© 2022 Olga López
© 2022 Urantia Association of Spain
Newsletter of the Urantia Association of Spain
Light and Life — June 2022
¶ In this number
- Editorial – June 2022
- Works – our recommendations of the month
- History and teachings – Chronicle of the life of Jesus
- A Children’s Guide to The Urantia Book: Birth of Jesus
- Other spiritual growth books
- Video – Our recommendation of the month
- Navigating through life – The three bars
- My favorite paragraph
- Urantia Questionnaire: Alberto Tapiz
- III European Meeting of Readers of The Urantia Book
- III Urantia Foundation Scientific Symposium
- Urantia Association International Study Group Symposium
- About the Light and Life newsletter
¶ Editorial – June 2022
M. José Sánchez Santamaría
«An old story tells that in a small town such a storm broke out that the river overflowed its banks and completely flooded everything. The inhabitants escaped as they could, but the priest, who had always been a man of great faith, remained at the entrance of the parish, praying to God to get him out of there.
“At that moment, a man was passing by driving a pickup truck who yelled at him:”
“– Father, come on, the water continues to rise!”
“- Do not worry son. replied the priest, ”God will save me."
“The water level continued to rise and the priest, waist-deep in water, continued to pray. Then a rowboat passed by with several men, who called out to him to get on.
The priest responded firmly:
“– You go, do not worry about me anymore, God will save me.”
“The men moved away while the storm did not stop and the water continued to rise; so much so that the priest had to climb to the roof of the parish. When the water was about to cover everything, a helicopter approached the priest from where they signaled for him to take the rescue rope, but he refused:”
«–I am a man of faith! he yelled at the helicopter, “God save me!”
“However, the water continued to fall and the priest ended up drowning and reached the gates of heaven. When he found himself face to face with God, he could not help but reproach him for letting him die like that."
“My Lord,” said the priest sadly, “why did you abandon me?”
«–But what abandonment are you talking about? God replied, “I sent you a truck, I sent you a boat, and I sent you a helicopter!”
¶ Works – our recommendations of the month
Transformative Techniques (William Sadler Jr.)
This work is actually a summary of one of the appendices of the work of William Sadler Jr. Study of the Master Universe, which can be read at this link. In the words of its author, one of the most brilliant readers of the book: «There is more than one way in which things and beings emerge from potentials to become real -to become actual- but, in all cases, it is a transformative process (…) There are various other transformative techniques (besides of evolution and creation) by virtue of which things and beings are brought into existence, and through which changes and modifications are wrought in already existing things and beings. In this summary, a review is made of precisely those techniques.
In this short article, which the author defines as a hymn to freedom, this quote from The Urantia Book is analyzed: “As you ascend through the personality ladder, you first learn to be loyal, then to love, then to be affiliated, and then you can be free” UB 39:4.11. The author exposes each of the points that leads us to be free (to be loyal, to love, to be filial) relying on other quotes from the book, as well as the reflections that each of these stages provokes in him. In the words of the author, to be free «is to live in the most total security. It is knowing that nothing bad can happen to us and that all superhuman and personal forces contribute to our happiness. All our physical or mental fears disappear, including the last fear that may be left behind the others: the fear of not being able to love.
From Pangea to plate tectonics (Halbert Katzen)
In another of Halbert Katzen’s works dedicated to comparing the statements of The Urantia Book with what science knows so far, the author addresses continental drift and the theory of plate tectonics. He tells us: “The Urantia Book not only says that the continents were originally all connected as one landmass and then broke apart, but it also provides details about how this happened. In addition, it addresses issues related to how various pressures affect the interrelationship of the oceans, continents, Earth’s crust, volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain building. Although the continental drift theory had been around for a long time and some evidence in support of this theory had been developed prior to the publication of The Urantia Book in 1955, the continental drift theory was very unpopular at the time of publication. because scientists had not obtained an adequate explanation of how the continents could move. In fact, it was not fully accepted until the 1960s and 1970s. This is yet another example of science reaching the same conclusions that already appear in The Urantia Book.
Jesus and the women (Olga López)
In the words of the author: “In the light of the teachings of The Urantia Book, we find a Jesus closer and even more powerful than the one who appears in the gospels. And there is an aspect of his life that is not normally emphasized, and that is precisely his attitude towards women (…) In this presentation, we are going to address this interesting facet of the Master. Firstly, we will see how he behaved towards the women of his own family and, secondly, what was his attitude towards women in general”.
¶ History and teachings – Chronicle of the life of Jesus
JOURNALISTIC ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS ACCORDING TO THE URANTIA BOOK
We present to you the following installment of the chronicles of the life of Jesus, which on this occasion contains what the revelators tell us in document 134 (The years of transition). Inside the PDF you will see a button from where you can access the text of the document from the Urantia Foundation website.
¶ Children’s Guide to The Urantia Book: Birth of Jesus
We continue to review the secondary work A Children’s Guide to The Urantia Book, by Mary Livingston. This is the next chapter, dedicated to the birth of Jesus, and it begins like this:
“Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth. Joseph needed to travel to Bethlehem. He told María that she could not travel because she was going to have a child. Well, Maria refused to stay at home and decided to travel too, she liked adventure! She packed what was necessary for both of them and managed to get José to allow her to travel too.”
Download the entire chapter in PDF format
¶ Other spiritual growth books
Why I am a Christian (José Antonio Marina)
The author explores the mighty current of the Christian experience, which has its origin in an enigmatic Jew who lived twenty centuries ago. The followers of Jesus of Nazareth had to face the complex Hellenistic world, and choose between a gnostic, philosophical interpretation, and a moral interpretation; between a charismatic conception and an institutional one. Part of our culture derives from these decisions. It is very interesting to read about the vision of one of the main Spanish philosophers of today on this subject and on the figure of Jesus.
See full review on our website
Compassion in an unfair world (Juan José Tamayo)
In its normal use, the word compassion sounds like sentimentality removed from praxis, alien to political life; to moralistic behavior that comes to cover up the causes of injustice; to a vague sympathy that is felt from outside or from above with a certain superiority complex. However, the true meaning of compassion is putting yourself in the place of the suffering in a relationship of equality and empathy, assuming the pain of other people as your own, internalizing the other person within us, suffering not only with the others, but in the others, until identifying with the one who suffers and with their sufferings, a matter that is not easy but that is necessary. To be a compassionate person it is not necessary that there is a previous affection, it is enough that we consider those who suffer as equals. That is the true meaning of compassion as a principle and a virtue.
¶ Video – Our recommendation of the month
[2030](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjHQiu8yHdo&ab_channel=Urantia Writings Studies) (Urantia Writings Studies)
In this video, the author carries out a very interesting reflection on the reasons that may be behind the fascination that many experts of all kinds feel towards that future year, always without losing sight of the teachings of the book. As expressed, this year could be related to the attitude of the rebels in our world before the renewal of the resident governor general, which occurs every hundred years. Before the change of governor, the rebels always seek to “shake the tree” and sow chaos and confusion.
¶ Navigating through life – The three bars
The young disciple of a wise philosopher arrives at his house and says:
-Hey teacher, a friend of yours was talking about you malevolently…
-Wait! – The philosopher interrupts him – Have you already passed through the three bars what you are going to tell me?
-The three bars?
-Yeah. The first is the truth. Are you sure that what you want to tell me is absolutely true?
-No. I heard him comment to some neighbors.
–At least you will have made him pass through the second gate, which is kindness. What you want to tell me, is it good for someone?
-No, not really. On the contrary…
-Ah, well! The last grate is the need. Is it necessary to let me know what bothers you so much?
-To tell the truth, no.
“Then,” said the wise man, smiling, “if we don’t know if it’s true, or good, or necessary, let’s bury it in oblivion.”
¶ My favorite paragraph
Juan Jose Lopez Vallejos
I could not affirm that the text included below is my favorite, as there are many others that resonate particularly according to my mood in various circumstances. But a strong tendency to rationalize, which leads me to pass through the filter of my mind everything that concerns me in a special way, reveals my limitations as far as faith is concerned.
In general, our lives go through a first period in which what we call faith is limited to our submission to a set of stale beliefs and meaningless rituals that we finally end up rejecting.
Searching for alternatives to these obsolete formulas, some of us have come across THE URANTIA BOOK, which satisfies our avidity towards the deep mysteries of existence. Its content, of great intellectual coherence and special beauty, causes a strong feeling of security (which could be classified as naive) among many followers, causing a blind adherence to its statements.
But I don’t think this is enough. Pretending to explain the eternal questions of philosophy through reason prevents us from assimilating them through a “friendly” way, that is, through the heart. We are dealing with nothing less than who God is or could be, the purpose of the cosmos, our place within it. And such questions cannot have a satisfactory answer by reducing them to the realm of ideas, leaving no room for feelings.
¶ Urantia Questionnaire: Alberto Tapiz
My name is Alberto Tapiz Merino, I live in Miranda de Arga (Navarra). I am a cartographic engineer, single and childless. I have been reading The Urantia Book for 12 years.
- How did you get to The Urantia Book and why do you think you found it?
Through the Trojan Horses of Juan José Benítez. After reading several books of the saga, it produced in me an interest in looking for the sources of the literary work, which led me to find The Urantia Book. For many years I have felt the need to seek answers to the eternal questions of the human being, such as where do we come from? Where we go? What are we doing here?, etc.
- What was your first impression when reading it?
I started reading with the part about the history and evolution of the planet Urantia, as a geographer and engineer it was a very interesting part for me. Then came the part referring to the structure and organization of the universe, and finally the part referring to Jesus of Nazareth. After a first reading, the impression was that “this is what has best answered the questions sought for years”, despite not understanding many concepts and passages in the book.
¶ III European Meeting of Readers of The Urantia Book
The Urantia Association of Spain, the International Urantia Association and the European organizing committee are pleased to announce that the EUROPEAN MEETING will be held from October 20 to 23 from 2022 at the Sol Torremolinos Complex (Torremolinos, Costa del Sol, Málaga), a hotel complex of three hotels.
The motto of the Meeting is Overcoming materialism: illuminating Europe.
Accommodation includes:
- Stay from the afternoon of October 20 to noon on October 23 with full board (2 days) and half board (1 day). First day from dinner, last day breakfast and lunch.
- It is possible to stay days before and days after the dates scheduled for the MEETING.
In this link all the information necessary to register for the event will be added. Do not miss the opportunity to attend this face-to-face meeting, after more than three years without the opportunity to meet face to face!
¶ III Urantia Foundation Scientific Symposium
Urantia Foundation will hold its III Scientific Symposium from June 16 to 18, on the theme: Science: the interface between evolution and revelation. On this occasion, it will be broadcast live on the Internet, to offer the possibility of following the presentations live.
Panelists include seasoned readers such as Byron Belistos, Phil Calabrese, Philippe Hatt, Gard Jameson, Conrad Lavallée, Jenny Martin, David Neufer, George Park, Marjorie Ray, and Ralph Zehr.
If you are interested, here is information on the topics, presenters and start times of each session (in English).
To register, you must press the REGISTER button on the aforementioned page.
¶ Urantia Association International Study Group Symposium
We invite you to join us on Saturday, June 11 for the The Urantia Book Study Group Symposium, an event designed to discuss in depth the many topics related to Urantia Revelation study groups. .
The revelators told us to create thousands of study groups, but this task comes with many challenges, and we are still learning by doing. In this symposium we will talk about our experiences, doubts and successes within the study groups. We hope to help you have stronger and better study groups from this symposium. We have invited experienced presenters, and will include workshops and other activities. Please pre-register by clicking the link below to get the registration form. Although pre-registration is not mandatory, it will help us to provide a better service. For example, translation into other languages may be provided if enough speakers of that language plan to attend.
We will offer this event twice (a few hours apart) to cover the entire globe with times suitable for everyone. Please take note of the times for the different time zones of each meeting in the image above or in the invitation below. The meeting link in the invitation will be the same for both meetings.
Pre-register Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14UtKc3jHd9HyvtuGvEmc7syRl4NlfIWEviS51Oye6nI/edit?usp=sharing Zoom Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83388738246 Meeting ID: 833 8873 8246
¶ About the Light and Life newsletter
Light and Life is the newsletter of the Urantia Association of Spain. From 2005 to 2016 it was published in PDF format and distributed by mail and email to the association’s reader list, but it is currently distributed in newsletter format from content in HTML format.
If you want to receive the newsletter in your email, contact the association to subscribe to the mailing list.
All papers and news from readers and study groups are welcome, so if you want to share any side work, writing, outline, image, etc., you can send it to the association and we will publish it previous evaluation of its suitability. Likewise, the Communication commission of the board of directors of the Urantia Association of Spain reserves the right to edit it so that it meets minimum spelling quality.
¶ References
- Article of the Magazine Light and Life Online: https://aue.urantia-association.org/newsletter/luz-y-vida-junio-2022/