Global Community Communications Alliance Member Profile
Centria Lilly
Ever since I was a child I had a lot of questions about the ways of the world and the problems I saw, even then, between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” Growing up in a small rural community did not cover up what seemed to be glaring disparity between these rather unspoken classes. Early on I held an immense distrust for the dominant culture and the systems that perpetuated greed and power for a few at the expense of the whole. I was overwhelmed with a deep unexplainable grief over the multitude of problems of our world—environmental, political, social, etc.—and felt a sense of responsibility to make something happen. I was never convinced that the state of even my small little community was normal or acceptable.
As a young adult and a participant of the anti-establishment movement, I “dropped out” and went into the wilderness and had a “back-to-the-land” experience. At that time I had a close relationship with my mother and trusted her and often relied on her for counsel and direction. She did not necessarily agree with my approach but offered her acceptance of my choices and seemed to understand this unrest in me and the overall unrest of the youth of those days. She was an open-minded and philosophical person, a bartender by trade, who tried to impart some wisdom on my young and impetuous nature. She would tell me, “You can't run away or hide from your problems. Problems will be with you until you find a peace within yourself and able to work them out through your life’s choices and participation.”
After a time it came to me that I was taking care of my needs, but had to ask myself, “What are you doing to change the world? What are you doing for others?” When I was blessed with a family of my own, the realization of my obligation to contribute towards the necessary changes that could make the world a better place began to weigh heavy on my heart. I discovered that living collectively with like-minded individuals was the only possible way to begin to change the status quo and to manifest a fruitful future existence. I participated in small efforts of community building, cooperative farming projects, co-housing, and co-sharing. I became increasingly concerned that the children and grandchildren of the world would inherit the outcome of this failing system.
Through all of this I still believed that I could help make a difference, and I pursued a pathway via voting, attending public meetings, sitting on committees, and trying to have meaningful discussions with others about how to find some of those solutions. I had a career in a field of social work that I truly loved and believed in. I had mentors and friends in my life that shared my beliefs, and through them I had an optimistic outlook. I began to redefine and expand my definition of “family” as I worked in adoption and foster care. I was also trained as a volunteer guardian ad litem and began to see first-hand how the nuclear family was being compromised and marginalized and what a serious impact this was having on a small-island culture—not to mention the world.
The changes I was hoping for seemed further and further away, and I was slowly becoming disheartened by the magnitude of the problems. I was shaken by the question I one day had to ask myself, “Would you want to be raised in this middle-class American family?” I was watching my children becoming very much a part of this self-centered society, and I was an active player in placing foster kids and adopted kids into this Western culture of consumerism and greed.
I did experience positive one-to-one, soul-to-soul encounters that gave me much hope for humankind; however, I did not see the "machine" changing. The dominant culture did not readily welcome solutions and positive alternatives—those new paradigms that were really “outside-of-the-box” ideas. The corporate control would only give what they had to in order to maintain the momentum of chaos and keep the masses pacified. I saw the so-called progress and technology as devoid of any moral, ethical, and, least of all, spiritual obligation. In these last eighteen years I have seen this amplified in geometric proportions.
Most of my adult life I have had a deep sense of the promise of a higher way of existing as a global culture, and I held on to the hope that I would witness the arrival of such a culture within my lifetime. When I first came upon the works of Global Community Communications Alliance (GCCA), I was living a life that for all outward appearances seemed quite nice and very comfortable, but I was still in a state of unrest deep in my soul. I did not seek this community out so many years ago out of fear or being coerced in any way. I was like so many others who have heard about GCCA and who have been drawn to the Fifth and Continuing Fifth Epochal Revelation found in The Urantia Book and The Cosmic Family volumes,and the promise of “light and life” being made manifest on our planet.
Upon my initial arrival, I felt a deep sense of belonging and experienced recognition and respect of the founders, Gabriel of Urantia and Niánn Emerson Chase, as well as for those other community members who had gone before me. Their budding reality provided the confirmation I needed that the idea of building a new culture centered on God was possible, and in fact coming to fruition. Those early years of hard work and sacrifice were the beginning of something quite unique to anything I had ever experienced before.
Since becoming a member of Global Community Communications Alliance (GCCA) almost 18 years ago, I have witnessed so much that it is impossible to put into words this living phenomena of a successful model of an intentional spiritual community, culture, and eco-village. What I have discovered are like-minded people making a conscious effort to be a community rather than merely play community. GCCA is a community of committed individuals striving for true sustainability and unwilling to compromise their spiritual, moral, and ethical beliefs in order to “fit in” with the majority of people in mainstream society.
You have heard, "ask and ye shall receive;" well, I have been "asking" all of my adult life. When I first came to Arizona and spent time with the founders and members of Global Community Communications Alliance, it was only a short time before I knew I was to be with them. I could resist the urge of the inner calling of the Spirit for a while, but it would only be a matter of time before I would have to heed the call that was bearing witness to my soul. When you "ask" and then “receive” the answer, you must choose to either ignore that answer or heed it. For me, at the time, there was only so much justifying/denying I could do until I would have to give in to the Spirit of Truth and overcome my own “rational” agenda and comfort zone (which might have been to stay right where I was in life) and submit to what I knew would be my next life’s challenge.
"The ear of the human is almost deaf to the spiritual pleas of love from the Father of mercies." (The URANTIA Book, p. 1213.) As I have grown older, I have learned to trust in God and the process of "hearing" from him, to step out in faith, especially when my logical side tells me to do otherwise. In spite of the fact that this is rarely easy, comfortable, or even something I would choose, looking back in hindsight, I believe that trusting my “instincts”—the “heart” over the pragmatic—still leads to the best things life has to offer.
Our world continues to struggle in all of the disorder and chaos resultant in a culture that is bent on serving “self” above all things. This is what sets the efforts of Global Community Communications Alliance light years apart from the “norm”. We hope for peace on earth; we trust and have faith in a divine plan, and we do our level best to "be our brother’s keeper." How many can honestly say this is their goal today? With the help of the beautiful souls who I live and work with daily in this spiritual community, I am learning more about what real love is, about interdependence rather than co-dependence. I am blessed to be with a group of people who lovingly support me when I am down, who gently confront me when I am wrong, who laugh with me and bring me such joy, and who share unselfishly with me their most blessed treasures—love, beauty, truth, and goodness. Most of my challenges reside in the fact that I am a product of the “me” generation, and until I can strip away the conditioning of that mindset, I will never really understand that it is only in giving that I really receive. There are great and mighty rewards in serving others.
We are but a small group striving to do our best, and the fruits of our labor are bountiful. We are active in cleaning up our environment and creating a lifestyle that promotes health and wellness. We do our best to teach our children by example to love their brothers and sisters and to serve others less fortunate. We consistently reach out in unity and strive for a more harmonious existence with our neighbors. Our beliefs may be unconventional, our approach unorthodox, and our claims outrageous, but if you look with an open mind and leave your judgments behind, you will find a sincere group of diverse souls who have given everything to discover what it is to walk in the will of the Universal Father. I invite you to come and see for yourself this grand experiment still unfolding.
Union of Souls - the mobilization of wisdom. Every human being sooner or later acquires a certain concept of this world and a certain vision of the next. Now it is possible, through personality association, to unite these views of temporal existence and eternal prospects. Thus does the mind of one augment its spiritual values by gaining much of the insight of the other. In this way men enrich the soul by pooling their respective spiritual possessions. Likewise, in this same way, man is enabled to avoid that ever-present tendency to fall victim to distortion of vision, prejudice of viewpoint, and narrowness of judgment. Fear, envy, and conceit can be prevented by intimate contact with other minds. And since wisdom is super knowledge, it follows that, in the union of wisdom, the social group, small or large, mutually shares all knowledge. (The URANTIA Book, p. 1776)
Centria Lilly,
Liaison Minister
to Gabriel of Urantia and Niánn Emerson Chase and the Mandate of the Bright and Morning Star