© 2022 Olga López
© 2022 Urantia Association of Spain
Newsletter of the Urantia Association of Spain
Light and Life — December 2022
¶ In this number
- Editorial – December 2022
- Works – our recommendations of the month
- History and teachings – Chronicle of the life of Jesus
- A Children’s Guide to The Urantia Book: Jesus at Nine Years
- Other spiritual growth books
- Video – our recommendation of the month
- Navigating through life – Peace
- My favorite paragraph
- Urantia Reflections
- Urantia Questionnaire: Christian Figueroa
- About the Light and Life newsletter
¶ Editorial – December 2022
M. José Sánchez Santamaría
Wisdom prostrates itself before fragility
“This is the story of a young man who could hardly ever sleep, since a ghost appeared to him in his dreams and distressed him, revealing all the most intimate secrets that he harbored. This showed him that she knew everything about him.”
“The young man was desperate, to the point that he came to hate going to bed, despite the accumulated fatigue. She had visited doctors and psychologists, she had confessed her problem to friends, she had tried everything, but without results: the ghost kept appearing every night and reminded her of all the most intimate and painful corners.”
“Already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, he decided to ask for help from a famous Zen master. After explaining the dilemma, the young man added: 'That ghost knows everything, absolutely everything about me, it even knows my thoughts! I cannot elude myself from their domain.”
“The teacher thought that the solution was not beyond the boy’s reach and suggested that he make a deal with the ghost. ‘Tonight, before going to bed, take a handful of lentils at random and do not let go. Then lie down and wait. When the ghost shows up, make a deal. Tell him that if he guesses how many lentils you have in your hand, he will be your owner forever and that if he doesn’t guess, he will have to disappear forever. Let’s see what happens’.”
“The boy proceeded as the teacher advised him. Shortly after she went to bed the ghost appeared and said: 'I know you’re trying to get rid of me. I also know that you have gone to see that fool of a Zen monk to help you throw me out, but your efforts will not help you at all.”
“‘Well,’ replied the young man, ‘I knew you would have found me out, just as I suppose you undoubtedly know how many lentils I have in my fist.’ There was silence.”
“The ghost disappeared, never to return. What the boy did not know, his ghost could not know.”
I love this short story because the ghost metaphor helps us a lot to understand the power of our mind, our thoughts and, above all, our fears. How we can drown in a sea of recurring, repetitive and exhausting emotions and thoughts. Thoughts and emotions that, due to their very close nature to the animal, will not have a spiritual development beyond this material world. How fragile we are!
¶ Works – our recommendations of the month
The Space Corps of Monmatia (Craig Carmichael)
In The Urantia Book, Monmatia (our solar system) is said to have twelve planets, something our astronomers have not yet recognized. After reviewing what is meant by a planet and the controversy that has surrounded Pluto (about whether or not it can be considered a planet), it seems that astronomers are willing to acknowledge that there may be more planets in our solar system. As the author notes: “The ‘twelve planets’ described in the revelations no longer seem such a crazy number if we consider the asteroid belt as a failed planet, and if we consider the possibility of other planets beyond Neptune, even ruling out Pluto like planet. The current tally could be at ten, and going up.”
The bestowals of Christ Michael (Javier Martínez)
Here we have a diagram in the form of a table where the most outstanding characteristics of the seven bestowals carried out by Miguel de Nebadon, our Creator Son, appear, such as: the moment of time in which they were produced, the place, the duration, the type of being in which it was granted, who or who found out about the granting, the position held, to what will it was submitted, etc. It is very useful to have an overview of the grants, and also to perceive the differences between them.
From the tribe to cosmic citizenship (Olga López)
This is the text of a presentation that was given during the Urantiathon on November 28, 2020, and which begins like this: «In The Urantia Book the expression cosmic citizenship or cosmic citizens appears several times. Another of the expressions that is related to cosmic citizenship is undoubtedly that of cosmic consciousness. We read and understand what those words mean separately, but what exactly do they refer to when they go together? From this question, the author develops a link between citizenship and cosmic consciousness, in light of the teachings of The Urantia Book.
In-depth study of UB in study groups (Georges Michelson-Dupont)
In this presentation, Urantia Foundation Trustee and Vice President International Georges Michelson Dupont shares his extensive experience hosting study groups and facilitating seminars, all based on the pedagogy deployed by the revelators in The Urantia Book. It also proposes practical examples and recommendations for the group to develop effectively and encourages the participation of its members.
¶ 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 paper 139 (The twelve apostles). Inside the PDF you will see a button from where you can access the text of the paper from the Urantia Foundation website.
¶ Children’s Guide to The Urantia Book: Jesus at Nine Years
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 time when Jesus was nine years old, and it begins like this:
“The second sister of Jesus was born. They called her Martha. The children of Joseph and Mary were six, as follows: Jesus, James, Miriam, Joseph, Simon, and Martha. The house consisted of one large room. But José built another room next to the house. This room served as a workshop during the day and as a bedroom at night. He also made a small carpentry bench for Jesus. For the first time, Jesus had his own tools. He often worked in the bank and became very skilled in making yokes for animals.”
Download the entire chapter in PDF format
¶ Other spiritual growth books
Conversations on the other shore with the old professor (Florencio Bao)
This book contains a series of dialogues grouped by topic between the “old professor” (Enrique Tierno-Galván) and the author of the book, a friend and colleague of his, who by the way signs under a pseudonym. So far everything seems normal, if it weren’t for the fact that the talks took place days after the death of Tierno-Galván. That is, when they were carried out, he was in the waiting room of the other life. The book is presented as a “dialogue-fiction”, leaving the reader the last word on its possible reality. What is said in this book is enormously interesting, and is somewhat complemented by the teachings of The Urantia Book.
See full review on our website
The Gospel and the saints of the great religions, by Miguel Ruiz de Ayúcar
This book contains a series of dialogues grouped by topic between the “old professor” (Enrique Tierno-Galván) and the author of the book, a friend and colleague of his, who by the way signs under a pseudonym. So far everything seems normal, if it weren’t for the fact that the talks took place days after the death of Tierno-Galván. That is, when they were carried out, he was in the waiting room of the other life. The book is presented as a “dialogue-fiction”, leaving the reader the last word on its possible reality. What is said in this book is enormously interesting, and is somewhat complemented by the teachings of The Urantia Book.
See full review on our website
¶ Video – our recommendation of the month
¶ Agora Nostra: Personal Religion (Urantia Association of Spain)
This video was the first in a short series in which topics from The Urantia Book were discussed in a moderated guided conversation. In this specific case, the conversation turned to personal religion, a concept that makes the difference in The Urantia Book regarding other religions and doctrines. Faced with the religion of ecclesiastical authority, characteristic of evolutionary religions, the book advocates religion as a personal experience with God, who is also our heavenly Father and someone with whom we can have a relationship as a being with personality.
¶ Navigating through life – Peace
We are the builders architects of what happens in our lives, if we are at peace with ourselves and with life we will create a present and a future that is easier to manage.
We must let go of judgment and criticism of others, the actions of others have nothing to do with us, we cannot change them, we only respect and accept and fill ourselves with love and peace.
It does not matter that the circumstances are difficult and everything seems like chaos on the surface, in the depths of our being we can find the answers.
Maintaining our inner peace will always lead us to find guidance and be able to recognize the signs to face any situation we are experiencing.
REMEMBER: with peace I fix every situation.
At some moments in life we find ourselves in difficult and painful situations that even take us by surprise, weaken us and make us doubt.
When that happens is when we have to fill ourselves with peace and confidence, in ourselves and in our lives.
Difficulties make us strong, they take us out of our comfort zone and force us to become more patient, creative and loving.
There is no difficulty, illness or tragedy that cannot be overcome with enough peace and love. There is no door that love and peace cannot open.
REMEMBER: with peace all difficulties are overcome!
(Salat i Bertran assumption)
¶ My favorite paragraph
David Carrera
. . . It is the people who make a civilization; civilization does not make the people. (UB 76:6.4)
In this era of demagogy and corniness, where we are insistently hammered with the dogma that we are all equal in every way, paragraphs like this are a well-placed slap to our consciences.
One of the immediate conclusions of this truth is that if the people change, the civilization also changes. And accepting this truth would mean understanding the justification behind the reluctance of a huge segment of the population to accept without question the disorderly migratory invasions or the anarchic demographic policies.
If we’re already doomed, let’s at least enjoy the show.
¶ Urantia Reflections
Luis Garcia Bory
An analysis of some of the information available on the major events of the last two thousand years or so, since Michael’s bestowal of Nebadon, suggests that the planet remains spiritually stagnant. Even when at the same time we enjoy unprecedented levels of progress and planetary stability.
This seems to have been the very reason that the fifth epochal revelation, The Urantia Book, was promulgated as an emergency measure that followed many other post-rebellion emergency measures applied to support the peoples of Urantia. The state of our planet, as mentioned by the revelators in their messages of about 100 years ago (if the revelation process began in the early 20th century, as some speculate), could not be more sobering.
This paragraph from Paper 114 speaks, in effect, of a rather extraordinary planetary governance configuration in response to our peculiar recent history (other than rebellion, the only partial success of the four previous epochal revelations):
The actual administration of Urantia is indeed difficult to describe. There exists no formal government along the lines of universe organization, such as separate legislative, executive, and judicial departments. The twenty-four counselors come the nearest to being the legislative branch of the planetary government. The governor general is a provisional and advisory chief executive with the veto power resident in the Most High observer. And there are no absolutely authoritative judicial powers operative on the planet—only the conciliating commissions. (UB 114:5.1)
The same document reminds us of the following:
This rather loosely organized and somewhat personally administered planetary government is more than expectedly effective because of the timesaving assistance of the archangels and their ever-ready circuit, which is so frequently utilized in planetary emergencies and administrative difficulties. Technically, the planet is still spiritually isolated in the Norlatiadek circuits, but in an emergency this handicap can now be circumvented through utilization of the archangels’ circuit. Planetary isolation is, of course, of little concern to individual mortals since the pouring out of the Spirit of Truth upon all flesh nineteen hundred years ago. (UB 114:5.4)
In addition to the wonderful service of the archangels, we have, of course, the quite effective permanent support citizen corps in the corps of loyal planetary midwayers, and finally we can take heart in the fact that our Master Son’s Spirit of Truth is actively at work. along with the Holy Spirit of our Creative Daughter and our Thought Adjusters, to help our level of God consciousness continue to increase and move us forward spiritually.
In my opinion, the most important service we can offer to our planet is, to begin with, modest daily changes in our own habits and behaviors: a daily practice of worship meditation and prayer that prepares us for sincerely loving and selfless service. One more person every day, starting with ourselves. Better manage our fear, anger, envy, jealousy and impatience. Finding ever kinder and more tolerant ways of relating to others and to nature. Work to produce more of what we use, waste less, and be more economically wise in our use of energy and living resources. Better choose the way we relate to food, beverages and other consumer products. Hoard less, share more (including our own time and resources), and take greater and better responsibility for our homes, families, and immediate communities. Remedy past grudges, untangle and soothe dysfunctional or unloving relationships, and reconcile with those we hurt or cause stress, grief, or suffering.
Not all of the above is easy for us, but the very path of life and love is there to travel.
¶ Urantia Questionnaire: Christian Figueroa
I am Christian Figueroa Colón, university student in office systems administration, single, I live in Puerto Rico. I contribute to Radio Urantia and Urantia TV.
- How did you get to The Urantia Book and why do you think you found it?
Being a Christian, my curiosity to look outside the canon led me to read different extra-biblical or apocryphal books, which eventually led me to “accidentally” find The Urantia Book (first in a playstore search for The Book of Enoch and then by searching Biblical things on Google). The first two times I found it, I had a kind of negative vision: I believed it was the work of Satan (I refused to read it), but over time, after having exhausted everything I could find regarding the biblical and apocryphal universe, I decided to reading it. I think it came at the right time when I was also doubting certain things in the Bible, in those last months I was asking myself how it was possible that reality was reduced to the Bible (and I was wondering how the infinite God was so limited and different in the biblical testaments). It told me that there must be more, that there must be a greater truth that I did not know, and that insatiable void was filled with The Urantia Book, which managed to answer all those doubts and confusions. I finally found that truth that my being longed for and sensed that there should be.
- What was your first impression when reading it?
The first time I read it somewhat haphazardly was as a hostile believer (I had fallen for the John the Baptist document). I told myself that this must be the work of evil, a new age text, a text made to compete with the Bible, but when I decided to read it with another mentality a few months later, that’s when my mind went “boom”, all that wall limiting and oppressive of primitive ideas fell and I saw an enormous and immense reality, a truly eternal and infinite God, and at the same time so warm and close. I finally found rest after long internal conflicts.
¶ 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-diciembre-2022/