© 1989 Hannu Jarvinen, Mario C.J. Harrington
© 1989 The Urantia Book Fellowship (formerly Urantia Brotherhood)
The following article was given by the author as a speech at last year’s conference, “Summer Days in Pieksamaki, Finland,” on June 4, 1988.
I got the idea for this talk from a book by Voitto Viro. I have been deeply affected by the book wherein he states that it is a great misfortune that things which are not self-evident are regarded as such. The fact that we are here is not self-evident. The fact that we do exist, that man exists, is a great miracle. I know that I am not conscious enough to deeply grasp the significance of that.
Life is not self-evident. It is an inconceivable miracle. It is an immense creation of higher mind. Even in these matters, we must become childlike; we must start believing in miracles again.
An example for me of taking things for granted in this way came from a television show I watched in which a man was asked his opinion about God. His answer was, “I’m a thinking man, I need to see God first.” This was said by a man who, himself, is living evidence of infinitely wise planning. His comment, unfortunately, well reflects the spirit of the time.
Hannu Jarvinen
Sasi, Finland
This article will also be appearing in the PRINTS OFPEACE and we thank the editors and author for allowing us to print it here as well.
As more individuals follow up on their self-conscious religious promptings, they seek guidance as to the paths of prayer and worship, or how to practice the presence of God. The path to the Universal Father is first of all an inward journey. In prayer there is an element of self-interest involved. Many of us have experienced that prayers are not necessarily answered at the level formulated. The overcontrol of the spiritual forces of the universe tends to answer our requests at their higher and purer level. Once in a while our petitions are actually met and we are subsequently surprised in experiencing the reality of our desire. Prayer enriches life, but worship illuminates destiny.
Many who had been comforted by the extrinsic religions of intellectual conformity increasingly find no solace in the repetition of set prayers and the empty formalities of ritual. This is not astonishing for we are, each one of us, individuals, sons of God, and our souls desire in their way to express worship, love and reverence to our Universal Father. The goal of our eternal existence is to reach the Paradise presence of our Creator on Paradise. That can only be accomplished by our spiritual development, which we achieve through the guidance of our Thought Adjuster in order to acquire the nature of God. As we know, the words we express are not relevant to worship, but the attitude of the soul is. The recognition of spiritual values makes cosmic meanings discernible and our personality is freed from the strappings of time and released from the limitation of space.
Mario C.J. Harrington
Pompano Beach, Florida
“To assume that the universe can be known, that it is intelligible, is to assume that the universe is mind made and personality managed. Man’s mind can only perceive the mind phenomena of other minds, be they human or superhuman. If man’s personality can experience the universe, there is a divine mind and an actual personality somewhere concealed in that universe.” (UB 1:6.7)