© 2010 Johanne Séguin, Guy Breton, Pierre Routhier
© 2010 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ THE POWER OF INSPIRATION
WHEN I WAS ASKED TO WRITE SOMETHING FOR TIDINGS-RÉFLECTIVITÉ, I LET MYSELF BE INSPIRED BY MY DAILY, EVERYDAY LIFE, THE ONE THAT CONTAINS THE FRESHEST AND MOST RECENT EXPERIENCES THAT COULD EDIFY MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF URANTIA.
I have nothing new to teach you, great readers of the Urantia Book so you will certainly forgive me for not constantly using quotes to convince you. In the 34 years that I have been reading the book, I have moved to the practical phase more consistently in recent years. My spiritual practice which at the beginning was a difficult discipline has become with perseverance, a joy and a state of completeness that I can no longer do without. This discipline that I imposed on myself to collaborate more with God has borne great fruits in superabundance and I am amply reaping the dividends. Through prayer, sustained worship, the study of the texts alone or in groups and teaching, I have truly developed a more acute awareness of what Man is and his relationship with God. All that constitutes me, consciousness with its seven adjutant spirits, the personality, the electrochemical system on which my identity is based and my Thought Adjuster who works at the level of my mind to spiritualize me in collaboration with my will to create the soul!! What a gift!!! Without forgetting the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, my guardians of destiny and others whose names I forget. And I only have to collaborate… my part is so small!! Every day I come back to the love that God has for me, to make me larger than life… to make me a finaliter, a daughter of the Supremacy!! I tremble with joy every time I think about it. Obviously I understood that the work in the service of God is first of all in these supramaterial discoveries which are self-revelations, outcomes of my relationship with God. This clairvoyance which emerges in such a magnificent way as my soul grows. Who does not remember the first movement of the child they carried?
And then there is the global social service. How can we give back to our brothers what we have received? It made me unhappy for a long time not to be able to bring more people to know the revelation and thus make their lives happier. Then by force of circumstances and with a few mistakes along the way, I understood the great wisdom of not giving this treasure of great value too abruptly. Confucius said: a noble man preaches nothing that he has not first put into practice. This wise advice did not fall on deaf ears for me, because I had already noticed it in certain very spiritual people who bore the fruits of their consecration.
Chogyam Trungpa, a great Tibetan master said on this subject: Unless we experience this foundation of goodness in our own life, we cannot claim to improve the lives of others. If we are only miserable and unhappy beings, how could we even imagine an awakened society, let alone realize it?
This subtle change of ability that occurs in a person in spiritual growth, invariably leads him to be able to share the revelation wisely, because he lives it in its entirety.
I have and still ask myself questions about the Supreme, but each time I have a fragment of an answer. So, I never stop questioning myself, because it brings out great meanings for me and I like it very much! Some of these questions are like this… How can my spiritual practice have an influence on others? I simply ask myself this question because I sometimes find myself very selfish to receive so many blessings for myself alone… while I see so many people suffering in their souls. What influence can my prayers have for my children, for my friends, for humanity? If I change because I let God transform me more and more into his likeness, what advantage does that have for others? As you see, I care a lot about others and sometimes I admit, I do not trust God enough on this. You see, I would not want God to lose any of them… maybe I am starting to resemble him?
All this to talk to you about inspiration or rather, the power of inspiration. I have some nice surprises at this level which I am sure will comfort some of you who despair of not seeing your prayers answered. Yes, I affirm today that those who practice the spiritual life and who live more and more according to the divine will that inhabits them can have a major impact on others. I will give you two charming examples taken from my experience. I currently live alone with my sons aged 21 and 24, both studying. They know that I practice the teachings of the Urantia Book, I do not hide it and that I frequent very spiritually active readers. But I never bother them unless the conversation allows me to pass on some moral advice or bits of wisdom; I am still a mother 0)).
The other day my youngest son William, with whom I was discussing generosity, said to me point blank: You are the most generous person of her own accord that I know. There is Jesus who is not worse in his kind and then Mother Theresa, but she does not come close to you.
While a few days before my second son Louis who is 24 years old wrote to me on Facebook: Everything I have, everything I am, I owe to you. You are the wind that pushes me in the back no matter what happens so that I move forward. You are the sun that warms my life when I see everything gray. The one who gives me the strength and the desire to be more. To want more… to be a better man. You are my hero, my role model, the woman of my life. Thank you mom for being what you are and for staying by my side. I love you. Louis.
I share with you these experiences that speak for themselves, not to flatter myself, even if it does a lot of good to a mother, but to support my affirmation that has become a certainty; the work that I do with God bears fruit even for those around me. I see God revealing Himself in me in the eyes of my children… Is that a bit of the Supreme?? Being a source of inspiration for others, a model… isn’t that the best way to teach the beauties of God?
Inspiration is also about accepting change, our change to be more, an unpretentious being that allows God to express Himself in time and space. In the Supreme everything changes. Truth cannot settle in without breaking down the old conceptual frameworks or the old embedded habits a little…
I have a friend who inspires me a lot and who has contributed to my being more firmly anchored in spiritual progress. His name is Moussa and this man is a source of inspiration. One day he told me; we must not cling to what we have understood today when tomorrow comes. Let go at the end of the day and wake up tomorrow as if it were another day. Man must have the flexibility of movement… like the Supreme can be???
I had already put this concept into practice so it seemed to apply perfectly to me. Every night without exception, I said to Him: Father, if you have to change me to the point that tomorrow when I wake up I no longer recognize myself, but that in this way I do your will more, I accept this transformation… Since then it has been a great love story!!!
Since then, I have started teaching an 18 year old boy, the son of a friend, who is searching for God. We meet every week and I teach him what I know, but especially what I have put into practice and which bears fruit. I am happy to see a new generation looking into the teachings and I hope that there will be more and more of them. But as the Urantia Book says: sooner or later!!
Good inspiration!!!
Johanne Seguin
¶ Free Will, Will and Freedom
By Guy Breton
FREE WILL, WILL AND FREEDOM ARE THREE CONCEPTS NOT NECESSARILY EASY TO DISTINGUISH AND OFTEN CONFUSED. IT MUST BE SAYED THAT BETWEEN ONE AND THE OTHER, THERE IS A GRAY AREA, AN AREA IN WHICH IT IS NOT EASY TO DIFFERENTIATE THEM.
It is not necessary, or even useful, to do so unless it leads us off the path of seeking Truth. If this should happen, it is perhaps good and desirable to look for important landmarks.
One of these landmarks is surely to review the definition or essence or meaning and values of each term. A search in The Urantia Book clearly shows that free will and spirituality go hand in hand. Free will calls for or refers to a high-level spirituality, much higher than the material and morontia level. It is also easy to admit that in life, high-level spiritual choices are rare. Free will is a gift from God, a power conferred on man and evolutionary beings by God. It is the right to choose God or to do His Will without any outside influence, that is, without any outside being more evolved or not spiritually able to interfere in this decision. The Urantia Book is clear on this: “The Universal Father never imposes any form of arbitrary recognition, nor formal worship, nor servile service on the creatures of the universes endowed with intelligence and will. It must be that of themselves in their own hearts the evolutionary inhabitants of the worlds of time and space willingly recognize, love, and worship it. (UB 1:1.2). And it is added: “No other being, no force, no creator or agent in the vast universe of universes can interfere in any degree with the absolute sovereignty of human free will operating in the realms of option concerning the eternal destiny of the personality of the choosing mortal.” (UB 5:6.8).
Free will is an act of human and material will. This act strictly concerns the choice of God. Such a choice is generally global and lasting, that is to say, it is not constantly called into question. During the course of a life, one can choose God, move away from Him for a certain time or completely turn one’s back on Him, and return to Him or not. In fact, this act or the application of free will can be in question a certain number of limited times. One cannot play yo-yo with God. The choice of God engages the whole personality, the adjuster and the human mind in what is most serious.
Once this choice of God is exercised, evolutionary beings must choose to do good rather than evil. Each time that humans choose to do good, they reinforce their original choice of God and allow their soul to grow and develop. By their nature, they can choose a lesser good and even do evil without there being any questioning of God’s choice. If they persist in evil, they may well after a certain time question the choice of their destiny. They are entirely free in this decision, they are the only ones involved.
In day to day or in everyday life, the choices we make often have nothing to do with spirituality and if they have a tinge of spirituality, they are not of a very high spiritual level and most of the time they refer to morality.
¶ Doing good requires willpower
Mortals are volitional beings, that is to say, they possess a faculty called will. This will is within us, we just have to become aware of it and experience it. It is like goodness, we do not have to do acts of kindness to become good, but only to recognize that goodness is within us and to exercise it, to let it express itself.
The awareness and experience of will occurs in three phases:
- the first is to recognize that the will exists;
- the second to realize that we have a will;
- and the third phase of this discovery, which makes it complete and effective, consists in becoming aware that we are a will, which is different from “having” a will.
Will flows in the mind between intuition and thought and is called upon in impulses, desires, emotions, feelings, and manifestations of imagination. Like all elements constituting the human, will has the potential to grow, to become stronger, more skillful, more good or more evil in action. The one who has made the choice of God has the aid of the Adjuster to direct this will in the right direction. It is important to emphasize here that lack of will is often the excuse used to exonerate oneself. “It is not my fault; I do not have enough will,” as if the will were not in one’s control.
Another abusive attitude to be wary of is the use of God’s will to justify human decisions and actions. In general terms, the key phrase is this: “I asked God if I should do this or that; this or that happened, which confirmed that God is in agreement with my action; I did God’s will.” I am not really certain that God really interferes in the material lives of men. Most of these actions are not really spiritual, and the Adjuster is only concerned with things that are really spiritual. Often the will of God is used to justify or, more often, to exonerate oneself.
The word free will is formed from the word free which calls for freedom. Free will refers to freedom, but only in the choice of eternal destiny. Freedom is the ability to act according to one’s will based on the means at one’s disposal without being hindered by the power of others. It is the ability to determine oneself to contingent choices. Freedom can therefore be seen as a field of application of human will. But freedom is difficult to separate from the notion of others and duty. It is even difficult to speak of freedom in the material sense. A good part of human activity is related to the satisfaction of the needs of one’s body. We do not really have the choice of drinking and eating, sleeping, dressing, taking into account hygiene, etc. On the family level, freedom is also very restricted. We do not have the choice of our parents, our brothers and sisters, the work to be done, the mutual aid to be given… On the social level, we easily recognize that our freedom ends where that of others begins. Laws, regulations, labels… are all limitations of freedom. Even in the choice of spouse, do we really have the freedom to choose? Affinities, qualities, defects, habits, dependencies, judgment, intelligence, social conventions, morals… are all elements that intervene in the process. On the work level, who is truly free to do and say what they want? Even on the personal level, it is difficult to speak of freedom. Are we not subject to our heredity, our education, our fears, our bugs… our ego? On the religious level, are we not dependent on our beliefs, on our values that have been instilled in us, sometimes under pressure, following our life experiences, the events of our life? The least that can be said is that freedom is a big word, but that its scope of application is often restricted.
Here are some thoughts that may take a few moments to ponder. This is just an opinion that I hope will spark some interest in your journey.
¶ THEME OF APRIL 24, 2010
How to Disseminate the Teachings of The Urantia Book
THIRTY-THREE PEOPLE CAME TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING ON THE DISSEMINATION OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE URANTIA BOOK, IN THE RED ROOM OF THE DAUPHIN HOTEL IN DRUMMONDVILLE. THE SUN WAS SHINED OUTSIDE AND IN OUR HEARTS ON THIS BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY.
The host Guy Laporte introduced us to the speakers and the day’s schedule.
Maurice Migneault informed us about the dissemination of the teachings of the UB, according to the plan of the revelators. When you have something important to say to one or more people, you choose the right time, the right place and the right way to tell them! This is also the model that the revelators of the Urantia Book respected, shouldn’t we also respect this same approach. We must prepare ourselves, in relation to the spiritual forces in us and around us, so as not to say anything, anyhow, anywhere, to anyone. Thematic meetings, study groups and other organized training gatherings help us to better inform those who are thirsty and hungry for truth.
Guy Laporte spoke to us about Jesus’ approach during his earthly life. His entire private life was his training in relation to his fellow men and his Adjuster. Even his teacher, the chazan, admitted to having learned more things, through Jesus’ penetrating questions, than he himself had been able to teach the young boy. Jesus was interested in people, often approached them with questions and finally, it was they who asked him questions, that is how Jesus instructed them. The substance of his message was always the fact of the love of our Heavenly Father and his great mercy, and that man is a son of this same God, through his faith in Him. Jesus had become an expert as much in asking questions as in answering them.
Guy Leblanc tells us about his way of approaching people by taking an interest in their conversations. In a restaurant, a few women were chatting among themselves, he approached them with his smile and said: “I couldn’t help but listen to your interesting conversation, can I ask you a question?” He gave us other examples of his way of making approaches, which is simply to be interested in people, if we want them to be interested in us, to be able to give them a little push towards God. To better serve our neighbor, we must have the simplicity of a child and it is the magic of the heart and compassion that will do the rest.
Normand Laperle talks to us about the greatness of soul, which is found everywhere, at all times and in all places, since it is the growth of the soul, when we are in conformity with the divine will of our Universal Father, in union with our Adjuster, we produce the fruits of the Spirit. What makes the soul grow is spirituality and it is the work of the Adjuster to store this spirituality in the soul. Our language, our gestures and our actions become spiritual in our desire to serve our fellow men by doing the will of God. This is how we make our soul and the souls of others grow by giving them a taste for beauty, truth and goodness, which brings them closer to God.
The afternoon was devoted to round table workshops to discuss our various ways of disseminating the teachings of The Urantia Book and the plenary session revealed the pearls of this exercise.
Pierre Routhier
¶ 11th TAO VERSE
(LIVING FROM THE VOID)
Thirty spokes converging towards a single hub;
But it is in the hole in the center of the wheel that the cart finds its use.
Shape clay into a container;
It’s the space inside that makes it useful.
Carve beautiful doors and windows, but the room is only useful if it is empty.
The usefulness of what is, depends on what is not.
¶ 2010 Activities Calendar
Michael’s Day
Saturday August 21, 2010
At Angrignon Park in La Salle
Regional trip by Council members
October 9-10 and 11, 2010
Lake St-Jean
Theme Day
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Location and subject to be confirmed.
Christmas Dinner 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010 Details to follow.
¶ STUDY GROUPS
THIS ACTIVITY ALLOWS MULTIPLE READERS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING TO SHARE AND STUDY THE TEACHINGS OF THE URANTIA BOOK TOGETHER. IT PROMOTES SPIRITUAL PROGRESS BY ENABLING ITS PARTICIPANTS TO FIND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE TEACHINGS OF THE URANTIA BOOK IN THEIR DAILY LIVES. THIS IMPORTANT PRACTICE MAINTAINS A BROADER VIEW OF CONCEPTS OF TRUTH.
You wish to participate or form a study group; we will be happy to assist you. If you wish to have your study group appear in this list, contact the person in charge, via email association.urantia.quebec@gmail.com or at 450-565-3323.
Group: Découverte
Every Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Laurentians Region Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre
Tel.: 450-565-3323
Group: Étoile du Soir
Every Wednesday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Laurentides region
Carmen Charland
Tel.: 450-553-3601
Group: Le Pont
Every Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
South Shore of Montreal
Guy Vachon
Tel.: 450-465-7049
Group: Basses Laurentides
Every Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Yvon or Irene Belle-Isle
Tel: 819-423-1240
Group: Mauricie Readers
Every Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Three Rivers Region
Madeleine Boisvert and
Tel: 819-376-8850
Roger Perigny
819-379-5768
Group: Veritas
Every Tuesday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Montreal area, near the Church metro station
Lise and Pierre Routhier
Tel.: 514-761-2378
Sherbrooke Group
Every two weeks, Tuesday or Wednesday (to be confirmed)
From 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Helene Boisvenue or Denis Gravelle
Tel.: 819 569-6416
Group: The Ascendants
Every two weeks on Sunday from 13 h 00 to 3:30 p.m.
South Shore of Quebec
Guy LeBlanc
Tel: 418-835-1809
Group: The Agondontarians
Every two weeks on Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. North Shore of Quebec
Guy & Rolande L. Martin
Tel: 418-651-3851
Group: Les Débonnaires
Wednesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Montreal region
Julien Audet
Tel: 514-315-9871
Group: Urantia Fraternity
Wednesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Lanaudière region
Richard Landry & Gisèle Boisjoly
Tel: 450-589-6922
Group: Vers les Sommets
Friday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Regions Ormstown & Valleyfield
Louise Sauve
Tel: 450-829-3631
Group: The United Urantia Family
Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Montreal region
Mrs. Diane Labrecque
Tel: 514-277-2308
Disclaimer: Any interpretations, opinions, conclusions or artistic representations, stated or implied, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Urantia Association International or local and national level associations.