© 2016 Maurice Migneault, Alain Nielsen, Réal Demers, Jean-Claude Lafrenière
© 2016 Urantia Association of Quebec
¶ The reason for illness, misery, suffering, war…
Maurice Migneault
Gatineau
urantiamaurice@gmail.com
On June 12, 2016, a man entered a nightclub frequented by the gay community in Orlando, Florida. Armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, he executed at least 50 people and left 53 others injured. He was shot dead by police after three hours of hostage-taking.
What should we say to those who ask why God allows such violence?
When anger and emotion still fuel the tears of vengeance, the heart is not in a state to welcome loving responses.
It is unwise to compare the justice of God with that of men. God is able to judge without condemning, which man cannot do. Divine wisdom requires recognition by a divine vision. We must rise above our human condition to begin to appreciate it.
Should he who takes the wrong road blame the road he was taking? If our car breaks down, should we blame its designer? If the rate of fatal childhood diseases is now lower than it was in the last century, is it due to the effort of God or to the effort of men? So why blame God for all evils?
¶ Urantia International Congress, San Antonio, Texas (June 8-12, 2016) “Jesus the Master”
Alain Nielsen
Montreal
The Man on Crutches:
Luckily the driver stopped right in front of the check-in office door, because as I stepped out of the van that picked me up at the airport, the hot air hit me!!
Inside, several people are already present, but all busy with something. I felt a slight tension in the air.
My check-in completed, I feel really alone among a crowd of strangers all speaking English. I had to make myself useful for something, so that would serve as an entry for a first contact with someone. The man on crutches sitting on the ground appears in my field of vision. Without saying a word, I sit on the ground next to him. I took a bag, he looked up and told me what to put inside it, no more, no less. That’s it, he had just included me in his circle.
From then on I felt better. He welcomed me, quite simply, without knowing anything about me.
Lesson: A sense of belonging and team spirit arises from the will of each part and only when they are unified in a common goal and work for the good of the whole.
The welcome speech:
The second event that struck me occurred as soon as the words of the welcoming address were delivered by Urantia Foundation President Mo Seigel.
“You must think deeply, until your mind hurts, is the meaning of the term ‘meditation’ used in The Urantia Book.” This man, by his words, came to seal what I have always thought.
Lesson: Energy comes from deep reflection. That is why Jesus developed this habit, “solitary worshipful meditation.” UB 160:1.10
The old lady with the cane:
Several moments later, walking under the burning rays of the Texas sun, I saw, in the shade of a tree, a small table and two empty benches where I could finally rest and wipe the sweat from my forehead. In the distance, I could make out the silhouette of an old lady with a cane, also heading in that direction.
After the usual introductions, Mrs. Suzan opened up to me and immediately told me her greatest difficulty; this personality had difficulty staying in the present moment. You know that moment when everything exists, when time and space are expelled from our thoughts, where everything is at stake and where everything is possible. Well! Suzan and I were there. We were in relationship and we were living. It is there and in this precise moment that God the Father lives and is found. From personality to personality, we shared a moment of beauty, truth and goodness.
This one, I can easily say that it was an incredible and unique spiritual experience, but not a lesson!!!
“ As she passes by ”
This was the title of the workshop and it was led by four women. Driven by curiosity, I entered the room. This one was arranged differently from the others. The chairs had all been arranged in a way that formed a large circle and four others were inside it.
The four women took their places in the center and began a conversation, or was it an exchange or a sharing??? Good question!!! Oddly enough, it all seemed to work because the intensity in the room was rising and the energy was palpable. I can’t tell you exactly how long this all lasted since I myself lost all sense of time during this event.
Afterwards, they integrated themselves into our large circle and let go of what they had just put in place. Naturally, women were dominant in number during this workshop. Several of them spoke. Well!!! It is clear that the approach to spirituality by the feminine gender is very different from the masculine aspect.
I then realized that today’s society, which is called modern, is still primitive in certain aspects.
Observation: this society is built by man and for man.
I admit that I have not learned the lesson here. The question remains unanswered!! But one thing is certain, something is happening and the change will be slow and gradual. Which is consistent, since this male dominance extends over millennia of evolution.
Maybe the male gender doesn’t want this?? Is man afraid of change and losing his comfortable throne??
One certainty, however, I found “As she passes by” and here it is; “Listening and speaking with one’s heart means listening and speaking to understand and not to find an answer!!!” This is perhaps one of our big differences. Who knows??
The Last Hug: The Man of 1967
I am now about to leave the Trinity University campus. My luggage is already securely tied inside the van that would take me back to the airport to return home.
Of course, I reserved my last hugs for two special friends in my eyes. You know, the one who invited me and the one with whom I feel safe. But here something else happened, this campus was not just any campus. The universe, sometimes, has surprises in store and it pulls a rabbit out of its sleeve!!
As I was taking my last steps on the boiling Texas soil, carrying back to my soul an extraordinary experience, the man from 1967 came rushing in, exclaiming: “Before you leave I want to hug you!!”
??? Yes, I admit that I was quite astonished, because in fact, we had never met or spoken to each other. A perfect and total stranger!!
“I’ve been seeing you pass by five or six times during the convention. I wanted to talk to you but I did not. So before you leave can I just hug you?”
“Yes, come to me!!” (Yes, come to me!!) He had barely finished saying it before he had already taken me in his arms, holding me close to him. When he released his embrace, I was able to catch my breath a little. The man from 1967 seemed to love me very much.
After the usual and, let’s say, more conventional handshakes between two complete strangers, I read on the small card his name, but also the year that this man had started reading the Fifth Revelation of the time. It was indicated 1967.
I was amazed, because the man of 1967 first touched The Urantia Book when I was two years old. Almost fifty years old.
I really felt like a youngster next to him. Thanks to him, but I remain intrigued by this meeting.
Lesson: Be dignified and proud when you wear the light of God as your garments, because you cannot suspect who is watching you!!
¶ A Grandpa’s First Love Letter to His Grown-Up Children and Grandchildren
Real Demers
Laval
This letter is also addressed to every person of good will who is in search of perfection, however relative it may be; in fact, the link of filiation with me is only accessory, because of the fact that each of us is a member of the great human fraternity, that we have only one Father in common, the divine Source of all things.
This letter, as well as all the others that will follow, is addressed to you as if you were the only person in the world, in the manner of the Rose of the Little Prince.
While the candle of my life still burns, I hasten to tell the people around me that I love them. Before the light it radiates is too dim to illuminate the paper over which my pen tirelessly runs, I exclaim in words like a long litany, partly because of its content, partly to prove to myself that I am still alive.
Most of the time, my speech leaves aside daily concerns to rise in a song of love that, like a rising sun, gives perspective to the things that, in the night, surrounded us on all sides. This elevation of the soul that gives a new meaning to our experience does not result from our actions, but from a disposition of our being to receive, a state similar to the flower that opens to the morning sun.
The search for a path that allows the elevation of the soul, Illumination (according to Krishnamurti), can only leave us waiting for something that does not happen. Indeed, this illumination does not result from an action, but depends on the Being: being capable of receiving, but incapable of finding. It comes without being sought; its presence can be perceived as happiness.
Any search requires our attention, distracts us from what is happening inside us and takes us away from that state of happiness resulting from simple contemplation. When the head is full of all the actions that we could do, when we search our memory to find the solution to a nagging problem, we are turned towards the outside, in action mode where the “I” defends itself from external aggressions and/or carves out a more favorable social position. This results in a level of excitement conducive to action, sometimes salutary, but enlightenment is certainly not there.
As much as it is necessary to act, if only to meet the demands of our material life (personal care, participation in the life of our group, a benevolent regard for others), brief moments of contemplation add to the quality of the experience.
These moments of contemplation have no particular situations or places. You can experience them by looking at a beautiful landscape, by letting yourself be bathed in a sudden ray of sunshine, by hearing the voice of a loved one, by feeling the sweet communion that binds you to your surroundings with the feeling of being raised in a surge of gratitude towards life, towards the Source of all life as to a loving father.
These moments are characterized by the silence of the “I”, by the fact that it lowers its boundaries, that it gives itself up completely, thus entering into the ecstasy of an unreserved communion with the reality that surrounds us. Thus, when we seek this illumination, we are always looking for a road that does not exist; indeed, according to Krishnamurti, the search for truth is to visit a country that has no road; here we speak of truth in terms of adequacy between our words and reality: this reality presents itself to us like a film that unfolds without ceasing, while our words represent only photos of this reality that we would like to grasp, but which, with each new second, escapes from our hands.
No more than the thousands of boats that have sailed the same seas, our boat will leave no trace of its passage. As much as the water parts to flow along its sides, as much as it supports it during its passage, as much as it closes after it, leaving to every new boat the care of finding this route, never traced, as if no boat had ever floated on these same waters.
So it is with your life that goes on, similar to that of others, and I have, to describe it, only words taken from my personal experience. Despite everything that others tell you, your decisions are yours; others can influence you, but it is always you who decides to act.
What others experience is sometimes enlightening, but the island where your boat takes you is yours, with its well-defined contours, its fine sandy beaches, its steep coasts, its exotic flora; it is your island, both a refuge and a place of renewal; your island is you as no one else can see you, it is your workshop, it is your nest where you come to think.
On your island, no one but you can access it; we can only wait for your desire to show yourself by going to meet others. Everyone is an island and meetings with others generally take place on the high seas: each person’s island is at best visible from afar and often beyond the horizon. This is also the case for business relationships, where we expect from everyone a specialized service to meet our needs, without worrying about the personal experience of the person who is doing us a service.
The bonds of friendship are closer; in this case, even if each person’s island is very close, the contacts are always made from boat to boat, each person fraternizing with the others in the manner of a line dance, a flock of birds grouped in the same movement for each of them, a school of fish pressed against each other.
In short, what we see of the other is the exterior, it is what the other wants to show us, it is the outline of his island; what we do not see is his divine part hidden in him, it is the flower hidden in the middle of his forest, it is his treasure buried in the sand, it is the greatness of his soul all draped in its original nudity.
Each being an island, tries to guess the other, projects onto the other what he lives deep inside himself, half-reality and half-projection. Each, to act towards others, constructs an idea of what they are and experiments, by trial and error, the best contacts with them. Thus, each revelation of the other by his action restarts the search for the other in his being; it is a game of hide-and-seek that gives spice to the experience, of the hoped for never completely reached, of the unexpected never sought, but received, a search for the other always at its beginnings, always different, always new and always to be redone; it is the eternal first day.
This kind of figurative language to try to understand reality shows you that you should never take as definitive your understanding that you have of the world around you, of yourself in relation to others and, consequently, of your intimate “being” which will always be a secret for others and a field of investigation for you. This is why there is no road to arrive at the understanding of oneself and others. As for illumination, it is like the thrill of life that arrives without solicitation and that sometimes persists long in our mind after its passage. There is no point in looking for it, it is it that finds us in the manner of an affectionate parent; we then only have to be passively receptive enough not to miss its visit. It is a light that we cannot see if we have not extinguished all our desires.
Until next time,
¶ A Urantian Culture
Jean-Claude Lafreniere
Saint-Andre-Avellin, QC
[During the theme in Drummondville on May 14, 2016, Jean-Claude sang us his personal compositions inspired by the “Urantia Book”. In the Réflectivité of June 2016, on page 3, he tells us about his experience that I summarize here.]
One night I find myself humming a tune, and words from The Urantia Book slip in pleasantly.
I stand up to write down the flow of words that naturally fit into the tune I have in my head.
The texts based on well-known tunes, or almost, would allow everyone to sing them, to make them their own.
So here is my next composition:
Everyone knows the area of “La Manic”: “If you knew how bored we are at La Manic…”
To really feel the wonderful effect of this composition, I suggest the following experiment: just before you start singing it, say your first name, as if it were addressed to you personally. It was while doing this that I felt… what I hope you will feel in turn.
Such a basic theme fits so well into the rediscovery of the forgotten initial Message, but still occupied by this vengeful and wicked God of the 3rd revelation, still present in our civilization of guilt and relapse.
¶ To the tune of “La Manic”
If you knew
How much he loves you,
Your heavenly Father.
Like a child,
You would give it back to him,
A great earthly love ;
You would listen to his good advice,
For he truly dwells in you;
Whether you feel it or not,
He wants to guide your steps.
Far from the misfortunes you create for yourself,
In this forest of errors.
¶ Michael’s Day 2016
Sunday, August 21 2016, you are all invited to Michael’s party on Mont-Royal — near Lac des Castors, between the Restaurant and the paid parking lot (around $8 in 2015).
As usual you will just have to follow the instructions with the concentric circles.
Bring your own food and chair.
Bertin Perron and Julien Audet.
¶ STUDY GROUPS
This activity allows several readers of different levels of understanding to share and study together the teachings of The Urantia Book. It promotes spiritual progress by allowing its participants to find practical applications of the teachings of The Urantia Book in their daily lives. This important practice helps to maintain a broad perspective on 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.
Outaouais Group
Gatineau Region
Tuesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Maurice Migneault:
(613) 789-6833
Group : “Étoile du Soir”
Laurentides Region
Wednesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Carmen Charland: (450) 553-3601
Group : “Le Pont”
Montreal South Shore Region
Thursdays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Guy Vachon: (450) 465-7049
Sherbrooke Group
Sherbrooke region
Every 2 weeks: Tuesdays or Wednesdays (to be confirmed) from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Hélène Boisvenue and Denis Gravelle Tel.: (819) 569-6416
Group: “The Ascendants”
South Shore region of Quebec
Every 2 weeks: Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Guy Le Blanc: (418) 886-2366
Group : “Laurantia”
Petite Nation region in Outaouais
Sundays from 9:00 a.m.
Denise Charron & Jean-Claude Lafrenière Tel: (819) 983-2113
Group: “Fraternité-Urantia”
Lanaudière region
Wednesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Richard Landry & Gisèle Boisjoly Tel: (450) 589-6922
Group: “The United Family of Urantia”
Montreal region
Tuesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Ms. Diane Labrecque: (514) 277-2308
Group : “Les Débonnaires”
Terrebonne region
Every 2 weeks: Thursdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Julien Audet: (514) 315-9871
Group: “Découverte”
Laurentides region
Mondays from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Gaétan Charland and Line St-Pierre
Tel.: (450) 565-3323
Group : “Vers les Sommets”
Ormstown & Valleyfield regions
Fridays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Louise Sauvé: (450) 829-3631
Group: “Readers of Mauricie”
Three Rivers Region
Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Roger Périgny: (819) 379-5768
Group: “At Maisonia”
Quebec region
Every 2 weeks: Sundays from 1:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Gilles Bertrand & Louise Renaud:
(418) 871-4564
¶ Réflectivité
Responsible: Normand Laperle (418) 835-1809
Assisted by: Gilles Bertrand. (418) 871-4564
Publication (monthly)
In the first week of the month.
To send us your articles and/or contact us:
reflectivite.auq@gmail.com
Add: Your name And city of residence .