© 1999 Linda Buselli
© 1999 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| Whither Goest Thou, Woman? | Volume 1, Number 2, 1999 (Spring) — Index | On Removing The Barrier To A Civilized Discussion Of Eugenics |
Of all the enigmas presented to us by The Urantia Book, one of the most puzzling to me has always been the seven psychic circles. Only three of them are given any definition at all, and yet we must attain these stages of spiritual achievement in preparation for Adjuster fusion. I accepted this lack of differentiation between these circles because the book clearly states that they are different for each individual. However, I have found a possible way of giving them shape and form in the work of best-selling author, Caroline Myss, Ph.D.
In her book, Anatomy of the Spirit Dr. Myss writes of her experience as a medical intuitive. In pursuing this ability, she became aware of the importance of the seven chakras of Hindu tradition, not only from a physical energy point of view, but as centers of spiritual energies that are as intricate as our physical makeup. As she became more and more certain of these spiritual truths, she realized that the truth of these seven levels of spiritual growth must be true in other religions as well — and she found their relationship to the seven sacraments of Christianity and the seven levels of the Hebrew Kabbalah, the Tree of Life, or Sefirot. Each chakra has a corresponding meaning in a sacrament and a level of the Tree of Life, and now, I believe, in the seven psychic circles of The Urantia Book.
In an attempt to apply these to a human life, I began to investigate the growth of Jesus in the seven levels as described by Dr. Myss, and this has resulted in some, to me, startling conclusions. Note that in the following graphic, the psychic circles are numbered in reverse order to the chakras. Let’s begin with the first chakra, corresponding to the seventh psychic circle. This chakra represents the “tribal” level to Dr. Myss, and corresponds to the sacrament of baptism and the first level of the Sefirot, Shekhinah, meaning “divine presence”. “One who enters must enter through this gate” (Zohar 1:7b) Of course, we enter the seventh circle when we make our first moral decision and receive our Thought Adjuster; and “Entrance upon the seventh circle constitutes a mortal creature a truly potential citizen of the local universe.” (UB 110:6.13)
Jesus entered the seventh circle upon the receipt of his Thought Adjuster at the age of four. Both of his parents were involved in his instruction in family discipline and practices and also Jewish beliefs, customs and traditions. This is in keeping with the tribal, family concept. At the age of seven, when Jesus entered school, he began to spend more time outside of the family, to establish relationships with schoolmates, and to “make contact with human nature from the four quarters of the earth as men from many lands passed in and out of his father’s repair shop.” (UB 123:5.6) The second chakra or sixth circle represents our personal relationships with others, both human and divine. In Christianity, this is represented by the sacrament of Communion at the age of seven.
| Psychic Circles | Chakras | Sacraments | Sefirot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Potential Universe Citizen |
1 Tribal, Community |
Baptism - Family | 10 Sekhinah - Creation |
| 6 | 2 Personal Relationships |
Communion - Honor One Another |
9 Yesod - Foundation |
| 5 | 3 Self Self-esteem | Confirmation - Honor Yourself, Honor Code |
8 & 7 Hod & Nezah Majesty & Endurance |
| 4 | 4 Love | Marriage | 6 Tif’eret - Beauty |
| 3 Accept Divine Will | 5 Will Will to God | Confession - Surrender Judgement & Mercy |
5 & 4 Gevurah, Hesed |
| 2 | 6 Mind, Clarity | Ordination | 3 & 2 Binah, Hokhmah Understanding, Wisdom |
| 1 Adjuster Contact | 7 Oneness | Extreme Unction From Physical to Spiritual |
1 Keter - Divine Energy |
The Urantia Book describes Jesus’ attempts to resolve the issues of the third chakra, or fifth circle — honor, integrity — between the ages of 12 and 14. “… Jesus suffered great mental distress as the result of his constant effort to adjust his personal views of religious practices and social amenities to the established beliefs of his parents. He was distraught by the conflict between the urge to be loyal to his own convictions and the conscientious admonition of dutiful submission to his parents…” (UB 124:4.9)
Has Jesus now moved into the fifth circle, or is he operating in all three of the outer circles simultaneously? As I compared the proposed meanings of the seven levels to various instances in Jesus’ life, it became apparent to me that his decisions and resulting actions always affected several levels simultaneously as he applied higher and higher meanings to each previous level, or circle. It appears that the boundaries of the circles begin to blur considerably as the individual integrates each new growth level into the preceding ones.
Is this why the authors of The Urantia Book don’t define all of the circles? It appears that we operate in all at once to a greater or lesser degree, all the way to the first. Even Adjuster contact (first circle) can happen in any circle, although it is rare before the later developmental stages.
We also know that we don’t really “complete” our circles even as we advance. From UB 108:5.2 of The Urantia Book : “What the Thought Adjuster cannot utilize in your present life, those truths which he cannot successfully transmit to the man of his betrothal, he will faithfully preserve for use in the next stage of existence, just as he now carries over from circle to circle those items which he fails to register in the experience of the human subject, owing to the creature’s inability, or failure, to give a sufficient degree of co-operation.” (Emphasis mine)
Perhaps our concept of being “in” any given circle refers not to the complete mastery of the previous level, but to a relative degree of mastery, or integration, of all previous levels and a balanced achievement of growth of the entire personality. “The successful traversal of these levels demands the harmonious functioning of the entire personality , not merely of some one phase thereof. The growth of the parts does not equal the true maturation of the whole; the parts really grow in proportion to the expansion of the entire self — the whole self — material, intellectual, and spiritual…By such a balanced growth does man ascend the circles of planetary progression one by one, from the seventh to the first.” (UB 110:6.3-4)
In eastern tradition, the chakras are united into a single system of physical and spiritual energies. As one ascends from the first chakra through the seventh, the largely physical influence of the lower levels is increasingly dominated by the spiritual motivations of the higher ones. And from The Urantia Book, “The seven circles embrace mortal experience extending from the highest purely animal level to the lowest actual contactual morontia level of self-consciousness as a personality experience.” (UB 110:6.21)
In all three religious traditions, it is at the level of the third circle that the human will has been dedicated to the divine will, marking a definitive stage of spiritual achievement. “From the seventh to the third circle there occurs increased and unified action of the seven adjutant mindspirits in the task of weaning the mortal mind from its dependence on the realities of the material life mechanisms preparatory to increased introduction to morontia levels of existence.” (UB 110:6.20)
Is it possible that the “completion” of all of these circles does not occur until that final moment following the traversal of the first circle, when all factors come together at once, when all levels are simultaneously completed as the last stage of Adjuster control is effected? Is this somehow a far-distant echo of the developmental stages of the Supreme, when he will be complete in one final moment of achievement, as all factors in his growth come to fulfillment simultaneously?
We are aware that even completion of the circles is not equal to Adjuster fusion. “…fusion depends on yet other greater and more sublime spiritual achievements, upon the attainment of a final and complete attunement of the mortal will with the will of God as it is resident in the Thought Adjuster.” (UB 110:7.1) I have sometimes thought that circle completion versus fusion might be likened to wedding vows at the altar versus a 50-year marriage. After all, we are told: “numbers of decisions, frequent repetitions, persistent repetitions, are also essential to the habit-forming certainty of such reactions.” (UB 110:6.6)(Emphasis mine)
The similarity of the various religious traditions of seven levels of spiritual achievement indicates that mankind has been aware of these truths since ancient times. Each culture interprets the meanings of these levels in a very similar manner, and they share the same purpose: the ascent of the individual from the lowest or physical stage of existence, through the emotional and intellectual levels to divine contact, oneness with Divinity.
We cannot find a better example of human progression through the circles than in The Urantia Book’s narrative of Jesus’ life. As we follow his development, his constant balancing of the various aspects of life as it is lived on this planet and co-ordination of all this with his determination to be subject to the will of the Father, we are inspired to act in our own lives with this same consecration of will.
Linda Buselli has been a reader for 28 years, and she and her husband Bob served as Area Coordinators for Indiana for many years. She is a member of the Publications Committee and now resides in Dallas, TX. Both children, Michael (24) and Gina (22) are active in the Urantia movement.
| Whither Goest Thou, Woman? | Volume 1, Number 2, 1999 (Spring) — Index | On Removing The Barrier To A Civilized Discussion Of Eugenics |