THE TRAINING OF MIND AND DISCIPLINE OF SOUL

“Jesus fully understood how men prepare themselves for the decisions of a crisis and the performance of sudden deeds of courageous choosing by the slow process of the reiterated choosing between the recurring situations of good and evil.” [UB Paper 153, Section 1]

Thought Adjuster: “What would a life amount to if it never experienced crisis situations? Surely, it would not lead you to question your current state of inner and outer affairs—a questioning that is necessary, as you are still imperfect creatures living on an evolutionary planet that has not settled yet in the promised stage of Light and Life. This is the reason why all lives are subjected to crisis situations—real or apparent. Indeed, in some cases, the situations you view as severe crises would not be interpreted as such if you had already resolved the inner conflict that brings them about in your life. What do I mean by that?

“Whenever someone successfully overcomes his lower propensities toward impatience and anger, for instance, the life’s upheavals that led previously to such hostile reactions have been leveled out. Such an individual has become immune to their trigger situations and, therefore, has transcended them. What used to precariously rock his inner world, is no longer perceived as a powerful emotional storm, but as a passing ripple on life’s surface.

“Crises will subsist in your field of perception as long as some inner reformation is required. Once you acquire the strength of character and the fortitude they call you to develop, your life will no longer be shaken to its very foundations, as it will now be resting on the solid ground of absolute and godlike values.

“Isn’t it amazing to witness how the Father works in each life—through the diversity of the crisis situations it encounters. Indeed, they are necessary for the ‘training of mind and discipline of soul’.

“Each life starts with a crisis situation: the chicken has to develop enough strength so as to break through its eggshell, acquiring thus a better start at life. The butterfly has to emerge through the protective cocoon which would otherwise cause it to develop claustrophobia, as its time as a cocoon is meant to come to a timely end.

“Dear ones, look at your life’s challenges that way. What do they call you to overcome? Which strengths or gifts are they adding to your experience? What are they prepping you for? Life is an educational process requiring perfect attendance. You can delay your participation, but eventually, you will have to face the music in order to master your musical skills and play your assigned part to perfection—for all to enjoy, yourself included.”