Episode:God the Father—Relation to the Individual (Part 4)

From Symmetry of Soul


The fact-seeking scientist conceives of God as the First Cause, a God of force. While the emotional artist sees God as the ideal of beauty, a God of aesthetics. The reasoning philosopher is sometimes inclined to posit a God of universal unity, even a pantheistic Deity. But the religionist of faith believes in a God who fosters survival, the Father in heaven, the God of love.

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Keywords: Urantia, God, Morality, Religious Consciousness, God-Consciousness

Summary by Kermit

Commentary after Review

We briefly reflected more on true worship and how different it is from everything we have been told about worship. Selfless communion is unnatural to most of us. Do not expect to be immediately aware of the fruits of genuine worship, as they are recognized reflectively in retrospect as an awareness of having been grown.

We also considered the issue of personality, and more precisely what it means to be genuinely personal, with the understanding that the revelation’s concept of personality is profoundly transcendent of temperament with its dimensions spanning universe levels from the finite to the absolute. We are encouraged to not underestimate the potency of real personality action in directing spirit overcontrol of our animal-origin mind. We are challenged to do that which is unnatural, reframing our genetic temperament by personalizing our mind.

We further clarified the previous week’s statement about God being both the determiner of destiny and man’s eternal destination. The emphasis here is on eternal. The Paradise ascent culminating in the attainment of God on Paradise is a temporal journey, albeit a very long one from our current viewpoint, yet in reality only the initiation to the beginning of a career of eternity-service. God being our eternal destination has a completely different meaning. It is realized only in eternity and is not characterized by any end point. Eternity is not the summation of all moments temporal but a reality apart from time while touching every moment of time.

5:5. The Consciousness of God

In our treatment of this penultimate section of our five series arc on God the Father we employ our hourglass analogy construct of the human mind and the framework of the levels of meaning in synthetic relation with the seven adjutant mind-spirits, three cosmic intuitions [16:6], seven levels of mortal wisdom [71:7.5-13], the three mindal selves and the three great satisfactions mortal man secures from religious experience [5:5.8-10].

Mortal man’s long and steep ascent to God consciousness begins with his by-grace encircuitment in the Holy Spirit, wherein he is superconsciously endowed with cosmic moral discrimination antecedent to bestowal of the Thought Adjuster and the pouring out of the Spirit of Truth.

The first three paragraphs emphasize an uncharacteristic fourfold framework of levels—physical, social, moral, and spiritual—for playing out the post moral cosmic fullness of religion in human development, the next step in moving up to God consciousness. We unpacked these four levels in their relation to the six levels of meaning in a less linear and more holistic frame by postulating an individual’s points of observation occupying the 3rd LoM (self-regard) and the 4th LoM (self-respect). Religion permeates the four levels, looking from LoM 3 down to the physical (self-preservation) and emotional (social satisfaction of fellowship) levels, and from LoM 4 up to the moral (duty) level, and the spiritual (realization of divine fellowship). The 3rd and 4th LoMs are generally our vantage points of consciousness for normal function.

Shadows from the superconscious encircuitment of the Holy Spirit, by design drive and motivate man. Science, art and philosophy born of evolutionary religious urges and impulses and ever in need of periodic upgrades, prepare man to receive revelation including the gifts of Thought Adjusters and Spirit of Truth, however man does not have to be religious against his will.

On our journey to attempt to grasp the nature and meaning of God consciousness our author gives us pause with the statement that “the realities of religion are utterly beyond the mortal capacity for intellectual comprehension.”

Concerning the paradox of divine immanence and God’s transcendence, finite reason and human logic are unable to harmonize these ideas of God. It requires the faith grasp to accomplish this in the unification of the transcendence of a personal God (existential) and the realization of the indwelling presence of a fragment of God (experiential).

Our author enumerates three great satisfactions secured by mortal man from religious experience: intellectual, philosophic, and spiritual. Reference and reflection back to [71:7.5-13] the seven levels of mortal wisdom, suggests that these seven levels can be distilled into the three satisfactions mentioned here, the details of which I leave to the motivated student. The subsequent paragraph [5:5.11] proceeds to describe the three differential levels of reality realization which make up our holy grail of God consciousness. The three factors: comprehension of the idea of God, realization of the ideal of God, and realization of the spirit reality of God, which when unified and encompassed by the mortal personality equivalates to a realization of the personality of God.

God consciousness has been part of man’s experience from generation to generation, however with advances in human knowledge, the philosophic concept and theologic definitions of God must open to sincere examination and revision. Since Pentecost Adjusters come to all normal minded mortals, ensuring the inception of a soul which is destined to resurrect after death. Eternal survival is wholly dependent on mortal mind choice to seek God and sincerely desire to become like him.

Notes by Brad

  • Can you consent to worship, with no expectation of a pleasant feeling?
    • Can you not be the center of attention? A little humility? One of the favorable conditions.
    • The conscious feedback you are looking for cannot come in the moment, but only reflectively in retrospect after you recognize you've been grown.
    • Little animal-origin you is the freewill gatekeeper of providing favorable conditions in all of this. Even if you have no grasp of the advanced physics or other such things.


  • Temperament versus character.
    • Are you using your personality? Don't count on it--there's so little that can be done now on Earth, where we're at, with our genetics, etc.
    • But you can remain humble and patient.
    • It's probably just as well personality is limited in us right now. There isn't much it would be able to do here, it's so powerful.
      • Most people aren't remotely personal enough to sin right now on our planet. Evil? Badness form in your mind? Sure.
    • "Boy I just love the way my material mind thinks." Can you stop playing with yourself?


  • "God is man's eternal destination." This does not mean you find God someday in the temporal future, and then you're done.
    • In truth, existential eternity exists right now. You can go into and out of it, even right now.
    • If you want that end-of-time destination, that's the Cosmos Infinite. And God the Absolute.
    • Your ascension scheme, relatively speaking, is completed in short order.


  • "One can be technically right as to fact and everlastingly wrong in the truth." [48:6.33]
    • Don't look for coarse agreement of the facts in the 5th ER with the facts of evolutionary religion.
      • You'll find matches. But probably have old wineskins trying to accept that new wine.
      • You could be 180 degrees out of sync (dead wrong!)
    • Can you accept this as a revelation? Not an affirmation?
      • That's what we try to do here on SoS. It's a humbling process.


  • Watch out for those vivid islands of heat in your mind. Be not self-deceived in all this.
    • Can you call it THE Inner Life instead of MY Inner Life? That's one semanticically distinctive start.
    • Sure, the inner life will someday be YOURS. But don't look too soon. Be a loyal tadpole.
      • Start by just looking for those glimmers of reframing your material mind in a better, more spiritized context.
      • Start with common self-control.
      • Just getting to kindred minds is a tall order. But that would have to happen first before any hope of genuine personality uniqueness manifesting. Start with the cosmos.


  • What is morality in the first world of section 5 here?
    • It's the full-on 5th ER high definition of it.
    • This by-grace moral consciouness is on the 5th level of meaning
      • Level 4, 5, 6: the cosmic intutitions [16:6]
      • Level 4, 5, and 6: individuality, associativity, and unity, respectively.
      • Level 4: this is true reason, the true scientific consciousness.
    • Hence "the reason of self-consciousness"
    • The second cosmic intuition derives from the first cosmic intuition.
    • And this upper domain in the hourglass analogy gets built by the Holy Spirit. It does not require a Thought Adjuster.
    • This is your objective morality consciousness potential.
      • You're not now innately divine. No! You're still a tadpole. This this is superconscious, and nascent.
    • The "spiritual experience" in the first paragraph is the full-on 5th ER high definition. No ghost cult stuff.


  • True religion is postmoral. What is that?
  • An uncharacteristic four-foldness in these opening paragraphs of section 5.
  • Each level of meaning is a vantage point on those below it.
    • Level 1: physical
    • Level 2: emotional
    • Level 3: The level of self-regard. From this level you can regard Levels 2 and 1 below. Pretty decent vantage point.
    • Level 4: The level of self-respect. From this level you could stand and look up to the levels above.
    • Level 5: moral or duty
    • Level 6: spiritual level.
    • So, this is an interpretation of this four-foldness here in the context of the levels of meaning. Thank you Dr. Chris!


  • So, standing on these Levels 3 and 4, there is the scientist, artist, philosopher, and religionist, all standing there.
    • But standing there relating to one of the other 4 level with a preference.
    • Can you wear all these hats? It's not about leaving Level 1 behind, this author reminds himself. The levels of meaning are not a linear ascension scheme. They are a holistic system to be harmonized.
    • The same thing happens with the 6 adjutant mind ministries, harmonized by the 7th.


  • The reverence of unity is easy to want to melt into, to bliss out. It's an ocean. You'll crave it if you're not careful.
    • Your soul craves more. Your material self just craves blissing out.
    • Level 2: Reverence of unity is here. It's addictive. Don't get stuck here.
      • And it's not wrong. Not as a beginning. At the beginning all you can do is play with this shadow that is cast by true religion.
    • Some drugs take us there. Don't get addicted to those drugs that get you stuck here.
      • And watch out for ghost-cult ceremonies that use substances to get you to the reverence of unity even more.
    • Can you aim higher?


  • Even the ghost cult notions--as a beginning!--can propel science, art, and philosophy forward.
    • But don't stop there.
    • Can't you feel your science, art, and philosophy are in need of an upgrade, relative to when you were 18?


  • You can't set aside that you're part of a social group. But you can set religion aside--it's individual, not associative, fundamentally.
    • Your religion is your own. You don't need a communal building. You don't need to move your body a certain way.


  • In this life, we are three mindal selves.
    • Material-mind self. This is the intellectual one reading this right now.
    • Morontia self. Your literal soul. Mostly superconscious.
    • Adjuster self. Effectively imprisoned in our mind in this life. And don't assume you can communicate with it--that's dangerous.


  • Three ways to validate concepts:
    • Reason. The act of recognizing the validity of material consciousness.
    • Logic. The act of recognizing the validity of cosmic (moral duty) consciousness.
    • Faith. The only way to initially grasp God the Father. Reason and logic cannot be enough.


  • The seven levels of mortal wisdom [Paper 71:7] are key to understanding Section 5, Paragraph 7 onward.
    • These levels are more useful once you've begun to successfully relate to the levels of meaning in a holistic way.
    • The levels of mortal wisdom are transcendent of the levels of meaning.
    • And the seven levels of mortal wisdom eventually are holistically woven into 3 levels of reality realization:
      • Intellectual: first 3 levels
      • Philosophical: second 3 levels
      • Spiritual: the final cherry on top.
  • But breathe. Remember, you can't build a better self. You can supply favorable conditions.
    • Just appreciate how transcendent this presentation of the cosmos is here.


  • This pattern where 7 levels are synthesized into 3 of soemthing higher repeats in the cosmos a lot.
    • Seven mind adjutant ministries synthesized into the first 3 levels of meaning, for example.


  • God-consciousness is exceptionally transcendent. "The same from generation to generation."
    • But God-knowingness, high as it may be on the 6th level of meaning, is the shadow cast by God-consciousness
    • Having that shadow slowly turn into something concrete takes reason and logic. Grasping it with faith along is not enough.


  • Are you humanly handicapped? Oh if you're humble you should have only one answer.
    • But don't despise yourself. Be patient.
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