that “There is a plan in the mind of God that includes all the creatures of His vast domains, and that plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. And the infinite treasures of this incomparable career reward your efforts!” (UB 32:5.7).
Yes, our Father is an infinite creator, controller and sustainer (UB 1:0.1). He is infinitely consistent and faithful with Himself and provides all the help and support needed by His creatures. How comforting it is to know that there is indeed an ascension plan for each of us that gives meaning and direction to our lives as we struggle through the daily vicissitudes.
Many of our relatives and friends are unaware of how God can help them in their daily lives. How would you describe this plan to them in a few words?
Question 3: Read the following sections: UB 115:3 The realization of the plan of progressive perfection requires a modus operandi to develop and a tension between potentials to create dynamics. The Urantia Book describes its mechanisms produced by the three existential Deities of Paradise as Supremacy and Ultimacy, growth through experience.
How do its mechanisms operate in us? Can you give an example from your own experience?
Question 4: Read the following sections: UB 0:0; UB 101:2,4,5; UB 102:3.
“God must always first find man so that man can then find God. A universal Father is always necessary before a universal filiation and the universal brotherhood that follows can exist.” (UB 118:5.3)
The finite cannot comprehend the infinite unless the infinite reveals itself to the finite. To us ascending finite creatures, God reveals himself through personal and epochal revelations. The Urantia Book is the fifth and most recent of the epochal revelations.
In your opinion, what are the goals sought by the authors of this fifth revelation?
Question 5: Read the following sections: UB 1:2; UB 1:3.6. UB 2:2.6; UB 5:2; UB 107:0; UB 108:0; UB 109:0
The Universal Father also reveals himself by means of personal revelations through a fragmented entity of himself which he bestows upon his creatures as a Thought Adjuster.
By bestowing this fragment of himself on his creatures, what is the goal sought by God?
Question 6: Read the following sections: (UB 9:2.5) The authors of The Urantia Book tell us that the most edifying and inspiring spiritual revelation of the nature of God is found in the religious life of Jesus as he lived it on Urantia.
In your opinion, what are the most inspiring aspects of Jesus’ religious life?
The second period will be published in Link No. 72 of January 2016
| The Unconscious and the Superconscious | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 71 — Autumn 2015 | Publications on the Urantia Book |