This week I began training as a volunteer for the Florida Guardian ad Litem program – a partnership of community advocates and professional staff providing a voice on behalf of the state’s abused and neglected children.  During the training I learned that prescription drug abuse by parents is now one of the leading reasons for the need to put their children into foster care; drug use often leads to abusive parenting, sexual assault, and neglect.  Remedial measures for the parents such as counseling, rehab, and anger management workshops are often insufficient, and the children remain in a system in which worker turnover limits the ability to establish and maintain relationships with the children and their families.  That is why the Guardian ad Litem program was started, to provide consistency in a child’s life.  The court-appointed guardian is often the only person consistently advocating for the best interests of a child – ensuring the child has visitation with siblings and is progressing educationally, medically, and emotionally. 

What is disturbing is the following: court-appointed guardians are still only a bandage – a very much needed one at present, but nonetheless a bandage on a mounting social problem – parents are increasingly failing to be an example of honesty, integrity, and respect to their children.

There are many excuses for the deterioration of the family structure; the trend in our times is towards the deinstitutionalization of marriage and a blended or single parent family. With the high rate of divorce more people are choosing to stay single and even become a parent through artificial means. There may be many genuine reasons for breaking up a family unit, but what reason can we invent for not being an example of honesty, integrity, and respect to the children – inside or outside a traditional family arrangement?

The way we treat one another, faithfully reflects the otherwise unobservable progress of our internal spiritual and religious development.  When higher spiritual meanings and values are missing in our lives, dysfunctional behavior becomes generational and the prospects for the marriage institution grow dimmer. This trend is reflected in current statistics. (Although our discussion here focuses mainly on the United States, data about other countries is included for context and comparison.)

In our society today there is an increasing inclination in the younger generation to extend childhood—to play video games every night, hang out with and text friends, and live a life free of responsibility. The cosmic importance of marriage is undervalued; life revolves around self, the tendency toward self-indulgence grows, and the value of unselfishness is ignored.

A study conducted in 2000 by Rutgers University’s National Marriage Project showed that among adults aged 20–29, marriage does not represent the grand social, economic, religious, and public ideals it once did. Ninety-four percent said that finding their soul mate is more important to them than matters of religion, finances, and the ability to be a good parent. According to the study, young Americans are more interested in having fun than in developing lasting relationships that lead to marriage. Marriage is now often seen less as a necessary institution and more as a celebration that brings together family and friends. More marriages are being built on the concept of materialism and romance instead of a life-long partnership of self-effacement, compromise, devotion, and unselfish dedication to the children.

Troubling statistics and other documented trends reflect a breakdown of traditional marriage mores that have served to stabilize society for millennia. 

1.      About one in three Americans will be divorced at least once.[1]

2.       In 2008, 67 percent of children in America ages 0–17 lived with married parents, down from 77 percent in 1980.[2]

3.      Out-of-wedlock births have kept pace with the rise of civil unions. In France, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and Bulgaria, for example, out-of-wedlock births have passed the 50 percent mark. In the United Kingdom, it is over 40 percent.[3]Unmarried childbearing in the United States reached historic levels in 2007, accounting for 39.7 percent of all births. In Catholic countries while births to married couples are still the norm; the percentage of out-of-wedlock births has doubled in the past decade. [4]

4.      In the United States, more than one million children each year experience the breakup of their families.  In September 30, 2008, there were 463,000 children in foster care as a result of parent abuse/neglect, or living situations.

The lack of commitment and increasing self-absorption between parents is taking a serious toll on children. Children are witnessing violence, the abuse of alcohol and drugs, and a drift in and out of their lives by their parents. The percentage of parents who work together at the significant job of rearing healthy children who have a love for wisdom and a righteous character is decreasing at an alarming rate. Too many children lack a healthy parental role model to emulate for a higher understanding of love and selflessness, trust and respect. Organized religions understand the social implications of such a trend, but myopic dogmas hinder their ability to successfully address this social crisis.

Marriage is what gave humanity the home, and the home is the crowning glory of the whole long and arduous evolutionary struggle. While religious, social, and educational institutions are all essential to the survival of cultural civilization, the family is the master civilizer. A child learns most of the essentials of life from his family and neighbors.

The amount of loving care and consideration that men and women are willing to bestow upon one another and their children is directly related to their attainment of higher levels of creative spiritual awareness. Selfless affection between two people is the spiritual connection that sustains a marriage and nurtures a family.

The value of family in today’s world of turmoil cannot be overemphasized: civilization is directly dependent on the effective functioning of the family unit. Family life is the ancestor of true morality, of the consciousness of loyalty to duty. The enforced associations of family life stabilize personality and stimulate its growth. But even more, a true family—a good family—reveals to the parental procreators the attitude of the Creator to his children, while at the same time such true parents portray to their children the love of the heavenly parent. A child best relates to its surroundings by first mastering the child–parent relationship and then by enlarging this concept to embrace the family as a whole. As the mind of the child grows, it is able to adjust to the concept of family relations, relationships of the community and the world, and then to those of the universe.  With the experience of a healthy, stable, and loving parent-child relationship, a child has the framework from which to relate to others lovingly as members of a family.

Marriage is the enterprise of home building, offspring-rearing, mutual culture, and self-improvement – a never-ending work in progress that draws on continually maturing self-understanding. If we committed ourselves to move beyond the comfort zone of our beliefs, build character, and deepen our sensitivity to spirit guidance, we would go a long ways towards halting the current negative trend in the moral health of society.

Marriage and family life represents the highest potentials in human nature, simultaneously providing the ideal avenue for the development and expression of the highest attributes of human personality. The home is the natural social arena wherein the ethics of brotherhood may be grasped by the growing children. The family is the fundamental unit of fraternity in which parents and children learn those lessons of patience, altruism, tolerance, and forbearance which are so essential to the realization of unity among all people. 

We can continue making excuses for failing our children and continue patching the system to make up for the lack of effective parenting, but personal denial and indifference will only take us so far. Progress is impossible when the art of living: truth, beauty, and goodness in human experience - has reverted to the simple urge of living: the attainment of the satisfaction of present desires.  We stand at a crossroads. Are we willing to intentionally elevate our attitudes and interactions with our family, friends, and colleagues, or is this someone else’s responsibility because we believe we live our lives just fine?  The state of the family unit in our society will faithfully continue to reflect back to us our judgment.

About one hundred years before the days of Jesus and John the Baptist, the teaching of Machivental Melchizedek about the coming of a Son of God became associated with the establishment of an earthly kingdom of God. The Hebrew prophets presented this kingdom both as a present reality and later as a future fulfillment that would occur with the appearance of the Messiah and after the destruction of unbelievers. This was the kingdom concept that John the Baptist taught and that Jesus of Nazareth tried to modify in conveying the father-child relationship between God and every individual. To the Jews of Palestine the phrase “kingdom of heaven” had but one meaning: an absolutely righteous state in which God (the Messiah) would rule the nations of earth in perfection of power just as he ruled in heaven.

In the New Testament, the kingdom of God is sometimes referred to as a future event, while at other times as an ongoing one. The confusion about the meaning of the kingdom was compounded when Christianity became a religion centered on Jesus; the gospel of the kingdom became more and more about Jesus than about his unparalleled teachings. The Jewish idea of a future earthly kingdom became supplanted by the Christian concept of Jesus as king upon his return to Earth.

To capture the true essence of Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom, we can seek clarification of the kingdom concept by turning to epochal revelation. Although Jesus appears to be presenting numerous concepts of the “kingdom” in the New Testament, they can be incorporated into the two phases of the kingdom that Jesus portrayed:

1.      The kingdom of God in this world represents the personal realization of the spiritual brotherhood of the sons and daughters of God on Earth; the establishment of the brotherhood of man through every individual’s recognition of God as Universal Father and commitment to doing his will -  growing in Godlikeness.

2.      The kingdom of God in heaven is the vast expanse traversed by the ascending personality on its journey to Paradise. It represents “. . . the goal of believers, the estate wherein the love for God is perfected, and wherein the will of God is done more divinely.”[1] 

The Kingdom of God in This World

To enter the kingdom of God in this world is to believe in God as Father of all, and yourself as a son or daughter of God. Belief in Jesus is not a prerequisite to enter the kingdom. Jesus does not require his disciples to believe in him but rather to believe with him, believe in the reality of the love of God and in full confidence accept the security of the assurance of sonship with the heavenly Father. Jesus desired that all his followers should fully share his transcendent faith; he lovingly challenged his followers, not only to believe what he believed, but also to believe as he believed. This is the full significance of his one supreme requirement, ‘Follow me.”

According to epochal revelation “To Jesus the kingdom was the sum of those individuals who had confessed their faith in the fatherhood of God, thereby declaring their wholehearted dedication to the doing of the will of God, thus becoming members of the spiritual brotherhood of man.”  In an attempt to impart this understanding, Jesus tried to substitute many terms for “the kingdom” that would more accurately portray his message about the relationship between God and mortals. Jesus often spoke of it as the ‘kingdom of life.’ He also frequently referred to “the kingdom of God within you.” Among others, he used: the family of God, the Father’s will, the friends of God, the fellowship of believers, the brotherhood of man, the Father’s fold, the children of God, the fellowship of the faithful, the Father’s service, and the liberated sons of God.” Jesus, however, could not escape the use of the word “kingdom.” Resigning himself to using the term “kingdom of heaven” (which he used interchangeably with the expression “kingdom of God”), Jesus explained to his disciples that the kingdom of God in this world is not an earthly kingdom but an individual’s inner experience centered in the dual concept of the father-child relationship between God and mortals. This dual concept was to set a new standard of moral values and provide the ideal of a new order of human society.

To enter this spiritual kingdom, Jesus taught, there are three essentials: The first is the recognition of the sovereignty/fatherhood of God. The second is the belief in the truth of sonship with God. A third essential is the desire to do the will of God. Once these essentials are in place, to do the will of God requires the development of an unshakable growing attitude of loyalty to God and cultivation of the qualities of divinity to live the golden rule from its highest level of interpretation. “Though Jesus taught that faith, simple childlike belief, is the key to the door of the kingdom, he also taught that, having entered the door, there are the progressive steps of righteousness which every believing child must ascend in order to grow up to the full stature of the robust sons of God.”[2]  Living in the kingdom while on Earth is, therefore, living a life of growing faith, consciously striving toward the highest expression of love, truth, beauty, and goodness.

 This understanding of the kingdom became hazy as the Christian church was organized. Jesus’ ideals of a brotherhood based on the father-child relationship between God and every individual with faith as its only admittance requirement, was replaced with a social fellowship between a group of believers in Jesus - the church. As the early organizers made Christ the head of the church rather than the elder brother of each individual believer in the Father’s family, they struck a deathblow to Jesus’ concept of the divine kingdom in the heart of the individual believer.   Membership in the church must, therefore, not be considered synonymous with fellowship in the kingdom; one is spiritual, the other mostly social.

[2] Ibid. Paper 170:2, p. 1861:9.

Having made that statement, I still must address the distinction between religion and organized religion.

True religion is living faith; it references God and the attainment of eternal realities. Religion, therefore is the evolving personal experience of knowing and finding God with the goal to become Godlike. This experience of transformation begins with the first flicker of faith and progresses on Earth as we expand our knowledge of God and of our relation to God and the universe.   Evolution continues after death as we ascend through the multilevel universes of time and space to eternity, where we attain perfect spirit status.

Society can reach a fair level of moral refinement without growth in the concept of God, but morality without progress in spiritual meanings fails to reveal ultimate goodness, and fails to provide for the survival of even its own basic moral values. In a nonreligious society the quality of selflessness in moral behavior does not flourish, stunting the full expression of goodness that fosters the establishment of the brotherhood of man - peace among all people.

What does it take for society to flourish?  It takes individuals actively engaged in self-development because of their growing love and appreciation of God as Father. When we grow in our knowledge and understanding of God and cultivate our connection to our Indwelling Spirit, the sense of duty leaps up to the affectionate level of intimate family morality - the parent-child relationship - fostering the capacity to live unselfishly.  True religion “. . . is the consciousness of being a member of the family of believers which leads inevitably to the practice of the precepts of the family conduct, the service of one’s brothers and sisters in the effort to enhance and enlarge the brotherhood.”

What is the most effective resource for expanding our knowledge of spiritual realities?  Progressive revelation.  When progressive revelation is recognized and assimilated, social progress is fostered as individuals increasingly identify with God as Father and each other as brother and sister.  Revelation, specifically planetary revelation, has been operative in our world for over 500,000 years (refer to Heaven Is Not the Last Stop, Chapter 2).  With the passage of time these revelations commingled with the beliefs and practices of the era, helping religion evolve.  New branches of religious thought are fresh expressions of old beliefs with new adaptations and adjustments, all laced with elements of revealed truth. All religious teachings include complementary perspectives that can be integrated into other faiths. 

The challenge is to recognize how each belief system complements the others.  The reformation of philosophy and clarification of religion can now be significantly advanced because of the existence of the fifth planetary revelation published in 1955 as The Urantia Book. Its reconciliation with a wide spectrum of human knowledge is presented in my book Heaven Is Not the Last Stop.  It is the progression of concepts found in reconciled revelation that will lead religious leaders to discover new and higher meanings in the concept of God and the universe.  As a result, dogmas will lose their rigidity and evolve; churches and religious institutions will become less involved in secular causes and promote religious ones such as helping congregations develop the intellectual, moral, and spiritual capacities that will enable them to better serve their fellow beings.  With this evolvement there will be a growing unity in the comprehension of God and the universe; what will distinguish one religious organization from another will be their cultural traditions and the diverse ways of expressing their shared understanding of God.

One of the things that has impressed me most has been the ease with which people from all walks of life and professions speak about God.  Despite the violence and corruption in these countries, people are not afraid to speak about God and to bring God into every aspect of their lives.  Their faith is strong and alive; they yearn for more understanding of God and to better express God’s nature in their actions. From my perspective this contrasts sharply with what I am increasingly finding in the United States: founded on faith and recognizing God as Father, people seem to share a spirituality that has little appreciation for the personal God that our currency says we trust.

This realization raised my interest to explore the reasons for this decline, so I will begin with the atheist perspective. In the coming blogs I will present reasons atheists give for not believing in God, and then I will reconcile these rationalizations with the teachings in The Urantia Book.  I will do this not only for personal edification, but in the hope that all who read these blogs will better understand the atheist point of view and discover new and higher spiritual meanings and values to reflect upon.

 My first blog on this subject will be posted in the next few days.  Hasta pronto!

 In Christianity, resurrection has been interpreted to mean the act of rising from the dead in the same body of flesh and blood, as Jesus was believed to have risen. Teachings of the resurrection of the dead are found in biblical passages, such as John 5:28-29; 6:39-40; 11:25 and Luke 14:14.

 The Christian belief in the resurrection of the physical body has been based on the fact of the “empty tomb.” Epochal revelation clarifies:  “It was indeed a fact that the tomb was empty, but this is not the truth of the resurrection. The tomb was truly empty when the first believers arrived, and this fact, associated with that of the undoubted resurrection of the Master, led to the formulation of a belief which was not true: the teaching that the material and mortal body of Jesus was raised from the grave. Truth having to do with spiritual realities and eternal values cannot always be built up by a combination of apparent facts. Although individual facts may be materially true, it does not follow that the association of a group of facts must necessarily lead to truthful spiritual conclusions.”

 To discover new meaning in our understanding of resurrection we must first be willing to redefine the word to mean “awakening from death” and not “return to life in the physical body.”  The mechanics of resurrection as they apply to the ascending soul/personality are described in Chapter 17 of my book.

 Back to Jesus. If Jesus did not return after his death in his physical body, what were the witnesses seing?  Epochal revelation introduces the term morontia, used to designate a vast realm between the material and spiritual dimensions. After death of the physical body, the surviving soul continues to experience spiritual growth in a morontia form. Jesus emerged from the tomb in his morontia form and his physical body remained undisturbed in the tomb.  The many appearances of Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension were in this form.

 A couple of questions are left unanswered: If Jesus did not resurrect in his physical body and his physical body remained in the cave after his resurrection, why was the tomb empty and how was the stone moved?  To find out the answers you will have to read Chapter 11 of my book Heaven Is Not the Last Stop or ask in the comment box for more information!!! 

 Happy Easter!

The fifth epochal revelation is critical for our time because it presents us with an integrative philosophical worldview that has the potential to truly move civilization forward.  In 1994, the authors of World Views: from fragmentation to integration wrote that to overcome the fragmentation that exists in the world, a conscious effort needs to be made towards the construction of a worldview that can be shared by all. At the time, the authors suggested that the need was urgent; today, sixteen years later, it has become critical.  The lack of unity in the comprehension of the universe is reflected in our global issues - the religious conflicts that still plague our world, the violence in our schools and workplaces, the indifference we have towards others, and the corruption in our governments and institutions. “Global worlviews are like geographic maps, which help us find our way and act coherently in this world.”[1] With the help of revelation, we now have the opportunity to construct a view of the whole that is shared by the members of a bounded collectivity. And it is this attainment, one person at a time that will truly transform the world and the quality of human expression.

Pieces of the big picture of existence are found in existing theories, models, concepts, guidelines, and values scattered over the different disciplines and ideologies.  But only revelation can link these together to form a logical and comprehensive universe philosophy, that not only includes and diligently addresses the seven fundamental components of a worldview as presented in World Views: from fragmentation to integration, but it also satisfies the mind, heart, and spirit. Below are fundamental components of an integrative worldview:

• It allows us to understand how the world functions and how it is structured. “World” meaning the totality, everything that exists -  including the seen and unseen material universe, Earth, life, mind, society, and culture. It answers the basic question, “Who are we?”
• It answers the questions “Why is the world the way it is? Where does it all come from? Where do we come from? It explains how and why life and mind has arisen, enabling us to better understand how these function and how they will continue to evolve.
• It answers the question “Where are we going, individually and collectively? It gives us a list of possibilities, of more or less probable future development, confronting us with the choice: which of the different alternatives should we promote and which should we avoid?
• It defines and explains what is good and what is evil. It explains morality, ethics, and gives us a direction to guide our actions. It answers the questions “why?” and “what for?” so that we can better understand the real meaning of life.
• It provides us with a theory of action, answering the question “How should we act?” so that we may better solve practical problems and implement plans of action.
• It allows us to distinguish better theories from worse theories and answers the traditional philosophical question “What is true and what is false?”

In addition:

• It includes and transcends the best of other worldviews.
• It provides a cosmic philosophy that is worthy of an enlightened age of science and truth.
• It broadens our understanding of Jesus and the concept of the “kingdom of heaven”

 I have no doubt that the fifth epochal revelation that is being disseminated throughout the world since 1955 will continue to illuminate the human mind for centuries to come and that humanity will slowly be able to attain the consciousness that can effectively address the complex issues it is facing.  How long it will take will depend on how many and how quickly people rise up to the challenge of becoming familiar with this latest revealed knowledge. I have joined the thousands of people whose lives have been touched by this revelation; the question is, have you?

 Pornography and Unbridled Sex

• Every second - 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography.
• Every 39 minutes: a new pornographic video is being created in the United States
• The United States has one of the highest sex-offense rates in the world.

 Child Abuse

• 1 in 5 children are solicited sexually while on the internet.
• Nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults occur to children ages 17 and under.
• An estimated 39 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse exist in America today.

 Illiteracy

• Functional illiteracy - incompetence in such basic functions as reading, writing, and mathematics-plagues 24 million Americans. Approximately thirteen percent of American seventeen-year-olds are illiterate; the estimate for minority youth is an astonishing forty percent. Every year, at least a million of these functional illiterates graduate from America’s high schools, the proud owners of meaningless diplomas.

 Obesity

•  There are 58 million overweight in the United States; 40 million obese; 3 million morbidly obese
• Eight out of 10 people over 25 are overweight
• There has been a 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990

While these statistics may seem to be totally unrelated, they reflect a growing lack of respect for the human body and mind. This in turn reflects an unprecedented spiritual stagnation brought about by the indifference to God as a Universal Parent, ignorance of the soul as an evolving entity, and unawareness of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God in the human mind; we are surrounded by spiritual confusion.  According to Durant Drake, in Problems of Conduct, “What stands in the way is partly our apathy and indifference, partly our incontinent appetites, partly the unwholesome and deadening social influences in which we find ourselves enmeshed.”

As a youngster, I heard that the body is a temple of God. But those words never meant much to me. How could God be inside of me? I took care of my body because I knew it was good for me. However, when I grasped the significance of the Indwelling Spirit and acquired a fuller understanding of God (shared in greater detail in my book Heaven Is Not the Last Stop), there emerged a new and deeper appreciation for the magnificence of our Universal Parent and a heightened sense of humility as I realized that my body housed the spirit of God that guides me. I felt a new urgency in the duty to treat my body with respect and to extend that respect to others. The maxim, “The human body is a temple of divinity” took on new meaning.

 A true recognition of the divinity within is best reflected in our efforts to develop a well-balanced, God-knowing personality. Desecration of the body - disrespect - shows a low appreciation and shallow understanding of the complex relationships between the soul, spirit, and personality and the incredible opportunity humans have to become spirit beings.  Such conscious and meaningful realizations bring a benevolent attitude upgrade in the way we view ourselves and others. We access higher insight into the sacred duty to respect each other and keep our physical bodies and minds healthy. Vibrant health contributes to the intrinsic value of life and allows us to appreciate the beauty around us and taste the joys of life, which in turn expands the arena of our life experience.

 Knowing the reality of the Indwelling Spirit invigorates our relationships and motivates us to be of greater service by engaging the enthusiastic pursuit of worthy goals. It serves us to remember that health, sanity, and happiness are integrations of truth, beauty, and goodness as they are blended in human experience.

 There are many physical and environmental factors that influence our state of balance, including diet, activities, lifestyle, emotions, stress, attitude, age, pollution, and even weather. It is our responsibility to understand how these factors affect us and to develop a plan that contributes to the maintenance of a temple fit for the indwelling God-presence. Some steps that can be taken in this regard include:

•  Maintain a healthy attitude toward food.
• Be cognizant of the proper combination of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
• Favor organic foods.
• Sustain a healthy weight.
• Be cognizant of the nutritional requirements that may help you fight illness and disease.
• Maintain a sensible exercise plan.
• Occasionally detoxify the body to revitalize the tissues and organs.
• Stop smoking and curb alcohol consumption.
• Avoid recreational drugs.
• Maintain an effective dental hygiene protocol.
• Develop a healthy and respectful sense of humor and a positive attitude.

 Our commitment to excellence is reflected by an increased mastery of the art of living. Vitality of body, mind, and spirit support this quest, and rest on a foundation of personal health that radiates out to home and workplace, building a balance of wholesomeness, sanity, and happiness.

The West is proud of its religious and spiritual freedom, but when we look around we see growing indifference between individuals, violence in our workplace, and corrupt government officials and business administrators. The world now has more sex-slave trafficking than at any other period in our history. In the United States our children are in crisis:

• The proportion of students injured by a weapon at school has not declined since 1993. [Youth and Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General]
• In 2004, 5,292 young people ages 10 to 24 were murdered — an average of 15 each day [Youth Violence Facts at a Glance, Summer 2007, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)]
• Among boys, 42% of high schoolers and 32% of middle schoolers believe it is okay to hit or threaten a person who makes them angry. One in five (20%) of the girls agrees. [Josephson Institute, 2006 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth]

It is evident that we are losing our moral compass - our diverse worldviews are not sustaining a growing spirituality.  Religious and spiritual teachers continue to preach recycled perspectives that massage the souls of their followers and bring wealth and fame to themselves, but do not have the spiritual power to transform societies.

It has become critical that new meaning is discovered in religion; that we begin to embrace its true definition: the experience of finding and knowing God with the goal to become Godlike. To unleash the passion for developing a majestic and well-balanced personality that is instinctively inclusive, moral, loving, and selfless, requires that we discover a new revelation of Jesus; that we attain an expanded understanding of his life and gospel of eternal salvation as it is offered in the fifth epochal revelation.  This is the challenge that is facing every religious and spiritual person today. 

In all our efforts to stabilize society and facilitate the solution of its problems it is our duty to “seek first the realities of heaven.” We find God through the leadings of spiritual insight, but we approach this insight of the soul through love of the beautiful, the pursuit of truth, loyalty to duty, and the worship of divine goodness.  When we fearlessly commit ourselves to this approach there is no place for sectarian rivalry, group bitterness, or assertions of moral superiority and spiritual infallibility. Societies will flourish because the decisions and actions of their citizens will be a profound demonstration of the truth of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.

Aided by archaeology, historical records, and astronomy, the emerging facts are provocative but inconclusive, leaving us with lots of unresolved mystery. But our world is now in possession of an epic text that gives greater clarity and significance to all the Jesus information that is available and/or being discovered and researched.  In chapter eleven of my book, Heaven Is Not the Last Stop, I explored my beliefs about Jesus with historical, archaeological, and astronomic records and discoveries, and then reconciled this understanding with the sweeping account of Jesus’ life presented in The Urantia Book. Before writing my book, I was skeptical of this revelatory text but willing to consider its information as part of my research.  As I reconciled and synthesized theology and science with revelation there was greater clarity and depth in my understanding.  A passion emerged for becoming the very best I could be for the sake of others; I am sure this was experienced by Jesus’ followers before and after his death. This urgency for spiritual growth and loving service is energized after discovering a more replete knowledge of Jesus. 

I have one heartfelt desire for all my readers in the New Year: that in their reading and reflection of Heaven Is Not the Last Stop they discover new and higher spiritual meanings in their beliefs about Jesus, God and the universe. In the coming years this expanded worldview will help humanity advance toward greater spiritual unity and social progress.

First, I had never seen so many people of various traditions and cultures in one place.  This diversity of people came together for the touching purposes of finding ways to heal the earth and hear each other.  I enjoyed attending many of the diverse programs and speaking with participants - there is so much to learn from one another, if only we take the time to listen and reflect!!!My own presentation, “Cultivating Universal Intelligence,” was well attended and received. I received various invitations to present my workshop at universities, spiritual retreats, and associations.  My thanks to the many friends who attended the presentation and made the whole experience that much more meaningful. 

It was at the Parliament that my book, Heaven Is Not the Last Stop, made its first appearance;  everyone’s response has been very touching and validating. I truly appreciate the many emails I have been receiving from readers from all walks of life and religious backgrounds.  I am still in a daze!  After so many years in the creation  process, it is so exciting to know that there are people from all over the world reading Heaven Is Not the Last Stop.  It is my greatest desire that every reader discover new meanings and values to inspire them.

My roommate at the Parliament gave me a most unexpected experience - a voice to listen to at 5:30 in the morning!  Since childhood I have always been the earliest to start the day!  While it took a few days for my nervous system to adjust, it was a joy listening and learning from this remarkable woman, who influenced my life in more ways than one.

At the Parliament I also experienced great generosity and kindness which caused me to reflect on the quality of my own interactions with others and inspired me to continue developing my ability to serve others lovingly and selflessly.

My experience at the Parliament was inspiring and spiritually stimulating.  Now the challenge that faces each participant is to continue expressing in all our interactions with others, the goodwill that was experienced at such a remarkable event.