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By using the word force I’m guessing you mean a source of energy and the sovereignty of power? If that’s what you mean, I think the answer is soul powers chosen by the power of personality. . . .
The word forces was the word used by the presenter of the topic. We did not analyze it, because face-to-face discussions are designed for the whole group where occurs free flowing comments from participants, rather than diving deep into definitons, as they appear in the UB. The group consists of new and seasoned readers. But deeper discussions can happen in this format.
The soul powers part is interesting and this is something in which an individual participates, whether known or not. I am not aware of any soul powers I have or do not have. Cooperating with the Adjuster happens when the person chooses the best over the less than best. Getting (adjutant) wisdom is a continuous process. “From the third circle onward the adjutant influence progressively diminishes.” (110:6.20 ) “The mastery of the first cosmic circle signalizes the attainment of premorontia mortal maturity and marks the termination of the conjoint ministry of the adjutant mind-spirits as an exclusive influence of mind action in the human personality.” (110:6.21 )
But, is there an end to wisdom?
55:6.5 [. . .] But concerning wisdom: While we do not really know, we conjecture that there can never be a limit to intellectual evolution and the attainment of wisdom. On a seventh-stage world, wisdom can exhaust the material potentials, enter upon mota insight, and eventually even taste of absonite grandeur.
A “practical method of discovering the degree to which you have yielded the control of your soul powers to the teaching and guidance” of your TA:
146:3.6[Part IV]“While you cannot observe the divine spirit at work in your minds, there is a practical method of discovering the degree to which you have yielded the control of your soul powers to the teaching and guidance of this indwelling spirit of the heavenly Father, and that is the degree of your love for your fellow men. This spirit of the Father partakes of the love of the Father, and as it dominates man, it unfailingly leads in the directions of divine worship and loving regard for one’s fellows. At first you believe that you are sons of God because my teaching has made you more conscious of the inner leadings of our Father’s indwelling presence; but presently the Spirit of Truth shall be poured out upon all flesh, and it will live among men and teach all men, even as I now live among you and speak to you the words of truth. And this Spirit of Truth, speaking for the spiritual endowments of your souls, will help you to know that you are the sons of God. It will unfailingly bear witness with the Father’s indwelling presence, your spirit, then dwelling in all men as it now dwells in some, telling you that you are in reality the sons of God.”I am not aware of any soul powers I have or do not have.
You are aware, but you probably call it something else. The process of shifting identity dominance involves the personality mobilizing the powers within the soul for daily living.
p1097:7 100:4.3 But the great problem of religious living consists in the task of unifying the soul powers of the personality by the dominance of LOVE.
8: How can we know we are responding to our Thought Adjuster, and not just hearing voices in our head, in other words really being spirit-led?
i think the hearing voices thing is related to mysticism type efforts to contact spirit. Somewhere in paper 100 it talks about how dangerous this can be. As opposed to effort to contact the adjuster, simple prayer of thanksgiving and worship is more beneficial. i also think real contact with adjuster followed by real effort to respond equals growth and realizing growth may not happen immediately, maybe not for weeks or months. Remember we do not cause growth, we are grown by spirit. also, wgnhen we crave righteousness it is a clue that the adjuster is in there and functioning.
Thanks Gene. I don’t hear any voices, except sometimes I talk to myself. (Now, where did I put those keys?)
Seems like question 8 boils down to this: How do we really know we are being spirit-led? Your point about craving righteousness is well taken.
34:6.6 [. . .] The seed of theoretical truth is dead, the highest moral concepts without effect, unless and until the divine Spirit breathes upon the forms of truth and quickens the formulas of righteousness.
169:2.6 “I affirm that he who is faithful in little will also be faithful in much, while he who is unrighteous in little will also be unrighteous in much.”Here is one of the references in answer to #8 the presenter provided, again referring to spirit guidance and communion.
34:6.12 And when such a life of spirit guidance is freely and intelligently accepted, there gradually develops within the human mind a positive consciousness of divine contact and assurance of spirit communion; sooner or later “the Spirit bears witness with your spirit (the Adjuster) that you are a child of God.” Already has your own Thought Adjuster told you of your kinship to God so that the record testifies that the Spirit bears witness “with your spirit,” not to your spirit.What happens if we disobey our Thought Adjuster’s admonitions?
Does the Adjuster admonish?
Does the Adjuster admonish?
I think this is an interesting question in retrospect. At first I said no, the Adjuster does not admonish, based on the reference provided, “The Spirit never drives, only leads.” (34:6.11 ) And this,
108:6.7 The Adjusters are the eternal ancestors, the divine originals, of your evolving immortal souls; they are the unceasing urge that leads man to attempt the mastery of the material and present existence in the light of the spiritual and future career. The Monitors are the prisoners of undying hope, the founts of everlasting progression. And how they do enjoy communicating with their subjects in more or less direct channels! How they rejoice when they can dispense with symbols and other methods of indirection and flash their messages straight to the intellects of their human partners!I wonder if it is mortal conscience that admonishes?110:5.5 [. . .] Likewise, it is hazardous to attempt the differentiation of the Adjusters’ concept registry from the more or less continuous and conscious reception of the dictations of mortal conscience.More to say later….Gotta go….I could only find one reference to the Adjuster admonishing and that was one time in regards to Jesus awaiting for his hour to come:
134:9.3 He burned to give vent to the declaration of the real truth about his Father’s loving character and merciful conduct in the universe, but his faithful Monitor admonished him that his hour had not yet come. But that night, at Bethany, Jesus did drop numerous remarks which greatly disturbed John; and John never fully understood the real significance of what Jesus said in their hearing that evening.
It looks like Jesus loosely interpreted his Adjuster’s admonishment though, since he did end up making remarks about it. Nothing untoward happened because of it.
The dictionary definition of admonish has mostly to do with warning in an advisory way. It can also mean to reprimand, rebuke or chastise. I’m quite sure the Adjuster does none of that, but does the Adjuster give warnings and advice, and if he does, is it all the time or only when asked?
There is this record of an Adjuster’s “appealing admonition” which i think is more of a counseling than an admonishment.
110:7.10 During the making and breaking of a contact between the mortal mind of a destiny reservist and the planetary supervisors, sometimes the indwelling Adjusteris so situated that it becomes possible to transmit a message to the mortal partner. Not long since, on Urantia, such a message was transmitted by a self-acting Adjuster to the human associate, a member of the reserve corps of destiny. This message was introduced by these words: “And now, without injury or jeopardy to the subject of my solicitous devotion and without intent to overchastise or discourage, for me, make record of this my plea to him.” Then followed a beautifully touching and appealing admonition. Among other things, thee Adjuster pleaded “that he more faithfully give me his sincere co-operation, more cheerfully endure the tasks of my emplacement, more faithfully carry out the program of my arrangement, more patiently go through the trials of my selection, more persistently and cheerfully tread the path of my choosing, more humbly receive credit that may accrue as a result of my ceaseless endeavors — thus transmit my admonition to the man of my indwelling. Upon him I bestow the supreme devotion and affection of a divine spirit. And say further to my beloved subject that I will function with wisdom and power until the very end, until the last earth struggle is over; I will be true to my personality trust. And I exhort him to survival, not to disappoint me, not to deprive me of the reward of my patient and intense struggle. On the human will our achievement of personality depends. Circle by circle I have patiently ascended this human mind, and I have testimony that I am meeting the approval of the chief of my kind. Circle by circle I am passing on to judgment. I await with pleasure and without apprehension the roll call of destiny; I am prepared to submit all to the tribunals of the Ancients of Days.”
I am curious about this reference about the Adjusters receiving admonitions of “spiritual intelligences”.
108:5.1The Adjusters accept a difficult assignment when they volunteer to indwell such composite beings as live on Urantia. But they have assumed the task of existing in your minds, there to receive the admonitions of the spiritual intelligences of the realms and then to undertake to redictate or translate these spiritual messages to the material mind; they are indispensable to the Paradise ascension.If Adjusters receive admonitions, do they admonish us? Hmmm..But, Adjusters are not interested in making life easy. (108:5.5 )What about this admonishment? “He [Jesus] recounted how the Adjuster had warned him about the inability of any power or personality to deprive him of the creator prerogative of independence of time.” (137:4.12 )
Consider: Our human experiences, receiving or giving admonishment, includes facial expression, voice inflection and volume, emotional restraint or dynamics, body language and perhaps clever adaption of concepts (word choices). Powerful or easy, we know what admonishment is at our material life level. Is it possible the TA’s and other celestial beings know of other factors besides material utilized during admonishment? What other ways or techniques are likely?
Hmmmmmmm.
What other ways or techniques are likely?
I remember this one for example: “Tempt not the angels of your supervision to lead you in troublous ways as a loving discipline designed to save your ease-drifting souls.” (178:1.10 ) Troublous ways seem not to be direct admonishments, but somehow the action of angels who are supervising us lead us to challenging situations for loving reasons. I’d still like to have a list of all the help we have to urge us to grow.
What other ways or techniques are likely?
Whatever they are, I know they are bursting with loving tenderness. I personally have never felt anything harsh coming from what I recognize as the presence of God within me. Has anyone here felt anything close to a chastisement coming from direction of their souls? I agree that our own conscience can do this, but I doubt the voice of God, in whatever form he speaks, uses such techniques.
In terms of admonitions in the form of warnings, I have definitely felt trepidations concerning something I’m about to do, want to do or say or am just contemplating the value of doing or saying. How many times have you said, “I just had a feeling not to ___”. I’m sure sometimes those feelings come from the conscience, sometimes from the subconscious, sometimes from the urgings of the higher adjutants . . . and sometimes I think it can come from the Adjuster or other spirit influences within the soul. They tell us that not every strong feeling to do this or that comes from the Adjuster, but what about those faint, distant feelings to NOT do this or that? A feeling, or warning, that you shouldn’t do this or that is a kind of admonition to pay more attention, to work harder for self-control.
(1766.2) 159:3.6 Sometime the children of the kingdom will realize that strong feelings of emotion are not equivalent to the leadings of the divine spirit. To be strongly and strangely impressed to do something or to go to a certain place, does not necessarily mean that such impulses are the leadings of the indwelling spirit.
They tell us that not every strong feeling to do this or that comes from the Adjuster, but what about those faint, distant feelings to NOT do this or that? A feeling, or warning, that you shouldn’t do this or that is a kind of admonition to pay more attention, to work harder for self-control.This is very much a part of my experiences every day. I think it’s most often best to not act when these bells and alarms go off.
However, I have noticed that acting in spite of everything seeming to indicate otherwise, was the right thing to do sometimes though.
It’s difficult to know if the feeling of being alerted is to act, or not to act. But with age, the memories of past experiences in these cases, being successful or not, becomes a greater and greater template to use for future reference.
Well they do tell us that the measure of greatness on this planet is the ability to hold your tongue. So, goodness is often about what you DON’T do or say . . . since goodness and greatness are married.
28:6.20 And the manifestation of greatness on a world like Urantia is the exhibition of self-control. The great man is not he who “takes a city” or “overthrows a nation,” but rather “he who subdues his own tongue.”
28:6.21 Greatness is synonymous with divinity. God is supremely great and good. Greatness and goodness simply cannot be divorced.
But the question asked at the beginning of this thread was, what happens when we disobey the Thought Adjuster’s admonitions. One thing I know for sure is that God does not punish. When we get out of tune, he tries harder to bring us back in tune. He never really gives up on a person. And I don’t like the word “disobey”, as though God were a dictator with laws that must be followed like the Old Testament god. Free will is sovereign. If a person decides to do stupid things, then that person suffers the consequences. We know that the law is life. When people disobey life, they end up dying.
p555:1 48:6.22 Law is life itself and not the rules of its conduct. Evil is a transgression of law, not a violation of the rules of conduct pertaining to life, which is the law.
I don’t think it’s a matter of obeying or disobeying the Adjuster. The matter is attuning to the Adjuster. The Old Testament god demanded atonement for disobedience. The Fifth Epochal Revelation God demands attunement.
(437.5) 39:5.6 In the more advanced epochs of planetary evolution these seraphim are instrumental in supplanting the atonement idea by the concept of divine attunement as a philosophy of mortal survival.
Attunement to the will of God is probably another topic, but it is bound up with undying hope. I mean, that IS what we all are hoping for, right? . . . divinity attunement, our great goal.
110:3.4 The great goal of human existence is to attune to the divinity of the indwelling Adjuster; the great achievement of mortal life is the attainment of a true and understanding consecration to the eternal aims of the divine spirit who waits and works within your mind.
. . . what about those faint, distant feelings to NOT do this or that?
I always thought these inclinations were adjutant mind-spirit derived, and as well, the individual might be tapping into prior experience of a similar situation that resulted afterwords in the recognition of a misjudgement or error on the part of the individual, as VanAmadon suggested. You’re right about the importance of curbing the tongue, and that concerns self-censoring or stopping yourself before blurting out something. I don’t think our Adjusters sponsor shoutiness or blurtiness.
As for myself, I quit trying to analyze my thoughts and where they originate because of these several references about the many spiritual influences and the impossibility of segregating them.
34:6.2 Although Divinity may be plural in manifestation, in human experience Deity is singular, always one. Neither is spiritual ministry plural in human experience. Regardless of plurality of origin, all spirit influences are one in function. Indeed they are one, being the spirit ministry of God the Sevenfold in and to the creatures of the grand universe; and as creatures grow in appreciation of, and receptivity for, this unifying ministry of the spirit, it becomes in their experience the ministry of God the Supreme..110:4.2 The Thought Adjuster is engaged in a constant effort so to spiritualize your mind as to evolve your morontia soul; but you yourself are mostly unconscious of this inner ministry. You are quite incapable of distinguishing the product of your own material intellect from that of the conjoint activities of your soul and the Adjuster.
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