16 - The 16th of the 28 Principles in The Urantia Book

 the 16th of the 28th principles in the urantia book

The 16th of the 

28 Principles in The Urantia Book

The Great Question Number Five

4. Is faith—the supreme assertion of human thought—desirable? Then must the mind of man find itself in that troublesome predicament where it ever knows less than it can believe.

The Great Goal of Hue-manimal Existence

It is to the mind of perfect poise, housed in a body of clean habits, stabilized neural energies, and balanced chemical function—when the physical, mental, and spiritual powers are in triune harmony of development—that a maximum of light and truth can be imparted with a minimum of temporal danger or risk to the real welfare of such a being. By such a balanced growth does man ascend the circles of planetary progression one by one, from the seventh to the first.

The Urantia Book 110:6.4

On the Path to Understanding the "Mastery of Self"

It is accurate to say that "understanding" the 28 principles of "high mortal philosophy" found in Paper 48, The Morontia Life required the asking of many questions and not a small amount of meditative thinking on them.

Error and Falsehood -- Another Way of Saying "Character Deficiencies"

Just as no one perfectly experiences being "hue-man," so evolutionary existence readily provides for endless "vicissitudes of living."

• What is a "vicissitude?"

The standard dictionary definitions given for "vicissitude" are:

Definition of vicissitude

1a: the quality or state of being changeable : MUTABILITY

b: natural change or mutation visible in nature or in human affairs

2a: a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition

the vicissitudes of daily life

b: a difficulty or hardship attendant on a way of life, a career, or a course of action and usually beyond one's control. 

Now, we may understand "the vicissitudes of daily life" as "a difficulty or hardship attendant on a way of life, a career, or a course of action and usually beyond one's control.

I would add to this perspective a further clarification that a "course of action," which is within one's control is the "action steps" to achieve self-mastery.

And once again, these are: 

1. Self-correction of character deficiencies.
2. Self-discipline to achieve self-control of character deficiencies.
3. Self-direction to being "spirit-led," in order to grow into the "living experiential values" of spiritual truth.
4. Self-mastery over all hue-manimal character deficient tendencies.

Another way of saying "self-mastery" is "the supremacy of spirit-domination over mind and matter."

Further understand clearly that this is what The Great Goal of Hue-man Existence is also saying.

In light of these self-evident truths, we may begin to view everything in hue-man experience which we call error--evil, sin, and wickedness, as the range, level, and extent of "character deficient" behavior which "blocks the light of spiritual truth" within the mind.

Every thought-feeling and action which "blocks the spiritual truth-light of God" indwelling the hue-man mind is character-deficiency--the lack of true character--error, evil, sin, and wickedness.

So then, with these meanings in mind for the word "vicissitudes" let us introduce and explore the deeper and deepest meaning of the 16th of the 28 principles in The Urantia Book.

48:7.18 16. You cannot perceive spiritual truth until you feelingly experience it, and many truths are not really felt except in adversity.

Turning this Principle into a Personal "I am" Declaration

I "allow" myself to "feelingly experience spiritual truth," even in adversity.

Always remember: it is not possible to grow into the "living spiritual value" contained within an intellectual principle typed onto a page; you must "internalize" the principle by converting it into a personal "I am" declaration of the person you desire to become.

Were you "programmed from birth" to beLIEve only your perspective of 

• what is "right and wrong," 
• what is "truth and error," 
• what is "right action and sin," 
• what is "allowable speech and what is not," 

is "absolute?

The Essential and Vital Juxtaposition of Light and Dark

When I read over the 16th of the 28 principles in The Urantia Book, the words "ring true" in my own life path of many "vicissitudes of living."

We live on a planet infected with the "character deficient" attitudes, intentions and behavior of beings above us in order of created existence. Those beings -- Lucifer, Caligastia, Daligastia, Satan and two-thirds of their visible assistants wreaked havoc upon Urantia (Earth).

We are still suffering the tragic consequences of their "character deficient" behavior.

We (the vast majority of hue-man children of God) are witnessing the pinnacle of godless secular systems, which are presently attempting to assert "mind" and "physical" control of our everyday life path progressions.

All empires which have ever existed are failures, because they were and still are being built upon the sandstone foundation of "self-assertion," the attempt to do that which is not doable--build systems of tyrannical control leading to "absolute power." All such attempts are "godless," and ever "implode," because they would be "gods on Earth," and ever deny "connection" to Father's indwelling divine spirit-presence.

The juxtaposition of "I will do it my way without God," and "Father, it is my will that your will be done," is crystal clear in meaning.

And when you ever-momentarily "allow" yourself to "feelingly experience spiritual truth," even in adversity, you are displaying the "true character," who loves spiritual truth and is willing to go wherever the indwelling Thought Adjuster leads you.

The 16th of the 28 principles in The Urantia Book corresponds directly to "self-mastery" of one's own "character deficiencies."

How Do You Correct a "Character Deficiency?"

I will never say that the technique I have long used to correct my own "character deficiencies" (and still using) is the only effective way. However, it has been effective for me.

Turning "Character Deficiencies" into an "I am" Declarations

I taught myself, along my now 7 decades journey, to identify my character deficiencies and turn them into "I am" declarations. For example:

Identifying impatience as the lack of patience, I declared the following (examples):

• I am patient.
• I am patient with myself.
• I am patient with others (*replace others with specific names of persons to whom you react with impatience)
• I am slowing down my thought-feelings, by being slow-to-speak, thereby manifesting greater patience.

You can teach yourself to do this with any and ALL character deficiencies you identify within yourself.

By using this technique...you are slowly-but-surely replacing inferior (negative) habit-reaction patterns with superior (positive) habit-reaction patterns. This technique, like any other, only works because you work--investing effort and time into yourself through consistent daily practice.

You are "allowing" yourself to be "spirit-led" by cooperating with Father's indwelling divine spirit -- the Thought Adjuster; you are enlarging your capacity for spiritual growth -- the growth of your evolving morontia soul.

BeLIEf is every thought-emotion-scaffolding with which you choose to vibrate and create separation from God's indwelling divine spirit-presence.

Faith is continuous connection to Father's indwelling divine spirit-presence--the Thought Adjuster; this "knowing" connection is...

• ever "allowing,"
• ever "responding,"
• ever "trusting,"
  
• ever "sharing,"
• ever "healing,"
• ever "truth-declaring," and
• ever "true-character manifesting."

And through this "faith-trust" connection to the divine...you are thereby growing and manifesting the "true character of your soul" rather than a "mere display of specialized skills" and "substituting cleverness" for true character.

And the practice of the 28 principles ever leads to "self-mastery."

The 16th of the 28 principles in The Urantia Book correlates to the individual child of God vibrationally responding to the marshalling impulse of the fifth (5th) Adjutant Mind spirit of Counsel. The 16th principle is the first (4th) of the set of principles 13 through 16, which are the generalized requirements to experientially master the third (3rd) psychic circle of experiential spiritual counsel, also corresponding to the 5th planetary age and the 5th Mansion Training World educational and socialization equivalency requirements.

Note: Any of the first 12 principles representing the generalized requirements for the mastery of the seventh, six fifth and fourth psychic circles of experiential spiritual intuition, experiential spiritual understanding, experiential spiritual courage, and experiential spiritual knowledge, which were not mastered (after entrance in the 3rd psychic circle) will be carried over into the third (3rd) for further experiential acquirement.

The Great Goal of Hue-man Attainment

• I am the mind of perfect poise.
• I am housed in a body of clean habits, and clear and pure thinking.
• I am stabilized in neural energies.
• I am balanced in chemical function.
• I am ever-momentarily transferring all mortal experiential meanings and values into the unifying whole.
• I am ever-momentarily unifying the physical, mental, and spiritual powers with the "I am that I am" personality. 
• I am ever-momentarily giving you, my indwelling divine partner and Thought Controller, my most honest, sincere, and dedicated cooperation in attaining to "supremacy of spirit domination over mind and matter."

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Supplemental Reading

• What are the four cosmic dimensions of personality unification?

1. Body                            1. self-correction 

2. Mind                           2. self-discipline / self-control

3. Soul                             3. self-direction to spirit-leading,

4. Spirit                           4. self-mastery

Personality unity self-realizes supremacy of spirit domination over mind and matter.

What is your definition of religion?

How do you define 'your religion?'

How do you keep your religion...pure...?

Personal religion must be kept uncontaminated by:

1. maintaining a self-corrective philosophy of daily living.

2. maintaining non-involvement and impartiality with regard to all social, economic, and political alliances.

3. seeking out and maintaining creative, comforting, and love-expanding relations with one's fellow beings.

4. enhancing personal progress of spiritual insight and the appreciation of cosmic values.

5. prevention of fanaticism by the compensations of the scientific mental attitude.

What is a character deficiency?

What is self-correction of a character-deficiency?

What are the steps involved in correcting one's own character-deficiencies?

What replaces a character-deficiency?

Does a character-deficiency automatically disappear when one is exercising self-correction, self-control and self-direction?

1. Self-correction.

99:3.7 The great weakness of all this unrecognized and unconscious type of religious activity is that it is unable to profit from open religious criticism and thereby attain to profitable levels of self-correction. It is a fact that religion does not grow unless it is disciplined by constructive criticism, amplified by philosophy, purified by science, and nourished by loyal fellowship.

2. Self-control.

54:1.6 True liberty is the associate of genuine self-respect; false liberty is the consort of self-admiration. True liberty is the fruit of self-control; false liberty, the assumption of self-assertion. Self-control leads to altruistic service; self-admiration tends towards the exploitation of others for the selfish aggrandizement of such a mistaken individual as is willing to sacrifice righteous attainment for the sake of possessing unjust power over his fellow beings.

3. Self-direction.

36:5.8.  3. The spirit of courage—the fidelity endowment—in personal beings, the basis of character acquirement and the intellectual root of moral stamina and spiritual bravery. When enlightened by facts and inspired by truth, this becomes the secret of the urge of evolutionary ascension by the channels of intelligent and conscientious self-direction.

4. Supremacy of spirit domination over mind and matter.

109:3.2 ...comparatively few will elect to ascend the moral heights beyond the hills of self-mastery and character acquirement to attain the higher levels of emerging spirituality.