The Arena of Consciousness of Choice

The arena of consciousness of choice

111:1.1 (1216.2)Although the work of the Judges is spiritual in nature, they must of necessity perform all their labor on a rational basis. Consciousness is the human ground on which the Mentor-mind, with the cooperation of the personality in whom it dwells, must bring the morontia-soul to development.

111:1.2 (1216.3)There is a cosmic unity in the distinct levels of consciousness of the universe of universes. The rational self arises in the cosmic consciousness, approximately as a mist arises in the cosmic energies in universe-space. At the human (i.e. personal) level of the rational self, with the consent of mortal consciousness, the potential of spirit evolution becomes dominant, because of the spiritual gifts of the human personality as well as the creative presence of an entity point of absolute value within this human self. Yet this spirit-dominance over material consciousness depends on two experiences: this consciousness must have evolved through the service of the seven assistant consciousness spirits, and the material (personal) self must choose to cooperate with the indwelling Richter in creating and nurturing the morontia-self, the evolutionary, potentially immortal soul.

111:1.3 (1216.4)Material consciousness is the arena in which human personalities live, are aware of themselves, make decisions, elect God or forsake him, come to eternal life or destroy themselves.

111:1.4 (1216.5)Material evolution has endowed you with an apparatus of life, your body; the Father Himself has endowed you with the purest spirit-actuality known in the universe, your Thought-giver. But to you, subject to your own decisions, consciousness has been entrusted, and by this consciousness you live or you die. In this consciousness, and with this consciousness, you make those moral decisions which enable you to acquire Richter Equality, and this is God Equality.

111:1.5 (1216.6)Mortal consciousness is a temporary system of mind given to humans for the duration of a material life for their use, and according to their use of this consciousness they accept or reject the potential of an eternal existence. Consciousness is virtually the only universe-reality you possess that is subject to your will, and the soul - the morontia-self - will faithfully display the harvest of the decisions the mortal self makes in time. Man's consciousness rests lightly on the underlying electro-chemical mechanism, and touches lightly on the mind-morontia energy system above it. Of neither of these two systems is man ever fully conscious in his mortal life; therefore, he must work in the consciousness, of which he is conscious. And what secures survival is not so much what the mind understands as what the mind desires to understand; it is not so much what consciousness resembles as what consciousness tries to resemble, which constitutes identification with mind. What culminates ascending through the universe is not so much that man is aware of God as that he craves God. What you are today is not as important as what you become, from day to day and in eternity.

111:1.6 (1217.1)Consciousness is the cosmic instrument on which the human will can play the discords of destruction, and on which this same human will can produce the glorious melodies of identification with God and consequent eternal survival. The Richter granted to man is, after all, inaccessible to evil and incapable of sin, but mortal consciousness can actually be twisted, distorted, and made bad and ugly by the sinful cooperations of a perverse, selfish, human will. Likewise, this consciousness can become noble, clean, true, and good - truly great - in accordance with the spirit-enlightened will of a man who knows God.

111:1.7 (1217.2)Evolutionary consciousness is wholly stable and reliable only when it manifests itself at both extremes of cosmic intellectuality - the wholly mechanical and the wholly spiritualized. Between the intellectual extremes of pure mechanical regulation and true spirit-nature, there is that vast group of evolving and ascending kinds of consciousness whose stability and tranquility depend on the choice of personality and on its identification with spirit.

111:1.8 (1217.3)Yet man does not submit his will idly, slavishly to the Richter. Rather, he chooses actively, positively, and cooperatively to follow the guidance of the Richter when, and while, this guidance consciously differs from the desires and impulses of natural, mortal consciousness. The Richters do manipulate man's consciousness, but never dominate it against his will; for the Richter, human will has supreme authority. And this will they truly consider and respect as they strive to achieve the spiritual ends of directing thought and transforming character in the almost limitless arena of the evolving human mind.

111:1.9 (1217.4)Consciousness is your ship, the Richter is your pilot, the human will is the captain. The captain of the mortal vessel must be wise enough to trust that the divine pilot will guide the ascending soul to the morontia ports of eternal survival. Only from selfishness, sloth and sin can man's will reject the guidance of this loving pilot and ultimately cause the mortal voyage to end in shipwreck on the dangerous, evil cliffs of rejected grace and on the rocks of sin embraced by him. With your consent, this faithful pilot will lead you safely across the barriers of time and over the obstacles of space, to the very origin of divine consciousness, and even further, to the Father of Judges on Paradise.

A Thought for Consideration from The Urantia Book