WELMEK

JOY

SEPTEMBER 19, 2002

Greetings, my friends, this is Welmek. After the last two lessons on grief, I have decided to reverse the tenor and bring you a lesson on joy. I hope you will find the humor in this, and allow yourself to feel that effervescence that comes when you experience joy. Is this something that you are all interested in this evening? (General agreement)

Over the course of your life, you will experience those episodes of struggle, where you learn new concepts and acquire new life skills. And after a period of struggle, as you begin to appreciate that which you have learned, there may come to mind a feeling of achievement and of growth. And this is all a prelude to the experience of joy, that sublime upliftment of the heart in appreciation for something of value and of truth - something that has been given to you of beauty and of goodness.

I ask you now to, in your own mind, reflect upon an episode in your life where you learned something new and experienced a sense of accomplishment. Spend a few moments, and recall in your mind what that accomplishment felt like. And then when you feel ready, please share those feelings with me. (pause)

Student: Well, Welmek, I guess I can lead off. After two years of taking dancing lessons I had what they called 'student showcase', where you dance in front of about a hundred people and a coach. You get to dance with your teacher; that's one thing, a marvelous dancer. It went off very well. It was a sense of being very alert, yet being very relaxed. I had the material down, and yet finding a certain grace right in the activity itself. So I wasn't totally consumed with what I was doing. There was a little extra there, to be happy. It was a lot of fun.

Welmek: Would you say that you felt proud of yourself for what you had achieved?

Student: Oh, very much, Welmek. It was a very gracious crowd. Every now and then they would break into applause. That was very thrilling. Welmek: And so did you sense that what you were doing was being appreciated?

Student: Very much.

Welmek: Thank you.

Student: Welmek, for me, it was the discovery that in the first grade I was able to learn to spell and to read instantly. I found myself answering questions of the other students, such as what is this word? or how is it pronounced? It was a feeling of empowerment.

Welmek: Would you say that this gave you a sense of contribution?

Student: Yes, it did.

Welmek: Would you say this gave you a sense of confidence and self-validation?

Student: Very much so.

Welmek: Thank you.

(Another student asks a question that was too soft to be recorded)

Welmek: I would ask that you hold this question for a little later in our discussion, and instead can you relate to me an experience that you felt this sense of accomplishment? Take your time. Go within. You have several moments to compose your answer, and you can let others take your turn if you do not feel so inspired.

Student: Good evening, Welmek. I think that the greatest sense of accomplishment, one of the greatest times in my life, was when I was my flute and playing in bands and orchestras. And it was something that started out small and grew every year. It gave me a sense of being well connected to something greater than myself.

Welmek: How did the energy of that feeling affect you?

Student: Well, something it took an awful lot to make it to make it to the 7 o'clock in the morning dance classes. But when we performed, it was almost like I felt like another person, or I felt more like the person I was created to be - that it was very energizing, and it was very neutral at the same time. I could see how hard work had paid off.

Welmek: Thank you.

Student: Welmek, I would like to say that the most recent feeling of joy and accomplishment that I experienced was going from a feeling that I could never know God, the Paradise Father, personally, to a certain time of seven days that opened up a personal relationship with the Teachers, the Mother Spirit, Christ Michael, and the Father God, and my angel. And the feelings that that gave me were quite fulfilling (unknown words after this). I think I'd like to say that.

Welmek: Was the feeling you experienced worth the effort and struggle?

Student: Absolutely. It was so divine. It was beyond anything I had previously known.

Welmek: Thank you.

Another Student: (Words too soft to catch on the recorder. Topic was being a parent, and not trading that experience for anything else.)

Welmek: Would you say that parenthood was effortful on your part?

Student: Yes, very much so. Welmek: Would you trade the experience of being a parent for something else? (No) Thank you.

Another Student: (Words too soft the catch on the recorder. Topic was submitting a dissertation)

Welmek: Would you say, in submitting your dissertation, that you experienced a feeling of being proud of your work and effort?

Student: Yes, Welmek, I did.

Welmek: Would you say that you felt your effort was fruitful and worthwhile, and that you spent your time in a productive pursuit? (Oh, yes). Thank you.

Welmek continues: As you were all speaking, did you notice within the
thread of your accomplishments that this gave you a greater sense of self-fulfillment to varying degrees? (General agreement) Would you say that you enjoy being in these moments of effortful stimulation of your personality output? (General agreement)

Student: Welmek, for me there has been a wonderful mixture of effortful, and often sometimes effortless, a kind of a pure grace. I just had to say thank you, because I hadn't even done it. It just happened. And that was part of the joy.

Welmek: But, my friend, you did work at it, did you not? You did not go onto the dance floor at this time and glide gracefully the way you did at your exhibition.

Student: Oh, excuse me, Welmek, since then I thought of just dozens and dozens of joyful moments in my life.this was a gift. Yes, that dancing experience was a lot of work.

Welmek: But recognize, my friend, that it is your efforts, whether they come in the guise of being clumsy for awhile and fumbling and learning, or when you are so inspired that it seems to flow, that these are efforts that you are putting forth. And, as such, they require two components from you: attention and desire. And when you have those, they allow you to produce a component of your personality expression that will manifest in something of great value - not only to yourself, but to the universe and the Supreme Being.

These effortful attempts on all of your parts, to share something of yourself and to give new meaning and depth of expression of who you are, are all living and real experiences of soul growth. And there is a reward for this, and that is the experience of joy - that lighthearted quality of being in an elated state of light.

I am struggling with your word concepts, for they are quite limiting in the midst of such an expansive and beauteous of all feelings. Do you have any questions, because I would like us to broaden to an experience of feeling more joy within you, so that you can know the validity of the words I speak.

Student: Welmek, I have to ask at this time, if you would share something in your life of joy and accomplishment?

Welmek: My friends, being here with you this evening is my joy. For I am able to serve as an instructor of the beauty and the magnitude of the Father's gifts. What greater joy is there? And so, you bless me when you
gather here and open your mind to these words, and I do so enjoy these times with you. This is my most recent experience.

Student: Thank you.

Student: Welmek, I have a problem with the word effortful, for my example was no effort. It was a spontaneous experience that brought me great joy. And ever since then everything has been effortful. So the joy that I felt then was diminished considerably. (Other statement were too soft to be heard). There was a lot of sadness in that.

Welmek: If you would recall my earlier instruction for this exercise was to recall a time in your life when you felt an achievement that gave you a sense of self satisfaction. This is the prelude to joy. And in that experience you shared you did feel joy, and I am glad that that was a positive and noteworthy time in your life. But if you were to continue to participate in this exercise, I want to take you now to a higher level of understanding the conceptual framework of effortful attention and desire in your accomplishments in life that will set the tone for you to be receiving more joy in your life. Are all of you willing now to go here? (General agreement)

So, in your mind now, return to that place where you felt this feeling of accomplishment. Let yourself experience the fullness of this accomplishment. Let it meander over your mind and your body, with the sense of feeling proud of yourself, feeling confident, feeling validated. (pause) And when you experience that, invite the Father into your experience, and ask him to elevate that experience with what and how He wishes you to know, to feel, and to understand. And when you are ready, please share these feelings with me. (pause)

Student: Welmek, I just feel glad and thankful.

Student: Welmek, the effort of sharing, and asking the Father to share this experience with me, I have a sense of reverence and I felt a stronger sense of love.

Student: I believe the experience of the realizing that I could read and write and spell and explain the meanings of words was a clue to what my life was really going to be like as I became an adult.

Student: Welmek, when I think of this experience it was (words too soft to hear). But I also really treasure the feedback that I get from people (not clear).

Student: (Words too soft to hear). If it wasn't for my children, (words too soft) I wouldn't be here today. I just feel so blessed for having them in my life. (Words too soft to hear).

Welmek: You have all participated in self-validating exercises this evening. And I hope that you see the value in what you have experienced as you grow more conscious of who you truly are, and how there is rich and deep fulfillment in your life; that you can so enjoy being alive and participating as a child of God in this universe we are growing.

All of our lives are spent in gainful, productive efforts of personality expression. You who have worked so hard on this planet to maintain your material existence sometimes forget that it is not the work that you do, but the expression of your personality that brings you satisfaction, achievement, leading to greater self-validation. And the reward for this is to find joy - joy in the Father and joy in who you have been created to be.

Think now only of who you are becoming, and the ways that you can express yourself more fully and richly to your brothers and sisters. For this is your true enjoyment in life, my friends. This is where true happiness will be your fuel to continue to live life in this way. Drink deeply of the potential that you are bringing forth now here on Urantia. Your souls are growing. They are developing a greater range of expression: rich and vibrant with light and life and joy. Live in this state more. Live in joy, enjoy, and be those beautiful expressions of the Father that we have been created to be. Are there any further comments or questions before we conclude this evening?

Student: Welmek, I have been wanting to ask you this question. (some unclear words). But in the light of humor, is there possibly what you we call a joke that can be possibly (unclear words) that would mix the type of humor that you know with the type of humor that we know?

Welmek: One moment. I sense some hesitation in the transmitter's mind, and so I would ask you that you wait until there is more clarity.

Student: Welmek, perhaps because you are so close to us, and like I said before, the love you have for us is absolutely palpable, the joy you have given me (unclear words) and Michael (unclear words) the last few weeks, I have been thinking of (end of side one of tape). And all of a sudden to have Michael standing in front of me, and through D, give me the most precious gift of all - totally unimaginable. Thank you.

Welmek: All of the beautiful feelings that you are privileged to experience are there as a detecting device, to appreciate expanding avenues of our Father's glorious personality - and my friends, I am here to tell you that it only gets better. And so, herein lies what we might consider to be cosmic humor; that all of the degradation, pain, heartache, suffering, misery, despair, rejection, abandonment that you have experienced can be transformed into such beauty of light and joy that you will be glad that you have been a human on Urantia.

May the peace that fills this room, and overtake your heart, permeate each cell and bring you heightened levels of light in the Father's effervescent joyful personality. Good evening, dear friends.