[tmtranscripts] PITTSBURGH: 3/28/99

[ZooidODell at aol.com]

Teacher Session of March 28, 1999
Pittsburgh, PA
Teacher Merium:  "Whistle While You Work"
Teacher Tomas:  Intro, Q & A
T/R's:  Hunnah and Gerdean

URANTIA BOOK STUDY:	
  Paper 44, THE CELESTIAL ARTISANS
	#1.  The Celestial Musicians
	#2.  The Heavenly Reproducers

Group:  Celeste, Leah, Evangel, Hunnah, Angus, Gerdean, Hester and Elyssia

TOMAS:	Glorious day to you all.  I am Tomas.
GROUP:	Greetings, Tomas.

TOMAS:	Today is the day we acknowledge Jesus riding upon the ass, and also 
today is a day, the day that we begin a new season, and as in any new season 
and new beginnings, it will take a while to get into the flow, the harmony.  
Your session today is very much like the new season of the orchestra -- new 
players, new energies, and new expectations of what to play.  Your 
instruments are rusty and your capacity is nearly deleterious, so now that we 
are all here in the orchestra pit, we are going to focus our attention on The 
Master Conductor and allow Him to introduce to us some new music.  

What a wonderful Paper you have been studying, learning about the music of 
the spheres and about harmony and the like.  Wonderful lessons to take to 
heart, for now you know that true music is not limited to notes and noise, 
but is in fact also a configuration of energy, and in this new season I will 
remind you again of the merits of beginning your sessions with a moment of 
stillness in which you may harmonize your own soul with the chords of 
Paradise, for it is in this solemnity of trust that you will play your notes 
when you are given your cue; we will be able to practice and become perfect 
in making music and singing songs for The Master; in giving forth our music 
we will become a siren song for those who hear with ears to hear our 
melodies.  

I would like to give Merium an opportunity to exercise you somewhat with a 
piece.  I will play second fiddle today.  Merium, I know you are ready to go. 
 I await your baton.

MERIUM: 	My baton this afternoon is a daffodil, and I do greet you all 
and appreciate your coming because the temptation to go out and run, play 
with the dog, and wipe down the windows is very strong.  I would like to 
captivate -- I almost have a butterfly net here -- the word "peace" and Tomas 
said I would produce a piece.  P-i-e-c-e or p-e-a-c-e?  I would like to bring 
you a piece that will allude to peace.

This piece that I plan to perform will be one that I hope will incubate in 
you and produce a young, intelligent chick of sorts, a flower of sorts, or 
whatever is appropriately necessary for the activation of bringing you 
forward and outward and to be your best.  The juices are up!  I want you to 
be alert to your own environment, to watch the color of the bark of the tree. 
 It will change and it will fascinate you.  I want you to be aware of the 
change in the willows.

Not only will this parameter of amusement be with you, I want you also to be 
aware of the changes within yourself.  This change that has been coming along 
when you least expected it.  You have been so busy with your worldly concerns 
and relationships that you are not really aware of the stretch that you are 
about to be receiving.  The jackets of protection and distraction are about 
to be brought back, like the shutters of a house that has been boarded up for 
the winter.  The sun is going to stream in and you are going to see some dust 
and cobwebs because you have been playing.  

It is time for spring cleaning, and in that will not be drudgery.  It will be 
joyous. I understand that we have both male and female at the table so do not 
be fooled.  The male's interpretation of this joy and responsibility will be 
upon him and his words will find/ his mind will find the definition of this 
expression that I am offering you this afternoon.  

I am talking to you but there is no tangible nugget of any particular 
statement.  I am moving among you as energy, as I am going to touch your 
creative juices and waken all the sleeping places that you are not aware of.  
You may even find yourself looking in the refrigerator with a smile on your 
face, and if you see that it needs cleaning, you won't even think about it; 
you will pick up the cloth and start wiping up, and perhaps break into tune.

"Whistle while you work!" will be the new state of affairs and work will be 
plentiful but also meaningful.  Everyone you know will benefit from the 
changes in you.  This group will resonate, vibrate and jazzercize because it 
is Spring and the juices are up.  

I must tell you, whether you have to journey or whether you are in a cell of 
drudgery, the light and the play that is naturally yours is going to come 
forth, and it is going to be "recess" right in the presence of duty.

I have come to be as true to my form as possible.  I am a four star 
encourager.  I have chosen my young lady here because this is what gives her 
great pleasure; she is a tune of encouragement.  It is a part of her work and 
she knows the price of resistance.  She knows when she eyeballs something 
humanly as drudgery and labor, that it weakens her and destroys the music in 
her soul, so if you have any reluctance to go forth and whistle, come back.  
Come back into the silence.  Call me.  I will be there, and I will breathe 
this holy breath of mine upon your soul, and it will be invigorated.  I want 
you not to dawdle, but perhaps if you wander off to smell the flowers, that 
will be a plus.  This report card is going to be entirely different.  This is 
indeed "Whistle while you work!" and it gives me great pleasure to bring you 
this message from this station here.  Thank you very much.

TOMAS:	Thank you, Merium, for the concertina.  Inasmuch as all of you are 
light-hearted this afternoon, we are then in a pliant position and would 
entertain your questions or your commentary.

ELYSSIA:	I hope you don't mind, but I was going to ask you.  Did you 
see Jesus when he was coming down from Bethany and going down into Jerusalem? 
 Were you able to see him on the planet then, Tomas, or did you see the movie 
about him that was really real?

TOMAS:	I was not here, Elyssia.  I have not been resident on Urantia.  I 
don't come from Urantia, but I will certainly never forget it!  I am assigned 
here now of a certainty and yet inasmuch as Michael is the Master Son and, as 
a child of his universe, I, as well as everyone, have taken a keen interest 
in his life here.  When it was determined that I would be selected to this 
assignment, I was given many picturizations, pageantries if you will, 
depicting the evolution of your world and included was a re-enactment of the 
life of Jesus of Nazareth as well as his morontia ascent, and so I was not 
here at the moment, no, but as you were present in your being when you read 
the words and as you review it at times in your church services, I was 
certainly there when the stones themselves sang out to greet the Son.  I felt 
the same feelings you felt, and so yes, I can say "I have seen."

ELYSSIA:	Okay.  When you talked with him, have you talked with him 
about it?

TOMAS:	No, Elyssia, I have not.  I suspect others have, but I have not 
utilized my time with Michael to discuss his personal bestowal here, outside 
of how it influences my work with you.

ELYSSIA:	Did you ever ask him anything about his bestowal here that 
you could possibly relay to us?

TOMAS:	Again, I have not conversed with The Master as to his personal life.  
I have limited my dealings with him -- or more correctly -- he has limited 
his dealings with me in terms of my assignment.

ELYSSIA:	Thank you very much.

MERIUM:	I would like to speak because I heard the words from Angus that have 
tweeked my friend here, so I have accepted this as an opportunity to speak 
and, of course, it's going to be in the realm of my specialty.  He said to 
Evangel, "I feel well."  He said "I feel" and in the terms of your 
socialization, to say that "I am fine" and "I feel well" can represent or be 
mistaken for just a social answer, but he said, "I feel" and there was an 
intelligent acceptance about who he was.  

And when you carry forth this understanding of who you are, why you are and 
how you are, this developing reality, you are truly able to see it from, "I'm 
fine; how are you?" and not only will you say, "How are you?" you can know in 
your heart that they are much better than they think they are but it has not 
resonated to that part of their development to tell them, "It is time to 
celebrate!"

I want you to also think about something else, because this holiday is a 
mixed bag.  It is of agony and ecstacy, an agony of misunderstanding and the 
ecstacy of the truth of one's being.  
	
The agony.  There is scripture that states:  "You visited me when I was in 
prison."  How?  How could we know if we were visiting you?  How did we visit 
you when you were in prison?"  Let me tell you, and let me have you all be 
very alert because I don't ever want you to forget this, everyone is in 
Christ.  The fact that they are masked in garb and in intelligence and in 
health will constantly be nailing another bar into the truth of their being.  
Who else is going to be able to burst the prison doors if it is not you 
sitting at this table?  

This is indeed, not a responsibility of yours, but a natural expression of 
warmth that will create a melt-down as never before.
You are going to connect -- whether it be by eyes or mouth -- and you are 
going to be able to allow yourself to do the Father's work.  "Knowest thou 
Me."  I am moving that statement into a New Age statement.  "Who do people 
say I am?"  A politician?  A teacher?  A laborer?  A school drop-out?  A 
naughty child?  Who am I?  Who is anyone here who is throwing balm at each 
other?  Who lives here at the rightful, divine, inherited Prince of Peace's 
among you all?  You are as the great one who came to you and lived a life of 
agony and ecstacy.  He did not have journals or artisans to leave you; he did 
not leave his words on every little piece of paper or have his picture taken 
so that you would never forget the look on his face.  It is up to you to find 
the face looking out at you from the bars.  This sounds very theatrical, but 
in essence, it is possible, it is true and it is appropriate because you are 
living between two worlds -- the agony and the ecstacy.
How do you feel?  Ah, who is going to answer that question?  "Oh, I had a 
terrible night.  I didn't get any sleep."  How do you feel?  An opportunity 
to reply, "I am fine, thank you.  It's going to be a good day" and if you've 
done your homework, if you have prepared, filled your cup with resilience, 
you will be able to go forth and have a better day for everyone, because you 
will carry the living truth in you -- your look, your smile, your very 
gesture, the movement of your hands.  Everyday will have magic in it, whether 
you have a mundane job or whether you have the potential of being distracted 
beyond belief, you will catch the moment of refreshment.
	
Thank you.  Thank you Angus, thank you Hunnah for paying attention, thank you 
Evangel for questioning.  Thank you, all of you, for being open and receptive 
and willing.  Do not be distracted.  Keep your priority.  It is of utmost 
importance.  It is the Father's will that you celebrate the ecstacy.  Thank 
you.

CELESTE:	There is a song in the church.  "There is a joy, joy, joy, 
joy, down in my heart."  Really, I think that no matter what happens to you, 
you have that joy.

EYSSIA:	Tomas, you told us last week about new beginnings and so I was going 
to tell that to my little class but they were disbursed today so I thought I 
would save that until next week, but I was thinking about that for my own 
sake, that you can face new beginnings, so I guess I'll be talking about that 
as the months go on.  I was ready for that, thanks to you.  You don't have to 
fear plunging ahead into new things when you have the kind of grounding that 
you have given us.

TOMAS:	I am heartened.  Indeed this is true.  And you do well to take these 
lessons that you will teach your children and wear them for yourself, for in 
wearing them and in experiencing them, in realizing the value of them, then 
you are sharing your value with your students.  You come across more as a 
companion and a friend than an instructor, and they will respond more fully 
to the truth of your being than they will to mere academic words.  

The new beginnings are, of course, in honor of spring, a season you have long 
awaited, but these fresh days also depict newness within in your faith path, 
in your housecleaning, in your ministry, in your adventures, in your 
celebrating, in your meditations and in your efforts.  Each day is a new 
beginning if you keep it fresh.  Specifically, however, this spring has been 
a long time coming and it promises to be a most fascinating year, so indeed, 
throw off your jackets and throw open the windows and let the fresh air pour 
in, into your hearts, into your minds, into your souls, even into your very 
beings, that new seeds may be planted, new growth may come into existence, 
that will help feed you through next winter and its incredible celebration.

ELYSSIA:	[Indistinguishable] and certainly with faith we can do that.

TOMAS:	With faith, you dare not do otherwise, for you will become stagnant, 
crystallize, and die.  

ELYSSIA:	But our culture doesn't each us how to struggle on in 
confidence or to have the faith to do it.

TOMAS:	This upsurgence of faith is just now getting under way.  Your 
religions of tradition have long held fast to what was.  They have not been 
forerunners like we are seeing these days.  For many generations your evolved 
religions plodded on, maintaining a civilization that enabled these times to 
come into being.  

CELESTE:	That was good, wasn't it?

TOMAS:	It was appropriate, yes.  Your scriptures would indicate something to 
the effect of that there is a time for this and a time for that.  There is a 
time to be still and a time to shoot forward.  THe quiet dormancy of winter 
is a way of letting everything know that when conditions are ripe, the change 
is appropriate, and so now we see Merium's daffodil and we see the dawn of 
the new age, because we have known the long, dark winter.  It is time to 
emerge from this long germination.  You are going to be taking a giant step 
forward in evolution.  It is going to make the traditionalists very nervous.

CELESTE:	But it will happen anyway.

TOMAS:	Like a child, it cannot help but grow.  You cannot keep a child an 
infant; it will soon be crawling, walking and running, needing new shoes 
every time you turn around, eating voraciously.  The same is true of this new 
era.  Your toddler status is well upon us, and you are having a great deal of 
fun in the sandbox, playing with your toys and amusing each other, making 
friends.

ELYSSIA:  [Indistinguishable] ... struggle, spiritual struggle, according to 
the accounts.

TOMAS:  I assume you are talking about the Garden of Gethsemane.

ELYSSIA:	Yes, it is a normal wrestle when you consider giving up that 
which you have known, and in particular when you know it's going to be 
agonizing.  No one likes pain.  The human spirit does not want to die.  And 
so even though he was, of course, aware that his time here was brief and that 
he needed to move on to attain sovereignty of his universe and all the 
wonderful things that were due him as a result of his accomplishments, even 
so, it is not easy to lay down your life.

I have a sense that he was not so much lured by the glory of the resurrection 
at that point as he was in clinging to Our Father for comfort and strength to 
withstand the moment at hand.  One of the things about the toddler in the 
sandbox is that it doesn't think about pain, and you young souls don't like 
to think about pain either, but often pain is a part of the growing.  Many 
times it requires affliction to learn wisdom.  It is a mark of wisdom when 
you have attained a level of operation that allows you to experience 
difficult, painful, irksome and worrisome situations without becoming 
debilitated or depleted.  

Much like Merium said, if you can learn to take them in stride -- not to deny 
that they happen! -- but to approach them with such an attitude that you know 
you will get through it, you will learn something from it.  You will have 
accomplished something by it.
When Jesus in the garden grappled with this question of death, of dying, when 
he allowed himself to accept the cup, he was made to feel that peace which 
passes all understanding.  He had committed himself.  Once he had made the 
decision, he was at peace, and he had all the strength of all the 
superuniverses to see him through.  
It is therefore that moment where you face the difficulty in fear that is the 
hardest part, for once you accept that it will be difficult, it becomes easy. 
 Well, not easy, but do-able, because you don't have to do it alone.  The 
decision you have to make alone, but the action provides accompaniment.  
Agony and ecstacy, indeed!

ELYSSIA:	When he took on, I guess it was Satan, early in his career -- 
he knew that he was going to have to do that, and -- I guess he prepared for 
that by being alone with the Father in the mountains before he took that 
particular task on; is that correct?  

TOMAS:	More or less.  Jesus was in constant contact with the Father.  In 
fact, he had been blessed by the Father, by his decisions and his actions in 
accepting his divinity status.  He was even at that point fully authorized to 
deal with Lucifer, which he did, and in part reserved judgment to others, for 
even in this situation the Master Son, who created Lucifer, could not condemn 
him to death, could not judge him, but gave him to the Father for the 
Father's judgment.  I point that out as a footnote to our recent lessons on 
mercy.

ELYSSIA:	Well the way the Book portrays it, it was a tremendous 
struggle.  I've always been interested in that.  I wish you could talk to us 
about what kind of a struggle it was because I really didn't quite understand 
that part of the Book.

TOMAS:	I will tell you what.  Let's have a real assignment.  I would like 
for you all to do a comparative analysis, a scholarly approach.  Very vital 
material.  Read from the Bible the biblical account, or accounts, of the 
scene and read also from the Urantia Book of the scene wherein Jesus 
allegedly says, "Get thee behind me" when Satan allegedly offers all of the 
kingdoms of earth if Jesus will bow down before him.  I want you to study 
this.

ELYSSIA:	Didn't I remember that the Urantia Book said that was an 
erroneous description of that?  But there's another account where Lucifer 
comes and they struggle.

TOMAS:	That's why I want you to do a study, so that we can all intelligently 
understand our resources.  The Teaching Mission is a wonderful vehicle and 
the relationship that you have in the spirit with the Father and with his 
agents, indeed with each other as brothers and sisters in this living kingdom 
is a very fine accomplishment and on-going endeavor, and we are extremely 
pleased by its contagion and progressability, but I don't want you to 
overlook your academics.

If you are going to be engaging intelligently with people in conversation 
about belief systems, about theology, about philosophy, then you need to have 
your wits about you.  You need to have both sides of your brain engaged.  You 
need to be able to stand up to the scrutiny of your detractors by being 
well-versed in what you believe to be true.

We will begin our new season, then, with this assignment.  It's a good one.

HESTER:	Tomas, can I ask something?
TOMAS:	Yes, Hester.

HESTER:	For the last few weeks, I've been noticing the curves of the branches 
of bare trees, and it is amazing how smoothe they are against the sky.  Here 
it's very pronounced, but at my place, as I drive along the roads I see it, 
and I'm wondering - is the wind the real artist in this carving?

TOMAS:	The wind is not the only artist in this carving, Hester.  The trees 
themselves are taught to grow.  They know how high to reach.

HESTER:	They are so graceful.
TOMAS:	Indeed.  

Dear ones, I am going to sign off.  Merium, would you like to round out our 
day?

HUNNAH:	I'm off the air.

TOMAS:	Very well.  Be mindful of your flock when you go out to meet with 
them this week, this Holy Week.  Remember all of the influence that is coming 
into the minds eye of humanity -- all of the aesthetic influences of the 
Easter season.  Please try to pole vault over the Easter bunny and remember 
the true meaning behind this holiday:  the resurrection, the eternal life 
that can be had and will be known by sons and daughters of Our Father.  
Rejoice in the life.  Amen and farewell.

GROUP:	Thank you, Tomas.  Farewell.