Episode:Jesus in Galilee—Advancing Ministry (Part 7)

From Symmetry of Soul


Said Jesus: “Anger is a material manifestation which represents, in a general way, the measure of the failure of the spiritual nature to gain control of the combined intellectual and physical natures. Anger indicates your lack of tolerant brotherly love plus your lack of self-respect and self-control. Anger depletes the health, debases the mind, and handicaps the spirit teacher of man’s soul.”

Listen to the broadcast

Keywords: Urantia, Jesus, Well-Balanced Character, Contentment, Good Cheer

Summary by Kermit

Commentary on the Review

We briefly re-visited the consideration of Jesus’ command to his apostles—“follow me.” Keeping in mind the difference of Jesus’ nature in his private and public ministries (Son of Man and Son of God respectively), we note that he never uttered such a command in his private ministry. With the loss of Adam and Eve as visible and authoritative planetary leaders, humans have been looking for such leaders. In some cases Jesus’ command may very well have been a very matter of fact indication for his associates to literally follow him in the direction of his walking.

149:4. Progress of the Preaching Tour

On this tour Jesus, accompanied by James and John, conducted many evening classes in his visits with the believers and evangelists. We devoted considerable time to examining Jesus’ answer to one of the younger evangelist’s questions about anger.

In our detailed discussion about anger we made use of the hourglass analogy of the human mind with its upper and lower domains including also the roles of the three cosmic intuitions. The midwayers characterize anger as a material manifestation (lower domain) representing the failure of the spiritual nature (upper domain) to govern the combined intellectual and physical natures (lower domain). Students and listeners are reminded to be gentle with themselves in assessing their past episodes of anger in view of the serious consequences of depleted health, debased mind, and the handicapping of the indwelling Adjuster. (Note the parallel with the reference elsewhere in the revelation to health, sanity, and happiness [100:4.3]). The Old Testament passages Jesus provided from Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job also depict serious repercussions of allowing anger to manifest. Listen to the archive for more details concerning the levels of meaning in relation to all of this.

Note the admonition regarding the risk of taking the necessary self-control in the management your anger, onward from self- regard, through self-esteem, to self-admiration resulting in a dangerous self-righteousness. Also, do not miss the distinction between the mental poisons (lower domain) of fear, anger, envy, jealousy, suspicion, and intolerance [100:1.5] and the spiritual poison (upper domain) of impatience.

In Jesus’ teachings about the desirability of having well-balanced characters we find illustrations of the oft-stated dictum on SoS, “all good things taken to an extreme become bad.” Examples given are, sympathy and pity leading to emotional instability, and enthusiasm taken to fanaticism. Further examples include courage and faith going to recklessness and presumption, as well as prudence and discretion taken too far to cowardice and failure. Listen to the explanations of these transformations in terms of the interplay and functioning of the three cosmic intuitions.

The section concludes with an inspiring portrayal of Jesus’ balanced character which served to eloquently exemplify his teaching.

149:5. Lesson Regarding Contentment

During another one of Jesus’ evening conferences, in answer to Simon Zelotes question, “Why are some persons so much more happy and contented than others?” the Master declared that happiness is very much dependent on a willingness to be led by the Father’s indwelling presence. He proceeds to remind his hearers of the Hebrew Scriptural basis of such teaching with passages from Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Psalms. Unhappiness he goes on to ascribe to thwarted ambitions and wounded pride.

Specific passages such as, “the wicked are like the troubled sea, for it cannot rest, but its water cast up mire and dirt,” were ingeniously explicated in terms of the analogies previously mentioned, whereby the three cosmic intuitions in the upper domain of mind become more or less contaminated with material issues from the lower domain by virtue of a misapplication of free-will such that the logical acumen, moral discrimination, and spiritual insight are repopulated with the lower material influences of scientific dictation, social usages, and religious dogma. Herein lies much of the future work on the mansion worlds of our rehabilitation, the eradication of animal-origin residue from our life in the flesh.

Listen again for our discussion exploring the relation between a foundational contentment derived from the assurance of faith and the sureties of divine sonship, and the choice and capacity for responding positively in the face of negative circumstances—happiness.

In Jesus’ final comments he reveals his view of this life in the flesh from the perspective of the positive potential of our eternal destiny as a “vale of soul making” rather than the all too common representation as a “vale of tears.”

Notes by Brad

  • "Follow me," said Jesus. Problematic phrasing given the perils of Jesusism?
    • This was not just Jesus the man, this was public ministry.
    • Important to remember this proper context.
    • "Follow me" also has an extraordinarily literal meaning, if he walked upon an apostle and wanted him to start walking.
  • Our animal origin nature does not naturally stand on its own two feet, courageously and independently—cosmically.
    • Jesus worked hard to wean the apostle off of him so they could stand after he left.


  • This author notes the parallel construction of the 3 section tiles: ___ of the ___.
    • Is there subtle structure there?
    • Likely yes. But don't let your rationalization energy (the 2nd of the seven adjutant mind-spirits) run unbridled when studying in such a mode.
    • Always seek to refuse your cherished hypotheses.


  • Don't beat yourself up if anger gets the best of you. Perforce we serve two masters.
    • The key is: are you angry "in a general way?"
    • And be careful judging your fellows: "Well, that person is having anger issues." The other side of that sword is pride in yourself.
      • Stay humble. Don't cross the line. Remember that you serve two masters, as well.
      • As soon as you have a measure of self-control, be careful! Because you've now brought will into play, which amps everything up!
      • Challenge yourself to always have your vision expanding broader and broader, not myopic.


  • A lack of brotherly love is indicative of not reaching the 4th level of meaning (kindness, kin-ship-like-ness)
    • Self-respect also is the 4th level of meaning. (self-regard on the 3rd level of meaning)
    • The 4th level of meaning is a foundational level of common sense (the 1st of the three cosmic intuitions)
  • This author observed that he's not been using "self-respect" all these years. re- + -spect suggests looking back on one self.
  • The 3rd level of meaning might be classes the "level of impatience," which is why "impatience is a spirit poison."


  • Health, sanity, happiness. Note the parallel: "depletes the health, debases the mind, and handicaps the spirit"
    • Don't take your sanity for granted when chronic anger is in play.
    • We refer to people "coming unglued" when angry or ranting. This metaphor suggests (temporary) loss of innate sanity.
    • Don't make anger a habit. Don't will anger into your life (you'll overrule innate sanity and other such things)


  • Note that the Old Testament quotes are in biblical order in Section 4!


  • "Folly is to foolishness as fallacy is to falseness."
  • Don't try to suppress or bury your anger. It's an innate reaction.
    • Instead, seek first the upper domain of the hourglass analogy: kindness.
    • Replace it with something better. Be above it.
    • Don't be anti-anger. Be pro-kindness, pro-self-respect (and other things)
    • Kindness is not something I can place into someone else. Each of us must choose kindness (it's in us innately at age 6)
      • It's a will issue.


  • Love is the personal realization of divine fellowship (the highest level of meaning)



  • Virtue --excess--> vice cheat sheet (these are all dangerous, because the virtue originate from the upper domain)
    • Sympathy and pity (derived from piety, a spiritual word) --> emotional instability
      • Bringing in spiritual nature and free will into play, driving you away from innate stability.
    • Enthusiasm --> Fanaticism
    • Imagination--> visionary, impractical delusions
    • Conservatism --> dull mediocrity
    • "Vocation-ism" --> narrow-mindedness
    • Courage and faith --> recklessness and presumption
      • People often use the word faith to describe presumption in their lives.
    • Prudence and discretion --> cowardice and failure
    • Originality --> Eccentricity
      • Hipsters???
    • Sympathy --> sentimentalism (sympathy without religion)
    • Piety --> Sanctimoniousness


  • Reverence free from fear... what would that be, given that reverence is birthed out of the bottom-up fear?
    • A reverence that comes down from the top. All things becoming new.


  • The well-balanced character of a 3rd circler, like Jesus in the Mediterranean. Can you strive to be grown to that level?
    • Are you truly educated enough to want to hear the thoughts of people who disagree with you?


  • It says Jesus "never wavered" in his well-balanced character.
    • Don't think you can build an un-wavering-ness in yourself, or act it. You must be grown into that.