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Welcome to "TMtalk", a place where all may converse about Fifth Epochal
Revelation and Teaching Mission topics in a fruitful and productive manner.
We hope to heal any division between the Teaching Mission, our Urantia Book
family, and the human family at large. It is said in the Fifth Epochal
Revelation that the more you get to know and understand your fellows, the
more you can and will grow in love for them.

The Teaching Mission (TeaM) claims direct contact with our planetary
administrators, under the direction of Michael and Machiventa Melchizedek.
There are many "leaders" and "teachers" in this mission, yet no one in
particular leads TeaM. All members are of equal standing. There is no
formal mortal organization--no boards, no appointed leaders, and no dues.
An open heart and a willingness to learn, teach, and serve qualifies one as
a Teaching Mission participant, as well as love and appreciation of the
teachings of the Fifth Epochal Revelation.

The TeaM goal is to bring to life the Urantia Book through daily living and
an ever increasing understanding of the Master and his life as he lived and
taught on Urantia. It is a goal of this TMtalk list to provide a meeting
room to help us grow in wisdom and worship as we effectively assist those
outside the Urantia Family toward Light and Life.

Let us come together as faith sons and daughters of God and dare to discuss
the disagreements among us, as well as those things which we each share and
cherish.

Tolerance and patience with one another, combined with an open mind in our
search for truth, beauty, and goodness should bring about a furtherance in
the Brother/Sisterhood on Urantia. We aim to achieve a dynamic balance
between sharing commonly held truths and those that are 'works-in-progress',
all without fear of condemnation or reprisal.

May we dare to share, with an attitude of learning, healing, and growth.

***************************************************************************
As a point of reference, we include below a consensus statement of many
Teaching Mission participants which addresses some central topics of the
Teaching Mission, itself:

WHAT IS THE TEACHING MISSION?
Each of us is likely to have a different description and emphasis as to the
nature of this world-wide Teaching Mission. In general, it is an avenue of
personal religious experience. Individuals, in their private devotions, may
experience contact with super-mortal guides, or "teachers." We believe that
there are a host of intelligent, loving, celestial, agencies ministering to
our world. One such group of celestial beings who work together for
humanity's spiritual progress call themselves teachers of the "Teaching
Mission" or the "Correcting Time." The Correcting Time is said to encompass
roughly the next millennium of human history, a time of correcting the
consequences of certain calamities and deprivations of the past, and a time
of fostering an era of heightened spiritual progress in the future--the era
of "light and life" on Earth.

WHO ARE TEACHERS?
Many contemporary people are discovering contact with spiritual guides. The
tremendous upsurgence in reported contact with angels and other heavenly
beings is indicative of new openings for communion with angelic types of
ministry to our world. The particular contacts from on High whom we call
"teachers" are non-material spiritual beings, friends from heaven. They are
advanced enough in their own spiritual growth and cosmic evolution to be a
lofty inspiration to us; and yet, they remain greatly empathetic and
supportive of our personal struggles with soul growth. These teachers
present and amplify the revelations and truths discussed in The Urantia
Book. This book teaches that each and every human mortal is a potentially
immortal faith-son or faith-daughter of God. We are each an honored member
of a well-nigh limitless cosmic family. We are spiritual brothers and
sisters held in the infinite love of one Divine Cosmic Parent, Mother and
Father combined.

WHO IS ABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH CELESTIAL TEACHERS?
Anyone. Any adult or child who sincerely desires teacher contact will have
that opportunity, regardless of race or gender, educational background,
social or economic status, national origin, or religious beliefs. We are
told that if every one of the over five billion inhabitants of our planet
sought a personal teacher, one would certainly be provided for each seeker.

HOW DO I RECEIVE THE GIFT OF A PERSONAL TEACHER?
This is a very intimate matter between you and your Deity. In your personal
prayer time or meditation, simply ask your heavenly Father-Mother for a
personal teacher, and trust that even though you may not readily sense a
teacher's presence, one will surely be there for you. Many of us suffer,
consciously or unconsciously, from a sense of perceived shame and
unworthiness. In truth, there is no mortal on Earth who is unworthy of the
Divine Affection. Our teachers view us with great respect and see it as an
honor to work with us. Some of us have to swallow hard to accept the
enormity of this gift and not fear this loving contact. Time and daily
"stillness practice," a term used by the teachers to refer to quiet
meditation, provide the reconciliation between how we tend to value
ourselves, and how the teachers value us, and hope we will eventually value
ourselves also.

WHAT DO TEACHERS DO FOR HUMANS?
Teachers provide spiritual guidance to individuals or groups who voluntarily
seek their assistance. Most of us would agree that the paramount purpose of
the teachers is to aid us in getting in touch with the Spark of Deity within
each person, the "still small voice of God" that indwells the human
heart-mind. Teachers are also heavenly friends who love us dearly and often
accompany us on our life adventures. They encourage us and inspire us.
They remind us of spiritual truths we cherish; they help keep us
spiritually focused. Teachers offer faith reassurances of the unswerving
love of our divine Parent for each individual, regardless of his or her
worldly status. Teachers elevate and accelerate our hopes for a better
world and augment God-consciousness among all peoples.

WHAT TEACHERS DO NOT DO.
While it would be presumptuous to delimit teacher action, most of us who
have been receiving this contact for some years have drawn the following
conclusions:

1. Teachers DO NOT violate human free-will. They never violate the
sanctity of our minds, our souls, our earthly opportunities, or our life
choices. Their action in relation to any human is always subject to that
human's informed consent.
2. While teachers are lovingly open to all of our questions, they do not
encourage "curiosity questions," that is, questions that do not relate
directly to our personal and individual spiritual growth. They rarely, if
ever, engage in material predictions.
3. Teachers are not in the business of miracle-working, empirical proofs,
power-brokering, sparking fads, encouraging extraordinary sensory
experiences, dictating how we should live, shaming us, or otherwise acting
or communicating in a manner that would in any way deprive any human being
of the step-by-step faith adventure each of us must freely choose to climb
the mountains of spiritual attainment.
4. Teachers are not intermediaries to God. We do not pray to our teachers
nor do we worship them. They are not our rulers or overlords. They do not
judge us. They help us to avoid many distractions from our goals of wisely
loving and selflessly serving. They keep us on track to pursue stillness
and small kindnesses each day. They are our friends, our near-of-kin. We
love and respect them enormously.
5. Teachers do not charge fees for their spiritual services. Love and
inspiration are freely given. Most of us feel that this is a good model for
humans involved in this Mission as well.

HOW DO I KNOW I AM HAVING TEACHER CONTACT AND AM UNDERSTANDING THE MESSAGES
CORRECTLY?
We are told that teacher contact is best accomplished by way of regular,
daily, stillness meditation--quieting the mind for up to twenty minutes of
silent communion once or twice each day. There is an experience of
"otherness," subtle for some, more pronounced for others, that distinguishes
teacher communication from one's own thoughts and projections. Some
teachers suggest that we ask these questions about a supposed teacher
communication or transmission to assess its veracity and sharpen our powers
of discernment:

a) Does the communication come with respect for my free-will dignity?
b) Is it compatible with the teachings of The Urantia Book?
c) Will heeding a message result in my bearing "spiritual fruit"?
d) Does the transmission come with God's love?
e) Does it have the ring of Truth?

HOW DO TEACHERS COMMUNICATE WITH HUMANS?
For a consenting human, a teacher makes mind-to-mind contact in a gentle and
utterly respectful manner. The teachers' respect for our free-will dignity
is awe-inspiring. Since we do not really know the mechanism of
communication, we can hypothesize a kind of celestial internet of minds.
Imagine our World Wide Web carried to the utmost limits of virtual
advancement and refinement on a universal and cosmic scale. Teachers seem
to be able to project their presence and communications from nearby or over
astronomic distances without delay or glitches. They know when we do and do
not desire contact.

WHAT IS TRANSMITTING/RECEIVING?
Certain constitutionally-favored individuals may, by luck of the draw, have
a natural capacity to discern and communicate teacher messages. Typically,
a human transmitter (T/R) speaks the teacher's message more or less
concurrently with its reception in the transmitter's mind. There are many
ways a transmitter might receive a message--as words, concepts, images,
feelings, or something quite beyond words. Receiving and transmitting seems
also to be a teachable skill. We are all encouraged to practice
transmitting, not worrying about errors, and having faith in our seemingly
muddy efforts. Growing spiritual awareness and regular stillness meditation
counterpoised by service-motivated small kindnesses are the hallmarks of the
human side of the teacher connection.

ARE TEACHER TRANSMISSIONS INFALLIBLE?
Definitely not. Teachers are fallible, but less so than humans. Although
teachers are no doubt able to communicate more directly or unequivocally,
they prefer to employ the ever-so-flawed human conduit, a partnership in
communication and faith. This leaves the understanding, interpretation, and
veracity of any transmission entirely up to the faith discernment of each
human involved. It is the responsibility of each person to decide if a
communication resonates with the spirit of truth in one's own heart.
Teachers may even allow themselves to be misquoted by a fallible T/R rather
than interfere with the vital faith-grasp each of us must acquire in our
struggles to be confident in our apprehension of truth.

ARE TEACHERS INVOLVED IN HEALING?
We believe so. The teachers ask us to view "healing" as it applies to our
physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves. They tell us that God's
spiritual healing energy is available to anyone sincerely searching and
receptive. To limit the modalities (e.g., touch, music, nature, substances,
visualizations, etc.) of this healing would be presumptuous. Again, it is
up to the individual's discernment on a very personal level. Teachers
convey that, as with transmitting, the innate capacity to be a conduit, for
say, laying-on-of-hands healing, varies from person to person.

As with prayer, sincerity and clear intent help. However, being healed or
not should not be interpreted as teacher approval or disapproval; they love
us all, regardless of our limitations. Healing in association with teachers
is rarely of the sudden or miraculous kind. The process is often slow,
subtle, and empowers faith and patience. Nevertheless, there is discussion
and experimentation with many aspects of healing in the Teaching Mission.
"Seek and you surely shall receive; joy is your abiding destiny."

WHAT OF CAUTION AND SKEPTICISM?
We generally regard respectful skepticism as a healthy approach to becoming
familiar with the Teaching Mission. We aspire to unity, not uniformity. We
do not all think alike. Each of us may hold a different, even opposite,
opinion regarding this Mission in the whole or in any particular.
Experiential religion means that truth is individually and personally
discovered via a process of inner-seeking. Many of us have surmounted hills
of doubt and continue to climb out of valleys of uncertainty and skepticism.
We respect the individual's right to his or her own boundaries of belief and
acceptance. Certainly our teachers do likewise. The issue is not whether
or not you are doubtful or cautious; rather, do you persevere in your
search, do you continue to seek with an open mind and heart? If there is
truth here, sooner or later you will know. As one of our great teachers has
said, "In the stillness reside the answers to all questions."

**************************************************************************
TMtalk's PURPOSE
To encourage visitors to ask questions, make comments, and become acquainted
with what the Teaching Mission is and to discuss its perceived value and
"danger". It is simply not possible in this brief introductory letter to
address all of your interests and inquiries. A sincere heart seeking to
understand is all that is necessary to begin.

TMtalk POSTING GUIDELINES
1. Express your genuine questions, concerns, or comments.
2. "Flaming" or personal attacks are not acceptable. Lovingly seek a way
to express your concern at the issue level, rather than the personal level.
3. No "spam". We ask that you not send "mail bombs" or harvest e-mail addr
esses from TMtalk, nor attempt to exploit this list for personal, political,
commercial, or other purposes.
4. We ask that subscribers help us all keep focused on spiritually-oriented
sharing. In those instances when cross-posting from another list or source,
begin the subject line with "XXX" as a notice and warning that the listing
is a cross-posting. We reserve the right to remove subscribers who persist
in out-of-bounds posting which may distract from the business of discussing,
sharing, and growing the Teaching Mission.

Unacceptable behaviors may be remedied by:

A warning issued to a subscriber by private e-mail,
A "second" warning posted to the entire list, and/or
A subscriber may be removed solely at the discretion of the ListOps.

IN CONCLUSION
We dedicate this list to the spiritual growth of all who use it. We hope to
host a genuine and friendly sharing. We encourage your spiritual exploring
and hope that the posts and list interactions will assist you. We believe
we are all on the same journey, however unique each individual path may be.
Whatever your path we pray that you will discover more of God's eternal love
for you, and the divine desire that we love one another as our self.

Greetings from the ListOps:

"Nathan" <siddheartha@yahoo.com>
"Steve" <s-hecht@ma.ultranet.com>