© 2017 Olga Lopez
© 2017 International Urantia Association (IUA)
The 16th meeting for Spanish Urantia Book readers was held from April 28th to May 1st in the Hotel Tryp in Guadalajara (near the capital, Madrid.) In attendance were almost 50 people hailing from the north, east, and south of Spain. Antonio Schefer’s presence was appreciated as he again came The Netherlands to represent Urantia Association International.
The theme of this meeting was “God in Man,” which is the title of section 6 in Paper 108 (Mission and Ministry of Thought Adjuster). The main subject of discussion were the Thought Adjusters: what they are, what they do for us, and what we will become together. On this occasion, our goal was to coordinate the presentations so they could approach different aspects of the Thought Adjusters and our relationship to them.
On Friday evening Olga López gave a presentation on the History of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. Many readers are confused about the people and circumstances involved in the revelatory process, so this was part of a series of presentations designed to inform the Spanish readers about the historic and organizational background of The Urantia Book.
On Saturday morning the first presentation, God in Man, was given by Carmelo Martínez, who set the tone for the weekend presentations. This was followed by Mariano Pérez, with The Action of the Thought Adjuster in Man, in which he focused on the material support needed for the Thought Adjusters to act, such as our brain and our glands (mainly the pineal gland) related to spiritual activity.
In the afternoon, we enjoyed some socializing while taking a walk in Guadalajara and seeing some of its most famous buildings. We even had the chance to taste the famous “borrachos” (local little cakes dipped in sugar syrup) in a patisserie. After the city tour, we were surprised by the celebration of the wedding of a couple of readers who came with their family to share their joy with all of us. It was very moving indeed! These wonderful friends also provided a special dinner for which we were very grateful. We Spanish readers are a big and loving family!
Sunday morning we had two very innovative presentations given by two great women. The first one by Paula Requejo told us a tale inspired by “The Persistence of True Values,” using a PowerPoint presentation with evocative images and a main character called “Urantina,” a little girl who discovers what these true values are.
The second one by María José Santamaría took us on a trip to Paradise and beyond with our Thought Adjuster once fused in our unique being. In her presentation titled, “The Adjuster and the Soul,” she used little moments of meditation, music, and words to make us feel as if we were flying away in the company of our Thought Adjusters. It was really amazing!
For the first time, the presentations were broadcast and recorded in Zoom so they could be uploaded to the Association’s YouTube channel of in the near future. Some students joined us via Zoom to attend the presentations in this virtual conference room. With the appropriate technology and good quality microphones, this could certainly be the solution for the future for people who wish to listen to the presentations but can’t attend the meeting in person.
Sunday afternoon was the time for workshops. There were five different workshops with five different facilitators. This time, the mechanics were a little different: each assistant was assigned to a workshop randomly, so groups were as heterogeneous as possible. Each workshop addressed a topic related to the Thought Adjusters:
- The Nature of Thought Adjusters
- The Psychic Circles
- The Adjusters on Urantia
- Erroneous Concepts of Adjuster Guidance
- The Human Paradox
After this group activity, we shared our workshop experiences with the whole group which developed into a lively discussion at the end.
And let’s not forget the evenings! As usual, we kept the long-time tradition of engaging in spontaneous discussions until our eyes begin to close.
On Sunday we held an open meeting of the Spanish Urantia Association where the board presented the association’s activities of 2016. In addition an election was held; Miguel Bustos vacated his position as Secretary and was replaced by José Manuel Duarte. Welcome to the board, José Manuel!
After Sunday lunch it was the time for goodbyes. But the countdown to the next meeting is already ticking forward!
Olga López
Urantia Association of Spain