At our ANZURA Conference in Canberra, we tried to deepen our experience, to brighten our insight, and to awake our slumbering love to serve and to understand. We spent the weekend exploring our Father’s relationship with us, and reflecting on our own responses to this extraordinary human opportunity—to become one with the Father.
The conference was held at Goolabri Country Resort, just north of the Nation’s Capital. Each morning we were greeted by birds singing in this beautiful garden setting, and thus we were primed on Saturday morning to be launched by Vern Verass into a reflection about the essence of Fatherhood, as portrayed in the Urantia papers.
“The love of the Father absolutely individualizes each personality as a unique child of the Universal Father, a child without duplicate in infinity, a will creature irreplaceable in all eternity.” [Paper 12:7.9, page 138:4]
Nigel then amplified this theme, offering a perspective on how Thought Adjusters are our “moment of opportunity” to get real, and how this becomes for the Universal Father a moment of opportunity to experience something absolutely unique: us — children without duplicate, irreplaceable in an infinite eternity!
Can knowing what and why we are, change the way we dare to live? Can spiritual illumination enhance our capacity to serve? If we are the (slow-motion) Personalization of an Adjuster, and this Adjuster is “an absolute essence of an infinite being”, what capacity for unique service, for goodness, truth and beauty, lies within each of us?
After Nigel’s intriguing introduction, William Wentworth called upon members of the audience to step forward and read out loud a set of paragraphs, chosen to help illuminate some of the revelator’s breathtaking truths about these spiritual gifts from our Father—His thought-adjustering and personality-monitoring fragments.
Due to a shortage of time, we missed out on the main multimedia presentation.
This was to be an exploration of the nature of us, our Father, and our relationship with Him. An exploration of the questions: Why did our Father need space and time to make us possible? Why did He need His Creator Sons to midwife our birth? When Jesus spoke of doing his Father’s work, what did he mean? How can the Fifth Epochal Revelation help foster Michael’s plan? There may be another moment of opportunity to catch this in Sydney next year!
After lunch, we took this rare opportunity to enjoy the full potential of a Urantia Book study group. Free from the usual stresses and distractions, filled with the morning’s reflections about Thought Adjusters and our Father’s love, attendees formed 4 groups and launched into a breakout study of Paper 107 — The Adjuster and the Soul.
Such an opportunity to share our insights and questions about the Urantia papers is a rare thing here in Australia, so we spent a moment setting the scene. We discussed briefly the possibilities of group study of the Urantia Book. We introduced a technique of enhancing the potential of group study, attempting to allow Adjuster participation to foster insight, illumination and mutual respect. We then read what the revelators reveal about our “soul”, pondering such things as how our soul can witness (to us) the fact of its growth. And we practiced attuning our ear to the truth expressed by each other.
In the midst of our study and our Adjuster’s love, we sought both intellectual insight and spiritual illumination. And we reflected: when found, can we share these gifts? How does insight help us to serve? Will shifting our “seat of identity” into our souls help us to bring love, light and life into this world?
After such exercise, the evening of good food, fun and music was just the thing to recharge us for the activities of the next day. These began with an Adjuster-focused worship session—bringing us closer to one another, sharing in music and song. Energised, we moved from our beautiful Goolabri setting into the even deeper natural beauty of Canberra’s National Botanical Gardens, to continue our communion.
On return, and after another fine lunch, we were ready to attempt our “meet the panel” forum session. You know the kind you see on TV, with a moderator and a panel of experts, chosen to introduce and motivate the discussion. The moderator cautioned us regarding experts with his endearing definition: “x, being an unknown quantity, and ‘spurt’ being a ‘drip’ under pressure.”
Our five panel members, Bernie, Merindi, Julian, Adriana and Bevan, launched the discussion by sharing experiences of Adjuster interaction in their own lives. The moderator, Vern, then opened the session to comments and questions from the floor, and the whole question of “Adjuster guidance” was addressed. Many attendees stated they had never had an experience they would qualify explicitly as such, while others were convinced they have, and on a more or less regular basis.
We attempted to compare each other’s descriptions with what The Urantia Book reveals about Adjuster guidance. This made us look more closely at the unified function of personality, in understanding the realms of mind and emotion. Can they be consciously differentiated? Or are they so integrated as to defy reductionist description? In our small sample (of 34 attendees), women were more likely to say they had experienced Adjuster guidance. This seemed to intensify the mystery of the experience! What we could all agree on was that this interaction—between our Personality and our Adjuster—is an experience too deep for words. And that when either our Adjuster or our Michael or our Father calls (they are as one) we should be ready to act! Compared with the experience and value of action, trying to define the experience, or the action, is very secondary.
“The Adjuster is an absolute essence of an infinite being” [Paper 107:0.6, page .1176:6]
On the final day, we turned our attention to the future, both as individuals, and collectively as ANZURA. Our next conference will be held in Sydney (earlier than usual), and will feature a dress-rehearsal of our presentations to be held at the World Parliament of Religions, an international conference to be held in Melbourne from December 3–9.
This Parliament will bring together over 8,000 people from Australia and around the world, including renowned spiritual, religious and political leaders. ANZURA will hold its 2009 conference in late September, allowing interested attendees to take part in both events. This large and very public international event promises to be a challenging moment of opportunity for those interested in fostering the fifth epochal revelation.
Please join in and help make 2009 a year to savour, rather than to regret as an opportunity missed!