© 2010 Marc Belleau, Hubert Gallet, Louise Sauvé, Guy Laporte
© 2010 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ Discover and understand our place in the universe
I AM SENDING YOU SOME THOUGHTS FOLLOWING COMMENTS RECEIVED FROM A READER OF RÉFLECTIVITÉ ON ASPECTS AFFECTING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE AIMS OF THE 5TH REVELATION.
“… What I deplore in The Urantia Book is that there is no teaching for working on oneself. It is all well and good to read and fill oneself with knowledge, but how can one manage to live our own divinity”
This very interesting commentary leads us to reflect on the goals that the revelators had when they bequeathed The Urantia Book to us. The 5th revelation was given to us in order to revive the spiritual life of our planet. It does this by depicting the panorama of eternity that stretches out before us, thus allowing us to situate ourselves in the universe. We are at the beginning of our journey and the attainment of divine perfection is the goal of all existence. This is acquired by the search for knowledge of the divine and its application in daily life. It is true that The Urantia Book does not give us a recipe for self-fulfilment, other than to trust that part of the divine within us, the thought adjuster. It is up to us to use the many tools available to work on ourselves. Moreover, The Urantia Book invites us to use all these means to grow and live in a divine way: psychology to know ourselves, art to express ourselves, sociology to learn group life, science to unravel the mysteries of nature, anthropology to understand where we come from, and so on. The spirituality offered by The Urantia Book gives meaning and unifies these different areas of our life. We grow for one reason only, to join God, to become like him so that our relationship with him becomes more and more conscious.
Because the 5th revelation does not impose a ready-made method on us, it leaves us free to choose the path that we believe is best to respond to the invitation of Our Heavenly Father: “be perfect as I am perfect.” It invites us to use our potential to create our own path through the universe, that is to say, to choose spiritual concepts and values according to the knowledge we have of the truth, outside of any religious constraints. We are therefore stakeholders in our own journey. God leaves us free to choose the path that we believe is best and, moreover, he accompanies us on this road that we have chosen to live this experience with us and support us during our journey. The goal of The Urantia Book is to make us discover and understand our place in the universe as well as our relationship with God.
“… I also tried to reread The Urantia Book, but I don’t understand anything anymore. It’s too complicated. I think that in a journey, the less you know, the better.”
I think it is very dangerous not to understand the path we are on. It is, most often, under these conditions that we can be fooled. When people do not know or do not seek to understand, the most horrible things can happen. At one time, religions prevented access to knowledge in order to better manipulate us. Some still do so… unfortunately. Is it necessary to resume the discourse on the need to understand, to know and to open our horizons, to broaden our vision of things through knowledge and reflection? I admit that it is sometimes difficult to understand certain concepts of the 5th revelation. However, I will tell you that we are here to discover, to learn and to experiment. Although we have eternity to do so, this work of ours must begin right now, here below on Urantia. Personally, I believe that there are no more exhilarating moments than when we access a greater understanding of things. It is clear to me that the more we know, the more we can enjoy life. Let us learn to love knowledge and enjoy life more abundantly and intensely.
“… The mind has no power to change life. That is only the prerogative of the Heart and Soul. To understand these words one must think with the Heart, and to read The Urantia Book one must think with the head.”
It is true that the mind alone cannot change our lives, but this is also true for the heart. To transform ourselves, we need the support of the divine presence in our thoughts, without which nothing, absolutely nothing, is possible.
The heart (in the sense that my interlocutor takes it here) is made to love and feel and not to think; its function is not to understand. It is our mind that is responsible for this. It is the mind that perceives what is outside of us, our environment, and what is inside of us, our emotional state. Naturally, since our mind can analyze and understand, we must indeed use our head to read and grasp the full scope and beauty of the concepts of The Urantia Book. When we use the right organ to understand, our spiritual vision becomes clearer and this understanding allows our heart to love more and wiser.
Marc Belleau
belleaumarc@hotmail.com
If you have any comments, questions or objections about this text, please share them with me. I will be happy to read them.
¶ The Great Challenge of Modern Man
From The Urantia Book
Part one of two
¶ Preamble
IN ORDER TO REMAIN AS FAITHFUL AS POSSIBLE TO THE URANTIA BOOK, I PREFER NOT TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT IS SAID IN IT, TO MAKE AN EXEGESIS OF IT OR TO COMMENT ON IT WITH THE RISKS OF DRIFT THAT THIS INVOLVES, BUT TO EXTRACT FROM IT SELECTED PIECES AND TO ARRANGE THEM IN THE WAY THAT SEEMS TO ME THE SHORTEST AND MOST LOGICAL AROUND THE SUBJECT TO BE TREATED. MOREOVER, THE SUBJECT BEING VAST AND COMPLEX, I VOUBNTARILY LIMITED MYSELF TO THE ASPECTS OF THE QUESTION THAT SEEMED TO ME THE MOST USEFUL TO THE READERS.
The Big Challenge: Communicating with your Adjuster.
Knowing that “God is man’s eternal destination UB 5:4.3,” and that we are all highly privileged to be endowed with a fragment of God, the Adjuster,(1) “the great challenge to modern man is to establish better communications with the divine Monitor who indwells the human mind. Man’s greatest adventure is his healthy and balanced effort to push back the boundaries of self-consciousness…to attain…contact with the divine presence. UB 196:3.34”
(1) or divine Monitor, or Mystery Monitor, or other appellations.
Because of the vastness of the spiritual difference between God and humans, “it is extremely difficult for the poorly spiritualized material mind of mortal man to become experientially aware of the spiritual activities of such divine entities as the Paradise Adjusters. UB 5:2.5”
But as our spirituality and thus our spiritual capacity for receptivity increases, as our will becomes dedicated, by free choice, to doing the divine will, as we desire to know God and become like him, then “as the soul of joint mind and Adjuster creation becomes increasingly existent, there also evolves a new phase of soul consciousness which is capable of experiencing the presence, and of recognizing the spirit leadings. UB 5:2.5”
To encourage us in this way let us remember that “The Father desires that all his creatures be in personal communion with him. This is why, …for all of us, God is approachable, the Father is accessible, the way is open. UB 5:1.8”
¶ One of the ways to communicate is prayer.
Prayer induces the human ego to look both ways for help: for material aid to the subconscious reservoir of mortal experience, for inspiration and guidance to the superconscious borders of the contact of the material with the spiritual, with the Mystery Monitor. (UB 91:3.5)
Enlightened prayer must recognize not only an external and personal God but also an internal and impersonal Divinity, the indwelling Adjuster. It is altogether fitting that man, when he prays, should strive to grasp the concept of the Universal Father on Paradise; but the more effective technique for most practical purposes will be to revert to the concept of a near-by alter ego, just as the primitive mind was wont to do, and then to recognize that the idea of this alter ego has evolved from a mere fiction to the truth of God’s indwelling mortal man in the factual presence of the Adjuster so that man can talk face to face, as it were, with a real and genuine and divine alter ego that indwells him and is the very presence and essence of the living God, the Universal Father. (UB 91:3.7)
¶ The other major path is worship,
(and meditation, when it includes it), which Jesus practiced very often to commune with his Adjuster.
Adjusters should not be thought of as living in the material brains of human beings. They are not organic parts of the physical creatures of the realms. The Thought Adjuster may more properly be envisaged as indwelling the mortal mind of man rather than as existing within the confines of a single physical organ. And indirectly and unrecognized the Adjuster is constantly communicating with the human subject, especially during those sublime experiences of the worshipful contact of mind with spirit in the superconsciousness. (UB 110:1.1)
As prayer may be likened to recharging the spiritual batteries of the soul, so worship may be compared to the act of tuning in the soul to catch the universe broadcasts of the infinite spirit of the Universal Father. (UB 144:4.8)
Worship is the contemplation of the spiritual and draws us closer to the Father. “Worship is the yardstick which measures the extent of the soul’s detachment from the material universe and its simultaneous and secure attachment to the spiritual realities of all creation” (UB 143:7.6).
Jesus taught his followers that, when they had made their prayers to the Father, they should remain for a time in silent receptivity to afford the indwelling spirit the better opportunity to speak to the listening soul. The spirit of the Father speaks best to man when the human mind is in an attitude of true worship. We worship God by the aid of the Father’s indwelling spirit and by the illumination of the human mind through the ministry of truth. Worship, taught Jesus, makes one increasingly like the being who is worshiped. (UB 146:2.17)
Selected excerpts from The Urantia Book by Hubert Gallet.
Montreal, September 6, 2010.
¶ Testimony of a believer
LET ME TAKE A FEW MOMENTS OF YOUR TIME TO COME FIRST, THANK: HÉLÈNE BOISVENUE; A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. MARC BELLEAU; FREE WILL: A DIVINE RIGHT. AL NEIL; A TREND IN THE AIR. TEXTS PUBLISHED DURING THE EDITION OF RÉFLECTIVITÉ, SEPT. 2010
It is always so enriching, humanly and spiritually, to read and explore the thoughts of our brothers and sisters, emanating from the depths of their souls, evolving towards their future, immortal, eternal and divine destiny!
Thank you to each and every one of you for sharing.
Second, let me share with you a testimony I wrote to non-readers twenty years ago about an extraordinary book, none other than THE URANTIA BOOK.
Far be it from me to want to convince today, in 2010, seasoned students like each of you, but rather to testify once again, in the present time, my faithful commitment to the 2097 pages of this Revelation whose teachings transcend all human thoughts!
However, we must express ourselves with the means that our Heavenly Father has given us: the mind, the feeling, the soul, the heart, love, reflections of our deepest essence…
In those days the text began as follows:
I remember… It was a stormy evening. Outside, the cold was raging, prompting me to stay warm, near the fire of my hearth. A new book, acquired that very day, was lying on the table in the living room. The moment was right to open its pages. That was twelve years ago.
At that time, I did not know that this brick of two thousand and ninety-seven pages would completely change my vision of Life, Man, Death, Survival, Eternity, God and finally my destiny… During the six months following this winter month, reading this book became my food for the eyes, the heart, the mind and the soul, the time it took me to absorb its density, its depth, its light… It engaged me in reflection, prayer, meditation as well as hot tears and indescribable joy. It answered the questions of my last thirty-six years on the reason for my short stay on this tormented planet… Never for a single moment did I doubt the credibility of its content, written not with a human thought, but with a celestial thought. The Beauty revealed, the transcendent Truth, the love felt through the spirit of the book illuminated my human conscience.
From issue to issue, I discovered the real meaning of this book. The gates of heaven were wide open… The Deity emerged from its mystery. The great universe opened its pages, so long closed to the human race. The evolutionary process of Creation was revealed in black and white, in the greatest clarity. The origins of man, from the primate to that of our days, his destiny, both planetary and eternal, his ages of the past, and those to come; like a veil lifting… taking us out of the shadow and ignorance to direct us towards the real goal of our existences, here below. Nothing was omitted to illuminate in a new light, the path of humanity of modern times.
Scientists, astronomers, spiritualists, everyone, regardless of race, color, or religion, would find something to their liking in it. This book was written for all of humanity! My life was completely turned upside down and permanently transformed.
Since that distant time, since that winter evening, all in storm, I have never closed the pages of this book, so unique… become my bedside book! And today, I would simply like to tell you this: if I were to die tomorrow, I would exclaim in supreme joy to any soul who wants to hear it:
"Do not leave this planet without, at some time or other, opening the pages of THE URANTIA BOOK. Do not seek the author, for he is not of this world. Rather, a multitude from above have written it, under the name of bodies of celestial personalities, simply because the gates of heaven are wide open… It is the greatest gift offered to humanity at the end of the twentieth century, making this book the greatest book on the planet.
Let me leave my only legacy through this testimony, in case tomorrow is my last day…
Louise Sauvé, Ormstown
¶ AUQ Mission in Saguenay
EACH YEAR, THE MEMBERS OF THE AUQ BOARD OF DIRECTORS GIVE THEMSELVES THE MANDATE OF GOING TO THE REGION IN THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC TO MEET UB READERS IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO FORM STUDY GROUPS.
It is well known that the aims and objectives of the Association, according to Article #8 of its statutes and regulations, are to promote the in-depth study of The Urantia Book and the methodical dissemination of its teachings. The best way to achieve this is to promote the emergence of UB study groups wherever there are readers.
Recently, the AUQ executive members, consisting of President Gaétan Charland, Vice-President Guy Laporte, Secretary Maurice Migneault and Line St-Pierre, responsible for the Communications and Membership Committee, went to Saguenay to meet with readers from the region. The expedition left on Saturday, October 9 and returned on Monday, October 11; the distance explains the length of the stay.
The meetings took place on Sunday at the Holiday Inn hotel in the Jonquière district. The visitors were few in number, but how important! Herrol Dallaire of St-Félicien, Normand Laperle and his wife, and Michel Breton came to learn about what is happening at the Urantia Association of Quebec and to discuss the steps to take to develop new UB study groups in the Saguenay region. Our targeted encouragement, added to Herrol’s knowledge of this territory, will allow us to consider the formation of new reading groups in the region.
We left with a sense of hope, knowing that our visit had been invigorating for all present.
Guy Laporte,
Vice-President of AUQ
¶ 2010 Activities Calendar
Theme Day
Theme: To love is to serve
You are invited, Sunday, November 14, to the Best Western Hotel in St-Jérôme, 420 rue Mgr Dubois, for a theme day.
The reception will start at 9:30 a.m. and the day will begin at 10 a.m. Murielle Guerrero, Isabelle Lefebvre and Stéphane Boucher as well as Luciano Camellini will be the presenters.
The afternoon will be reserved for discussions and sharing in round tables until 4 p.m.
The entrance fee is $10.
2010 Holiday Dinner
Saturday December 4, 2010
Readers and their spouses are invited to come socialize on Saturday, December 4, 2010 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Restaurant l’Académie, 1730 Pierre Péladeau, Laval.
Bring your own wine and confirm your presence at 450-565-3323
or by email to: association.urantia.quebec@gmail.com
Places are limited.
¶ 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.