The gospel of the kingdom is founded on the personal religious experience of the Jesus of Galilea. It was not the only way he shared his spiritual life. He showed forth the fruits of the spirit wherever he passed by. The secret of his unbroken communion with our Father was prayer and worship.
In other words Jesus was open inwards and outwards at the same time. His life is a unique and inspiring example of strong inner life with courageous outer life manifestations. Isn’t that THE way we are called to go?
We need transforming inner life but we also need striving, conscious personal efforts to have it adjusted to the cosmic co-work in the middle of our everyday activities. Different small groups offer interesting possibilities for this. Groups can be well used for learning and spreading loving attitudes.
One example is the group started in Finland in August, 1989. The guidelines and principles come from the Center for Attitudinal Healing, Tiburon, CA. They are modified by the teachings of The Urantia Book and they are now carried out within a Lutheran parish. The group has weekly meetings.
The “Evergreens” are used to find a useful, spiritual point of view to face the problems of life.
The aim of the group is to encourage and support each of us
to take care of one’s personal relationship with God (interaction with the Father) and
to take a positive attitude toward oneself and others (coincident interaction with other people).
The following is a modification from the guidelines of the Center for Attitudinal Healing:
We want to learn positive being and interaction.
Our purpose is to work on ourselves, support each other and practice nonjudgmental listening and sharing of our own experiences.
We understand that each person’s learning process is important, not our judgment of it. Being accepted as we are makes it easier to accept others rather than judge them.
When we risk and expose our own emotional state, our experience gives a chance for finding unity.
We respect each other as unique persons and recognize that each knows himself/herself better than anyone else. If we listen to the voice within, we will find our best answer.
We are here to support each other’s inner guidance and assist one another to focus on what is meaningful to each of us rather than to confront or preach.
We prefer sharing what works for us rather than giving advice. We let other people find their own answers.
The roles of student and teacher are interchangeable and fluctuate regardless of age or experience.
All information shared in group is confidential.
We agree to keep in mind that we always have a possibility to aim at peace rather than conflict, support love rather than fear.
“The idealization and attempted service of truth, beauty, and goodness is not a substitute for genuine religious experience—spiritual reality.” (UB 196:3.23)