THE BEAUTY PART

How are BEAUTY and PATTERN related, and what does it mean?

Presented ex tempore at Villanova University, 8/01/05
For the 6th International Conference of
THE Urantia BOOK FELLOWSHIP

In THE Urantia BOOK there is a most important quote concerning our future and the process of becoming Universe Conscious Citizens. [Page 1146:4, 104:3.2] "Mortal man is passing through a great age of expanding horizons and enlarging concepts on Urantia, and his cosmic philosophy must accelerate in evolution to keep pace with the expansion of the intellectual arena of human thought. As the cosmic consciousness of mortal man expands, he perceives the interrelatedness of all that he finds in his material science, intellectual philosophy, and spiritual insight. Still, with all this belief in the unity of the cosmos, man perceives the diversity of all existence. In spite of all concepts concerning the immutability of Deity, man perceives that he lives in a universe of constant change and experiential growth. Regardless of the realization of the survival of spiritual values, man has ever to reckon with the mathematics and premathematics of force, energy, and power." A. The Beauty Part - the satisfactions of Paradise

In the context of evolving concepts of cosmic consciousness, I want to explore with you the part that BEAUTY plays in our growth toward the Supreme, and the Age of Light and Life. Beauty appears to be the most elusive of the three, TRUTH, BEAUTY, AND GOODNESS, concepts that are our best approximation of Deity in the present universe age. We can grasp what is meant by TRUTH, and we have Jesus/Christ Michael to look to for an example of GOODNESS, but what about BEAUTY? The Revelators give us hints from time to time about glories and grandeur that mortals cannot now comprehend, but we will surely experience as we attain Morontia Mota, moving into the universe ascension scheme. This hinting has its grand summation in the revelation of the Isle of Paradise.

The home of the Gods is also the PATTERN for all material reality throughout the Master Universe. Paradise perfection is our destination. The Universal Father has not left us without real material support to accomplish his one supreme mandate, "Be you perfect, even as I AM perfect." My personal hunch, based on the huge hint the Revelators give, that each Ultimaton has Paradise as its nucleus, leads to a growing sense that Paradise perfection permeates all pervaded space, so that PATTERN is the manifestation of support from The Father, that all universal reality will evolve toward, conform to, and ultimately seek for the unfolding of innate perfection as a beautiful consummation. This is as true of personality as it is of materiality, it seems.

Personality is revealed not only as the bestowal of The Father, but also as the PATTERN of individuality characteristics: The unifier of all the elements of genetics, gender, mind, and spirit. The more I study all the many references scattered throughout the first three Parts of the Book, the more I am convinced that we seek after PATTERN even in the chaotic and incoherent changes that planet Urantia is presently passing through.

If things material have their atomic integrity and physical reality through the presence of ultimatonic particles spinning with nuclear Paradise presence, and you add the corollary that atheism is the maximation of ugliness, then it would seem natural that we find BEAUTY to be a signal that God is immanent in our real world. We are immersed in clues to the mystery of LOVE. After all, the Book tells us that "The Father is living love." The drawing power of fusion with our Father Fragments is the promise of returning to the source of all things, to embrace the Originator of our personality, to embark into the service of eternity having experienced the totality of BEAUTY in the presence of God, at the center of all things, on the Isle of Paradise perfection, source of PATTERN and potential.

B. The Art in the Heart - transformation in faith, the cosmic YES!

It seems to me that BEAUTY, and the sensitivity to beauty, is an indicator of progress in our spiritual development. This not to say that we ought to become obsessed with exterior forms and symbols of what is commonly accepted as esthetic pulchritude, although there is real pleasure in admiring physical symmetry and charm, though it just might be skin deep and no more. Thus the folks who walk in their own physical beauty are an attractive addition to daily life. Western cultures from the ancient Greeks on down to the present day have held out beauty as an ideal toward which the arts should always strive.

Eastern cultures have many ages of appreciation and creation of things of beautiful importance, most often to be associated directly with religious observances. Yet we have seen during the past Century a gradual fragmentation, a breakdown of previously accepted norms in search of the beautiful and meaningful. In music, in dance, in painting and in sculpture the older reach toward sublime and elusive esthetics, even a sort of spirituality, has given way to successive waves of challenging new perceptions, seemingly in defiance of that which was once called beauty.

The effect of PATTERN is apparently submerged in the waves of contemporary cultural and theological change, so that some despair that we have lost our way and fallen into decadence, the denial of God and human religious hope. To this appearance of cultural deterioration, the Urantia Revelation presents powerful counterpoise. From the Isle of Paradise outward into the seven Superuniverses, there is a plan proposed by the Architects of the Master Universe, brought into our personal sphere by the astounding event of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth on our world, and aided immeasurably by the presence of Thought Adjusters in every normal mind on the planet.

True, we have much to undergo in our evolution as a species and as a quarantined sphere, but BEAUTY continues to sing a song of aspiration, appreciation of higher ideals and better thinking. We find soul refreshment in the presence of things beautiful, while we develop sensitivity to spiritual fragrance in those around us. This is not a Pollyanna gloss over that which is intrusively powerful and ugly. Yet it is a healing and restorative way toward renewing the PATTERN that our minds use to achieve worshipful adoration of the source of all things, God our Universal Father.

C. The Light in the Mind - awakening to the Kingdom of Heaven

If you can use a search-engine in the text of The Urantia Book using the word "pattern", you will find a mind-boggling series of dense paragraphs that set forth the basic ideas behind the revelation of PATTERN and the outworking of BEAUTY in reality. Pattern is, of course, not merely beautiful, it is necessary and useful. In mental development it permits science and philosophy to aspire to know causes and conditions. It forms the basis of mathematics and the sureness of the periodic table of the elements. But, we are also told by the Revelators that much, much more is determined in universe reality by the functions of Paradise perfection sent forth by the Unqualified Absolute, as PATTERN energized by The Infinite Spirit and promulgated to all things and beings.

Could it be that the circle of eternity is also a pattern? Is the elliptical shape of the Paradise Isle not indicative of true North direction? The shape of the Isle is not a circle or perfect sphere, so it points to that which is true direction, from which all concepts of location depend. The Isle is the only thing in existence that is not in motion. It is stability in the presence of continuous space respiration and orbital procession.

It is the dependable home of God. The revelation that the Infinite Spirit, the Conjoint Actor, brings forth the PATTERN of Paradise into reality should be a clue to us, I believe, that the mind bestowals of the Spirit are cosmic, that cosmic consciousness is awareness of and worship of the Original in the eternal presence of The Trinity. Our Thought Adjusters tie us into the personality circuit of The Father, they conduct worship on our behalf, they crave to ascend us into the perfection from which they came, and therefore I suggest that the Supreme is locally dependent on the success of Agondonters here in the Sentimental Shrine of Nebadon, to utilize quality of thought in cosmic mind-patterns to achieve evolutionary success of Michael's Gospel of the Fatherhood of God and the Familial Fraternization of all Mortals.

The Kingdom of Heaven to me is the Jesus Brotherhood brought forward from the original bestowal times into the current moment, the times of most importance to the survival of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness on our world. If we truly know that with God all things are possible, and we achieve cosmic comprehension of our personal role in the future, we can depend upon the absolute basis of PATTERN to undergird our endeavors. The apparent paradigm shift of the present time is becoming clear: We are being called to shift our perception of mortal life from species survival techniques to spiritual growth- potentials such as PEACE, HEALTH, GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS, and LOVE. We must learn the techniques of sharing to overcome selfishness, the use of understanding to overcome revenge and bitterness, and the application of the Gospel of the Children of God in place of the atheism and isolation of contemporary philosophy and science.

The gigantic shift of our inner life that will bring this about is already in process, if we simply accept how much we long for God and his renewing and healing LOVE. As we master techniques of meditation, devotional moments, spiritual sharing of insights, and working cooperation as a fellowship of believers, we grow. That growth has potential to bring us eternal survival, while blessing our troubled world with a helpful soul who openly manifests the Fruits of The Spirit.

If the Light in the Mind is truly and openly lit, are we not becoming beacons to a dark and distraught planet? This does not suggest that we become believers in our personal superiority or righteousness, since humility is the watchword. Rather do we have need of one another to move forward toward better solutions to problems, in a new teamwork of spiritual transformation that energizes the best in each of us.

The German mystic poet Rainer Maria Rilke put it as well as I can imagine, so I want to close with a translation of his poem. "You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born. Fear not the strangeness you feel. The future must enter you long before it happens. Just wait for the birth, For the hour of new clarity."

Thank you for sharing this time with me.

Stephen Zendt Walnut Creek, California, USA
Re-written August 28, 2005