Episode:Thought Adjusters—Selfhood, Death, and Survival (Part 1)
You have been endowed with a perfect guide; therefore, if you will sincerely run the race of time and gain the final goal of faith, the reward of the ages shall be yours; you will be eternally united with your indwelling Adjuster. Then will begin your real life, the ascending life, to which your present mortal state is but the vestibule.
Keywords: Urantia, Indwelling Spirit, Personality, Self, Identity
Note: This might be a top episode, noteworthy for having very little text read and much discussed...
Summary by Kermit
Commentary on the Review
Please note an important clarification of our discussion concerning the translation of motives to intentions. The correct and precise terminology is, good spiritual motives (rather than true motives) become translated into true or false mindal intentions.
We went on to step through a detailed discussion attempting to comprehend the basis of our author’s statement about the difficulties experienced by the TA and guardian angel, occasioned by the composite admixed genetic nature of the higher human races of Urantia. Such a nature makes it exceedingly difficult for the Monitor to work efficiently during our life in the flesh, and adds to the problems of both the Monitor and the guardian seraphim after death.
We began with some of the details of how mortals are transferred from a life in the flesh to a life on mansonia #1 and particularly what is transferred from this life to the next and by whom. [47:3.3, p. 533]. Following mortal death and resurrection the TA is in possession of the mortal-mind transcripts and the active creature-memory patterns as transformed from the material levels to the spiritual. The guardian angel has custody of the literal morontia structure that is the soul, within which are present the creature mind-matrix and the passive potentials of identity. Further, it is the reuniting of the morontia-soul trust of the seraphim and the spirit-mind trust of the Adjuster that reassembles creature personality and constitutes resurrection.
To understand how our material racial and genetic characteristics can have an ongoing influence on our morontia career we propose applying a concept we call “boundary conditions.” The adjutant mind of material mortals is seated on and derives characteristics of expression from an individual’s genetic endowment. The individual differences stemming from our genetic make up what we call an individual’s “boundary conditions.” Essentially, these boundary conditions constrain and qualify the nature of the creature mind-matrix that is part of the morontia structure of the soul. These influences are thus manifested in the morontia realm and are the basis for the statement, “You begin over there right where you leave off down here.”
Paper 112. Personality Survival
The preface to this paper consists of two introductory paragraphs, and fourteen bullet points, serving as a summation, recounting things which are known about personality and presented in greater detail in other places in the revelation. We completed the first five of these points in this evening’s broadcast.
We were reminded that the revelators use the word “personality” in fundamentally two different ways. When used as in the title of this paper “Personality Survival”, they are speaking of the survival of the personalized self. When personality is described as changeless, they are referring to the existential influence from eternity, the pattern aspect of a living being.
In further discussion about personality we emphasized that personality is NOT an object, not a thing with a fixed location in time and space, rather is it the influence from eternity.
We also called attention to the revelators’ techniques of speaking in “truth” and in “fact.” Urantia is our starting point as universe citizens. Our temporary partnership with our TA is eternalized upon Adjuster fusion. We are told, then will begin your real life, the ascending life (in fact), and then will begin our exalted and progressive mission as finaliters (in truth).
We proceeded to discuss the first five points in the author’s summation of fourteen things which are known about personality.
1. Personality is that quality in reality which is bestowed by the Universal Father himself or by the Conjoint Actor, acting for the Father. [112:0.3 (1225.3)]
We reviewed the distinctions between creator and creature personality, as well as first and third source personality. For the purposes of this paper, personality is referring to first source, creature personality.
2. It may be bestowed upon any living energy system which includes mind or spirit. [112:0.4 (1225.4)]
The living energy systems referred to here include the fullness of mind, i.e. mechanical mind plus the seven adjutants, or spirit.
3. It is not wholly subject to the fetters of antecedent causation. It is relatively creative or cocreative. [112:0.5 (1225.5)]
Antecedent causation can be thought of as the causal sequence-flow of mind energy. Personality being individuated will, can intervene and alter the causal sequence of mind energy thereby actualizing the potential of will. As a point of clarification, the creature’s individual differences that confer an apparent uniqueness of the flow of mind energy represent the constraints of the boundary conditions previously referred to, and not the genuine uniqueness of personality. Personality exerts influence from above and is the secret of true creativity. Tremendous confusion abounds with respect to these words, personality, creativity etc. We also touched on the co-creative processes operational through synchrony with the God the Supreme.
4. When bestowed upon evolutionary material creatures, it causes spirit to strive for the mastery of energy-matter through the mediation of mind. [112:0.6 (1225.6)]
Here is reference to the previously encountered top down vertical flow of causality initiated by personality engaging spirit, to direct mind in the manipulation of the material realm. Also, to continue in distinguishing between temperament (the causal mind-energy flow dictated by the so-called boundary conditions, and personality (capable of altering the mind-energy flow in the boundary conditions). Our celestial ministers are able to infer genuine personality function when a causal sequence of mind-energy as dictated by and individual’s genetically determined boundary conditions, fails to manifest.
5. Personality, while devoid of identity, can unify the identity of any living energy system. [112:0.7 (1225.7)]
Think of identity as a patterned and purposed actuality. A mindal self, with which personality identifies, becomes an identity.
