Teaching Mission History

1. Personal Experiences
2. Encounter of the Celestial Kind
3. "Be Still and Know That I Am God."
4. Could it Be the Devil?
5. "Fear Not."
6. Preconceptions Based on the Urantia Book
7. Ham's Announcement to Urantians
8. Requesting a Teacher
9. Transmission Errors
10. How Does a Person Become a Transmitter?
11. Cosmic Psychologists
12. A Unified Team, a Community, a Network
13. Peace Within
14. Traveling to Utah and Idaho
15. "Beginnings: Experiences of a Transmitter"
16. Psychological...And Other Explanations
17. The Urantia Book Context
18. Experiences with Teacher Jared
19. The Mind of a Teacher
20. "By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them."
21. Teacher Transmissions
22. You May Choose to Participate or No
23. Complete Acceptance

1) Personal Experiences

The teachers first touched my mind in the summer of 1991 when a friend sent me some transcripts of Abraham transmitting to a group in New Zealand. I was more or less nonplused by the seemingly less than Urantia Book quality of communication. The message seemed true but simply a restatement of truths replete in The Urantia Book and common in many other spiritual resources. I was skeptical. I was even biased against "channeling," at least in my limited understanding. It seemed unlikely that Abraham, the Abraham, Machiventa's Abraham, would suddenly pop up in New Zealand to deliver a message to a small, remote group of humans only mildly aware of The Urantia Book. Besides, deceased mortals rarely return to their native planets. (Technically, Abraham graduated in a previous dispensation, and could, as I understand The Urantia Book, return to Urantia [UB 1230:6, 1646:3, 1680:7].)

Meanwhile, I was preoccupied with sorting out many other claims of revelation and prophecy alleged by other Urantia Book readers. Isn't there a lot of "stuff" out there? Seeking and sorting the myriad claims to truth and prescience can quickly become a full time job. It boggles the mind. Yet, if I had not been both open and willing to plow through much superstition, confusion, and zillions of "spiritual" books, I might not have found The Urantia Book, with its lofty teachings that have so elevated my life. So, I have continued to pursue potential truth even when garbed in unorthodox raiment.

One brother in particular had caught my attention with his lengthy and comprehensive "prophecies" that seemed reasonably compatible with The Urantia Book. I sought the counsel of Jesus' Spirit of Truth, but as is often the case with me, not much seemed to be illuminated immediately. Discouragement comes easily when so much out there winds up proving to be another ego-bound delusional system punctuated with enough half-truths to catch the eye. Maybe I should just stick with The Urantia Book. But, in sticking with The Urantia Book, I find that it leads me to continue my search for Truth, within and without, in likely and unlikely places. Again, there is so much out there to be examined. Have you read The Scripts of Cleophas? I haven't; it's bigger than The Urantia Book. Yet, if I hadn't kept on looking, I would not have found the Course in Miracles, or Mary Strong's wonderful Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood, and many other sources of inspiration.

Eventually I was guided to the conclusion that my would-be prophet brother, however sincere and well-intended and in possession of much truth, was tragically intoxicated with creative delusions. It was hard. I had spent many hours on the phone with this man and had developed a genuine love and affection for him despite his overly confident eccentricity. When I first heard rumors of the channeling in Utah, I thought, "not likely." These rumors came in the wake of my unfruitful exploration of this other supposed "prophecy." Besides, I was busy with still another situation.

A woman I had not met called me and left a message that she was a reader and felt led—that it was appropriate to contact me. I returned the call, and she unfolded her astounding story of psychic experiences since adolescence, initially unnerving her, and later settling in as a way of life. She had a doctorate from Julliard and had taught at M.I.T. She was coherent and articulate. She claimed that she transmitted for the Order of Melchizedek. I thought, "not likely." After the last prophetic cul de sac, I was a little impatient with her but painstakingly pointed out that, if she was a Urantia Book reader, surely she knew how improbable it was for her to be legitimately channeling for "real" Melchizedeks. We talked further. I tried to take a gentle, tolerant tone with her as I believed Jesus would. I asked questions. I listened. I took notes. We had four hours of telephone appointments. After studying my notes and reflecting, I decided that my truth bells had not been rung; her channeled material was not spiritually relevant to my life at that time.

Before long, a dear friend shared a broader horizon with me of the channeling in Utah. He sparked my interest. He sat me down and played a tape of a small group session he attended with one of these "teachers" speaking through a "receiver-transmitter." I was skeptical, but it was not long before I was responding to the clarity, love, respect, poise, and down-right personality charm of this "person." Since I know my friend well, it was easy to empathize with his questions and reactions as he asked questions of the "teacher." There was something about hearing the voice, the pauses, the caring, the deliberation, the subtle intonations of this "other" and "greater" mind that was irrefutable to my heart. This was really real.

I asked for more tapes, and soon early Ham tapes arrived from Utah. Ham spoke slowly with many long pauses. This was different from the flowing conversational style of my first "teacher" contact. But the truths Ham spoke were no less real. Of course, I had intellectual questions and doubts too numerous to mention. Okay, I'll mention a few: Why the name "Ham"? Celestial lunch meat? Why channeling (I had been turned off by the likes of Ramtha and Seth)? Why New Zealand and Utah? Why seemingly "favored" people? Updating the Reserve Corps? Why were some questions answered with such generic answers, others evaded altogether? Are some people deluded—going along for the ride? Why were words like "stillness," "correcting time," and "teaching mission," not emphasized in The Urantia Book ? (Or were they, but subtly and by other names?, ["silent communion" (UB 1002:5), "New Age" (UB1860:5), "new teachers" (UB 2082:9)]), why didn't any of the folks at the Foundation or Fellowship headquarters know more about this?, like the church-lady from Saturday Night Live says, "Could it be, could it be SATAN!?" Why do I need "teachers" when I have a magnificent epochal revelation, a perfect inner Guide, and many spiritual resources? Perhaps, if I ignore it, it will all just go away ("not likely").

2) Encounter of the Celestial Kind

 I feel blessed that I had the good fortune to have a meeting with a "celestial teacher" who allowed me several hours to experience his presence and unburden myself of many questions. The transmission occurred through a highly gifted receiver-transmitter whom I hardly knew. This transmission was articulate, flowing, conversational, personal, intimate, and touching. I know from The Urantia Book that personal experience has no substitute; it is "the master teacher." (UB1195:4, 2076:5, 1961:4) And I find that there is no substitute for direct experiential contact with this Teacher Corps. The reality of this private session was so real, so profound, so loving, so revealing, so comprehensive, that all doubts were removed regarding the reality of this celestial teacher. He is an ascendant son from the seventh mansion world and was (to my amazement) willing to speak to me. All my intellectual arguments and doubts were short-circuited to a heart-soul reaction of certitude. Even most of my intellectual doubts were abundantly answered. My intellect strained to penetrate this event; I could not, but my truth bells had been rung on multiple levels.

This teacher reached toward me with tenderheartedness, sensing my anxieties, putting me at ease.

"...not everything must be squeezed into this tiny temporal moment. It is merely a getting to know each other type of a meeting.... Just relax and ask any questions without censorship that might be on your mind and heart. And if I am able to answer and if my contribution helps to enlighten you or spark your spiritual quest even further, then it is I who is blessed."

I asked how to better discern my Adjuster's guidance.

"That is the quest of the human: How to discern the human mind from the Divine mind. This is your great challenge as it is of every other mortal on this planet. First, do not spend overmuch time in the examination and intellectual evaluation of your thoughts. Try to come from the quicker emotional intuitive level, not emotional in terms of feelings, but the gut, more instantaneous reaction which in truth is coming from the integration of higher mind with human intelligence and memory experience. It is a good compass, and you should trust it more than you do. Second, if confusion still reigns in your mind, consider the spiritual fruits and ramifications of your guidance: will it have a good effect on you, on your advancement Godward? Does it hold the spiritual values of good to your fellows?"

I asked how to get to better know my seraphim.

"The seraphim are the closest non material beings to you. They are quite similar in reactions and understanding of Deity and truly love you and friendship you. The emotions which push the seraphim away are the human emotions of fear, anger, and a distraught or unbalanced state. The seraphim cannot break through these emotions which they cannot truly fathom in the human, and you in essence erect a wall of negativity which repels your guardian angels. So, an attitude of inner peace and serenity, cheer and joy, love, hope, would be best."

I asked how to be more forgiving.

"Forgiveness does not depend upon the remorse of the person who wronged you. Forgiveness is a capacity in your own being. It is a gift bestowed by God to man. And your capacity to receive the Father's and Michael's merciful forgiveness is and bears a direct relationship to your ability to forgive your fellows. To truly forgive you must foster soul growth and fruits of the spirit in yourself. As you grow in understanding the true scope of your fellow humans, it is not hard to forgive, but it becomes the natural order of a spiritual being. Fully evolved spiritual beings have no need to forgive, for no offense is ever seen by them, as they can see the heart-soul-potential-desire of their fellow sojourners. We are not so fortunate as to be in such a high place. Yet, pray for you to forgive yourself, and as you grow, it will become easier to see your fellows through the spiritual eyes of love, tolerance, and understanding."

I asked about this mission and how the teachers perceive us mortals.

"I have traveled through the seven mansion worlds but have not fused. I have not seen Michael but have studied your planet for many, many hundreds of years, and there was great competition to be chosen for this mission. I was quite honored to be amongst those chosen because of my similar background...and my study of your planet and peoples. How do I see you mortals? Not as differently as you would think. I have down-stepped to a more morontial form to be able to make contact. So, I perceive a Light emanating from the head region at times which is your Adjuster. I can, if given permission, search your mind circuits for memories or knowledge of other humans of which I have none. I gather information just like you do, by meeting the human or searching the mind memory patterns of a human who knows the individual in question. Travel for us is quite fast, and we are aided by seraphim and midwayers. The Life Carriers help to effect the necessary connection for transmission and receiving as well as first and secondary midwayers. We hope to achieve in the next thousand years of the Correcting Time a spiritual up-step, using transformed individuals to ultimately transform this world. We are a continuation of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. We are not a separate bestowal, but this phase of the revelation was planned from the beginning. However it was decided not to reveal this to the original contact personalities because of the danger that would place the revelation in—over emotionalism, non belief, dismissal—the book had to stand and root on its own. Now we proceed to take the humans who are ready and activate them out into the world. We will contact on a world-wide basis to readers and non-readers alike. We begin mostly with readers as there is less groundwork to lay. Does that answer?"

I asked many more questions, too voluminous to quote, and wound up asking how to discern legitimate channeling.

"How to tell? There will be a network amongst the true transmissions. For yourself, judge the spiritual content, use your Spirit of Truth.... Truth may be gathered like a bee from flower to flower from sources which are human inspired. Celestial or non-corporeal beings do not have a monopoly on spiritual insight. So, whether a transmission is from us or is from the human higher mind is really just a speculation which humans and we like to engage in—to speculate about what could be. The message, if spiritual, will illuminate."

Amazingly, this experience was on one level very ordinary, just like you and I chatting, and on many other levels it was very extraordinary—truly awesome. It was reassuring to my soul. This experience was a cherished privilege which I hold dear. However, the teachers are no respecters of persons. They desire to get to know each one of us equally. They honor us immensely and see our true virtues through spiritual eyes. They never judge us. Some might think that this type of experience would lead to ego inflation. Not necessarily so. While on the one hand I feel blessed and deeply reassured, on the other hand I have a greater sense of my limitations and smallness. I am far from perfect and have a long, long way to go even in this life and must struggle daily with my flawed human character. As this teacher said to me,

"The struggle against anger, fear, envy, lack of love, anxiety, etc. must be done in the trenches of day-to-day life through reality experiences with others and the world.... The true fields of spiritual growth [are] disappointment, conflict, despair, etc.—uncertainty. Your uncertainty will last, as will every human's, until you are repersonalized on the mansion worlds. This is a life-long struggle, and much growth comes from doubt versus faith struggles in the human heart."

The fruits of this encounter in my life were immediate. I felt a new buoyancy, an enhanced desire to discern my Adjuster's will, an enhanced desire to be more conscious of my seraphic guidance, renewed energy to reach out and love, and augmented willingness to seek daily communion with Father.

3) "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)

I remembered the teaching of Jesus to remain for a time in silent receptivity after prayer to allow the Adjuster to speak to the listening soul (UB 1641:1). Over the years I have tried to practice this stillness after prayer but ashamedly have not regularly sought to fully quiet my mind in prayer and worship. In my prayer life, I am guilty of perhaps talking more than listening. The emphasis on silent cosmic contemplation (UB 622:4) and silent communion with the Father are certainly replete in The Urantia Book, not to mention Jesus' living portrayal in his own life of frequently going apart, alone, for solitary communion (cf. UB 1754:6), as well as the times he sent the apostles out apart and alone to find the answer from within. So, I began the "stillness practice." I found this difficult and frustrating. At first it seemed I could not cease my mind chatter for more than a few nanoseconds at a time. Occasionally when I did reach a point of stillness, my mind would have to start a commentary on the process, "Gee, I guess this is the stillness; I wonder if I will hear voices." Then I would space on in more thoughts despite myself. Some days I felt such emotional-physical agitation that I would have to stop and get up and go do some "very important" thing I had just remembered. Soon I learned that coffee (caffeine) is an anathema to the stillness—I'd be "futuring" or "pasting" but was rarely in the present.

I think each person is different chemically, and each has to learn experientially what works best. White-knuckling through the stillness with gritty discipline did not work for me. The key is to relax, to let tranquillity descend naturally and fill the body and mind. We know Jesus' teaching of "non-resistance," and I found resisting thoughts didn't work very well either. So, I did what I had learned in Transcendental Meditation but without the mantrum. I allowed thoughts and feelings just to pass by, and when I became aware that I was spacing off, I would gently stop myself and attempt to re-focus on that quiet place within where the Monitor resides, where the answers to all questions exist, where the Source and Center of my being is. It was hard not to chastise myself for my spacey tendency not to be in the here and now. Gradually I learned just to matter-of-factly re-focus without berating myself for failing. Slowly, too slowly for my temperament and impatience, my stillness times became easier, more nurturing. There was still variability from day to day, but more often now I would have twenty or so minutes pass without much time consciousness. Sometimes, not always, I felt relieved or refreshed after this quiet seeking meditation.

My stillness times improved as I took advice from the teaching mission transcripts I had available. Teacher Daniel suggested imagining a still reflective lake or a white ball of light. But my ball of light would not stay still, and in walking down the memory lane of my travel-log of still lakes, I found I couldn't keep them very still either. Somehow there were always ripples or waves, and if I succeeded at quieting these, a fish would pop up. I took much solace in the words of Daniel that even a few seconds of stillness with intent to find God were worth more than can be imagined. I persisted. I struggled. I was jealous of my friends who seemed to easily take the stillness and achieve teacher contact. I heard teacher Ham say that auditory stimulation was especially distracting. So, I purchased 28 db sound attenuators (plastic ear muffs) and wore a blindfold. Ah ha! This was better, but no magic panacea. I continued to beseech the Father for help. Eventually, I began to have contact with "otherness" by asking questions after I had given thanks and established a degree of silent communion. The sense of "otherness" for me was very, very subtle. At first it was like my alter ego answering my own questions. But occasionally there would be a hint or clue of higher contact. Sometimes it was the quickness of the answer to my inquiry. Sometimes it was the wording—just a twinge different from my style. Sometimes it was the character or timbre of the "voice" in my mind. Often it was the feeling-tone that accompanied the stillness time. I should add, I don't hear voices. My contact is intuitive or else word-thoughts in my mind.

Everyone is unique, and the style of teacher contact seems to be unique to each mortal. Some people hear voices outside the head, up and to the left side, or behind. Some hear inner voices. Some have thought-words. Some see visualizations. Some experience a complex array of intuitive communications for which I am at a loss for words. Some people have more strong gut level reactions. Seeking is what is important and even teacher contact may be of little value unless the fruits are shown in soul growth. It is not words, but the sense of God's love that really counts. Has your spiritual life been richer lately? Perhaps you are having teacher contact, and simply don't realize it yet.

4) Could it be the Devil?

Caligastia is said in The Urantia Book to "still be free on Urantia to prosecute his nefarious designs." (UB 610:1) Is he insidiously working to destroy the Urantia readership through the "sordid practice of spiritualism"? Is the teaching mission another devilish scheme to take over your mind?

No. To know the teachers personally is a certain antidote for this fear-dominated belief. I know wherefrom I speak. I know that I know. I do not mean to sound presumptuous, just experiential. Such personal knowing is also the antidote for all the "explanations" for the teaching mission that invoke: mass hysteria, communal delusions, archetypal upsurgences, group "needs," and all other manner of psychological speculation. How could Caligastia succeed in seducing us into wickedness by teaching us to seek the Indwelling Spirit daily, to live in allegiance to Christ Michael, and to constantly seek to love? As Jesus pointed out to his adversaries, if the devil casts out the devil, it is a house divided and must fall. (UB 2085:4) If this were Caligastia (and it is not) I would suspect that he has serious indigestion and must gnash his teeth with sleep disturbance. Allegedly being the source of the "channeling," he would have to constantly laud The Urantia Book, propose that we do daily acts of kindness to others, respect the will dignity of our fellows, advocate the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and relate to us as a loving friend. Poor devil, he must have a nasty case of cognitive dissonance by now.

To follow the fear-mongering Caligastia theory to its logical extreme, let us assume that Caligastia is behind the channeling phenomena. What should the attitude and conduct of a faith-son or daughter be to such an impossible encroachment? Did not the Master teach and practice nonresistance to evil (UB1950:5)? Did Jesus not teach that we are to love even our enemies (UB 1134:1)? If Caligastia were still around, are we not enjoined to love even him, just as our Master did? Was it not Jesus' nonresistance to evil and divine love for his sons Caligastia and Daligastia and the other rebels that our Lord placed above even his own mortal life? Was it not His mercy that allowed this insane Lanonandek pair to continue to roam Urantia free to prosecute their nefarious designs? And with regard to the apparent strangeness of the teaching mission, how did Jesus treat strange teachers? Consider the Kheresa lunatic, or Kirmeth the trance medium. "...Jesus intervened and allowed him entire freedom of action for a few days. All who heard his preaching soon recognized that his teaching was not sound as judged by the gospel of the kingdom" (UB 1666:3). Should skeptics not follow the Master's policy? When Jesus was faced with teachers of partial truth, he always emphasized the positive and made no attack on the error. We know that fear, suspicion, and intolerance are mind poisons (UB 1575:2, 1204:3). Is not the way of Truth to abandon fear and distrust in favor of faith in God's love and his assurances that a sincere soul is never in jeopardy?

Some relevant facts presented in The Urantia Book about Caligastia are these. His power was curtailed by the incarnation of Machiventa Melchizedek (UB 753:1). He has been comparatively impotent since the cross of Christ (UB 610:6). "Even before Michael's bestowal on Urantia, neither Caligastia nor Daligastia was ever able to oppress mortals or to coerce any normal individual into doing anything against the human will." (UB 753:3) He is shorn, finally, of all authority on Urantia. (UB 753:2) "...He has absolutely no power to enter the minds of men...." (UB 610:3). I emphasize this passage because my understanding is that if you really desired his wicked presence (however absurd) he could draw near to you and tempt you, but still could not enter your mind. Check page 610; what is your interpretation? And finally, Caligastia is "servile before the divine majesty of the Paradise Thought Adjusters and the protective Spirit of Truth...." (UB 610:4)

 Let us unveil this Caligastia theory to reveal the lattice-work of sophistries that it is. First, does this theory misinterpret page UB 865:7 to mean that all "spiritualism" is sordid? Please read it again. I see no such logical implication. Some "spiritualism" is sordid; the logic of this algorithm does not necessarily imply that all "spiritualism" is sordid. But this is a "straw man," since the teaching mission is not "spiritualism" at all. "Spiritualism" in our common usage seems to me to conjure up seances, melodrama, and contacting ghosts, like dead uncle Ed, a speaking spook, invoked by the supposed powers of an entranced medium. In my opinion, the sordidness of such mediumship is its duplicity. Preying on the needs of ignorant mortals for dishonest gains (money-power) is a scam. My 1933 edition New Century Dictionary includes these synonyms for "sordid": base, low, self-seeking, mercenary. If you are paying a fee for "channeling," compare the teaching mission—the price is right, no charge, a gift from above. Second, we must believe that hundreds of sincere Urantia Book readers and Truth seekers suddenly developed the desire to be cursed with the wicked presence of the devil, or are fooled and incapable of sensing his iniquitous presence. What an affront to the Spirit of Truth. What an injustice to the goodness and sincerity of those brothers and sisters choosing to practice daily communion and acts of kindness as taught by these new heavenly teachers. Third, Caligastia, who was never able to oppress mortals, is now oppressing them; who was servile before the Adjusters, now dominates them; who has been comparatively impotent, is now mighty; who has no power to enter the minds of man, is now doing so. For this "theory" to be valid, The Urantia Book must be seriously in error. Moreover, what allowance should we make for the new revelation of the teachers speaking through many different transmitters that the rebellion is over and that all the wicked ones have chosen extinction? If it serves soul-growth to believe in this devilish buffoonery, I honor your free will choice. But the truth remains, "The devil has been given a great deal of credit for evil which does not belong to him." (UB 610:6) To me this "Caligastia theory" is one more example of this.

Is it plausible that the Lucifer Rebellion would be adjudicated in our lifetimes? From The Urantia Book, it seems that the adjudication was begun during the times of the Urantia revelation. (UB 529:1) It was virtually settled by Jesus on Mount Hermon. (UB 1494:3) Teacher James comments, "...you must understand that up until the time Lucifer ceased to exist, he still had free will and had not agreed to the adjudication. The adjudication could not happen until he agreed that it was the right thing to do and that this date could not have been known precisely by anyone until it came about." (James, 10/4/92) This statement of James agrees with The Urantia Book in that our heavenly Father requires that no action be taken until the sinner himself approves of the justness of the verdict. (UB 615:5, 611:6)

Over the years I have not given much energy to worrying about Caligastia or the wicked things he might be up to. I have found much reassurance in The Urantia Book. However, the announcement by Ham and others that the rebellion is over did give me a feeling, at first of skepticism, then of sadness and relief. What happened to the rebels? "We are sorry and also happy to report that they have become as though they had not been. None repented. It was a hard combination of reality feelings when we received this information," (Ham, Woods Cross transcripts, 1991, p. 1). I am sorry that all the rebels chose extinction. So much love and effort by our beloved Sovereign was extended to them. It is incredible that they would reject His mercy.

"Patient is God, and He waits until eternity if that is what it takes, just as He did for Lucifer. This was such an unfortunate case, where one so brilliant could not be reclaimed back into the fold. He was, however, allowed to make that free will choice, and it must be respected. Our Father wept with the news of this decision,...." (Will, 1/4/92)

An Unseen Helper says, "Caligastia has not been on the planet since approximately 1984-85 your time. All rebellious spirits from Lucifer to the lesser participators of the rebellion have all chosen death and are as if they never were. Only their negative lifeless energy is on the planet. Some will give it life through personal beliefs, fears, and emotions, but it will gradually dissipate and cease to exist...." (Aflana transcripts, 1/27/92)

Why a will creature chooses to reject love is truly unfathomable to me. Nonetheless, I believe that Caligastia is naught. My soul soars as I realize that the torturous hand of the wicked Prince is gone. As I look out upon the world, I see that the numbing spectacle of pain and anger is at worst the momentum of the past, that destructiveness from here forward is entirely human choosing. It is the infinite Father's desire that not one shall be lost, but He is so respectful of each of us that no creature is forced to continue life against his own will. What a cosmic coup de gras is the Father's merciful obliteration of those who choose not to be. What a wonder of cosmic justice, this adjudication by the Ancients of Days, the fulfillment of God's great gift to us, freedom of creature will.

5) "Fear not." (UB 1103, 1582, 1820)

I found that there is no need to fear a hostile take-over from within. It is the Kingdom of Heaven that is within. It is God that is within, not celestial corruption, "...you may rest in the assurance that there is one inner bastion, the citadel of the spirit, which is absolutely unassailable...." (UB 1096:5) (I especially like that word "absolutely;" that's pretty unassailable in my opinion. And yes, I have dedicated my soul to God's keeping.)

Surprisingly I haven't had much conscious fear in this process of making contact with Michael's celestial teachers. Occasionally, I had a twinge of fear that I might be afraid. No, I am not fearless. I fear pain. I fear isolation from feeling love. I fear being sick and friendless. I fear decrepitude and the process of dying (not death). The list goes on but is unimportant in light of the Father's precious gift of faith which is available to all who reach up and trust in the Father's down-grasp. I do experience reactionary animal fear. After all, this teacher contact is a new experience. Is it not ironical that the animal body fears that which the heart most desires? So, most of us have had our twinges of reflex defensiveness when we sense heavenly contact, but it passes quickly in the face of the warmth, gentleness, and caring that accompany this "receiving." Faith and patience have aided me greatly in accepting this new form of communication. It just takes a little stillness time and patience to begin to sense teacher contact. The teachers are in no rush. Jesus was never in a hurry. Why should I be?

I discovered early that the responsibility for determining the truth of any given transmission or part of a transmission is mine alone. Each mortal must rely on the Spirit of Truth to verify or falsify any aspect of the teachings. The teachers do not claim to be perfect; errors do occur, and it is up to me to discern them. So, often I take a "wait and see" attitude. For some things, time alone reveals the fruits. I have found in general that the spiritual teachings of the mission are excellent and close to error free. As transmissions relate to the material level, human longings and emotions seem to enter in more. However, it is the spiritual that counts; material disillusionments are a part of life.

The teachers are clearly here to teach us more about spiritual living. They are not here to work wonders or provide empirical confirmation of their reality. That is the work of the Spirit of Truth. I am rather impressed by how consistent the teachers are in not working "wonders" or "proofs" of their functioning. I remember that Jesus was repeatedly pressed to show the people a "sign" that he was from God, but he steadfastly refused to appeal to the miracle-seeking nature of humankind. The teachers seem to follow a similar policy. They very rarely answer questions about politics, social issues, science, and other worldly matters. We must learn and earn our own way through faith and daily struggles with the grit of life. I see the teachers as respecting us so much as not to diminish our agondonter status nor our right to progressive soul growth through free will decisions.

6) Preconceptions based on The Urantia Book

In December of 1991, I began to listen to tapes of Ham's transmissions to the Woods Cross group in Utah. I was surprised at how many preconceptions I had developed from reading The Urantia Book. I thought, if "celestials" are contacting us, surely it will be this way or that way, more perfect, not an isolated communication with unknown people. Why wouldn't the celestials visualize as Gabriel did for Mary, the mother of Jesus, or as had happened on the Mount of Transfiguration? Why would contact be made via humans where unconscious material from the transmitter might contaminate the message? Why didn't they use computers or some other technology for accuracy? Why did some people call Ham "father Ham"? Why did so many of the messages seem to be a "pablumized" version of The Urantia Book? The Urantia Book is so precise, comprehensive, and eloquent. There seems very little in the mission transcripts that adds to what is already in The Urantia Book. Even the teachers admit to being imperfect and making errors, yet clearly acknowledge The Urantia Book as nearly error free.

"Most of the receivers of our teaching are eventually and purposefully brought to The Urantia Book, for it is extremely accurate. In things of our teaching lessons there are some new occurrences which are inevitable when you consider this type of communication. The Urantia Book is a bedrock of knowledge for you to build upon, and we are encouraging its further study and understanding. Yes." (Ham, LA, 2/1/92)

Later, Ham answered this question.

Q. "...Are there also inaccuracies in the writings of The Urantia Book through the personalities which claim to have written it?"

Ham: "Very few and these are all very minor as to be negligible. It is very accurate."

As I continued listening to tapes, I realized that my preconceptions based on The Urantia Book were simply my idealizations and biases. In fact, I didn't have the foggiest notion of how celestials might contact Urantians. I began to open up to Ham's teachings and was often touched by his charming lessons. I still found myself critiquing the human questions during Ham meetings. I would listen in the car and find myself saying out loud, "Hey, why ask that? It's in The Urantia Book," or "Why ask such an abstract question? Get relevant!" Then when I began to converse with teachers via receiver-transmitters and listen to my own recorded questions, I was regretful of my judgementalness of others' questions. I often found my own questions to sound foolish and irrelevant. Soon it began to dawn on me that it was not the content or eloquence of questions that mattered. What the teaching contact was about was living interpersonal contact, human to morontial, morontial to human. The value was not so much in the content of material but in the intimate personal experience, the sensing of a higher presence. The transcripts are like the fossilized remains of a living experience, but like The Urantia Book, can be greatly inspirational. To me the Woods Cross transcripts are spiritually rich. Here are a few sample quotations. I love the ending to the lesson on the Fatherhood of God.

"And now I will leave you with this thought. There is a certain tree which grows in the wind. It is gnarled and bent and small and hearty. On the crag of the cliff, it looks down at the ocean and receives the mist from the tide. It looks up at the sun and receives the warmth of her light. It clings steadily to the rock's face and is secure in its place there. Having grown amid so much wind, there is not a wind which can bring it down. Shalom." (Abraham, p. 33, 1991 Woods Cross Transcripts)

I much enjoyed Ham's comments on laughter.

"Laughter is the best medicine. Laughter is a healing and curing activity which greatly uplifts the attitude of the mental mind which is beneficial in seeing the full nature of the situation. In worry, we tend to look at our feet, so to speak. In laughter, we tend to throw our heads back and look around us. Worry is inner consuming, laughter is outward releasing. Therefore, I say to you, laugh. Laugh fully and often." (Ham, Woods Cross transcripts, 1991, p. 42)

Ham has this to say of the morontia life.

"The morontial life is much more enjoyable than your toiling and stressful earthly experience. You will see with Divine clarity the purpose of your ordeals in this life, and will appreciate the ordeals themselves and the guidance which brought you through them. This appreciation will be a great unburdening of your worrisome self, for you will be able to know your purpose. You will be able to foresee your future purpose, and all of this together will be a great relief as well as joy in your innermost core." (Ham, Woods Cross transcripts, 1991, p. 45)

7) Ham's Announcement to Urantians

On February 1, 1992, I heard Ham make the formal announcement to Urantians of the teaching mission. To say that this event in Los Angeles was strange and bizarre would be an understatement. Human emotions were diverse and intense. In a cavern-like room at the Quality Inn the vibes were inexplicable and complex. There was an interminably long pause before Rebecca, seated lotus-like under a spot light on a large paisley couch, began to transmit. The rumble of planes taking off at LAX filled the long pregnant pauses like a cosmic drum roll.

"The love of God enfolds us. The power of God protects us, and the presence of God watches over us. Wherever we are he is. My profound and sincere greetings to you all this evening. I am Ham. I have been commissioned to bring the light of truth and the understanding of our Father to Urantia. I am one of many teachers. All of us are awaiting the greater reception of our words and we are desirous of placing many teachers among you. Great is our mission. Understand this in your hearts. The time has arrived for expanded level of truth to begin correction. We come, not for ourselves no, indeed, rather only in service of Michael. This day is, marks, the beginning of the Correcting Time. Machiventa Melchizidek has arrived and has been duly inaugurated as acting Planetary Prince of Urantia, an assignment he has accepted from Michael. Long years we have waited this day. The Lucifer rebellion is officially ended in Nebadon. The circuits which have isolated your world are being reopened. All these changes are occurring. I am in accord with the plan of Michael. Happy and joyous is this day, blessed in the sight of our Lord. Gracious listeners, I bid you welcome to change. We mark the beginning of the reign of Prince Machiventa on this day. Questions are welcome, indeed happy am I to serve you...."

Had I not had the previous confirming experiences with a teacher in private, and many tapes of Ham, I think I would have been as nonplused at this meeting as many attendees seemed to be. Later, I was surprised at how different my impressions were of what Ham said in person as compared to my experience of the tape recordings and transcription of this ceremony. What Ham actually said, and what I thought he had said, were amazingly different. As I poured over the tape and transcript, Ham seemed much more coherent and clear than I experienced in the vibe-charged room near LAX.

8) Requesting A Teacher

In December of 1991, I asked for a teacher for our area. The procedure seemed to be to call one of the people in the Woods Cross group and ask him to ask Ham. I did this and was admittedly a little put off by the protocol. However, I had met some of the Woods Cross folks in Los Angeles and found them gentle, unpretentious, sincere, and down-to-earth. Before long I received the Ham tape with my request and was delighted that Ham said "Yes." Actually, I had never heard Ham say anything but "Yes" to the many heart-felt requests of people wanting teachers.

More recently this protocol has changed (remember, "welcome to change"). It is no longer necessary to call Utah and ask Ham for a teacher. It is no longer necessary to attend a group with an on-line transmitter. Any human child of God may simply ask the Father during pray-worship-communion. This is personal, private, and between you and God, as I believe it should be, in light of the teaching that God is no respecter of persons. The teachers are no respecters of persons either. They want to get to know each of us equally. "Your thoughts and feelings and desires are known. We wish to understand all of you equally, yes," (Ham, Woods Cross transcripts 1991, p. 14). In a time-space frame, sequences are common and there may be the appearance of preferential treatment, but if you look deeper, this is not so. In fact, our teacher, Jared, has told us that any human being who sincerely wants a personal ascendant teacher need only ask in the privacy of prayer. I asked, If all five billion people on Urantia sincerely asked for a personal teacher, would one be assigned to each mortal? The answer was "Yes." (Jared, 10/92). Likewise, the teachers are so respectful of our will dignity that they do not contact the minds of mortals who choose not to receive this gift. No judgment is made. Each mortal has a different path to Paradise. Your choosing not to participate in this mission is respected, and there is no judgment of your worth or soul growth. You are always welcome, and always free to change your mind.

9) Transmission Errors

I went back to reading transcripts, listening to tapes, and practicing the stillness. Soon I received transcripts from a variety of teachers. I was impressed by the consistency and high degree of correlation between messages in various transcripts. I was vigilant for errors, inconsistencies, and differences from The Urantia Book. There were minor inconsistencies and errors, but to me this did not outweigh the beauty, truth, and goodness, overflowing from all of the teachers I had experienced. Besides, the teachers are most tolerant of human skepticism and taking a "time will tell" attitude.

"...A system that is built upon free will choice is also a system which must withstand the inevitable appearance of conscious and unconscious errors. Particularly when you ask us questions that involve predictions of events on your planet, there is great opportunity for error to enter. The rules bar the pre-emption of any creature's free will. Between the prediction and the predicted event, an infinite number of creature choices may change the result of the chain of events upon which we relied in making our statement. 'Chain of events' is an imprecise term to describe this process. Rather is the reality better described by the movement of an ocean current, like the Gulf Stream current in your immediate vicinity. Along its margins, top, bottom, and sides, there is continual interplay of waters, yet the whole is moving inexorably on to some further destination. Because of the changeability of fact sets, questions calling for predictions are disfavored, and only aggravate the human tendency to doubt. It is only secondarily because we fear that you will rely on our predictions that we hesitate to predict. The inescapable margin of error, and its consequences on the human mind, are the primary justifications for our distaste for predictions." (Will, 12/6/91)

Most apparent errors seem associated with less spiritual teachings, issues where strong human longings and emotions might bubble up. Teacher Will refers to this type of situation as a juggernaut. Since human volition is inviolate, the teachers must allow the longings of human transmitters to well up, emerge, and take their natural course, even if human disillusionment and disappointment temporarily follow. Once I began to understand the tender and intimate relationship between a teacher and a transmitter, I began to understand why teachers don't always or immediately correct human contamination of a message. In my own very limited experience as a transmitter, I know how humiliated and pained I would be if the teacher transmitting through me were to criticize or overly correct me. My doubts are great enough anyway. The transmitter-receivers that I know are typically humble about their abilities and often think early transmissions are only a product of their human minds. The freedom to make errors without chastisement is essential to growth, and, in the long run, either the previous errors don't matter or are corrected. "... all errors which may be transmitted will be corrected as trust and confidence surely evolve. You will recognize these transitory errors as mere blips in the continuous stream of Truth," (Ham, private meeting, 5/31/92).

10)  How Does a Person Become a Transmitter?

The talent for being a transmitter is referred to by Jared as "luck of the draw." Some people seem to be innately endowed with the biochemical-brain-mind-field suitable for receiving teacher communications more easily than others. Some people just seem to start off transmitting rather easily. The teachers also tell us that there is prior unconscious preparation of transmitters who are willing mortals. Some of us, like myself, are not so gifted, but it seems that anyone who truly desires can learn by persistent stillness meditation. Again, having this talent is no judgment on soul status. Likewise the point in time when a TR (transmitter-receiver) comes on-line is no measure of soul worth or spirituality. I have practiced the stillness persistently for over a year and still am able to transmit teachers for only a few words before I lose contact or reflexively block transmission. Another person came to our group with no previous experience with the book or the mission. Her naiveté and innocence were complete, yet within just ten days she began transmitting extensively and clearly for Ham and other teachers. (By the way, she is eagerly reading in The Urantia Book now).

11)  Cosmic Psychologists

Each transcript is a lesson in the nature of human-morontial, morontial-human interaction, and is also a lesson in group dynamics. The teachers are marvelous psychologists. I never cease to be amazed at the gracious manner in which they juggle the diverse emotions and needs of group members. As a psychologist with much teaching and small group experience, I am deeply impressed by what I see, and I know I see only a narrow spectrum. Teachers are masters of not fostering co-dependency. For me, there is not even a hint that the teachers are initiating a "Teacher/Priest Class" in our society. They are not so much the giver of answers as guides to our finding our own answers from within. Their uniform fairness to each individual is remarkable, all the more so to me knowing, as I do, the typical challenges of group dynamics, rivalry, envy, hurt feelings, anger, withdrawal, manipulation, enmeshment, ego inflation, and deflation. The teachers are subtle in the tapestry of goodness they weave in a group. But as the transcripts unfold session after session, it becomes easier to see love and group bonding emerge. The teachers are able to honor and praise humans without pretense or exaggeration, yet do this in such a way as not to foster pride. I have never known them to criticize, yet in their gentle understated way they allow us to be aware of our limitations and shortcomings. At the same time, there is no judgment. Sometimes it is hard to believe how accepting and tolerant of human weaknesses they are. I believe contact with teachers is healing.

The teachers are a marvelous projection mirror for students. It seems every question a mortal asks allows for a measure of soul opening. The mirror is pure and free of the legacy of dysfunctional family dynamics so present even in the most advanced of therapists or closest of human friends. It becomes easier to trust these invisible teachers as no comment or answer to a question is ever intended to hurt or depreciate the human. Their humor is delicate and light, never tinged with insult or bigotry. Although above us and beyond us, they never act with an attitude of parental authority. They are not our parents. They are teachers. They are friends. I have learned to be less judgmental because they model such unwavering and unconditional acceptance of us. I see my own tendencies to judge or complain about someone in bold relief. About the time I am feeling grumpy toward someone, a teacher may treat them with such esteem that even though I might want the teacher to chastise a seeming wrongdoer, I come away rather desiring to clean up my act, to become more accountable for my attitude. I am constantly reminded that the Father loves each and every one of us with an infinite love, even the supposedly unlovable.

Their interventions are gentle, so understated as to be missed by one who does not seek. Yet, I have never been aware of a teacher being swayed or pressured by a mortal manipulation. If a question has been answered and the mortal demands more, the teacher may simply say, "the answer has already been given, there is no more to say." Their use of pauses and timing is a study in communication mastery. They use pauses and silence boldly and with great power. They do not come from a fear base, so they do not fear us. They are not afraid to take a long pause or speak directly or challengingly, or steadfastly refuse to answer if they so choose. They are never rude.

12)  A Unified Team, a Community, a Network

One of the advantages of reading transcripts from different groups is to glimpse the marvelous teamwork of the teachers. In our world I am so accustomed to hierarchies of authority. The teachers seem quite fraternal. There is no hint of elitism or status preoccupation. They refer to each other as well as humans as brothers and sisters. They ask that we view them as friends. Their teachings are consistent from group to group, albeit the variety of expression of the same fundamental truths is delightful. What are their common teachings? A transformed world through transformed individuals. And how will the transformation of the individual human take place? The teaching is deceptively simple: seek guidance in stillness daily; do little acts of kindness to people we contact, strangers and friends alike. This simple sharing spreads from person to person—the benign virus of love (see UB 1098:4). They do not make demands beyond our abilities. We are not required to suddenly be Gandhi or Mother Teresa.

They are in total support of The Urantia Book; they refer to it constantly. They claim allegiance to the Father. They are in service to Christ Michael. Their concern for the dignity of human free will is paramount. Their goal for us is to lead us across the dangerous ground of discerning the Adjuster's will for ourselves, to become more attuned to the will of God. The consistency of these themes among groups is not just apparent but astounding.

13)  Peace Within

I continued to seek daily stillness time with my inner guidance. Sometimes I could get my mind to settle down a bit, but times of silence were still short and rare. I took inspiration from the many teachings about stillness.

"...For all things a beginning is necessary. Therefore we ask you to try to compose yourself. Clear your mind. Don't think about anything. Don't think about not thinking. I like to use the example of the water in the glass. The more you try to calm the water, the more it is stirred. Just allow it to fall into the bottom and come to rest naturally and you will find that there is a stillness which has great vitality. You will be able to discern the vitality of God Himself, even in what you formerly thought were the empty spaces. Those who can find meaning in the empty spaces are truly on the right path. Do you think you can do that? (Will, 12/15/91)

"Practice the stillness, go into the quiet every chance you can find for at least 10 minutes each day. This is the most valuable discipline you can attain at this time to help us. Giving us your permission just before sleep is also indicated if you are not already doing so. We are limited only by your free will. You must choose to be our expressions, our hands and feet, if you will. Through you we can carry a message of Truth to all corners of your world of Urantia. We desire to do just that." (Aflana, 3/3/92)

"The greatest single factor in the well being of mortal man is to achieve peace within. 'This peace I leave with you,' was the Master's salutation. Your continued effort to seek guidance from your Thought Adjuster by seeking the stillness will provide a fertile ground to the establishment of a permanent peace and centeredness which will permeate your physical body and maintain healthy balance." (Ham, private meeting, 5/31/92)

"More time each day should be spent in the quietness--in stillness. This is an effective way to making communication. You are disappointed if you do not hear small, still voices inside your head. I would tell you that this is not the usual method of communication. All of you have felt urgings, have known the things that you should be doing. You have felt the need to aid your brother, to go to worship services, to love your children, to love your neighbor's children, to love the children of the backward countries who have nothing to eat. You indeed are communicating; these indeed are not just of your own making. These ideas are prodded and encouraged, implanted by your guides. You expect so much when already you have so much. You may indeed hear that small, still voice if you listen. Many do, many do not. You must trust yourself. Trust your inner guidings. Believe that we are here and that we are aiding you." (Clois, 11/1/92).

"If you spend time each day in quiet, in a place where you retain the joy of a happy or more relaxed moment, when you give up all worldly concerns and let the mind be free and the heart open, you can release much tension and much aggravation, anxiousness in this process. It is not bad to feel anxious or to worry, however, it is just that it is a waste of time, especially when there is so much to be joyful, or to be at one with, such as the sound of rain, the song of birds, the light of day; yes, there is another way, if you choose." (Astara, 12/11/92)

This wonderful freedom of choice, this gift from the Father is so precious. I continued regular stillness even if I felt frustrated or felt that it was unsuccessful. I learned to look to the longer run, not to expect too much in any one session.

14)  Traveling to Utah and Idaho

In May, 1992, I traveled to Utah, met with Ham, and attended a meeting of the Woods Cross group. Every group has group dynamics of emotions and viewpoints. This was true of the Woods Cross group. I was rather surprised at how many people had been willing to move from a strong Mormon background to acceptance of The Urantia Book and the teaching mission. I found these people culturally different from my California culture and extremely delightful and genuine. I found very little pretense and very much sincerity and truth seeking. I traveled up to Idaho and met a number of people in those groups. Vistas were beautiful and the people were friendly and charming. Meanwhile back in Utah, I had an opportunity to ask Ham more about the teacher requested for our area.

"The time of the arrival of your teacher is dependent on those preparing and prepared for his eventual communications to your group. I am, however, at liberty to tell you that the teacher who is assigned to your group is Jared. Jared is an extremely capable teacher who is even at this time amongst those who are now in the group and will become part of the group.... There are those in your group who have already sensed the contact. Their will creature acceptance is dependent upon the elimination of fear, faith in the process, and the love of Jared, your teacher. This method must preserve the requirement of faith in those who react and act as receiver-transmitters. We are proscribed in this, that it is so subtle a direction that the contact person must have faith...meditation and quiet time is essential...." (Ham, 5/31/92)

By apparent chance, our study group increased to triple its previous size. The summer was a time of spiritual questing and much excitement. Some of us could sense the presence of Jared's teacher corps during our group prayers even though a speaking transmitter had not yet emerged. There was a crescendo of good feelings perhaps reaching a peak at our Jesus' birthday celebration in August. Our first spoken transmission came on August 25, 1992. Our first transmitter, Lisa, is one of those sweet, understated people who, while not having read The Urantia Book, lives the teachings in her daily life. I have known Lisa for many years and I know that it is not her style to seek glory or even speak in groups. She shuns anything pretentious and is a busy working mom. Let me quote (with her permission) some of her story.

15)  "Beginnings: Experiences of a Transmitter" from Lisa's Journal

"Sometime in February or March, I gradually became aware of a voice in my head talking to me about everyday things, gently directing my thoughts and actions. Mostly the voice told me about my kids, things I already knew but confirmed good approaches. It was very positive and loving. The voice mostly spoke to me in the shower, before falling asleep and when waking up.

 "As time went on, I got more comfortable with it and heard more.... He told me neat things about my children, things that worked well with them, regular stuff. It is actually hard to remember specifics; it just became a part of my daily routine. I talked to [my spouse] about it a couple of times and decided it was my conscience or my Thought Adjuster. (Lisa knew of Thought Adjusters from conversations with our Urantia Book readers).

 "The voice tended to get stronger and more defined. I was clear that it was a man's voice coming from outside, above my head and to the back, left. I got really used to the voice; we had nice comforting conversations daily. It naturally seemed a part of me.

"During the spring, I did attempt to listen to some tapes of Ham's teachings. I found it very difficult and only listened to parts of a couple of tapes. I felt overwhelmed; I could not do one more thing....

"On Wednesday, August 12, in the evening, I asked [my spouse] about Gennie's trip to Utah where she spoke to Ham and asked about Jared. Ham said Jared had attempted to contact everyone in the group. I suddenly sat up very straight. My mind was whirling. How did this relate to me? Was I part of the group? I was terrified; I cried. I asked [my spouse] if my voice could be Jared. My reaction also surprised me. I had not been attending the meetings--why would I respond?

"Thursday morning, 8/13/92, I awoke early, which is very unusual for me. I felt very quiet and peaceful. I asked:

"Are you Jared?"

"Yes."

"At that moment I had no doubt, the answer was very strong and clear. It wasn't until later that my intellect kicked in and I questioned my sanity....I had not been attending many meetings, done much reading, or even listened to many tapes. I did not know much about this. Bob helped confirm many of my perceptions and reassured me.... After all, he had asked for the teacher.

"...I continue to be amazed at how presumptuous I felt and yet equally compelled to share this information....I continued to wonder why I was the one to hear Jared, our group's teacher; as well, I continued to question if it was real. I got some pretty clear answers....I am fairly "clean" in that I don't have as many emotional distractions—I don't have many emotional scars from my childhood, I don't consume substances like alcohol or caffeine. The biggest thing: Jared could relate to me about my children.

"Friday morning, 8/14/92, I realized that the voices were more distant. It is up to me to choose to continue to hear the voices. I must make a conscious, willed, choice to continue hearing. I didn't want to lose them, to lose this opportunity, this gift, so I chose to continue....At the same time, it scared the living daylights out of me. I wanted some confirmation of the reality of it and didn't know how to get it. At the same time, I did not need any confirmation, I knew it was real and I just needed to trust my own feelings....

"September, 1992. During the beginning of September, I am sensing more and more spiritual presences.... The voices become stronger as I come to accept more and fear less. The feeling is always warm and loving and patient. They have all of eternity.

"Saturday 9/12. We had another practice session at Bob's....It took quite a while to establish contact. ...I was being "plugged in." It felt like it was a pretty good connection and I was able to transmit for 45-60 minutes. I could really feel Jared and was able to transmit his messages. The contact felt stronger-better. I was able to laugh and be more aware of the people without losing the connection with Jared. As is usually the case, I don't remember much about what was said."

16)  Psychological, Sociological, Historical, and Other Explanations

In my heart, experientially, I am convinced of the authenticity of the mission and its supernal teachers. In my mind, of course, I continue to ask questions. I have had many doubts, especially early on. Now, I occasionally look for doubts but just don't find any that penetrate my heart-conviction-certainty. This is not to say that many aspects of the mission are not a mystery to me. This is not to say that I do not reflect on apparent inconsistencies, contradictions, and seeming errors in transmissions. However, most of these seem unimportant for my spiritual growth. The tendered explanations for the transmissions that I am aware of require more assumptions, suppositions, speculation, and logical gymnastics than the belief that transmissions are really from celestial personalities. I have yet to hear an explanation that explains anything. I have yet to hear a theory that is in any way comprehensive. To me, most so-called explanations are simply labels, buzz-words like "mass hysteria" or "multiple personality." The trouble is that most psychology that deals with mind dynamics is itself an art, hypothetical, or at the root, simply conjecture. During twenty-five years as a clinical psychologist, I simply have not seen any client manifestation or pathology that comes near the consistency, depth, or has the spiritual qualities of these transmissions.

The power of beliefs, even erroneous beliefs, is great and is known in psychology. Festinger's book, When Prophecy Fails, is an excellent chronology of the social and psychological dynamics of beliefs that fail in objective predictions and how people tend to rearrange their outlook to incorporate dissonant data into the old belief system. As William James said, "When most people think they are thinking, they are just rearranging their prejudices." There are natural dangers or pitfalls of the human mind. I do not suggest that it is appropriate to be foolish or blissfully gullible, to accept every unusual thought as from teachers or the Adjuster. The Urantia Book is clear on this. "This is dangerous ground, and every human being must settle these problems for himself in accordance with his natural human wisdom and superhuman insight." (UB 1208:6) Indeed, in our secular and scientific society any belief beyond the dead level of replicable empiricism is often looked upon with disdain, including a belief in the authenticity of The Urantia Book. Present-day scientific psychology still has no place for God.

Although I have served as a hypnotherapist, have occasionally had to hospitalize psychotic brothers or sisters, and have sat many hours with many disturbed individuals, none of these experiences ring similar to the teacher transmissions. The types of pathology involving auditory hallucinations and complex delusions are typically paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar mood disorder, and dissociative personality disorders such as multiple personality. I have worked professionally with schizophrenic, borderline, and manic-depressive individuals. I find little similarity between these individuals and the receiver-transmitters of the teaching mission. Although DSM-III-R allows for multiple personality, even individuals so diagnosed do not manifest the types of behavior found in the teaching mission. And we know from The Urantia Book that true personality is not multiple and is not even the same construct as is used in contemporary psychology. Involvement in the teaching mission necessitates an accompanying belief system which may have transitory delusional components. The same is true of The Urantia Book.

The Jungian concepts of "archetypes," "a collective unconscious," and a "personal unconscious" have little or no empirical basis, depending on whom you talk to. Many theoreticians regard this all as sheer speculation. I personally am enamored with Carl Jung and hold the opinion that some of his theory is corroborated by The Urantia Book. However, no psychological theory, much less rubrics like "mass delusions," or "upsurging group needs," even begins to satisfy me in explaining the phenomena of the teaching mission, much less my personal experience (cf. UB 1107:7-8). I think any theory that claims to invalidate the reality of these transmissions must account for the following (a partial list): the consistent and coherent Urantia Book values emerging from transmitters at diverse geographical locations; the same values emerging from TRs who have no previous knowledge of The Urantia Book; "teachers" that function and manifest as an integrated team; people emerging as receiver-transmitters who not only don't know of The Urantia Book, but have no history of any interest in or belief in channeling, or are opposed to it; spouses, relatives, and close friends that quickly recognize that the "transmission" is not coming from their friend, relative, or spouse; people "hearing voices" who have no previous history of hallucinations or pathology; people experiencing "teacher contact" who are totally surprised by the experience and had no knowledge or expectation of it; thousands of pages of transcripts with nearly identical messages despite the fact that many of these groups have no knowledge of one another's activities; remarkably high inter- and intra-transcript consistency; the reported fact that teaching group members can readily identify the same teacher transmitted through different receiver-transmitters by personality and style rather than name; teachers often convey information that the TR has no knowledge of; often the teacher will know who wants to speak next or what question is on someone's mind, even if the TR's eyes are closed; the same reported goal of the mission whether it emerges in the USA, New Zealand, France, etc.; astounding experiential congruence among all the mission transmitters; the rapid growth of the mission; and most important, the testimony of an ever-expanding corps of sincere seekers who have directly experienced the teacher personality presence.

The Urantia Book does verify that humans can sense personality presence. "Man's own personality awareness, self-consciousness, is also directly dependent on this very fact of innate other awareness, this innate ability to recognize and grasp the reality of other personality, ranging from the human to the divine" (UB196:4). The teachers instruct us that beginning contact may be detected by the awareness of "otherness" (their word).

The teachers repeatedly refer to the transmissions as "a new form of communication." So, historical explanations for the transmissions are greatly limited or nullified. There is almost no historical precedent for this phenomenon which the teachers say is dependent upon the opening of spiritual circuits, closed up to the present by the quarantine of the Lucifer rebellion.

Books could be written, filled, with psychological-social-historical attempts to explain the teaching mission as psychic, diabolical, pathological, fraudulent, human, and so on. Lengthy rebuttals could also be generated. But the true answer lies Within. The teachers and The Urantia Book have offered us a way to validate the mission. Try it for yourself. Subject it to the unfathomable crucible of direct experiential validation. Use the criteria on page 1458:3 for when an experience is good. Consider the practical test of strange religious experiences given on page 1000:6. Practice silent communion daily; seek the Father; seek the answer from your Spirit of Truth; look for the fruits of the spirit. Be patient, for not all answers come quickly or easily. What does it matter if you don't find "teachers"? This is not what the mission is about. The mission is about seeking within and loving one another. It's very simple, feeling God's love and passing it on to another.

"I charge you that this is your purpose, to pleasantly infect all those around you with the Truth. At the same time, I would caution you to go about it in the same way that your Creators do. Many of His disciples wanted drum rolls and trumpets, and to declare Truth to the world, and He chose not to pursue this method. And I charge you to take this lesson to heart. The word will be spread quietly by each of you. You each have unique opportunities.... Some of you will be traveling to other parts of the country, and of the world. Take the Truth with you and gently, gently, infect those around you. Much is happening now. Many people are being awakened. Many people are finding the Truth. This will be a quiet revolution. There will be no trumpets. There will be no drum rolls. There will be a wave of Truth that spreads, spreads, ever so gently, across the nation, across the planet." (Esther, 8/30/92)

17)  The Urantia Book context

"Our Father is well aware of the hard work and the dedication you have to The Urantia Book and its teachings." (Fundore, 1/22/92)

Thankfully, as free will creatures each one of us is at liberty to interpret The Urantia Book in our own way, according to our own light. You may find other passages or interpret those quoted here differently. I recognize that there is always danger in taking quotations out of context. I offer you a perspective that intrigues me in possibly foreshadowing the teaching mission. I respect that you may have a different interpretation and prefer other passages.

"Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment." (UB 2082:7, cf. also 1259:1) Of course, The Urantia Book conditions us to think in terms of centuries or millennia, but how far away could "the very brink" be? "All Urantia is waiting for the proclamation of the ennobling message of Michael, unencumbered by the accumulated doctrines and dogmas of nineteen centuries of contact with the religions of evolutionary origin. The hour is striking for presenting to Buddhism, to Christianity, to Hinduism, even to the peoples of all faiths, not the gospel about Jesus, but the living, spiritual reality of the gospel of Jesus." (UB 1041:5) Is this new proclamation limited just to The Urantia Book, or could there be more? How would the billions of illiterate people be reached? The Urantia Book is not translated into even a handful of the hundreds of languages on Earth. How will "the peoples of all faiths" be touched with Jesus' Truth?

"It is understandable that you would be concerned about the availability, the affordability of The Urantia Book. The Urantia Book has touched many hands and through the hands that have held the book and absorbed into their being the knowledge that is contained within this book, there are many fertile human beings alive on this planet who are able to disseminate the information and understanding of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. It will, in time, find its way into more hands; but for now the important thing here is to be a living book, living the truth and spreading the word through your humanness. Human action, even your thoughts, are means of transporting into others love inspiring faith." (Astara, 11/15/92)

How crazy is it to think that celestial beings are making direct contact with Urantians at this time? If you are a believer in The Urantia Book, I will assume that you believe: that Ratta gave birth to invisible children; that Adam and Eve were eight to ten feet tall, glowed violet, and communicated with each other by telepathy; that there was an invisible planetary Prince with a staff of human-looking but superhuman beings; that the female of a pair of non-speaking primates gave birth to two completely human children; that an invisible Melchizedek incarnated as a visible human and lived near Salem for ninety years; that once a human couple had offspring consisting of nineteen children with skin colors of either orange, green, red, blue, yellow, or indigo; that brilliant, high, invisible beings went berserk and created a galactic rebellion in our corner of the universe; that calcium atoms can hitchhike across the heavens on sunbeams; that demons once existed and could possess the minds of mortals; that humans of the distant past could fly five hundred miles non-stop on talking passenger birds; that seers through the ages have received contact from invisible beings; that God lived on Earth as a human, raised a man from the dead, and after his own mortal death returned and appeared to hundreds of people; that other planets are inhabited; that we evolved from frogs; that we have an innate capacity to sense personality as well as the directions of the compass; that unseen beings are the permanent inhabitants of this planet; that Amadon, a primitive Earthling, ate of the fruit of the Tree of Life and lived for over 100,000 years; that ethereal beings spoke through a man who was sleeping and generated the contents of The Urantia Book; and that we have invisible beings following us everywhere we go. Why is it so difficult to entertain the belief that higher beings are contacting us and speaking to us through human transmitters now in the twentieth century?

"Divine truth must not be discounted because the channel of its bestowal is apparently human." (UB1733:1)

I was especially struck by what teachers Daniel and Ham say compared with the following passage in The Urantia Book. "If Christianity persists in neglecting its spiritual mission...the spiritual renaissance must await the coming of these new teachers of Jesus' religion who will be exclusively devoted to the spiritual regeneration of men. And then will these spirit-born souls quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world." (UB 2082:9 - 2083:1) "Not only will there be more spiritual uplifting, but there will also be guidance and help given in social, political, environmental, and other scientific areas to help this planet which is in a state of crisis...." (Daniel, 2/2/92) "... Spiritual enlightenment and individual and group and national and planetary progress is anticipated. Also too, along with the spiritual uplifting, we are anticipating and desiring cooperation in other areas of human life endeavor as well, chiefly economic, political, social, environmental and technical changes. Of course, we are anticipating many years duration of this initial phase of our mission." (Ham, L.A., 2/1/92) "This new and oncoming social order will not settle down complacently for a millennium." (UB 1086:4) The teachers have referred to the Correcting Time as 1000 years (see above). "That centuries have passed with no signs of the appearance of the 'New Age' is in no way out of harmony with Jesus' teaching." (UB 1860:5, 1146:4) "Mortal man is passing through a great age of expanding horizons and enlarging concepts on Urantia,...." (UB 1146:4) "The quickest way to realize the brotherhood of man on Urantia is to effect the spiritual transformation of present-day humanity. The only technique for accelerating the natural trend of social evolution is that of applying spiritual pressure from above, thus augmenting moral insight while enhancing the soul capacity of every mortal to understand and love every other mortal." (UB 598:2) I have always wondered what was meant by "spiritual pressure from above." I am inclined to believe the teachers are applying that pressure now. "This, if you want to look at as spiritual pressure...it is in fact that." (Tarkas, 12/23/92)

What likelihood is there that Machiventa will appear on Urantia in our lifetime? The Chief of Seraphim of Urantia, a primary supernaphim from Paradise, writes, "Some believe that Machiventa will not come to take personal direction of Urantian affairs until the end of the current dispensation.... Still others, including this narrator look for Melchizedek's appearance any day or hour." (UB 1251:4) And, a Melchizedek writes, "...it is altogether possible that Machiventa Melchizedek may again appear in person on Urantia and in some modified manner resume the role of the dethroned Planetary Prince, or else appear on earth to function as vicegerent Planetary Prince representing Christ Michael...." (UB 1025:2) These are, in fact, the claims of the teaching mission (see above, Ham's announcement in LA, 2/1/92).

Certainly I would agree that Urantia does not appear on the surface to be nearing the Age of Light and Life. Yet, as compared to a very advanced culture on a neighboring planet, "The pouring out of the Spirit of Truth provides the spiritual foundation for the realization of great achievements in the interests of the human race of the bestowal world. Urantia is therefore far better prepared for the more immediate realization of a planetary government with its laws, mechanisms, symbols, conventions, and language--all of which could contribute so mightily to the establishment of world-wide peace under law and could lead to the sometime dawning of a real age of spiritual striving; and such an age is the planetary threshold to the utopian ages of light and life." (UB 820:4)

"This world has never seriously or sincerely or honestly tried out these dynamic ideas and divine ideals of Jesus' doctrine of the kingdom of heaven. But you should not become discouraged by the apparently slow progress of the kingdom idea on Urantia. Remember that the order of progressive evolution is subjected to sudden and unexpected periodical changes in both the material and the spiritual worlds." (UB 1863:12) So, despite the general slowness of evolution, there may be sudden transformations as well. Compare also, "When physical conditions are ripe, sudden mental evolutions may take place; when mind status is propitious, sudden spiritual transformations may occur...." (UB 740:3) "The hour is striking for a rediscovery of the true and original foundations of present-day distorted and compromised Christianity—the real life and teachings of Jesus." (UB 2083:2) "The time is ripe to witness the figurative resurrection of the human Jesus from his burial tomb amidst the theological traditions and the religious dogmas of nineteen centuries." (UB 2090:3)

A Melchizedek of Nebadon writes, "At the time of this writing, much of Asia rests its hope in Buddhism. Will this noble faith, that has so valiantly carried on through the dark ages of the past, once again receive the truth of expanded cosmic realities even as the disciples of the great teacher in India once listened to his proclamation of new truth? Will this ancient faith respond once more to the invigorating stimulus of the presentation of new concepts of God and the Absolute for which it has so long searched?" (UB 1041:4)

Regarding China, an Archangel says, "This ancient culture has contributed much to human happiness; millions of human beings have lived and died, blessed by its achievements. For centuries this great civilization has rested upon the laurels of the past, but it is even now reawakening to envision anew the transcendent goals of mortal existence, once again to take up the unremitting struggle for never-ending progress." (UB 888:6)

Speaking of the later evolution of religion on Urantia, a Melchizedek comments, "Religion progressed from nature worship up through ghost worship to fetishism throughout the savage childhood of the races. With the dawn of civilization the human race espoused the more mystic and symbolic beliefs, while now, with approaching maturity, mankind is ripening for the appreciation of real religion, even a beginning of the revelation of truth itself." (UB 1003:7-1004:1) It is interesting to me that The Urantia Book raises the possibility of the benign virus of love so pervading the sentimental emotion-stream of humanity that all civilization would be encompassed by love—the realization of the brotherhood of man (UB 1098:4). Is this what the new teachers intend to bring about?

It seems to me that the great religious civilizations of the world are gearing up, now, in the twentieth century for a kind of spiritual renaissance. References to things that will or could happen in the twentieth century occur at least twenty-three times in The Urantia Book. Why so many references to this century in a revelation that is alleged to have its golden era hundreds of years in the future? Notable passages can be found in connection with The Urmia Lectures and Secular Totalitarianism. Consider, in just seven years all those references will be history. Could it be that, with the advent of The Urantia Book and now the continuation of this revelation in the teacher corps, Urantia is being prepared for one of those sudden spiritual uplifts mentioned on page 1863?

The book refers to these as dangerous times (UB 765:2). It says, "And such times of great testing and threatened defeat are always times of great revelation." (UB 2082:8) Even greater than The Urantia Book alone? Why were we instructed by headquarters in the early years to form thousands of study groups? Study alone is hardly the living gospel alluded to so frequently in the latter sections of the book. How could the figurative resurrection be limited to small groups ever increasing with cerebralizations of cosmic facts? How do we move from study groups to the living gospel, the living brotherhood? From a religion about Jesus to the religion of Jesus? (UB 2090:3) Is the teaching mission a critical link? Jesus referred many times to "an age to come" (e.g., UB 1229:1). "Although Jesus referred one phase of the kingdom to the future and did, on numerous occasions, intimate that such an event might appear as a part of a world crisis..." (UB 1863:13), it strikes me that we are in a world crisis right now in the 1990s. "He promised a new revelation of the kingdom on earth and at some future time...." (UB 1863:13) Is the teaching mission part of this new revelation of the kingdom?

The teachers tell us that they are just a little above us. This follows with a theme in The Urantia Book that those above serve as teachers to those just below (see UB 498:2, 812:4). It seems evident from The Urantia Book that there is a local universe corps of teachers that serves even down to individual mortals wherein morontia mortals (teachers) are assigned to still lower orders of mortals (us). Notice how this is implied in the following quotation regarding certain angels called The Teaching Counselors. "These angels are the invaluable assistants of the spiritual teaching corps of the local universe. Teaching counselors are secretaries to all orders of teachers, from the Melchizedeks and the Trinity Teacher Sons down to the morontia mortals who are assigned as helpers to those of their kind who are just behind them in the scale of ascendant life....These ministrations extend on down to the individual worlds." (UB 428:7-429:1)

The rebellion on Urantia had its origins back in Dalamatia, city of the Prince, with his corporeal staff of one hundred ascendant mortals. (UB 574:4) It does not surprise me that, with the inauguration of a new dispensation, and post-rebellion healing, the Correcting Time would mirror the Dalamatian model—but with a loyal Planetary Prince. So, Prince Melchizedek has returned now with a staff, consisting initially of one hundred ascendant mortals. This time the staff is not incarnating but is touching us via spiritual circuits recently opened, and the number of teachers is increasing daily to fully accommodate the spiritual openness of humanity.

18)  Experiences with Teacher Jared

It is my greatest desire to share with you my happiness about this new endeavor. Our teacher is a fused ascendant mortal with origin on a nearby planet and is many thousands of Earth years old. We do not know much more about the history of our teacher. He has been wise enough to deflect most of our curiosity questions and urges us to search and ask about more spiritually relevant issues. We are told that he is a teacher of teachers and has many beings with him when he transmits. Jared is unwavering in his gracious simplicity, rigorous in his urgings to seek within. Perhaps the best way to introduce Jared is to share some of his words.

"I am Jared. I am your teacher. Welcome to all of you who have come seeking. I am delighted that there are so many present here who are interested in our teaching mission. We have much to share, and much help is available to those of you who wish for it. We wish also to reassure those of you who are unsure of the origins. We are here only for those who wish to come, and we will contact only those who wish to have such contact. There is always choice available, and even should you choose for contact now, you may later choose not to continue receiving this contact. We have chosen to come in a way that we hope is less frightening. We speak to you in the same way you speak to each other. We come, though, to share God's great love with all of you and ask that you share it with one another. You will find much coming back to you and much that will spread out and be shared with others as they share with others, too. I hope you will be open to these teachings and hope we can assist you on your path toward God's will. Are there questions for me this evening?" (Jared, 1/7/93)

Jared speaks with simple eloquence. He is disciplined about referring us back to our inner stillness for the answers to our questions. Yet he shares many truths, some so simple they are easily overlooked. Visitors sometimes shrug and yawn at his many versions of the same message—seek within; do small kindnesses to others.

"For each of you to search within yourselves and find God's love and share it with another, it is helpful in changing many things in this world. We hope that by coming to you more concretely and more clearly, you will find it easier to follow God's will. If you mix it some with your own thoughts in your own head, it does not matter as the result is the same; you will be performing God's will. Those people who choose to be transmitters are assisted and cautioned in being more careful in hearing separate voices and being clear of their own part, but each of you is encouraged to listen within and find the assistance available in doing God's will. It is not overly important to distinguish the exact source." (Jared, 1/7/93)

For me, the most important thing is the personality contact, the interpersonal interaction. I experience asking questions, regardless of how silly they seem, and the receiving of answers, as inherently uplifting. Here is an example interchange.

Q. "...the study group that I go to and the area that I'm associated with—the people are very negative on the mission and communications of this kind.... What can I tell them the goal of the mission is?"

A. "To bring great change in this world by each person sharing small acts of kindness with another...." (1/7/93)

Q. "Good evening. I wonder if you would say something to us about the value of studying the tapes and transmissions of yours and of the other teachers."

A. "I was delighted to hear the conversation this evening. The tapes and the transcripts are very important. There are many parts of my message and they require frequent listening to be absorbed. Some people learn better by listening, by hearing the intonations and the phrasings. Others are more visual and absorb best by reading the materials. A combination of methods is probably most helpful to most people. I strongly recommend that each person take time to listen and to read as you will be surprised what you will learn...."

Q. "In what way is the searching as important as the hearing?"

A. "It allows you to search for God and search for God's will. It is a search of faith and a search of trust and many times teaches you to quiet your mind and to learn to see the beauty around you. It teaches you to listen within and to believe in yourself and trust in your own feelings. It is important to know that, as you truly trust yourself, trust in the quietness, trust in the gentleness that is within you, you will find God's will and be able to perform that will with more ease."

Q. "So, it is really the growth through the experience of doing it as much as it is the answer that you get?"

A. "Yes. It is important to remember that many people will never hear a teacher's voice within themselves. It is not the goal of the mission for you to hear us. The goal of our mission is for you to receive our message, receive God's message through us. There are many ways of doing that. For some it has been important that they are able to hear us so they may transmit our message to others. Many people will find their place by listening to the mission and incorporating it and by doing God's will as opposed to hearing it only...." (Jared, 10/15/92)

"You are requested to seek stillness to allow us entry, to allow us to speak through you, to allow us to speak to you in ways you can hear. Not everyone will hear us; it is not important that all of you do. It is only important that you seek. Stilling the mind and reaching for us has been found to be very difficult for you. Your efforts are commended, nonetheless. We suggest you continue to try and not be frustrated with your failures. They are not failures. Perhaps your standards are too high. Your seeking is important. Sit quietly and seek for us, for our teachings; think for what you can do this day to help another. Remember also what you did yesterday to help another. Be proud of yourself for your efforts.

"Stillness is also encouraged when you are going about your daily activities. You can find the stillness even momentarily in daily tasks. This is also very helpful. As you are out watering your garden, quiet your mind, do not concentrate on all the things you have done that day. Instead, enjoy the moment, enjoy the flowers, and enjoy the trees, and enjoy the grass. In that way you are also seeking, you are quieting your mind from your daily anxieties. If possible, give yourself some time each day when you will not allow your anxieties to intrude. In that way you are finding the stillness, in that way you are searching.

"Many times, also, you are not sure what you should do at the moment. Perhaps you can sit quietly and see what is most important. In that way you are also seeking because you will learn to listen within and that will help with your ability to hear our guidance. Does this help?...." (Jared, 10/1/92)

"Perhaps it is time to share with you all the first step in our lessons. In learning to do God's will you must first know of God's will. There are many avenues to that finding, many ways of searching. You are all searching as you have chosen to come. There are many others who are also searching, but who have not chosen to be here.

"The first step for each of you is to calm your mind in such a way that you can hear us. There are many, many ways of doing that. Seeking the stillness is our first recommendation. It may work for you to sit quietly and allow your daily cares to leave. Allow peace and tranquillity to descend upon you and allow yourself to relax. In that way you are open to us. It helps many to pray quietly and give thankfulness for what is available to them. Others find stillness very difficult. There are other ways of achieving that calm. Find something, find a quiet activity that is soothing and appealing. For some it may be watering a garden, for others washing dishes, for others laying quietly—whatever you can do to allow your mind to rest and be calm.

"The next step is to allow that calmness to become a part of your life. In your daily activities allow that calmness to be part of you. As you achieve each bit of calmness you will be open to more and more and will find it easier to achieve. Those are very major steps and take a long time. Many things get in the way. Illness, anger, frustration, busyness all are disruptive of this process. Patience is required. It takes a long time. It may take a long time to achieve a calm within yourself. As you seek this calmness, ask for God's assistance. It is available to all of you and will make it easier.

"There are many in the world not able to embark on this search. Many who begin searching will go no further than achieving more calmness. It is, however, to be applauded whenever progress is made, whenever the search is begun, whenever calmness is increased. It will make tremendous strides in this world. Others are more receptive and able to hear us. Many who seek calmness and achieve some measure of calmness are able to hear us without awareness. As they are truly searching, they will be guided and begin doing more of God's will. That much is a great step and much hoped for by teachers.

"There are others who are more receptive and able to hear a voice consciously. They will get more guidance and be able to share with others. Lisa was able to hear me as a distinctly separate voice and in that manner grew comfortable with me and accepting of me and eventually learned to acknowledge me as her teacher, as the group's teacher, and because of her trust in me, and her trust in God, has been able to share with the group. I am grateful for her ability to do so as it is the only way I have of affecting many lives. I hope to be able to share God's love and God's teaching with many, many people. I too work one step at a time. I have gained her trust and she in turn has shared with others. I feel your beginnings to trust me and then you will be able to share with others as well. Our mission is to share God's love and God's goodness with all beings. There are many who will, who may not be open, who may not choose to listen and that is, of course, their choice. I hope to be able to touch many lives, those who are willing, those who are seeking. I am grateful to you for coming. I am gratified by your desire for the word of God as shared by the teachers. I am looking forward to many more teachings." (Jared, 10/8/92)

It is difficult to put into words the experience of weekly sessions with an ascendant teacher. It is so experiential. Probably the most important things I have learned haven't been expressed in words. There is the time spent reflecting on transmissions, the all too human emotional reactions, the subtler spiritual insights, and always the daily silent prayer time. The greatest change I see in my attitude is a shift in emphasis from asking Jared to asking within. I began more preoccupied with the group. Now, I find my preoccupation is with deepening my stillness, seeking my answers there. And, of course, with this goes the desire to reach out and love.

19)  The Mind of a Teacher

When I read The Urantia Book, I often try to penetrate the minds of the authors, to discern their frames of reference, to sense their outlooks and attitudes. In this way I feel I know these high beings a little. The same is true of the teaching mission. I have noticed that teachers do not seem to forget or lose track of veins of conversation. They often seem to know a question before it is asked. Sometimes the latency between a question and answer is lightening fast. Often the answer is so big in concept and comprehensive that I forget the beginning by the end. I know that I could not generate such lengthy and complete answers in the fraction of a second between some questions and some answers. There are occasions when a question has multiple parts. I often lose track, but the teachers don't seem to. Even after a lapse of time beyond my short-term memory span, a teacher will bring up the remaining parts that even the questioner may have forgotten. Some teachers seem to know who wants to speak next, even though the TR's eyes are closed. Some answers are so long and involved that I cannot track the mind of the teacher the full course. It is nearly essential for me to study tapes or transcripts in order to grasp a communication. Transmitters often garble words in attempting to paraphrase an internal message but are able to transmit without vocal flaws. In my experience, teachers do not manifest ego preoccupation, impatience, fatigue, lapses of consciousness, or loss of poise as we humans do. Their knowledge of The Urantia Book content seems always available to them, notwithstanding the difficulty some TRs have in transmitting names, numbers, and certain factual material. There is a steadiness to teacher presence that, for me, goes beyond human capabilities. At this point the minds of teachers are inscrutable to me. There are many other aspects of teacher communications that convince me of their enormous mental capabilities. It has taken repeated contact for me to become sensitive to these extraordinary nuances. Just one experience may not be that impressive. Personal inner contact with teacher presence may be more impressive. Teacher minds certainly intrigue me, yet I cannot fathom them.

20)  "By Their Fruits, You Shall Know Them...." (Jesus, Ub 1572:7)

What are the fruits of the teaching mission? This is a difficult question since time must be allowed between planting and harvest. The mission is still very new. I can only share how things appear through my eyes, my own experience. Time will tell. I see many more people in the Urantia readership talking to each other. I see a great upsurgence of new people led to the mission and then developing a hunger for the "backstory" provided in The Urantia Book. I see the teaching mission stimulating a real and broad sense of community. I see the higher purpose of study groups beginning to blossom. I see many people seeking guidance more determinedly than ever. I see people dedicating themselves to daily silent communion. I see more people having first hand rather than second hand spiritual experiences. I see people thinking and wrestling with issues of Truth. I see new friendships forming. I see more brotherhood and less of the elitism that has tragically infected some reader organizations. I see new openness and new intimacy emerging; the genuineness and open-heartedness the teachers show us is contagious. I see a new hope emerging for individuals and the entire planet. I see a conspiracy of goodness leaking forth between the cracks of a bleak and distraught world. And I see The Urantia Book being brought to life.

21) Teacher Transmissions

 One way to become acquainted with this mission is to read excerpts of transmissions from the various teachers. To me the similarity is remarkable.

 "'Remember me,' asks our Father, 'for I love you and will deliver you to my side in eternity.' Great is our mission to bring us all closer to remembering the Father daily in our lives. With love and gratitude we have come to serve you. Remember, we love you and are keeping you in God's care through your Faith." (Ansol, 9/18/92)

 "The campfires of your world whether on plain or forest warm their visitors on one side only. But when you stand by the fire of the Father's love, it warms through and through. The Father's flame is a flame that you may carry with you in your hearts no matter how far you travel from your fuel source. You may share its warmth with all whom you encounter. As that flame transfers itself from one fire grand to another, so shall the Father's flame transfer itself from one heart to another. Nothing more is required from each of you than a degree of proximity. We ask that you approach near enough to your neighbors that the Father's flame is allowed to pass." (Melchizedek, Will transcripts, 4/5/92)

"Here is the framework which we propose as a hierarchy for application of our teachings: (1) communion with the Heavenly Father; (2) family time; (3) applications of our instruction to your daily interaction with your earthly brothers and sisters; (4) the ordinary maintenance of material concerns. This is a hierarchy of quality, not total hours...." (Onanecalek, 1/13/92)

"I am Ham.... Our group in Woods Cross has been instructed as you have been instructed to go within yourselves, to search for your teacher. We are all equal in the eyes of our Father. He wants us all to be instructed, if we so desire, with a personal teacher. Each one has that privilege. Each one has that opportunity open to him if you so desire it in your hearts. This is a new form of communication as your teacher, Jared, has told you. It is difficult. It does take practice. It does take searching. You will have doubts. You will overcome those doubts as you share with each other. Our group is also in Salt Lake experiencing the same problems. But if you are willing, this will work for you. It is a beautiful new form of communication. Remember that you are all, that we are all, equal in the eyes of the Creator. Our group is also writing. Sometimes it is much easier to write than it is to speak the words. If the thoughts come, take up your paper and pen and write them down unto yourself where you may review those in private. Sometimes this is much easier and less threatening. As time goes by, these thoughts can then be transmitted through the form of the mouth. This is all your free will. This is a wonderful gift that is being presented to mankind. I am pleased to be with you here tonight.... Let your doubts flee. Try if you so desire. Remember, you are precious children of our Father. Christ Michael is your Teacher, also. He is ever with you. He is there for the asking to help you whenever you need. He is loving. He is kind. He is there for you also. He is no respecter of persons. You are all equal in his sight. Spread his love to all mankind. That is the message. See his face in each man that you meet. Know that he is your equal. Each man is your equal...." (Ham, Santa Rosa, CA., 9/17/92)

"AVOID 3-D THINKING. Doubt plus denial equal despair. All humans experience 3-D thinking. It is painful for you because it causes you to turn your backs to the Father. You must safeguard yourselves from these pitfalls. How? By practicing your stillness daily. This is good news!

"Would you be so grand as to ask the Father only to share your burdens, lighten your loads? Do you not believe the Father wishes to share your joys as well? He would have you bare yourselves to Him—your most shameful acts to your loftiest of feelings. Do not seek the Father only when you think you "need" His help, for without Him, you do not exist. You are mindless in your wanderings, an empty shell without His light.

"Daily practice of your stillness gives you a foundation for reaching for your Father. It is helpful in times of despair to have already established a knowledge of your own rhythm for spiritual seeking. Familiarity with your path to seeking stillness will help you in difficult times. You will have confidence in your ability to reach for the Lord.

"You must learn to let go of your fears, to reach for the Father with faith. You must give yourselves to Him and trust that He will provide reward. But, you must be careful not to test the Father. Do not seek Him one second, then stop to test for His answer the next. You cannot know when or how relief-reward will come, but you must surely trust that it will. The Father's ways are quite often unimaginable to you and will provide you with great surprise and joy, if you allow them. This is a most important act, to reach for the Father when you cannot see His arms are there to catch you. It is like a leap from a giant cliff. You must risk yourselves spiritually! It is a great measure of your faith.

"So, safeguard yourselves from 3Ds with daily stillness practice. The more you know your Father, the less you will doubt or deny His Presence. When the 3 Ds are upon you, erase your thinking! Take your giant leap of faith back into the arms of the Father. Allow your painful feelings to strengthen your faith in this way. Do not try to intellectualize or rationalize your way back, just close your eyes and jump!" (Will, Sebastopol, CA., 1/19/93)

"Now, go forth practicing loving service in brotherhood to all who touch your life experience. Do not neglect those closest to you. They contribute to who you are and how useful you can be, so see to their needs, comfort, and become alert to means of increasing their ability to trust you, rely on your commitments, stand on your loyalties, minister by your side." (Aflana, 3/2/92)

"Go forward into your daily life without fear. The Father is with you. No gaps exist in His plan. You cannot fall; you cannot fail. If you but turn your face to His light, all will be seen. His company is matchless, and He lives in the hearts and lives of every person you shall ever meet. Go out amongst them, for they are awaiting you. God goes with you." (Thicandor, 1/10/92)

"The Correcting Time which is now beginning—correction, which is now begun, may last for many years, perhaps a thousand, perhaps more, maybe less, in your terms of measurement. This length of the Correcting Time is dependent on humankind's capacity to understand and accept God and be willing for change to occur, for light, truth, and beauty to reign supreme on Urantia. At this particular time as the Correcting Time has begun there are celestial beings gathering. They have been gathering, watching, caring for you all for many, many centuries. They wait, patient, watchful, careful." (Abraham, New Zealand, 10/4/89)

Q. "Can you elaborate on the meaning of our personal lives and how this is important for the mission and our spiritual growth?"

A. "You have asked for the world. I will try to give you a piece. Your planet, Urantia, has been in isolation. You have felt alone and adrift in the universe. Mortals look at the stars and pray that there are others out there. This has been the curse of Urantia and of your life. But now your planet is rejoining the cosmic community.

"We are your first wave of friends that you can sense. While your planet is being re-incircuited, you will come into contact with more and more beings who co-inhabit the Father's universe. We are merely the pilgrims of this time. We are the first off the boat. You have always had scores, teams, armies of angelic assistance. Surrounding you at all times are the Primary and the Secondary Midwayers, guardians of Urantia. Each one of you can communicate with Michael via the Spirit of Truth—a unique gift to this planet in isolation. And of course, each of you, and each of us, has an indwelling fragment of the Father Himself.

"But these helpers have not been so apparent as the burgeoning contact with our group of individual teachers. We are preparing you for your initiation into the citizenry of the universe. You will work side by side with beings seen and unseen, heard—unheard, in the days to come, this is the meaning of the Correcting Time.

"That is one element of the impact of this mission on your life. But there is more. You must be made familiar with the tools of the agondonter. You must be taught and led to recognize the voice of the Father within you. You will be taught to discern the gentle nudges of your guardian angels and you will begin to see the fleeting glimpses of the midwayers at work in your world and around your life. As you strengthen your connections, so will your soul strengthen, and you will begin to live more morontially. We will help you. We will guide you. This is the goal. The goal is to have a corps of mortals who live morontially on Urantia, and we foresee great success in this part of our mission. Does that answer?" (Rayson, 11/14/92, Sebastopol, CA.)

"All spiritual teachings must be evaluated by their content, and not followed or rejected because of the celebrity of their supposed source. The time is long past on this planet when religion can be promulgated by asserting the authority of the teacher; that system of religious instruction was effectively demolished by the Master in Palestine and the later Protestant Reformation in Europe. Neither do we seek to create a 'Star System' of religious instruction; 'If he said it, it must be so!'

"Such acceptance of any teachings does not lead to the kind of sincere searching and proving for one's self that we seek to promote. Again, it must be the teachings themselves and the effect they have on the students' lives, and not the claimed authority of their source that must be the final determinant in evaluating any religious teachings." (Seraphim, 1/28/92)

"Doing the will of the Father is the ultimate goal. That 'will' is to become one with the Father and in the process become one with all beings throughout all the Universes; for there is only the Father ultimately, and each of you is as one with the Father...this is your goal...this is your destiny." (James, 10/4/92)

"But the Father works as He always does, one human at a time; heart by heart, the people will be turned to the love of the Father." (Ramsey, 1/26/92)

"You have a textbook which was to prepare you for this stage of the revelation. Do you have any idea of how fortunate and cared for you have been on Urantia? To receive such a revelation before lifting the quarantine is impressive to me! I've lived a long time and had many experiences during my training, but have never beheld what I see happening here on Urantia—anywhere in the Local Universe! You are blessed among many...!

"I leave you with this. No longer fret over the pettiness of misunderstandings. Go forward and discover Truth. Look to motive and intention and let go of success and failure. You plant the seed and we will nourish it. Let's join our energies and creativeness and stretch Urantia into the next stage of Light and Life! Upward and Inward we march on wings of efforts and decisions. I am here to guide you and teach you." (Lor-El, 6/19/92)

22)  You May Choose to Participate or Not.

t is not necessary to join a group to have teacher contact, if you so desire. The mission is not primarily about groups, but about each individual finding the Thought Adjuster. "...Is it necessary for individuals to be involved in the teaching mission to gain enlightenment? Absolutely not." (Bertrand, 12/7/92) The teachers honor our free will completely. No judgment is made if you choose not to be involved. Each mortal has a unique path to Paradise. You are entitled to your free will without question or prejudice. Who is to say but that you may have another path to God?

"But you must know that the most important thing in this life is for you to discover our Father, to feel Him in your being, to know Him in your mind, and to love Him in your heart. All else will come to pass. By knowing the Father, you will know yourself. You will know your brothers and sisters. You will have unraveled the greatest experience of material living. Do not worry about tomorrow, for our Master told you that his Father knows you have need of many things. The Father loves you and will provide for you. Make your decision, stand firm in your resolution, and go forth now—today." (Welmek, 8/10/92)

"At this time, in this world, on Urantia, on earth, there is an acceleration of information descending into the earth plane, taking many forms: enlightened books, channels dotted across plains and mountains, across the seas, beings who have invited into their lives speakers from the realms.... Take time daily to look within your heart, for in your heart resides, what is termed, the faith connector, what is known as a path of illumination. Listen to your heart, your feelings. Heart centered people are needed to bring the light to all. Though the mind is a valuable tool, it is not so dependable as the heart.... And so be ever aware that there is no specific path to enlightenment, to God, other than through the path of love, through the heart." (Astara, 11/15/92)

23) Complete Acceptance

There is much about the teaching mission that is difficult to express in words. There are subtle nuances that emerge slowly, week by week, in a teacher group. In the Daniel transcripts, for example, there unfolds the delightful genuineness of the participants as question after question reveals the innermost heart and soul of the person. It is easy to love these people even at a great distance since their openness about personal, intimate matters is so evident. Time and time again group members unburden themselves of concerns and issues that might not serve status seeking or image making or ego gratification but that do serve soul growth. I believe that this kind of openness can emerge because the teachers are so completely accepting of us mortals. Most of the teachers had mortal origin so they can genuinely empathize with us. Daniel's lessons are so sweet, like primer lessons of love. Among humans, even dear friends, it is difficult to find consistent acceptance from others. Among the best of friends, unconditional love is still more an ideal than a reality. And so there are parts of our selves that we are reluctant to share for there may be the sting of rejection. Not so with the teachers. They tell me that we tend to idealize them. The teachers remind us often that they are not perfect, just a little above us. But in my experience I have found the teachers totally accepting even of our worst attributes. We are told that our Lord, Michael truly loves even our character flaws. It is a blessed experience to be in the presence of such total and, indeed, superhuman acceptance. It is such a relief to be totally accepted by another. The teachers model this behavior, and it is contagious.

Writing this paper is my expression of my loyalty to my own experiential truth. I think we each have a responsibility to be loyal to our own personal experiential truth, even if it disagrees with another. To me this is one form of unity without uniformity. My desire is to share my joy with you. Regardless of your point of view, my fondest hope is that we can be friends and to a degree extend the kingdom of heaven on Earth. It does not matter whether you are the C.E.O. of URANTIA Foundation, the president of The Fellowship, the most wealthy and powerful person in the Urantia movement, someone who gives away computer indices, or the most humble and unknown citizen of Urantia. It does not matter whether you have read The Urantia Book, have a different life-style, are a newcomer to the book, or are the most crazy and obnoxious person on Earth. The Father loves us equally. Our job is to be brothers and sisters, to love one another, to be tolerant of each other's beliefs and practices. "Throughout the vicissitudes of life, remember always to love one another. Do not strive with men, even with unbelievers." (Jesus, UB 1932:3) I am confident that the teaching mission will not be the first or the last great test of our loyalties to these high values. What may initially discomfort us may in time be a blessing in disguise. My prayer for you is not that you believe in the mission, but that you experience the spiritual uplift, the heightened receptivity, that can be had experientially by any child of God on Urantia, regardless of doctrines and beliefs. For you, my sister, daughter of God, my brother, son of God, my agondonter friend, I pray for you that you (and I) feel the love of the Father. I leave you now with my profound respect for your free will. May it be pleasing in His sight.

"To develop the relationship with the Father, the Thought Adjuster, is the single most important thing you can do. Nothing replaces this responsibility. Far better that you do this and entirely ignore the teaching mission, than that you seek a teacher but forget to communicate with the Spirit within. There is no question about this. Seek the Father first, and then all things will come. This is the highest Truth." (Linnel, 12/25/92)

 ******

Acknowledgments:

I wish to thank all the people in teaching groups across the country who have most graciously granted me permission to quote their teachers. I have chosen to protect the privacy of individuals and not mention names or locations, but there are many of you and I salute you all! Most of the quotations presented herein are from different groups; a few are transmissions through the same transmitter-receiver in one location. Above all I want to express my gratitude to the teachers themselves for the gift of their words of instruction, inspiration, comfort, and love.

Robert W. Slagle, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
xxx
* "Welcome to Change," Copyright © 1993, Robert W. Slagle This document may be copied by any means and distributed in whole only, but may not be sold or incorporated in part or whole into any book or product for sale or any other commercial activity without written permission from the author.

** The Urantia Book, copyright 1955, URANTIA Foundation, 533 Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL 60614. Comments expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of URANTIA Foundation. References are given by the initials UB, page, colon, paragraph.

NOTES: ver. 2.3

"God's wake will wash across this universe. It is the tide that raises all boats." ( Melchizedek, Will transcripts, 3/29/92)

"Seek, you are sought." (Ham, 5/31/92)

The Urantia Book says, "Religion must provide itself with new and up-to-date slogans." (UB 2077:6) I like this one a friend told me recently: "The devil is dead; Armageddon has been called off; the gates of hell are closed."

"Welcome to change," is quoted from Ham, 2/1/92.

"Service of God is a sacred honor. When you enlist yourself in his service you align yourself with the great powers of the universe." (Signa, 10/30/92)

"Please pray with me for a moment. Heavenly Father, maker and ruler of all, help us all to recognize your service leading. Help us all to go forth with your spirit of love in our hearts in order that we may serve our brothers and sisters to the best of our capacities. Help us to increase You, Your evolving Supreme Being, with our loving service. And help us realize that the most wonderful server we have ever known is Jesus of Nazareth, Christ Michael. Amen." (Bertrand, 10/12/92)

I think you will recognize the authorship of this last quotation.

"My lesson for you is brief but crucial. Love your fellows by knowing they are my creations. See me in each face you see. Know there is not one that walks on this earth that I love less than you. I am smiling, I am gentle, I am all loving. I nurture, I heal. Speak with me....Seek me. Seek me daily. Put me above all else. I will not fail you." (Christ Michael, 1/14/93)

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