Global Community Communications Alliance Member Profile
Celinas
To those who have walked a similar path:
For nearly 6 years at Global Community Communications Alliance, I have been intensely involved in tearing down walls of separation and constructing bridges of interconnectedness with many beautiful souls. Out of necessity I had to begin with myself, to chip away at the layers of old thoughts and automatic responses which were quite a hindrance in what was happening in the NOW. I have often thought, particularly as the walls come down, that this process, what I will call relationship forming, is like jumping into the middle of a pond when you don't know if you can swim. First there is fear, then a calm faith. You pray for help, lots of help. Maybe someone might throw you a life preserver. Maybe the water is not as deep as you think or you might learn how to tread water, or float, and then eventually swim. But you have to begin to act in faith, when fear, like glue, holds you in one place. If not, you will experience the consequences of thinking inwardly, as we all have, rather than thinking outwardly and being of service to others. During those times, when I have lost my sense of goodness and Godliness, I am lonely and isolated in my belief that I am right (or maybe just more right) and everyone else is wrong.
Here at GCCA, I have received more assistance in seeing through my defenses than I would have hoped for from The Mandate of the Bright and Morning Star. The supportive counsel and loving guidance from my elders, Gabriel of Urantia and Niánn Emerson Chase, who hold The Mandate of the Bright and Morning Star, has always been there when I lose my direction or when I am unable to hear as I know God would have me hear. When I examine their lives, I see genuineness and humility. It is not that Gabriel or Niánn never make mistakes. When they do, they admit it and ask for forgiveness. They set the exemplary standard for an ascending son and ascending daughter on Urantia to follow. It is through this process of me submitting to God in prayer and to eldership's guidance, that is, choosing God's will rather than my self will, that my desire and my ability to be of service to Christ Michael, to the Mandate of the Bright and Morning Star, and to my brothers and sisters here and around the planet has expanded.
When I was twenty-one, I was asked, "What is it that you really want to do?" I responded, "I want to become a person in my own right." What I meant was to discover who I was, what my talents were, how I could make an impact on people's lives, and how I could learn and grow responsibly. From my childhood in the rural Midwest, I had carried the influence of a responsible work ethic and strong Christian morals. With experience, however, I began to reject traditional views--from the hypocrisy of religion, played out by well-meaning local church-goers, of whom I was one, to the roles assigned to women and to people of color. I became active in the antiwar movement; I studied what motivated our American dream--economics; and I found a solution in politics--favoring those systems whose goal it was to provide their people with food, housing, medical care, education, and meaningful work. It was many years before I fully realized that "The inherent weakness in secularism is that it discards ethics and religion for politics and power. You simply cannot establish a brotherhood of men and women while ignoring or denying the fatherhood of God." (The URANTIA Book, p. 2082:3)
I chose law as the lesser of many evils with the idealistic hope to contribute to ending injustice. However, even before leaving law school, I sensed I would be sorely disappointed. People were, for the most part, withdrawn, cold, or insensitive--perhaps desensitized. I felt I was no different. It was only a couple of years before the practice of law became intolerable. I knew that the festering sore of greed was at the root of the problem. I faced the truth of my self-directed existence, and then I began my search. Certainly, there must be some purpose for me, but what was it?
While I had always kept God in my heart and never relinquished to political oblivion the concept of divine authority or Jesus' example, I had never personally been grateful for or acknowledged God's presence. Instead, I had focused on the harm caused by institutionalized religion. I know now what I didn't know then. It was only when I sincerely intended to open myself to God's leading, that I began to form a personal relationship with God.
Through metaphysics and "new age thought," I temporarily found a "spiritual" path. I read and discovered that many of my ideas and what I thought were my inner secrets already had been thoroughly explored. Now when I gardened, there was a change, I worked with the devas. I continued to study homeopathy and flower essences and I practiced geomancy, spiritual dowsing, and feng shui. I trained to practice subtle energy therapy. I prayed. I made mistakes and sometimes heard what I wanted to hear. I studied and practiced being present in the moment. I heard from those whom I believed were angels, and I was happier. After researching yurts as an alternative dwelling, I visited Arizona for a Living Shelter workshop and I found Global Community Communications Alliance. My search ended.
Fifth Epochal Revelation (The URANTIA Book) and The Cosmic Family volumes have provided the expanding revelation material that once I only dreamed of. My desire to remove moral blindness from our justice system and to provide for people's needs is a vision I am helping to actualize. Nothing is morally neutral. There is right and wrong, good and evil, and there is no place for revenge. Without God's influence, we, as a society, keep order with legal restraint, but with God's influence, we take care of our brothers and sisters because of love and compassion for them. My choice at any moment in time will move me toward Godly virtues or will create a greater distance from those virtues. I am accountable for my actions, all of them.
The ethics of any person, whether or not they function in the legal profession, dictates how they are able to serve you. You expect a different service from a mechanic than from a lawyer, but you expect the same rules of conduct--honesty, integrity, reliability, concern, patience, kindness. How do we help those we serve, to "win" or to gain an advantage in some way through sneaky means or even a "loophole" in the law? What role does the truth play in the outcome?
Working with God's law from a fourth dimensional perspective means we refocus our perspective—look at the whole person and put less stress on the idea of someone's rights in order to enhance a more just, caring outcome. We must not forget that the conflicts we hold between us are breakdowns in our relationships, and we can rebuild them if we do not get stuck in past arguments or old thinking. We should be concerned about God's absolutes, His laws, but also realize that "the law" as we see it implemented by men and women is not immutable or necessarily what God intended. It is changing and expanding to compensate for situations and the experiential growth of men and women.
In these times of turmoil on the planet during the Adjudication by the Bright and Morning Star versus Lucifer, I am reminded that we should each "judge as you would be judged under similar circumstances, thus being guided by the spirit of the law as well as by its letter." (The URANTIA Book p. 1475:0.) God is merciful and makes allowances for all of us, so too should each of us be mindful and gentle when we become adversaries and begin to destroy a relationship. As any parent knows, justice is behind the many loving corrections we give to our children.
As we become a more active participant in justice, putting love underneath it all, we cannot help but begin to flex the inflexible letter of the law. It too can be a positive, living reflection of all of us. Fifth Epochal Revelation and The Cosmic Family volumes continually remind us that we are each participating in a living revelation, one which grows as we each grow.
The revelation I have made to you is a living revelation, and I desire that it shall bear appropriate fruits in each individual and in each generation in accordance with the laws of spiritual growth, increase, and adaptative development. From generation to generation this gospel must show increasing vitality and exhibit greater depth of spiritual power. It must not be permitted to become merely a sacred memory, a mere tradition about me and the times in which we now live. (Jesus, The URANTIA Book, p. 1931:6-1932:0)
Today if I were
asked, "What is it that you really want to do?" my answer would be a bit
different than when I was twenty-one. I desire and intend to become
more virtuous, to assist more individuals, to hear clearer moment-to-moment
God's leading, to better know when I should ask for help from others, and
to do my utmost to create a more loving environment, responsive to the
needs of all. In other words, to be an active participant in the
unfolding, adaptive, and expanding reality of God's divine pattern in Divine
Administration under The Mandate of the Bright and Morning Star.
I bid you, come join us.
Celinas,
Minister
Vicegerent Liaison Minister
to Gabriel of Urantia and Niánn Emerson Chase and the Mandate of the Bright and Morning Star