Episode:Experiential Deity—Supreme and Ultimate (Part 10)
In the beginnings on an evolutionary world the natural occurrences of the material order and the personal desires of human beings often appear to be antagonistic. Much that takes place on an evolving world is rather hard for mortal man to understand—natural law is so often apparently cruel, heartless, and indifferent to all that is true, beautiful, and good in human comprehension.
Keywords: Urantia, Providence, The Supreme, The Trinity of Supremacy, The Paradise Trinity
Summary by Kermit
Commentary after Review
The Father as a person is able to interpose a fatherly hand in the stream of cosmic events through the presence and action of the Personalized Thought Adjusters who embody his full personal essence, but lacking the substance of his infinity, for the sake of all creation.
When speaking of capital “P” vs. lower-case “p” providence, keep in mind the upper case is employed to denote that personalization of the Mother is involved and not simply to designate it as a proper noun. The capitalization of Deity and Supremacy in the the text does not follow this same pattern.
We considered serendipitous events in our lives in an effort to understand what might constitute genuine providence versus simply the circumstances of chance. A posteriori reasoning might lead one to erroneously conclude the presence of a providential hand at work. Differentiating between the systemic, holistic function of supremacy and a holistic influence which imparts a future flavor which is transcendent of happenstance (providence) requires a highly developed objective perspective and an uncommon reflective acumen. The revelators are encouraging us to attempt a more top-down approach to a correct understanding of the workings of the cosmos, in place of the natural bottom-up mode universally practiced for virtually all of human history. In short, when attempting to ascertain the doings of the divine in the affairs of men, start with the Paradise Trinity (the whole), then look to the Mother (the individuality of the whole), then the agents of the Father.
118:10.12 Functions of Providence
Early in man’s evolution life appears to be a struggle against a hostile environment, which is indifferent to his higher longings and noble aspirations. But as humanity progresses three faculties of man emerge to modify this early picture.
First is man’s capacity for appreciation of the threefold nature of reality—things, meaning, and values—cosmic insight, a gift of the Mother.
Second, the increasing ability of man to unlock the secrets of the material world, his growing recognition of the spiritual purposes of living, and the philosophic coordination of the two will progressively enable man to transmute the absolute individuality of the Father’s love in the heart into the totality attitude of the love of the Mother for his fellows. We discussed the negative consequences of a failure to make this reciprocation, and its ever increasing disruptiveness in proportion to its spiritual content.
Third, the integration of the cosmic insights from the Mother, and the mastery of material control of planetary environment characteristic of the growing sovereignty of the Almighty, integrated and harmonized in the power-personality-synthesis of the Supreme Being.
Listen to the discussion of the more nuanced features of this material involving differences between the Paradise Trinity, and the Trinity of Supremacy as well as the Universal Father and the Supreme Father. In this final section of this paper the author is encouraging us to think of the contributions of the Mother and the Almighty to the actualization of the Supreme Being as fully integrated.
Realization of providence in time demands perfection. Yet the ability to envision potentialities through the cosmic insights, as real in eternity, allows the God-knowing creature to experience genuine hope in time. Through genuine cosmic consciousness the partial and unpredictable status of providence is transcendently recognized in the genuine hope of God knowing mortal.
Amidst all the complexities of unpacking the Paradise Trinity as an aspect of the Universal One of Infinity, there awaits the discovery of a profound parallel between the mysterious will, action, and purpose of the Paradise Trinity (not a person), and the functional cycle of the mortal mind beginning with a spiritual motive and resulting in the “rubber meets the road” human experience.
Notes by Brad
- It's difficult not to see one's life as full of providence. Or supremacy at play.
- There's always a posteriori reasoning, that fallacy.
- Can you do better than look backward along the dot-to-dot line?
- One thing always follows from another, after all!
- Also, the cosmos is one whole system. That's supremacy.
- Also, there is complex micro-management of the parts, by the angels, brining certain groups together and other such activities. Consider [39:3.5] and the social architects.
- Is there some sense that events have a coordinate nature to them?
- Some more active engagement?
- Did it seem the future manifested itself in the present in some wholeness way?
- That's providence. And rare! And difficult to discern!
- And always watch out for your own natural egotism.
- There's always a posteriori reasoning, that fallacy.
- Providence is not a bottom-up, part-wise phenomenon. Nor is it a mother-like organic whole supremacy phenomenon.
- Appearance versus reality. [188:10.12] uses this extensively about the "apparent" cruelness of the natural world.
- You cannot directly observe reality! Reality always is beyond sight. By definition, sight is was appears.
- Especially as you begin to develop a sense of ideals. "Why do bad things happen to good people?"
- "Augmenting vision" is inner vision... insight.
- This author doesn't get ruffled by "breaking news! I have problems!" posts on social media anymore.
- Not meant self-righteously. I just feel as if my vision has been augmented a bit, my capacity to comprehend is enlarged.
- Of course there are problems! And it's animal-natural to observe and complain about them.
- The quest for knowledge and wisdom is this author's personal quest, since all of civilization just isn't so into that right now.
- Better Vision -> Better Control -> Better Integration
- That's their sequential recipe here.
- The Universal Father is forever a part of our inner life (all the Universal Father has is an inner life).
- So who "attains sovereignty" of the outer life in the age of light and life? The Supreme Father.
- The will, the actions, the purpose...
- As the Paradise trinity functions, so functions your own mind, pattern and philosophically speaking.
- "And in infinity we believe there is the same providence, and this is the will, the actions, the purpose of the Paradise Trinity thus motivating the cosmic panorama of universes upon universes."
- You can sort of work out the functioning of your own mind via such key passages in the 5th ER.
