Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book

Q: I was unfaithful to my spouse ~ something I thought I'd never do. I stopped the affair, but our marriage is now ending. I have huge regret for my actions but can't get that chapter out of my head. I now feel "blocked" spiritually, like I can't forgive myself and move on. I feel like part of me is gone. Please help.

A: I feel so sorry that you are suffering such painful regret. I understand regret, as I suffered with it for quite awhile in my past - still do, at times - but when it was at its worst, I was no good to anyone...I can understand that space of inertia, where you can't really move forward because the past is just too heavy around your heart...

Whatever your misdeeds were - in this case, infidelity - they are already forgiven. I can say that with absolute certainty, and I hope you can take that in and believe it as well. God has forgiven you, especially since you have recognized and seem to have sincere remorse for what you did.

You are right: a very important piece of forgiveness is to forgive yourself. Jesus said:

"My disciples must not only cease to do evil but learn to do well; you must not only be cleansed from all conscious sin, but you must refuse to harbor even the feelings of guilt. If you confess your sins, they are forgiven; therefore must you maintain a conscience void of offense." (156:2.7)

That is kind of a "wow" statement, but it is very true. When we continually harbor the feelings of sorrow and regret over our failings, we simply cannot move forward. And so, it is important that you begin to actively and seriously think about forgiving yourself.

One technique that was of some help to me during some particularly dark days was to imagine that I was looking at my life as from the outside - as if I was looking at a friend, perhaps. How would I respond to a beloved friend or relative who was in the same situation I was in? Would I withhold my love and care from her because she was unfaithful to her husband? I can see she's sorry...and has taken steps to stop the affair...would I shun her, and expect her to wallow in sackcloth and ashes? Or would I say to her: "You know, we all make mistakes in life. We all fall short of our ideals. One mistake does not define a whole life. I love you, and I know you will do better in the future. You''ll learn from this, and it will never happen again"

In short, practice the same kind of compassionate love on yourself as you would practice on a beloved friend or sister or brother. To refuse to do so effectively says "no thanks" to God's forgiveness. Thinking that you are unworthy of forgiveness is really an act of pride...there is no one who cannot be forgiven - no one. Try to let this truth sink into your inner being...

What you are going through cannot be ignored or wished away. You do have to deal with it, but it does not have to last forever. You say that you feel spiritually blocked. This is understandable. I have some suggestions from The Urantia Book; take all, some, or none, but I want you to know that it is the kind of truth revealed in The Urantia Book that brought me back from the brink many years ago. I know that if you are a truthseeker, you will always benefit from its truths and comforts. And if you do this assignment, maybe you'll be too busy in the present to want to dwell in the past. These activities will help you live in the present moment, which is where we find God and open that channel of relationship with him. God is our heavenly spirit Father and he loves us with a fatherly affection. He wants to help you.

I would like to suggest that you begin your spiritual recovery by doing a bit of reading in The Urantia Book. Start with Papers 1-5 - about God the Father and his love for us, and perhaps you might like to read Papers 100-103 - these are dealing with spiritual growth and reality of religious experience, and are mightily inspiring. Start with either one.

It is important that you try to gain a larger view - one that is not concentrated solely on your problems. You are a human being of eternal destiny and you carry within you a Divine spark of God. I guarantee that if you sincerely acknowledge the presence of God who walks through your life with you, you will find new purpose and a way forward. Not only that, but you will learn new ways of viewing your life and your choices and you'll gain strength to deal with the present problems you are experiencing as a result of this past event.

Another suggestion I can offer is to find someone who needs you - find someone who is worse off than you are and do some service for them with no thought of repayment. There are lonely people everywhere. Look for them...nursing homes, in homeless shelters, women's shelters, hospice...there are volunteer positions you could add to your day - delivering meals to seniors through "Meals on Wheels" for example. Find something to do. Fill your spare time with service to others. Instead of lamenting your loss, you may find a part of you that will fill the empty places. Again, this is an activity which encourages present-moment living - the eternal NOW, where God can be found..

Said Jesus: "My children, if there exists a true and living connection between the child and the Father, the child is certain to progress continuously toward the Father's ideals. True, the child may at first make slow progress, but the progress is none the less sure. The important thing is not the rapidity of your progress but rather its certainty. Your actual achievement is not so important as the fact that the direction of your progress is Godward. What you are becoming day by day is of infinitely more importance than what you are today." (147:5.7)

The fact that you are reaching out now says to me that you are turning a corner. I am so glad that you chose Truthbook.com as a place that you felt good enough about to share this personal time in your life, and I will agree with you in prayer right now that you will from this day forward, seek truth, beauty and goodness in your life, and you will find it.

Labels: forgiveness, God, infidelity, Jesus, service, spirituality, The Urantia Book

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

What is your viewpoint about the baptism of Jesus and His Cross? Are you with sin or without sin now? How can you solve the problem of daily and futur

Q: What is your viewpoint about the baptism of Jesus and His Cross? Are you with sin or without sin now? How can you solve the problem of daily and future sins?

A: Thank you for your letter to Truthbook.com. We are always glad to hear from truth-seekers.

You asked: What is your viewpoint about the baptism of Jesus and His Cross?

I think that Jesus death on the cross was the great tragedy of our history; that a divine Son of God - the ambassador and creator of the universe - should be brutally tortured and hung on a cross to die is a spectacle of human depravity and cruelty. Nonetheless, through that decision that Jesus made - to allow his life to play out in the most human way - we are gifted with a shining example of human willingness to follow God's will to the nth degree. He showed us throughout his life how to be a son of God - how to live the spirit-filled and spirit-led life - how to overcome sorrow, disappointment and even death through faith and through willingness to do the Father's will.

You might like to read "Lessons from the Cross" from The Urantia Book

You then asked: Are you with sin or without sin now?

We are all without sin, in the sense that we are not born sinful. We may become sinful by our own willful choices that take us away from the Father's will of truth, beauty and goodness. But that is a freewill choice; we also have the choice to walk in God's ways and do our best to live a righteous life, full of the fruits of the spirit. There is no inherent sinfulness in man, no "original sin." Jesus never taught that; instead he taught that we are faith-sons of God, and through that faith we are granted salvation. Referencing your first question: I don't believe that Jesus' death on the cross had any bearing on the question of my being with or without sin. That is a function of freewill choice; always was, and always will be.

And: How can you solve the problem of daily and future sins?

Just so we are clear, the following is a passage from The Urantia Book, and the speaker is Jesus:

"Sin is the conscious, knowing, and deliberate transgression of the divine law, the Father's will. Sin is the measure of unwillingness to be divinely led and spiritually directed."

Turning that around we can say that solving the problem of daily and future sin is to deliberately follow divine law, and be willing to be divinely led and spiritually directed. This becomes more and more a real possibility when we understand that we are indwelt by God himself, in the form of the Thought Adjuster - that spark of God that indwells the mind of each mortal. We can choose to listen and be directed. We can choose to spend time seeking the "still, small voice" within at times of decision, doubt or confusion. We can choose to say "It is my will to do your will," and then actually try do it

It is a responsibility that all truth-seekers, and all spiritual seekers have - to walk the talk; to really put into practice what we say we believe. It is challenging to all who are sincere of heart, and we all falter - we all fail at times - we all choose the wrong thing sometimes...but one thing that I have noticed in my years of spiritual seeking: the closer I get to God, the worse I feel when I take the wrong path, and the quicker I am to try and make amends and get right again. And I know that I am forgiven when I sincerely recognize my error and decide to change. So, as time goes on, we should be able to expect that our own experience will help us to increasingly avoid sin. It feels much better when we do the right thing!

Thank you for this question. I hope the reply has been helpful...

Labels: failure, Jesus, sin, spirituality, the Cross, The Urantia Book

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Sunday, June 07, 2009

If God is always with us then why are people making mistakes?

Q: Why did God create us? What was the reason to create this world? Why can't every person can't see God? If God is always with us then why are people making mistakes?

A: These are questions that many people ask. The Urantia Book gives us answers, and so I am glad that you wrote.

Why did God create people? Because God is love, and love craves love in return:

p21:2 (1:0.2) The myriads of planetary systems were all made to be eventually inhabited by many different types of intelligent creatures, beings who could know God, receive the divine affection, and love him in return. The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. "God created the heavens and formed the earth; he established the universe and created this world not in vain; he formed it to be inhabited."

All people have it within their power to know God. God is knowable, and he is not in hiding:

p25:3 (1:3.3) The Universal Father is not invisible because he is hiding himself away from the lowly creatures of materialistic handicaps and limited spiritual endowments. The situation rather is: "You cannot see my face, for no mortal can see me and live." No material man could behold the spirit God and preserve his mortal existence ...But it is not necessary to see God with the eyes of the flesh in order to discern him by the faith-vision of the spiritualized mind.

So, we see that it is only with "faith-vision" that we can see the Father. But this is entirely possible, because God has sent each mortal being a piece of himself - a "pilot light" - to dwell within their mind, helping each of us through our lives to be successful in finding him, and "seeing" him with our spiritual senses.

But we have to choose to find God. It is our freewill choices that sometimes get in the way of our finding God, and doing his will in our lives. God always respects our freewill and does not interfere with our choices. As a result, we often make mistakes, we do the wrong things and sometimes, we sin.

We are spirit beings at our core, but we live in the world, and the world can make a lot of noise - there are a lot of distractions that we all deal with, so it is important to make times of quietness and try to listen to the "still, small voice" of God that is there for us when we really desire to hear it.

Jesus said: "You are in this world, but your lives are not to be worldlike..." So, even though we live in the world, we have to make the effort to go apart from the world on a regular basis - to remember our spiritual identity and to connect with the Source of that identity, which is God. Remember, God is always as near as a thought, for he dwells within your mind.

It can be frustrating to realize that not everyone wants to do the right things, and not everyone desires to know God. We all pay the price for the misdeeds of others at times, but the good news is that each individual person can choose to do good, and to find God within themselves. Sometimes, that is the best any of us can do. And in this way, we can help others by our example. When we, as God's children, do make that effort to stay close to God, we naturally become more like God, who is our spirit-Father. Like Jesus, we can learn to "go about doing good," and this is a powerful way to live a happy life in spite of the troubles that we see around us.

And finally, here's a bit of encouragement from The Urantia Book:

p2097:1 (196:3.30) Be not discouraged; human evolution is still in progress, and the revelation of God to the world, in and through Jesus, shall not fail.

Thanks for this great question. I hope that you will decide to subscribe to our free service - Quote of the Day - which will help you on a daily basis to stay on your own spiritual path. And please feel free to explore the many other features of our Truthbook.com site which will help inspire you to live your best life with God.

Labels: free will, God, love, spirituality, The Urantia Book

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Saturday, April 04, 2009

Do please wake up

Q: Do you honestly believe that a woman can give birth to 63 children (your story about Adam and Eve)? What sort of process does your brain go through in order to deny the scientifically possible to believe this nonsense? Do please wake up.

A. Thank you for your note to Truthbook.com and yes, it does sound pretty preposterous doesn't it? You didn't mention the fact that Adam and Eve were supposed to be close to 8 feet tall when the native population was under 6 feet tall -- that would seem pretty preposterous, too. Also, that it's recounted that their bodies gave off a slight aura of color that could be seen with normal vision. If you want to pick at preposterousness then the recounting of the story of Adam and Eve is a great place to begin.

I think you'd have to understand a bit about what else The Urantia Book relates before being able to pluck the story of Adam and Eve from it and have it make much sense. Let me supply a bit of background for you.

Primarily, reality isn't material only; it's both material and spiritual although our relationship with the spiritual is tenuous at best -- we are, after all, the lowest form of free-will and personality endowed creatures in the universe and are intended to be living a nearly totally material existence here. Notwithstanding our ignorance, there is a spiritual overcontrol and administration that is ultimately in control of all material reality; it's responsible for, among many other things, seeing that each inhabited world receives an Adam and Eve at the appropriate time.

Adam and Eve are actually special creations called Material Sons (sometimes Material Sons and Daughters). The Urantia Book contains considerable information about these Material Sons, you can read a bit about them here...and here...

Feel free to further your critique once you've read the material.

Human evolution on an inhabited world proceeds along a normal evolutionary course and human beings naturally evolve up to an apex of physical, mental, and spiritual capacity. In order to develop beyond this limited natural apex an infusion of superior DNA is required, again a normal but rather spectacular event on a planet. This is done by these specially designed beings, the Material Sons, often called biologic uplifters, coming in person. Here's a bit more detailed write-up about this event if you're interested, which appears to scientifically verify this preposterous appearing event having occurred at the exact time in ancient history where The Urantia Book places it.

However, to address your point specifically; the purpose of an Adam and Eve when they are bestowed upon a planet, is to have children. Childbirth is not painful for Eve, it's her primary function and purpose for being here and she can and does have children one after another. So, yes, we do honestly believe that a superhuman woman such as Eve can give birth to considerably more than 63 children. The process our brain goes through is to understand what and why The Urantia Book relates the wealth of significant material it does. We don't deny what is and what isn't scientifically possible, and not only have woken up because of our study of The Urantia Book, we hope to assist everyone who can intelligently assess this material to wake up as well.

Labels: Adam and Eve, evolution, material existence, spirituality, The Urantia Book

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Lincoln's spirituality in his own words

February 12, 1:05 PM
by Kurt Barstow

The 16th President of the United States is noted both for steering the country through its most difficult period as well as for both his noble rhetoric and earthy aphorisms. Below is a selection of quotes from the man in celebration of his 200th birthday.

GOD:

It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side, My great concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.

The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason he makes so many of them.

The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that God's purpose is something different from the purpose of either party - and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose.

I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.

RELIGION:

I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that's my religion.

NATION:

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. (2nd Inaugural Address)

CHARACTER AND THE HUMAN CONDITION:

Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow, the shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.

It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.

Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes crimes out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.

If we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been a proneness in the brilliant and warm-blooded to fall in to this vice. The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and generosity.

To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own.

Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.

Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action.

The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.

I am not bound to win, I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have.

We can complain that rose bushes have thorns, or we can rejoice that thorn bushes have roses.

I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.

Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?

If you look for the bad in (hu)mankind expecting to find it, you surely will.

It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.

HUMAN RIGHTS:

We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men's labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name - liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names - liberty and tyranny.

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried upon him personally.

Labels: Abraham Lincoln, character, God, human rights, Kurt Barstow, nation, religion, spirituality

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Saturday, February 14, 2009

I am a 19 years old male. Is age or sex, related to a personâ€™s potential for spiritual achievements?

Q: I am a 19 year-old male. Is age or sex, related to a personâ€™s potential for spiritual achievements?

A: Neither age nor sex have any bearing on a person's potential for spiritual achievements. Whether here on earth, or in life eternal, all of God's children stand on an equal footing in spiritual value, and all who choose survival will receive an opportunity for advancement. There may be other factors that may affect our potential, such as heredity or genetic lineage, but age and sex are of no consequence when thinking about spiritual potential.

Labels: age, sex, spiritual growth, spirituality, The Urantia Book

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Monday, January 26, 2009

Why do so many people feelingly experience re-incarnation as a spiritual reality?

A: Buddhists and Hindus experience reincarnation as a spiritual reality because it is an integral part to their view of the life and death cycle and most believers in any one particular religion tend to accept all the doctrines of that religion. Others accept reincarnation as valid because it seems to provide a logical answer to the age-old questions of why do some people seem to be blessed while others face lives of struggle. And still others accept reincarnation because they believe they've been given proof through past life regression, deja-vu, or psychic experiences that appear to point to its validity as a belief system.

Perhaps one of the main reasons people accept the theory of reincarnation is because deep down they realize that there's more to existence than this one short life can provide and because they have not been given another satisfying or more complete explanation of the breadth and scope of the adventure that awaits upon departure from this life in the flesh while a belief in reincarnation seems to answer that call.

As you may be aware, The Urantia Book makes it clear that this is the first and only physical experience required to cause the soul to be born and that from this point onward our existence will be one of increasing spiritual awareness and development. The Urantia Book describes in exquisite detail the universe career we embark upon after physical death, what we will experience as heaven and beyond. This ascension plan is so full and all-encompassing that what the theory of reincarnation offers pales and seems dull and tedious in its wake. So until the time comes that there's a more complete understanding of God's plan for us the theory of reincarnation will continue to hold a place in the beliefs of many.

Please see our web page dedicated to the study of Life After Death as taught in The Urantia Book.

Labels: Buddhism, Hinduism, life after death, reincarnation, spirituality, The Urantia Book

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Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Jesus in The Urantia Book, the whole story

Readers of The Urantia Book describe why these teachings stand unique, packed with new Jesus stories, his lost years, and fresh insights. This detailed portrayal of Jesus emphasizes the religion of Jesus rather than the religion about Jesus. If you love Jesus as portrayed in the Bible, you will gain an even greater admiration and understanding of his life and teachings from Part IV of The Urantia Book.

Labels: Bible, enlightenment, God, inspiration, Jesus, lost years, new insight, religion, religious experience, spiritual, spirituality, truth, urantia book

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

How Can I Share The Urantia Book? And What is "Satania?"

Q: How is one to proceed when trying to discuss Urantia with a Christian, and why, of all names, is our local system named Satania?

A: I think all devoted Urantia Book readers want to share our beloved revelation with others. Sometimes we're successful and sometimes we're not. I have been a reader/student for 25 years, and I still have spotty success, so first of all, don't be discouraged.

I have discovered that when trying to share any spiritual truth, it is important to understand where the other person is, spiritually speaking. Is s/he searching? Is s/he a truth-seeker? Or is s/he secure and content with the spirituality s/he already has? If it is the latter, you may have a more difficult time showing this person the truth that you have found. Many times, new spiritual truth is only perceived when a person is in some amount of spiritual turmoil, or is actively seeking a different way.

However you proceed, try to direct your conversation to the Spirit that indwells the mind of your friend. Follow the lead of Jesus, as in this passage from The Urantia Book:

Always the burden of his message was: the fact of the heavenly Father's love and the truth of his mercy, coupled with the good news that man is a faith-son of this same God of love. Jesus' usual technique of social contact was to draw people out and into talking with him by asking them questions. The interview would usually begin by his asking them questions and end by their asking him questions. He was equally adept in teaching by either asking or answering questions. As a rule, to those he taught the most, he said the least. Those who derived most benefit from his personal ministry were overburdened, anxious, and dejected mortals who gained much relief because of the opportunity to unburden their souls to a sympathetic and understanding listener, and he was all that and more. And when these maladjusted human beings had told Jesus about their troubles, always was he able to offer practical and immediately helpful suggestions looking toward the correction of their real difficulties, albeit he did not neglect to speak words of present comfort and immediate consolation. And invariably would he tell these distressed mortals about the love of God and impart the information, by various and sundry methods, that they were the children of this loving Father in heaven.
p1460:6 (132:4.2)

Everybody has problems and concerns - and everyone loves to talk about themselves. Learn, as Jesus demonstrated, how to ask questions that are meaningful, and then be a good listener. Practice the Golden Rule always in dealing with others. Really listen, and try to put yourself in their shoes, so you understand how they feel. Practice non-judgmental listening, and try to develop real compassion for those with whom you speak. You can then address the problems as Jesus did, with the Truth that you understand it to be. Always go into a conversation with prayer beforehand, asking for inspiration from your own indwelling Spirit; ask this good Spirit to speak for you if you get confused. Remember to put your small "self" aside...and then relax.

As for the second part of your question about the name of our local system: I will quote from an answer given to another reader's question about Lucifer in our FAQ section of Truthbook.com, which you can read HERE. This answer was written by one of our Truthbook team. The passage I want to share is this one:

"Because Lucifer was such a high spirit being, he delegated authority, as do all executives. In Lucifer's case, he delegated much of his authority on this planet to a very familiar figure: Satan. In fact, this system, of which our planet is a part, was given the name Satania, in honor of this selfsame Satan. This name was given before the rebellion, however, when Satan was still loyal to the Father. Thus, the name "Satania" has no sinister meaning, once this fact is understood."

It is unfortunate that the name "Satania" is still attached to our universe, but once you understand the circumstances, it becomes far less charged. You can share this with others by explaining the Lucifer Rebellion, and you'll find that the link I have given you above is a pretty comprehensive explanation. I find this story to be a really good one to share with Christians, as they are familiar with it; they know of Lucifer, and of course, Satan, but they are always amazed at the depth and the real facts of the story, as told to us in The Urantia Book. This story puts so many things into perspective, and sets the stage for explaining more about the true mission of Jesus of Nazareth.

Thank you very much for your questions, and I wish you all the best in your efforts to share The Urantia Book with your Christian friends. But more important than getting someone to read the book itself, is to share the amazing truths of the book; namely the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Also, do your best to actually LIVE the truths you have discovered, and as people see these truths demonstrated in your life, as they experience the fruits of the spirit in your dealings with them, they will inevitably be drawn to your spiritual fragrance.

Labels: Christian, fruits of the spirit, Jesus, Lucifer, sharing, spirituality, The Urantia Book

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Monday, April 21, 2008

Interview With Rick Warren

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is a facinating short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Labels: God, Paul Bradshaw, purpose of life, Rick Warren, spirituality

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Monday, April 07, 2008

Healthy way to reach God

6 Apr 2008,
Deah Curry

...long ago our ancestors knew a fundamental truth that we are only recently rediscovering: good mental health is inextricably intertwined with deep spiritual development. Transpersonal psychologists in the past several decades have produced good science that shows that people who have strong spiritual beliefs and practices are generally more resilient in the face of life crises, and tend to have an easier time recovering from some physical illnesses.

This should not be surprising. After all, the psyche â€” a Greek word for soul â€” which has come to be used for the mind or one's consciousness in modern times, is inescapably spiritual in its core nature. And so are we. This does not mean that we must return to church or temple, or become ultra religious to fulfil the promise of deep spirituality as a safeguard for mental and physical health. Let's not confuse religious belief and observance with spiritual development, which is about cultivating awareness, empathy and wisdom, being of service, and having tolerance and integrity â€” all virtues that can and should apply no matter what religious framework one believes in. Healing emotions often involves developing one's spirituality.

These healing and development efforts in education and therapy are about raising consciousness in order to support transformation in the learner or client. Transformation is more than just change. It occurs at such a deep level that we are truly different beings when we undergo transformation. Transformative change is essential for all of us in order to become better people, able to make a beneficial difference in the world and in our own lives. No matter where you are in your personal spiritual journey, or mental health status, it is useful to ponder these five transformative questions.

In the way you are living your life, how are you being the medicine? In teaching naturopathic medical students, the relevance of that question is obvious. But if we think about medicine as energetic spiritual power, as the First Peoples of America did and do, I think this question applies to all of us on the path of transformational consciousness. Being the medicine is about how you are living your life in such a way as to be respectfully and appropriately using the spiritual power that is innate within you. What can you further develop in order to be the medicine more fully?

What do you trust? Notice I didn't ask who. This question is asking: in what do you place your belief that all is and will be as it should be? It's always interesting to try to take this question down as deep as one can with as much honesty as one can stand. In your everyday life, are you acting in congruence with what you say you trust? If not, what needs to be surrendered, reframed, or healed in order to be in alignment with what you say you trust? What cause will you give your life?

The answer to this question is often very telling as to how congruent we are with our espoused and lived values. What we prioritise in thoughts, words, and deeds on a daily basis is what we are giving our life energy to. Many of us say we value our families, but then we work 16 hours a day, rarely eat a meal together, and put business success above interpersonal family relationships. Doing this is giving life energy to work, to stress, to something other than the family that is supposedly valued. What we're actually doing is not congruent with what we're saying we give our life to. Philosophers might say that happiness comes from not waiting until circumstances force you to choose between the cause for which you would give your life, and the life you live everyday. Are you really living a life of purpose and meaning now, and if not, what needs to change?

What you put your attention on grows. Are you growing what you want to be growing? If not, how does your attention need to shift? It really means something spiritually profound and psychologically healthy to be able to say you walk your talk. Can you say that with full integrity? If not, look at how you need to re-prioritise your choices.

At the end of your life, what will you have dared so that you can pass on with no regrets?

Daring to take risks is one of the most essential transformative energies that I know of for both spiritual development and mental health. In fact many mental health and relationship problems start from a fear of risking being fully seen as our authentic selves, fear of asserting our whole truth, fear of risking rejection and abandonment by those we love, fear of risking pride or security, and other large and small risks. Daring is a catalyst for becoming everything we are meant to be.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Healthy_way_to_reach_God/articleshow/2929454.cms

Labels: Deah Curry, medicine, mental health, religion, spirituality, transformation, trust

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Friday, February 15, 2008

Wisdom of the Dying

SOLACE: Wisdom of the Dying grew from Camille Adair's intimate experiences with people facing the end of their lives. As a hospice nurse, Camille has worked closely with patients, families, hospitals, cancer treatment centers and many health care professionals to address the needs of dying people as well as the needs of the health care community in being able to integrate the end of ones life as a natural and sacred human process rather than as a medical failure. www.solacethemovie.com

Labels: Camille Adair, death, dying, inspirational, spirituality, video

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Why do we regard watching pornography as sinful and watching a murder action trailer as morally neutral?

I think your question is pretty subjective. I was brought up to think of pornography as sinful. Maybe you were, too. But, obviously, not everyone feels the same these days. Pornography is an industry, and is one of the largest and most profitable in the world. There's no shortage of it, but we do, as a society, seem to keep it under wraps more than we do violence, which is also pervasive - especially in entertainment. We are a violent species, just beginning to discover that we may be able to create peace. And yet we are seem to be still in love with war and killing, unfortunately, and seem to be less in love with one another.

Pornography is natural love taken to a licentious extreme, and violence is the extreme of human conflict. Neither one is desirable or uplifting, in my opinion. As for sinfulness, that may be a matter between the individual and God, although it is hard to imagine that either of these extremes would be pleasing to our loving Heavenly Father.

It may be that there is less a sense of "sinfulness" about many things in our society than there once was. There is a coarseness about much of our entertainment, and both of these extremes bleed into each other. Violence in film is but a reflection of our society, and pornography is simple license in my opinion - pornographers take advantage of weak-minded people who see no reason to control themselves. As well, pornography can be seen as a type of violence against women.

This is precisely the reason that spiritual values are so very important. An eternal spiritual perspective, and the knowledge that one is part of a Universe family and is loved dearly as an individual would fill so many needs that we have which are now satisfied only by increasing violence and more intense stimulation of the physical senses.

Thanks for this question. I hope this reply has been helpful to you.

Labels: God, pornography, sin, spirituality, The Urantia Book, violence

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Drugs, Chemicals, Alcohol - And Their Effects On Spirituality

Q: What is the role of mind altering drugs, chemicals, alcohol and its effect on the body and spirituality?

A: That's a very good question worthy of consideration. Let's begin in this manner: some people abstain from all drugs, alcohol, and chemicals. Others will use any one or a combination of the 3 infrequently and sparingly. Still others indulge and yet others destroy their own lives and the lives of those close to them with these same substances. Ask anyone and they'll justify their abstinence or level of use, at least justify them within in their own minds. The main difference seems to be that most (or all that I am aware of) truly spiritually perceptive people are either abstainers or infrequent and frugal users, so the use-to-enlightenment curve appears to be logarithmic. An indiscriminate use at one time or another may have no long-term effects; it all depends upon how much risk one is willing to choose to indulge in.

Here are two passages from The Urantia Book that provide some insight into an answer to this question:

"Lack of spiritual capacity makes it very difficult to transmit to such a material intellect the spiritual truths resident in the higher superconsciousness. It is to the mind of perfect poise, housed in a body of clean habits, stabilized neural energies, and balanced chemical function â€” when the physical, mental, and spiritual powers are in triune harmony of development â€” that a maximum of light and truth can be imparted with a minimum of temporal danger or risk to the real welfare of such a being. By such a balanced growth does man ascend the circles of planetary progression one by one, from the seventh to the first."

"Mortal mind is a temporary intellect system loaned to human beings for use during a material lifetime, and as they use this mind, they are either accepting or rejecting the potential of eternal existence. Mind is about all you have of universe reality that is subject to your will, and the soul â€” the morontia self â€” will faithfully portray the harvest of the temporal decisions which the mortal self is making. Human consciousness rests gently upon the electro-chemical mechanism below and delicately touches the spirit-morontia energy system above. Of neither of these two systems is the human being ever completely conscious in his mortal life; therefore must he work in mind, of which he is conscious. And it is not so much what mind comprehends as what mind desires to comprehend that insures survival; it is not so much what mind is like as what mind is striving to be like that constitutes spirit identification. It is not so much that man is conscious of God as that man yearns for God that results in universe ascension. What you are today is not so important as what you are becoming day by day and in eternity."

These and other passages should help us realize that the connection between our minds and our soul and spiritual reality are very tenuous under the best of circumstances. With us even the best of circumstances aren't particularly good to begin with â€” our biological makeup is sub-par, our hereditary endowments are lacking, our family life as we grow and mature is often a shambles, society surrounding us exudes destructive and negative influences. Add to that what appears to be a predisposition toward ingesting mind and consciousness altering substances and one could begin to wonder why we were even chosen to receive the gift of this revelation; most of us give its messages and warnings little heed, preferring instead to follow our whims of predisposition.

The experimentation with and use of consciousness altering substances is a pervasive, and for the most part accepted, part of society. Many Urantians discovered the book during "the drug daze" that have transpired since the 1960s and many of them continue to feed their habits, justifying them within their own minds and exhibiting by example that they're willing to settle for less than the best in their spiritual discoveries here on earth. Both of what are considered to be benign substances, tobacco and marijuana, produce observable physical alterations to cell structure; it follows to reason that they influence the delicate body-mind connection as well.

"Always should the domains of the physical (electrochemical) and the mental response to environmental stimuli be differentiated, and in turn must they all be recognized as phenomena apart from spiritual activities. The domains of physical, mental, and spiritual gravity are distinct realms of cosmic reality, notwithstanding their intimate interrelations."

One of the differences that separate human beings from animals is that human beings can learn through observation and analysis; they don't have to have an experience in order to understand and learn. In the area of mind altering substances and the effects they have on the lives we live here in the material world most of us don't function as particularly high order human beings. We should be able to conclude without actually having the experience that the role of mind altering drugs, chemicals, alcohol and their effects on the body and on spirituality have so little to offer of any real value, so little that the risk is too great to be considered an appealing enticement.

Thank you for your question. May I also recommend that if you're not already signed up that you consider subscribing to the Quote of the Day. It's a free service from our site that offers a daily quote from the incomparable teachings of this marvelous book with an audio clip and a beautiful and inspiring image, a great way to start one's day as well as to begin to understand the teachings of the book. To subscribe click on the Quote of the Day link on the left side of our home page and follow the instructions.

Larry Watkins
Truthbook.com

Labels: alcohol, drugs, Larry Watkins, mind, mind-altering, spirituality, The Urantia Book