Male Elders in My Life
For me, Father’s Day is a day to honor those men in my life who have helped me grow closer in my relationship to God the Universal Father. I honor two of the most important men in my life—my biological father, Leland Dean Chase, and my spiritual and administrative complement, Gabriel of Urantia/TaliasVan of Tora. One has passed on and is continuing his ascension on the morontia worlds, and one is here, ascending on this side of reality.
What is it that I love and respect about these men? Most important to me is that both of these men spent their entire adult lives loving and serving God. They both knew that Jesus was the Christ and Son of God who was a revelation to show us humans the way to the First Father of All. Both of these men had some balance within the Father circuitry, which is living and reflecting some of the attributes and characteristics of the Universal Father and Jesus, who we in Divine Administration refer to as Christ Michael. Both of these men have inspired and encouraged me to look to the First Father through His Son and manifest His power and light into my life.
Both of these men have seen me as someone with a special destiny and great responsibility to serve humankind on this planet; thus, both of these men have demanded the highest from me in my maturation and ascension process—my father when I was a child and young woman under his protection and responsibility; Gabriel of Urantia/TaliasVan of Tora when I came under his protection and responsibility as his complement. Both of these men have been extremely gentle with me, as well as stern and even righteously angry. (Gabriel/TaliasVan is my former husband and father of three of my children. We continue to be spiritual complements as pastors and administrators for Global Community Communications Alliance.)
Though I respect and admire both of these men, neither one has ever been a “god” to me. However, they each have been my Elder—my father in my young tender years and Gabriel of Urantia/TaliasVan of Tora for these many years.
I realize now that neither one of these men have ever wanted to “conquer me” or “inhabit me” or “possess me” or “control me”. There have been times in the past, when in my immaturity and lower mind of lesser understanding that I have felt and thought that these strong men were trying to take me over. But each time I experienced this anger or resentment or fear, I later experienced gratitude, for when I moved out of my “fight-or-flight mode” into my more rational and realizing mode, I recognized that both of these men have always wanted to protect me, to lead me, to guide me, to inspire me, . . . and to rightfully confront me. They have given me gentle love and support as well as strong and stern admonishment.
I will always remember (with gratitude now but resentment then) my father’s extreme strictness with me. He often became very angry with me when I showed selfishness and pride. He confronted me, giving me stern talks about my responsibility to grow into a humble and righteous woman, always thinking and acting for the good of others. He refused to cater to my ego, my clamoring lower self. As a teenager I felt that he was too demanding of me, that he expected more out of me than out of my sisters and brother. I often was angry and resentful of him. Sometimes I even thought I hated him, momentarily.
When I moved away and attended university, I almost immediately realized that my father was in attunement with the Spirit of God enough to realize that he felt the weight of responsibility for being a father and that he believed that I had a destiny that held much more responsibility than even my siblings.
I will always remember with gratitude Gabriel of Urantia’s/TaliasVan of Tora’s continuous confrontations when I am not walking in my higher spirit-led self. I realize that he has the gift of vision, of discerning the potential of others. That ability to see into us, to see our potential for greatness as well as our potential for smallness can be a very scary thing.
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Beginning in my teen years, I would sometimes while sleeping dream or while meditating have a vision of a strong male figure who had a penetrating gaze that would pierce me when he looked upon me. This male figure presented himself in different ways and in various personas, but he always had the same effect upon me. I had mixed feelings about this person in my dreams and visions. I loved and respected him and wanted him in my life, and yet at the same time I felt angry and fearful. I was intrigued by his power and yet fearful of it. I knew that when he looked upon me, he saw me, all of me—my heart of darkness as well as my heart of light and love. I felt terribly uncomfortable as well as hopeful with the realization that this person was awfully awesome.
I believe that this person “from the other side” that I encountered over the years was the finaliter Paladin, preparing me for my destiny in Divine Administration with my spiritual complement Gabriel of Urantia/TaliasVan of Tora. I think that my father, Leland Chase, also was unknowingly preparing me for my destiny within the Mandate of the Bright and Morning Star. My father did not embrace The URANTIA Book, and he could be quite fundamentalistic in his thinking and closed to expanded truth, but he knew at some level in his heart and mind that he needed to have high standards for me.
I can say that God has blessed me in this life with three very real male Elders—for my childhood and youth, my biological father, and for my adult years, especially beginning in my late 30s, my spiritual complement Gabriel of Urantia/TaliasVan of Tora, and my spirit grandfather Paladin. They all have, at varying degrees, what we in Divine Administration call Father circuitry—with a capital “F” representing the First Father of All, the Universal Father of Paradise, God.
Father Circuitry
What does Father circuitry look like here on Urantia (Earth)? First and foremost, it is about doing everything you can to aid others to meet their God-given destiny. Note I said “God-given,” not “self-given” or “society-given.”
The shared destiny of every human being on this world is to know who our First Father is, the First Source and Center, God, Jehovah, Allah, and so on. Here are some names that He is known by on higher worlds: The Gift of Life, the Father of Fathers, The Divine Controller, The Infinite Upholder, The Universal Center, The All-powerful One, The Paradise Father, The Father of Lights, The First Creative Source and Divine Center.
Papers 1 through 5 (composed of approximately 51 pages) in The URANTIA Book focus exclusively on God the Father. The titles of these papers are: 1. “The Universal Father,” 2. “The Nature of God,” 3. “The Attributes of God,” 4. “God’s Relation to the Universe,” and 5. “God’s Relation to the Individual.” Note that these papers end with the focus of God’s relation to the individual.
Many evolutionary religions include the concept of the spirit of the divine within each of us. The URANTIA Book calls that spirit of God, that Fragment of the Father, the Thought Adjuster and sometimes the Mystery Monitor. Within our individual unique personality circuitry, which comes from the First Father, is His Fragment that works within our minds.
Interestingly, there are also five papers (composed of approximately 58 pages) in The URANTIA Book devoted exclusively to the Thought Adjusters. In one of those papers it is stated: “the devotion of the Adjuster to the individual is touchingly sublime, divinely Fatherlike.” What is Fatherlike devotion? What does Fatherlike love look like?
When we view the human history of this planet called Urantia, we can see how certain groups of humans have evolved and progressed. We can see the rise and fall of many civilizations—some great and some not so great. But what dominates the rise and fall of civilizations is the pattern of conquering through force and violence. Over and over armies of fierce warrior-like men march into a land and take control. It continues to happen today, and over and over armies, and governments, and religions do it in the name of “right”, in the name of “progress”, in the name of “God”.
The personal histories of humans are also often stories of some other individual attempting to dominate another. How many women and children have been conquered through psychological and physical brutality by a man? How many hearts and minds of women and children have been taken over by a man through force?
Regardless of the rhetoric used in propaganda—which includes the patriotic talk of government leaders, the God talk of religious leaders, or the sweet talk of a boyfriend or husband—if men are not walking in Father circuitry they are not reflecting Fatherlike love or Fatherlike leadership.
I look at the administration of policies and procedures of European and American governments throughout the past centuries in Asia, in Africa, in the Americas, and I grieve. I see how those same policies are being implemented today, just in different language and dress, and I experience frustration and at times rage.
I see very little divinely-led administration in spite of God language being thrown around. I see Lucifer administration in spite of Jesus language being thrown around. I see Christianity and Judaism and Islam and Hinduism and materialism, but I do not see as much Godliness and First Fatherliness as should be seen.
Frankly, I am so tired of how words that were once beautiful and communicated truth, beauty, and goodness are now used to market a government’s or a religion’s or a corporation’s or an individual’s agenda of conquering another nation, another group of people, or another individual for profit, for power and control. Regardless of language and the hype, it is not in divine pattern; it is not of God, and it is not Jesusonian.
Being Jesusonian
Jesus’ mission was to always point to the First Father, and through Jesus’ life and teachings that is what he did. The URANTIA Book states that all that is within the Universal Father’s divine pattern is love-motivated. Everything within divine administration policies and procedures is love-motivated—to bring about the ascension of individuals and the true progress of cultures and societies into the divine pattern of light and life. The only conquering and dominating that should be done is by each individual allowing the love and mercy of God to control our thoughts and actions.
The entire fourth section of The URANTIA Book is entitled “The Life and Teachings of Jesus” and is composed of 76 papers with approximately 754 pages. In our study of those papers we see how Jesus, the only perfected human being to ever live on this world, made the highest choices in each situation, being totally in agreement with his Fragment of the Father, reflecting divine pattern in every aspect of his life. His motives were pure, love-motivated.
The word love has been cheapened, and most humans do not understand that there are varying levels of love—love expressed on the different psychic circles, from various degrees of ascension and understanding of cosmic and spiritual realities. Human love can be very selfish and possessive; divine love is something totally different.
In Paper 140, Section 5 of The URANTIA Book we are gifted with Jesus’ teaching on fatherly and brotherly love. He asked His apostles to ascend from brotherly to fatherly love, and I believe that is what Christ Michael is asking all of us aligned in Global Community Communications Alliance (Divine Administration) to do. Jesus taught that there are certain emotional attitudes, certain faith attitudes that are related with fatherly love. There are certain supreme reactions in fatherly love. I am not getting into what those faith attitudes and supreme reactions of fatherly love are in this particular teaching, but I suggest you prayerfully read through and reflect upon section previously referred to in The URANTIA Book.
In my study of the Jesus papers (that comprise the last part of The URANTIA Book), I have come to realize that Jesus walked in the perfect balance that a human being can on this world of chaos and confusion. He was able to be balanced within what Continuing Fifth Epochal Revelation (found in The Cosmic Family volumes) calls the Father circuitry, the Mother circuitry, and the Son circuitry, all connected to the three Paradise deities—the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, and the Infinite Spirit. (I am not going to get into the intricacies of this threefold circuitry in this particular teaching.)
Father Circuitry Again
What would Father circuitry look like in human men today? As I have indicated before, it has nothing to do with what we see in most men in positions of worldly power, regardless of their fancy talk. Father circuitry means having the discernment to know when someone needs words of praise and encouragement and when they need admonishment and confrontation. It means knowing when to be gentle and when to be stern. It means knowing when to be big and when to be small.
For more than thirty years I have observed with great interest various people’s reactions and responses to this Deo (Godly) power. Those who react are scared of this Father circuitry; they resent it, and some even hate it. Those who respond may be intimidated but are also open and interested in reaching for higher reality, wanting to see where they need to change to become better human beings.
Jesus said: “My Father looks into the hearts of individuals and judges them by their inner longings and their sincere intentions.” (The URANTIA Book, Paper 140, Section 3) For those of us who might want to keep some things within us hidden, that is scary. Remember my previous description of my impressions of Paladin over the years before I met Gabriel of Urantia? Though I welcomed Paladin into my spiritual experiences, I at times feared that deep, penetrating look into my innermost self.
In both the finaliter Paladin’s and the human Gabriel’s fatherly love, they have always looked at me with the eyes of discernment. In my initial encounters with both of these Father-circuited Elders—one spirit and one human—they looked into my heart and discerned my inner longings and sincere intentions, regardless of my talk, my dress, my job, how much money I had, where I lived, who I hung out with, and so on. In my lower self I was very intimidated and wanted to accuse them as imposing themselves upon my inner landscape and running too much male energy, of being too forceful, etc. etc. (If it is too much trouble to be awakened and shaken, we humans can concoct all kinds of accusations against those saints God sends to us.)
The much-revered Sufi poet Hafiz was one of those saints sent by the Universal Father to bless truth-seekers—throughout the centuries into these contemporary times—with his realistic and humorous realizations of what it is like for us humans to experience a personal relationship with God the Beloved. It is so easy to appreciate and receive the sweet talk and gentleness of others, which is very much a reflection of the love of God, and Hafiz wrote many poems of that aspect of God’s great love. However, Hafiz also knew that fatherlike love also requires the other side of the coin, the awakening part, which is more uncomfortable and even at times painful.
Tired of Speaking Sweetly
Love wants to reach out and manhandle us,
Break all our teacup talk of God.
If you had the courage and
Could give the Beloved His choice, some nights,
He would just drag you around the room
By your hair,
Ripping from your grip all those toys in the world
That bring you no joy.
Love sometimes gets tired of speaking sweetly
And wants to rip to shreds
All your erroneous notions of truth
That make you fight within yourself, dear one,
And with others,
Causing the world to weep
On too many fine days.
God wants to manhandle us,
Lock us inside of a tiny room with Himself
And practice His dropkick.
The Beloved sometimes wants
To do us a great favor:
Hold us upside down
And shake all the nonsense out.
But when we hear
He is in such a “playful drunken mood”
Most everyone I know
Quickly packs their bags and hightails it
Out of town.