© 2010 Text: Olga López. Photos: Demetrio Gómez, Paco Ruiz and David Carrera.
© 2010 Urantia Association of Spain
| Luz y Vida — No. 21 — Presentation | Luz y Vida — No. 21 — June 2010 — Index | News from Urantia Association of Spain |
¶ The Gathering
¶ Background
My first contact with Sheila KeeneLund came in early 2008 through a mutual friend, James Woodward, current chair of the Urantia Association International Study Group Committee. By then Sheila had finished writing her book Heaven is not the last stop and was looking for someone to translate the book into Spanish. I spread the word among the Spanish readers and some names came up, which I passed on right away.
In July 2008 I attended the international conference that the Fellowship held in Los Angeles (USA), and there I had the opportunity to meet Sheila in person. I still remember a private reception organized by the General Council of the Fellowship, to which members of UAI and Urantia Foundation were invited, where I had the opportunity to have a long talk with Sheila and where we connected almost immediately.
At that time we were in the middle of the organization phase of the international conference. Sheila volunteered to give one of the presentations (specifically, she was set to give the first presentation of the conference), precisely on the “cultivation of universal intelligence.” This meant that we kept in regular contact during the months after we met in person, to specify the details of his presentation, the duration, the content, etc.
With just over a month to go before the Meeting, Sheila told me that she would not be able to attend Spain due to personal problems, so her presentation had to be replaced by that of another speaker.
In the summer of 2009, when the international conference was already a beautiful memory and while we were thinking about what could be the theme of our national meeting, it occurred to us that it might be a good idea to invite Sheila to our meeting, to give the presentation that could not give at the international conference. The development that he sent us at the time had managed to arouse our interest, and we considered it worth knowing first-hand what the “cultivation of universal intelligence” was.
Shortly thereafter, we asked Sheila to teach this seminar, and she accepted immediately and with great enthusiasm. By then he had already published his book, in the United States and by his own means.
At the beginning of this year we presented Sheila with the challenge of giving, not just a presentation, but a three-session seminar, which would occupy most of the activities of the meeting, a challenge that she accepted with delight. Meanwhile, in the months leading up to our meeting, Sheila gave talks on this topic in Mexico and Colombia. In May it was our turn!
¶ Development
On Friday at noon those attending the Meeting began arriving at Casa Toya, which “officially” began at lunchtime. In total there were thirty-two people from Vizcaya, Burgos, Madrid, Seville, Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Castellón, Alicante and Zaragoza. The vast majority were veteran readers, regulars at the meetings and members of one of the ten study groups that currently exist in Spain.
After lunch and after-dinner, in which the attendees took the opportunity to catch up with their respective lives and enjoy the reunion, Sheila’s seminar itself began. She began her presentation by recounting her own experience as a seeker, explaining how she got to The Urantia Book and how she ended up writing her book Heaven is not the last stop. She told us what she found in UB that made a difference in her life, and then she encouraged each and every one of us to express to others, in less than two minutes, what UB has done by us, assuming we were telling someone who had never heard of the book.
The most difficult thing for us was to explain what the book had done for us as people, since it is always easy to fall back on the “intellectual” answer. These were some of the responses that attendees gave:
“The UB has answered all the questions I had about the meaning of life”.
“The UB has given me a great responsibility, because it has made me see others not as a business possibility or as money, but as my brothers. And above all it has made me imperfect, because before I thought I was perfect”.
“The UB has given me a purpose for action; to carry out my inner transformation, that of my environment and thus contribute to a better world”.
“The UB has made me propose to be aware at all times of what is the best course of action, of what is the best way to relate to my peers”.
At the end of the first session, we did a lectio divina exercise. We got in a circle and four people read the same paragraph from the UB. The attendees listened with their eyes closed and in silence to the paragraph. After the first and second reading they could say aloud the word that had come to their mind, and already in the third and fourth they had to say a phrase or prayer inspired by that reading. It was an unusual experience in our meetings and the truth is that it was very inspiring, since very sincere and not stereotyped prayers arose.
This was the paragraph used in the lectio divina:
“As Martha busied herself with all these supposed duties, she was perturbed because Mary did nothing to help. Therefore she went to Jesus and said: “Master, do you not care that my sister has left me alone to do all of the serving? Will you not bid her to come and help me?” Jesus answered: “Martha, Martha, why are you always anxious about so many things and troubled by so many trifles? Only one thing is really worth while, and since Mary has chosen this good and needful part, I shall not take it away from her. But when will both of you learn to live as I have taught you: both serving in co-operation and both refreshing your souls in unison? Can you not learn that there is a time for everything—that the lesser matters of life should give way before the greater things of the heavenly kingdom?”” (UB 162:8.3)
In the evening, after dinner, Eduardo Altuzarra presented to the attendees the PowerPoint introduction to The Urantia Book that was designed at the beginning of the year and has been posted on our website ever since. Two rollups or exhibitors were also presented, acquired by the association in order to serve as exhibition material in presentations, fairs and other public events.
After the presentation of the PowerPoint and the text on which the spoken presentation about the book would be based, the attendees offered their constructive criticism and many suggestions were noted to make the presentation more agile and captivating for the viewer, who is supposed not to know The Book of Urantia and whose attention needs to be maintained throughout the duration of the presentation. Not only were there very good suggestions on how to improve the content; There were also concerns regarding the form, such as converting this presentation to DIVX format, and in this way being able to post it on websites such as YouTube to give it the widest possible dissemination.
The next day in the morning we resumed the seminar, in which Sheila developed what it means to “cultivate spiritual intelligence”, which would be to develop our personal religion in the same way that one learns a language. You have to cultivate instinctive reactions and react automatically. We must consider religion as the experience of knowing God, through the development of consciousness.
In this part, Sheila invited us to explore the beliefs, in order to be able to explain the UB teachings to those who do not know them, and gave us some examples:
- The soul as separate from the spirit and as something with the potential for immortality (only the spirit is immortal)
- What is the will of God?
- What does the fifth epochal revelation mean?
- How was the UB revealed? - What is the relationship between heaven and the universe?
- Heaven, purgatory and hell (the morontia of which the UB speaks would be like purgatory for a Christian)
It is important to know where concepts come from in world history, philosophy and religions, in order to explain what difference UB makes. Of course, always from a positive approach, the way Jesus did: without discrediting any belief but trying to extract a higher teaching from all of them.
In the third session of the seminar, we carried out a series of practical exercises proposed by Sheila.
First, he invited us to make a list of purposes or intentions that would make us deepen our relationship with God and our love for others, to create with them a kind of personal prayer in which each sentence began with “it is my intention…”.
We also did two exercises related to two important aspects of personal growth: the development of emotional maturity and the adjustment of moral conscience. In these exercises, possible statements about ourselves were proposed to us, and we had to indicate if we needed to improve on this aspect or if we had already learned it and practiced it in our daily lives. This made each one of us reflect and wonder if we really are as elevated as we think we are.
Another of the exercises we did was aimed at helping us improve the quality of our thinking, as that will inevitably help us to be better people. As Sheila points out in her book Heaven is not the last stop: “Improving the quality of the way of thinking is developing the objective and reflective skills of the mind. It is possible to act intelligently only when we can systematically and objectively assess the merit of our knowledge, skills, attitudes and actions”.
The final activity of this last session was a study of UB quotes related to each of the aspects on which Sheila focused the cultivation of spiritual intelligence:
- Develop moral conscience
- Cultivate mental attitude
- Explore beliefs
- Emotional maturity
- Prayer
- Discernment
- Connection with the inner guide
For this activity, we meet in groups of 3 or 4 people. Sheila would assign us one of these topics and give us a series of UB quotes related to the topic, so that we would reflect on them and take note of our reflections. At the end, one of the group members presented the conclusions to all the others.
For example, our group was given the topic “Developing a Moral Conscience”, and these were the quotes that Sheila gave us for our reflection:
“In physical life the senses tell of the existence of things; mind discovers the reality of meanings; but the spiritual experience reveals to the individual the true values of life. These high levels of human living are attained in the supreme love of God and in the unselfish love of man. If you love your fellow men, you must have discovered their values. Jesus loved men so much because he placed such a high value upon them. You can best discover values in your associates by discovering their motivation. If someone irritates you, causes feelings of resentment, you should sympathetically seek to discern his viewpoint, his reasons for such objectionable conduct. If once you understand your neighbor, you will become tolerant, and this tolerance will grow into friendship and ripen into love.” (UB 100:4.4)
“The enlightened spiritual consciousness of civilized man is not concerned so much with some specific intellectual belief or with any one particular mode of living as with discovering the truth of living, the good and right technique of reacting to the ever-recurring situations of mortal existence. Moral consciousness is just a name applied to the human recognition and awareness of those ethical and emerging morontial values which duty demands that man shall abide by in the day-by-day control and guidance of conduct.” (UB 101:9.5)
“Even secular education could help in this great spiritual renaissance if it would pay more attention to the work of teaching youth how to engage in life planning and character progression. The purpose of all education should be to foster and further the supreme purpose of life, the development of a majestic and well-balanced personality. There is great need for the teaching of moral discipline in the place of so much self-gratification. Upon such a foundation religion may contribute its spiritual incentive to the enlargement and enrichment of mortal life, even to the security and enhancement of life eternal.” (UB 195:10.17)
1. Mutual self-expression and self-understanding. Many noble human impulses die because there is no one to hear their expression. Truly, it is not good for man to be alone. Some degree of recognition and a certain amount of appreciation are essential to the development of human character. Without the genuine love of a home, no child can achieve the full development of normal character. Character is something more than mere mind and morals. Of all social relations calculated to develop character, the most effective and ideal is the affectionate and understanding friendship of man and woman in the mutual embrace of intelligent wedlock. Marriage, with its manifold relations, is best designed to draw forth those precious impulses and those higher motives which are indispensable to the development of a strong character. I do not hesitate thus to glorify family life, for your Master has wisely chosen the father-child relationship as the very cornerstone of this new gospel of the kingdom. And such a matchless community of relationship, man and woman in the fond embrace of the highest ideals of time, is so valuable and satisfying an experience that it is worth any price, any sacrifice, requisite for its possession. (UB 160:2.6)
Man’s choosing between good and evil is influenced, not only by the keenness of his moral nature, but also by such influences as ignorance, immaturity, and delusion. A sense of proportion is also concerned in the exercise of virtue because evil may be perpetrated when the lesser is chosen in the place of the greater as a result of distortion or deception. The art of relative estimation or comparative measurement enters into the practice of the virtues of the moral realm. (UB 16:7.7)
On Saturday night, after dinner, there was a presentation by Eduardo Altuzarra on the Milky Way regarding the Orvonton superuniverse. We must say that the presentation, although rigorous, took place with large doses of humor, due to the already historical discrepancies between those who defend that the Milky Way is practically equivalent to the Orvonton superuniverse (which is Eduardo’s thesis), compared to those who they believe that the Milky Way is a much smaller part. Eduardo illustrated his presentation with a large number of photographs of the most famous nebulae, as well as galaxies that, according to the UB, would be in the first level of outer space. It was a very instructive presentation because, although no conclusion emerged as to what the Milky Way really is according to the UB, it allowed us to get an idea of where our location is in the grand universe, and to reflect on the “clues” that the UB offers us regarding this topic.
Sunday morning was the time for the final activities. Before beginning the assembly of the association, which was the last activity of the Meeting, we took a group photo with Sheila, who had to leave soon because she had to take a plane from Bilbao at 3 in the afternoon. In the assembly we inform attendees about the activities carried out during 2009, as well as the dissemination projects that we have planned for this year.
During the assembly, many interesting ideas emerged on how to improve our website, increase our presence on the Internet and in social networks, improve the appearance of the magazine “Luz y Vida”, give presentations and attend fairs and other events that may be related. to our goals as an association. We have taken good note of all the suggestions and hope to give a good impetus to our activities in the immediate future.
We also talked about how to have regular contact with existing study groups in our country, to support them in whatever they need and create a sense of belonging to the Urantia movement. And finally, at the end, we had the opportunity to evaluate Sheila’s seminar. The general evaluation was very positive, and the idea was expressed to continue in this line in the next matches.
The meeting officially ended after lunch, which was followed by coffee, after-dinner and farewell. As always, we say goodbye with the feeling of having lived some precious moments in the company of kindred spirits, and with the desire to repeat the experience in the coming years.
Although the average mortal of Urantia cannot hope to attain the high perfection of character which Jesus of Nazareth acquired while sojourning in the flesh, it is altogether possible for every mortal believer to develop a strong and unified personality along the perfected lines of the Jesus personality. The unique feature of the Master’s personality was not so much its perfection as its symmetry, its exquisite and balanced unification. The most effective presentation of Jesus consists in following the example of the one who said, as he gestured toward the Master standing before his accusers, “Behold the man!” (UB 100:7.1)
¶ Impressions
¶ David Carrera
Except for some presentations by Eduardo Altuzarra, this year the Meeting was almost monographic. There is a material that represents the ideas that were tried to be transmitted in the three main conferences, but I am afraid that, today, it is only in English; It is the book of the person who presented the workshops, Sheila KeeneLund. It is a book inspired by The Urantia Book and entitled “Heaven is not the last stop” (Heaven is not the last stop), and it is pending to be translated into our language.
Anecdotes? In the case of Sheila, the formal ones that could be derived from a certain Spanglish (realize - perform, balance balance, etc), unimportant anecdotes, because she was understood quite well in everything she tried to convey, and the truth is that just contemplating her face as he explained his ideas was already inspiring. His days were a delight for everyone, I think. His workshops combined theory and practice, and I especially appreciated that he shared lessons from his own experience with all of us.
In the case of Eduardo, the anecdotes were those derived from great clashes of interpretation regarding the shape of our superuniverse among great friends, with enough confidence to interpret great contests. (What a laugh we have had!). Carmelo and Santi participated.
Basically, the fascinating problem that Eduardo was trying to solve was the shape of our superuniverse seen “from above.” On the one hand, the Revelators tell us that the Milky Way represents the core of our superuniverse. Apparently, a spiral galaxy like the one proposed by current science could satisfy this idea. But on the other hand, the Revealers tell us that, if we could observe our superuniverse from above, we would be able to distinguish the ten largest sectors with the naked eye, something that cannot be done with the different hypotheses of the shape of our galaxy presented to us by the current science.
Even when the conclusions of both could not be reconciled, Eduardo’s work was able to leave us all intrigued. It fascinated me.
Insofar as the problematic included data on numbers of stars and data on distances, it was even necessary to mention the section “The limits of the Revelation” and to remind all parties that, if they really wanted to reach a point of consensus, everyone should ask themselves before each scientific statement of UB if it could be included in “deserved science” or “undeserved science” (susceptible to undergo updating as our own science advances).
I have seen that the meetings provide an experience to the veterans that allows the public itself to masterfully channel any possible inopportune intervention by the new additions. Humor and tolerance have presided over all the workshops and also the moments of relaxation. Another thing that fascinates about the meetings is to verify how spirituality is something so real, that it manages not only to print quality in our intellects but also to ennoble year after year what could be excessively strong or difficult characters.
Personally, when I am most aware of the benefits provided by the Readers’ Meetings, it is during those same days but in the moments before falling asleep, when one is already in bed and takes stock of what has been experienced during the day.
They are always profitable days, days when you notice that you have made the most of them at all levels. That you have grown and that others have grown by your side.
I don’t know what will be more important, if the workshops or the apparently anodyne interactions with other brothers in the contexts of rest, the relationship with people with whom it is not difficult for you to tune in precisely because they already have the most basic messages integrated into their souls. of this great Revelation.
¶ Juan Ismael Gracia
How fast time flies! Exactly 17 months ago today since I began the first reading of the Urantia Book, I must admit that this period of my life has personally been like a kind of gale full of new experiences and great discoveries that have made an impression on me, endowing me with a peace, an illusion, a faith and a hope that before did not know that it could exist.
What can I tell you about UB that you don’t already know! In him I found many answers, truth, beauty… thanks to him I found humility… also responsibility.
In September I began to go to the nearest study group (Vilanova) and immediately I knew that I had acted correctly. The people I met there have turned out to be great companions and by comparing and debating our respective points of view, my enlightenment on many points of the UB went away and continues to increase.
Shortly after, I began to participate in the international forum moderated by David Carrera on the Internet… I discovered other brothers farther away with whom I also had and continue to have exciting conversations about certain aspects of UB.
Both have been totally enriching experiences and I encourage possible readers to practice them assiduously, complementing the personal study of this wonderful fifth revelation.
This past weekend I went full of enthusiasm to the IX readers’ meeting in Aluenda, since I am new to this type of meeting, I think it would be good to try to express through this writing the extremely pleasant personal impressions that I had of him.
As soon as I arrived, the place was reassuring to me, a place away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities seemed to me at first glance ideal for this type of event… for this I must congratulate the organizers. A humble-looking rustic hostel surrounded by small terraces of fruit trees and vegetation that turned out to be very cosy… the food surprised me since it was totally vegetarian, for me each meal was a feast of different and varied flavors… although I must to recognize that the last day I began to miss some lamb ribs or a slice of ham… I’m from Teruel!
I met new brothers… When you arrive they begin to introduce you to a lot of people you don’t know at all except someone who also participates in the forum… from Madrid, from Seville, etc., you go crazy with so many names and faces new but immediately you start a conversation because cordiality is the dominant note… somehow it is as if you already knew them before. It is difficult to explain, but the mere fact of knowing that they have read the UB just like you causes enormous empathy and you just have to let yourself go, the spirit does the rest. As my friend Carmelo commented very well, these massive meetings are like fleeting glimpses of what relationships in Morontia should be like. Throughout the weekend I devoted myself to comparing ideas and sharing my own experiences about UB and writing down addresses, emails and phone numbers… a joy.
The last morning there was a meeting of the board, it was very interesting because there I got up to date on the news and future plans regarding the Foundation. I understood the difficult work of the members of that board since they must reconcile their lives and work with the responsibility of organizing and ensuring the growth and maintenance of the Urantia movement. I made sure of the lack of both economic and material resources that they suffer from but that they supply with effort and dedication, good will and imagination… I realized the importance of their work.
As I was informed, this meeting was different since it revolved almost entirely around the seminar given to us by the American sister Sheila Keene Lund in relation to her recently published book “Heaven is not the last stop” and which I hope will soon be published in Spanish. Sheila showed us the importance of each making a personal plan for personal growth and how to really translate it into daily life. He showed us the multitude of keys that the UB donates to us for this work and he told us many more things, including details of his personal experience… for me it was very interesting. One of the things that stuck with me the most was regarding the worship of the Father. She made me see that given the impossibility of adoring something impossible to imagine, the most sensible thing to do was to delegate that adoration to our adjuster, who would surely know how to do it… interesting. My own conclusion was that the best way to worship God is to take action.
Something that moved me was seeing people of already advanced ages and with an illusion like that of a child to learn more… some have spent twenty or thirty years conscientiously studying the UB!.. They transmit an optimism and a faith in what we do totally contagious. I looked at them tenderly because they have been the pioneers of UB in Spain… it must not have been easy at that time. They inspire me with deep respect. I had a chat with one of them and he told me details about when they started… they are stories of great human value.
In short, as Eduardo explained to me in a talk we had the first day, when you discover the UB you realize that your building has many leaks… if you “wake up” you begin to rebuild it in a task that will never end until you arrive before the presence of the Father… and that is not a duty… it is a joy.
This IX Meeting has been an excellent experience for me and from here I encourage all those UB readers who can to attend future meetings. I consider this form of twinning highly positive and always pays off personally.
¶ Carmelo Martínez
After several weeks waiting impatiently for it, it turns out that the IX Meeting has already passed, and it has left me, as always, mired in nostalgia. I have ever thought that this only happened to me, but it turns out that it happens to everyone! Even Sheila, who this year has been the main speaker at the Meeting, who is American and who did not know any of us, has suffered and still suffers, I fear, the nostalgia of separation.
Does anyone know how to tell me what the Encounters have to make this happen?
Could it be those long-awaited and desired reunions, and those tight hugs and snogging with Josefina?
Will it be the presentations themselves? This year Sheila’s enlightening vision of the Urantia Book in action in every person.
Will they be as inevitable (i) as Eduardo’s excellent graphics on the Milky Way and Orvonton and the subsequent discussions “to the death” with which we do not agree with him and which cause so much laughter?
Could it be those moments of meals in which we tell each other how life has been for us in the last year (just since the last time we saw each other)?
Is it those coffee chats where we share our enthusiasm for the Book?
Or is it simply that we love feeling together again and living a sibling relationship?
I don’t know, but I do know that as the Meeting approaches I feel more and more impatient; that when it arrives, it passes very quickly; and that when it happens, I am filled with nostalgia and I am looking forward to the next one being called.
Of course, I still have the photos of the “official reporters” (Paco, Demetrio and this year, Samuel) that I look at and look at, over and over again, to relive the “morontia” sensations of the Meeting and feel that I am still with you.
Let’s see, Board of Directors, you are already taking time to announce the next one!
Spirit-gravity pull and response thereto operate not only on the universe as a whole but also even between individuals and groups of individuals. There is a spiritual cohesiveness among the spiritual and spiritized personalities of any world, race, nation, or believing group of individuals. There is a direct attractiveness of a spirit nature between spiritually minded persons of like tastes and longings. The term kindred spirits is not wholly a figure of speech. (UB 7:1.6)
¶ The pictures
(Images of an Encounter)
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/
| Luz y Vida — No. 21 — Presentation | Luz y Vida — No. 21 — June 2010 — Index | News from Urantia Association of Spain |