© 2024 Urantia Association of Spain
| Luz y Vida — April 2024 — Editorial | Luz y Vida — April 2024 | The Madrid Study Group celebrates its 20th anniversary |
I am Ana Eguren. I live in Guadalajara, in a small rural town in Spain. I work in the administrative area of a secondary school. I am married and have a daughter, a son and two dogs.
¶ 1. How did you come across The Urantia Book and why do you think you found it?
Ever since I can remember, I have been aware of my search for God. Although it was easier for me to look for him outside, in sunsets, in the night sky, in a beautiful landscape, in a baby… I also experienced some light in my heart; even though I was living a satisfactory life, I felt the urge to seek more coherence in my reality. I did not find the answers to my concerns in my religion, the Catholic religion. That is why years ago I decided to “speak directly,” to maintain a unilateral dialogue with Jesus of Nazareth. I consider myself an avid reader and what I believe were his answers came to me in the form of the book Trojan Horse, and this led me to The Urantia Book. I have always been certain that the encounter was something reciprocal; the Master appears when the student is ready. The Urantia Book appeared in my life at the right and appropriate moment, approximately 17 years ago.
¶ 2. What was your first impression when reading it?
Above all, gratitude and joy. It was in the silence of the night, when I could read without interruptions, that upon closing the book a feeling of deep gratitude arose, perhaps because not all of us see things as they are, but rather as we are. The complexity of the revelation did not discourage me, on the contrary. At this moment in my life, its knowledge implies a responsibility, a loyalty accepted with enthusiasm.
¶ 3. At what point in the reading (document, sentence, etc.) did you accept that The Urantia Book is really what it claims to be?
As soon as I got the book and looked at the index, the first thing I did was to hurriedly and nervously leaf through the beginning of the fourth part, which was what I was familiar with. It only took a few moments of reading for my heart to skip a beat. From that first moment I knew that the fifth revelation was the pearl I had been looking for: “Ask and it will be given to you.”
¶ 4. How has The Urantia Book changed your life?
My attitude is more open to experience and discovery. I am also more aware of the splendor and beauty that surrounds me. I notice that I am more reflective and more selective about my thoughts. These new stimuli lead me to “dig deeper” and perceive the goodness in people, even recognizing the Father in them, and that excites me. From this new context, it occurs to me that I have the ability and responsibility to create certain events.
¶ 5. Has your faith changed after reading it? If so, in what way?
In recent years my faith is less belief and almost no tradition. From the example of our Master’s life, with the passing of the years and more or less conscious experiences, that perspective has added more confidence in the Father and there are more times that I delegate my will to Him following the Master’s example. “It is my desire that your will be done,” without further ado I remain confident in the events to come.
¶ 6. Is there any point (or points) of the revelation that you find difficult to accept?
It is true that some documents sounded like fantasy literature to me. The names that the revealers give to the spheres: Serafington, Divinigton, Salvington, etc. Also the topics related to the fandors, the “harp of God” as an instrument of communication, left me somewhat stupefied. Then the gigantic creation and the infinite number of personalities overwhelmed me, but in no case did they make me give up or doubt its veracity or the spiritual foundation of the revelation. Everything seems clearer and more coherent to me, although I can only advance step by step, very slowly, as my consciousness expands.
¶ 7. What is the part that has impressed you most deeply?
Without a doubt, the life of Jesus of Nazareth as a mortal human being, as just another Agondon resident. His unconditional faith in the Universal Father, his humility, his kindness, his understanding and loving character… what the revelators call “his art of living.”
¶ 8. How do you understand “doing the will of the Father”?
The way I understand it is by sharing my life, my thoughts, my experiences with Him. My simplest way of interpreting it is to open my eyes and accept seeing, open my ears and accept listening, although it is not easy for me despite being aware that without having done anything, I have everything. Doing His will is truly feeling like His daughter, it is participating in the celebration of love and beauty that surrounds me. For me, it is being attentive to my higher consciousness.
¶ 9. Have you become conscious of the presence of your Adjuster?
Perhaps it was the need for his help and company that, since my youth, I have been, in some way, aware of a good and much wiser presence within me. That feeling made me and makes me look at the horizon in a positive way. I don’t know if that presence is the Adjuster, but the truth is that I have never felt alone.
¶ 10. Have you tried to put the Master’s teachings into practice? What has been the result?
Yes, above all praying and trusting more and more in the will of the Father, which for me has been the teaching that has had the greatest impact on me from Jesus. The much broader knowledge of his life, his attitude of love and mercy so fully integrated into his personality, natural and not forced, together with his peace, his light and his freedom, I know that they are much more than a mere intellectual understanding.
What I can see in my learning process is the attempt to put his teachings into practice; many people still confuse kindness with weakness and that puts me on guard, and although I try not to be distrustful, I don’t always succeed.
¶ 11. Do you think that The Urantia Book has something “mysterious” that makes not everyone decide to read it?
Not at all, if you believe that life is more than what you think or what you see. It is not mysterious if you are looking for answers to a coherent existence. Humility, a greater capacity to learn and curiosity are, from my point of view, essential facets for deciding to read it. It is a great transformer of consciousness, it is effort and perhaps that is what is “mysterious.” Personally, The Urantia Book is helping me evolve without so much suffering and less resistance.
¶ 12. Is there anything else you would like to say regarding The Urantia Book?
I can say that my experience with The Urantia Book has been a balm, a relaxation in my choices. It is not getting lost in dead ends knowing that the light is within me. I have stopped running from one side to the other, resisting because now I can say that I know the merciful nature of the Father. By immersing myself in its reading I have found myself face to face with the LOVE that is God.
¶ References
- Index of the magazine “Luz y Vida” of the Association of Spain
- This article from the magazine “Luz y Vida Online”
| Luz y Vida — April 2024 — Editorial | Luz y Vida — April 2024 | The Madrid Study Group celebrates its 20th anniversary |