Enhancing Your Spiritual Perception
by Douglas Parker*
For thousands of years, down to present times, dedicated men and women have sought to explore, understand, record and formulate their interactions and experiences with unseen yet powerfully present forces, which are denominated as spiritual. Their efforts stand today as the planetary religions, belief systems, faith paths, teachings, traditions, as handed down from generation to generation or arising anew through more recent explorations, or teachings of seekers and followers of the spiritual. Into this brief overview of the spiritual, I would introduce my personal faith path, the Urantia Papers as found within The Urantia Book. These papers were formulated and presented by numerous beings, which I identify as existing within the spiritual domain of life. Their perspectives are meant to add clarity to humankind’s untiring efforts to comprehend, gain insight from, and interact personally with the spiritual domains and to bring us closer as a united Spiritual Family of God.
Imagine how useful it is to have an outside perspective of our world, its material history, combined with our spiritual evolutionary developments. Writings whose purpose is to unify our spiritual relationships show the shared lineage within all religions, beliefs, faith paths and traditions. Briefly, what is shared within the Urantia Papers: We exist within vast domains of purposefully organized space, containing trillions of planets and stars, stretching out with no discernible ending. At the very center of this creation resides a Loving, Personal, Source of all things and beings, that Source, which we may denominate as God, The Universal Father, I Am, The One, and many other names. This One Source is actually three original Sources, denominated as, The Universal Father, Eternal Son and Infinite Spirit. A special feature within these revealed messages is a detailed portrayal of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as seen and recorded through those beings watching over our planet.
The messages within the Urantia Book have purpose; among them is to expand our consciousness of the universes in which we live and to enhance our spiritual perception of the meanings and values by which we may live and serve others through our will choice within our vast Universal Family of God.
What does this enhancement of spiritual perception mean to you or me? It is revealed to us that each of us is a valued individual, each with a unique personality unlike any other and important to the Ultimate manifestation of the whole of Creation. New horizons open within our consciousness as we are introduced to the next steps of our development in the heavens, the continuing patterns of our universe ascension transformed as Life Eternal, on a journey to the Sources of All Creation. This is but a fleeting glimpse of the concepts within The Urantia Book. It requires time and effort to complete its 2000-plus pages; a wondrous experience that carries the reader on a voyage of spiritual discovery, masterfully revealed to us through loving, nurturing family members. Each month, members of the Corvallis Interfaith Network gather to share and converse to gain greater knowledge and appreciation of All Faith Paths within our community. Your presence and the voice of your path are welcome and needed. Join us, help us grow and strengthen our unity of love, service and faith.
Join me, my wife Nancy Votrain and others as we participate together with numerous faith paths monthly: See Corvallis Interfaith Network on Facebook for times/places to share your path of faith.
*Douglas Parker, raised in Paradise, California, came to Corvallis in 1962, drafted in 1966, served in Vietnam, returned to OSU, earning two B.A.s and a master's degree. He taught industrial arts and was a school counselor for 20 years. Returned to Corvallis 17 years ago, he's married to Nancy Votrain.
