Episode:Religion in Depth—Human Experience (Part 3)

From Symmetry of Soul


The goal of human self-realization should be spiritual, not material. The only realities worth striving for are divine, spiritual, and eternal. Spirit-born individuals are so remotivated in life that they can calmly stand by while their fondest ambitions perish and their keenest hopes crash.

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Keywords: Urantia, Religion, Soul, Selfhood, Personality

Summary by Kermit

Commentary on Review

We continued to further refine our thinking about growth, consciousness, and superconsciousness. Spirit energy is above mind. The perfecting spirit that is growth is beyond our consciousness, above our mind. However, the engagement-interaction of spirit with mind takes place in the superconsciousness. Superconsciousness is within mind not above it, but it is above consciousness. Thus growth is above the superconscious altogether. Growth casts a shadow into the mind as progressing mind, or development. Thus spiritual development is progressing mind predicated on perfecting spirit. Other types of progressing mind are experienced that are not predicated on perfecting spirit, as in progressing mind development in mastering a musical instrument, or other relatively complex learning activites. The revelators are about to attempt to disabuse us from calling that progress or development spiritual that is not predicated on the perfectingness of spirit.

100:2.6 Spiritual Growth

“The goal of human self-realization should be spiritual, not material.” This statement appears to be a no-brainer until you begin to examine the nature of material idealism vs. spiritual idealism. The process starts first with seeking the “kingdom of heaven”, some ideal in the realm of perfecting spirit by the faith grasp of personality. This gets downstepped into the temporal-material realm of mind as a progressing idea. This progressing idea expressed outwardly can be recognized as a spiritual fruit, of benefit to others. The religious history of mankind abounds with examples of well-meaning individuals seeking the realization of ideas falsely exalted and erroneously labeled ideals. And remembering that spiritual and material aren’t good vs. evil dichotomies, the revelators allow for us to make room in our lives for the enjoyment of physical pleasures and the satisfaction of human affections. However, these are not the eternal foundations upon which to build the immortal personality and to achieve our destiny of divine perfection. Real living in time is living predicated on eternity.

Using Jesus’ challenging yet encouraging statement: “To a God-knowing kingdom believer, what does it matter if all things earthly crash?” the revelators depict the security that comes with dedication of the keeping of his eternal nature to the indwelling spirit of the eternal God. Such spiritual attainment confers a new orientation of personality and development of a higher standard of values. It becomes clearer and clearer how religion with its anchor in spirit and eternity can provide the personal stability to respond positively and usefully to the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” that are inevitable in evolutionary life on 606.

100:3. Concepts of Supreme Value

Religion is not the pursuit of, nor does it lead to a static state of bliss. The wholeness of a self synchronized with eternity is to be mobilized (activated) for the loyal service of loving God and serving man. Spirituality is not static, it is dynamic.

We spent some time exploring the vast and historically long standing confusion surrounding genuine spiritual experience and something that masquerades for spiritual experience. The phenomenon of “mind delocalization” produces a unity-like experience wherein an individual delocalizes from his “individual region” of the contiguous mind energy system of our local universe and moves into the mind-energy system at large. The accompanying feelings of synchronizing with a continuum-ness (unity-like) domain of untethered mind are easily mistaken for the realm of the spiritual. However, this continuum-ness is in the mind-energy system and not with spirit. Experiences with various techniques of mysticism or psychedelic substances can be put to the test as to their spiritual or mindal nature by reflecting on whether these experiences enhance your usefulness to others, and make lasting contribution to your spiritual growth. Likewise, reflect on your inner spirit quest, are your efforts in pursuit of spiritual experiences, so-called or are you seeking God as he is in himself? God is a word symbol for a religionist’s approach to supreme reality and the recognition of divine value. You must first develop a genuine relationship with spirit before approaching God, who is spirit.

The final five paragraphs clarify more details about values, meanings, growth, and progress.

When considering values it is vital to distinguish between that which is value and that which has value. Value is a quality of spirit. Spirit is value. As previously mentioned spirit can direct mind. Growth (perfecting spirit) occurs when value “casts a shadow”, imposing itself upon mind. This progressing mind has value, but is not value.

Meaning derives as a superadditive consequence from the connection of you (thing-individuality) with value (unity) in the domain of mind. The meaning has value. It is the appreciative consciousness of value. Note that isolated and selfish pleasure is meaningless. As such it is hardly useful to others.

The final three paragraphs of this section were not considered fully on the broadcast because of time constraints. It is here we encounter our oft’ cited principle that “man cannot cause growth, but he can supply favorable conditions.”

Going forward we can pursue some of these more technical aspects of religion in human experience.

Notes by Brad

  • We often misuse use the word ideal by tying it to material issues instead of spiritual issues.
  • When you think you want a material ideal, you probably want a progressing idea. But that idea needs to have been initiated from top top, from ideals. If you start from the top, your ideas will be progressing... naturally!
  • What about saying "that is a good idea?" Careful, good is a spirit word! Bot don't get "hog-tied" obsessing over language. That would be language-ism! We're just trying to find precision where it is reasonable.
  • Put the temporal in an eternal context. Start with a framework in eternity, then interpret the temporal in light of that.
  • The more materially affluent a society becomes, the easier it is to convince yourself you don't need God. False illusions of success are problematic.
  • Find the courage to let go of material "values" (a nonsense concept). Let go and trust.
  • Standing calmly by as earthly things crash does not imply static blissful peace of mind.
  • sublime = sub + limit, below the limit. The limit in this context is supremacy.
  • Some people choose to cultivate a delocalized state of mind. Delocalizing yourself and being "floatey" like that is not the calmly standing by they are referring to here.
  • Delocalization is not spirituality. Delocalization is a fancy mindal state, not a spiritual state.
  • Delocalization is also the so-called mystical state, with diffusion of consciousness as we will read in Section 5 of this Paper 100.