Episode:Thought Adjusters—Selfhood, Death, and Survival (Part 2)

From Symmetry of Soul


Personality is bestowed by the Universal Father upon his creatures as a potentially eternal endowment. Personality is changeless in the presence of change, characterized by morality, and absolutely unique. The relationship between the Adjuster and the personality (in the soul) is nothing but change, continuing evolution.

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Keywords: Urantia, Indwelling Spirit, Personality, Mind, Soul

Summary by Kermit

Pre-Reading Commentary

We spent a few minutes reviewing item #5 of the preface to our Paper 112.

5. Personality, while devoid of identity, can unify the identity of any living energy system. [112:0.7]

Personality is a thing, only in the sense that it is an individuated fact—individuated will—something very abstract and intangible. Identity is a tangible thing with characteristics capable of engaging the three energies. Personality, devoid of identity is an influence from eternity and is transcendent of the three energies, but encompasses them, unifies or “reality-izes” the identity as a whole. The abstractness of personality coupled with the fact that it doesn’t fully manifest until you leave the local system makes it a most difficult fact to appreciate.

6. It discloses only qualitative response to the personality circuit in contradistinction to the three energies which show both qualitative and quantitative response to gravity. [112:0.8]

From the infinity of the Father’s will, creature personality can be thought of as a separated segment of individuated will, a potentiality rather than an actuality. Exercised or actualized will becomes volition. The personality circuit of the Father can technically be thought of as a circuit of volition, as recognized by noting that the absolute anchor of the Father’s circuit is called the Volitional Absolute [6:1.2]. Personality (the potentiality) is not apprehended directly, but by way of the dynamic experience of volition. This is in distinction to temperament which is tangible and characterized by various energy manifestations.

7. Personality is changeless in the presence of change. [112:0.9]

The changelessness of personality here is referring to the existential, spirit pattern, influence from eternity.

8. It can make a gift to God — dedication of the free will to the doing of the will of God. [112:0.10]

Think of the individuated will, separated from the infinite reservoir of will as no longer in possession of the Father, the bestower. The Father can no longer do any of the purposing of your personality because he divested himself of it. Thus YOU can purposely choose the Father’s will thus making a gift TO the Father.

9. It is characterized by morality — awareness of relativity of relationship with other persons. It discerns conduct levels and choosingly discriminates between them. [112:0.11]

Unpacking this point led to a discussion of the distinction between the terms ethics, and morality, and the confusion which results when these terms are understood and used incorrectly. Think of morality as loyalty and fidelity to the cosmos. In the complex hierarchical cosmic system which includes other persons we find the relativity of relationships governed by principles of ethics requiring true discrimination (detecting differences). Today we labor under the confusion of morality, with adherence to the mores, and a falsely absolutized ethical consciousness that has completely perverted the meaning of the word “discriminate.”

10. Personality is unique, absolutely unique: … it is unique in relation to God — he is no respecter of persons, but neither does he add them together, for they are nonaddable — they are associable but nontotalable. [112:0.12]

Among other things we cited [32:4.4, p. 363] wherein we see that the Father has delegated Supreme rule to the Creator Son in all matters of ethical associations. The associability of persons is explained by the superabsolute function of Mother Deity allowing linkage of absolutely separated (unique) facts. Note also that energy interactions between one self and another is not equivalent to personality interactions.

11. Personality responds directly to other-personality presence. [112:0.13]

While unique, all personalities are individuated from the same infinite reservoir of will of the Father and hence have innate potential to relate one to another. The wholeness of each personality (an encompassed threefold actuality) is able to relate directly to other personalities horizontally rather than being constrained to the hierarchical downstepping and upstepping flow through the levels the threefold actuality.

12. It is one thing which can be added to spirit, thus illustrating the primacy of the Father in relation to the Son. (Mind does not have to be added to spirit.) [112:0.14]

Note personality is spirit pattern and can thus be added to spirit. Also note the designation for the Father as First Source and Center compared with the Son’s designation as the Second Source and Center. The example of a Personalized Thought Adjuster illustrates that minds does not have to be added to spirit, as TAs are fragments of Deity and as such are innately minded.

13. Personality may survive mortal death with identity in the surviving soul. The Adjuster and the personality are changeless; the relationship between them (in the soul) is nothing but change, continuing evolution; and if this change (growth) ceased, the soul would cease. [112:0.15]

All I’ll say here is that the details of this point involve the parallel alignment of the experiential and existential aspects of personality and the TA. Additional abstract concepts touched on in this discussion are beyond the scope of this review as well as this reviewer.

14. Personality is uniquely conscious of time, and this is something other than the time perception of mind or spirit. [112:0.16]

For the unpacking of this point, we cited [12:5, p. 135] wherein time consciousness, the awareness of sequentiality as perceived by mind, spirit and personality are linked with the ideas of progressing, perfecting, and harmonizing (relating to the whole) respectively.