Transcript Coeur d'Alene 8/10/97

[Rick P. Giles]

August 10, 1997
*       Stephen (Jonathan TR):  I will open our meeting today and
address you on the topic of character and bring some thoughts to
the table for consideration.   
        Your text says that Jesus taught character growth rather
than character building.  There is a nice distinction here, for
building provides the image that you add to, to externally take
upon yourself character traits that you view externally, where
growth implies an emergence from within.  Growth, the word
itself, implies an integrity already inherent in the many facets
of character, not merely the association of parts but an
integration.  In your desire to develop a morontia character you
can, of course, aspire to traits you admire in others and look
for ways to make these your own.  Character traits such as grace,
kindness, are all worthwhile.  But there is another aspect to
this that you can apply in your life, and those are underlying
character traits that are the foundation for the traits that
manifest.  These lie in the dimension of your volition; they
entail intent, directional focus, your purposive motivation. 
Anyone can acquire a trait through crafty application of
behavioral alteration, but when the core of your being is
directed Godward, there emerges these same traits but rooted
deeply in your soul.  I therefor encourage you, when you do
admire or aspire to attain greater character, that you begin
first by asking yourself the motive, making a decision that is
sincere, and then apply yourself in its development.  You will
have then grown a character rather than adopt and craft one which
is fragile when adversity strikes.
        I am Stephen.  Thank you for this opportunity.  
        Evelyn:  It sounds like when you develop traits from what
you already have, you can remake what you might consider negative
traits, bad habits.   There's probably some element of good
qualities in them that can be built upon.  Stubbornness can be
seen, for instance, as either persistence or blindedness.
*       Stephen:  Yes.  Stubbornness, a trait you would frown upon,
can be converted into steadfastness, a trait you would admire. 
Often what you do have in character is translatable,
transformable.  You are already well endowed with character
traits, for, as you have indicated, the negative ones can become
transformed rather than eliminated.   
        Jonathan:  I'm getting a line:  The transformation of
character is the evolution of soul through the juxtaposition of
circumstance and the directionization of will. 
        Evelyn:  That probably spells something.  An acronym. 
Something with a J in it!
        Sheila:  We'll have to think about that one for awhile.
        Evelyn:  It seems personal.  You couldn't tell if someone
else were growing or building or neither.  You can really only
apply it to yourself because of motive.  Outwardly it might seem
the same whether you are acting on some deep motive or just
trying to paste on some new behavior.
        Sheila:  That is what I heard.  Observing others' traits you
can apply that to yourself, like maybe I would handle this
situation like this.  Then that would add the growth to yourself,
as opposed to attacking or judging.   
*       Stephen:  We return to the subject of judgement often, for
it has many dimensions both favorable and unfavorable about it. 
The key ingredient is to always allow yourself and another the
freedom to change or to expand, for you know even to judge
someone as honest is, in itself, a judgement which could bring
disenchantment when that imperfect being fails.  The important
aspect is to direct your evaluation back upon yourself and apply
it to increased growth.  This is a manner of applying the phrase,
"judge not lest ye be judged."  To state otherwise, in judging,
apply the judging to yourself.  Utilize your observation to
growth and expect growth in another rather than seal them in a
doom. 
        John:  The guides have been talking to me about skills,
being skillful.  I get uncomfortable with that because there are
a lot of experts who aren't experts.  We are imperfect beings. 
How can we determine when we are skilled?  We can say something
doesn't bother us anymore, that we have healed that trait or
imperfection, but have we?  How do we know if we are skilled?  Is
heaven the judge?  
*       Stephen:  An expert is one who has experienced what one has
become skilled about; even the two words are related, experienced
and expert.  Experience develops the skills to express your
understanding; your experience is, in itself, the raw data of
which you become an expert.  To express theoretically without the
experience is a beginning.  It provides you the conceptual
perspective for undergoing the experience yourself just as it
equally becomes the vehicle of expression you make for another to
begin the same journey that you have experienced.  
        I make this statement to apply value to theory, both for
yourself at the beginning of an experience and for others as you
have concluded and shared your experience. 
        Skill, in a brief statement, would be having undergone the
experiences to ingrain your expertise.  But I would add another
dimension, and it reflects somewhat on my opening statements. 
There are ways you can apply yourself that allow you experience
in a field such as discipline, motivation, determination.  Skills
are not specific to the topic but are driving forces toward
accomplishment.  The very skills you applied to accomplish your
project are the very skills you will require to undergo the
experiences that make you, not only an expert at expressing to
others, but firsthand experiences in the very details.  It is
only a matter of redirecting your efforts.
        Has this provided help?
        John:  So, what I am going to be an expert on is what John
and Father together, through experience, create? What I was
thinking of was an expert's skills, according to the major
population.  My skills and my expertise will be according to who
I am.  Whether it resonates with the population is not my
concern.  
*       Stephen:  Yes, any one individual can become accomplished in
any field.  But each expert is valuable on its own, for each
expert has a differential in comprehension through the variety of
interpretation of the given data.  To simply retain the data as a
storehouse does not make one an expert.  It is the ability to
interpret and apply that gives significance to the information
that is sought from an expert.  Therefore your unique personality
becomes a valuable contribution to the great field of expertise. 

        Einstein would not have considered himself an expert on
relativity, a pioneer, perhaps.  But today his interpretations
are highly valued.  
        John:  If I was an angry person, I could say I was an expert
on anger.  Looking back, going through my steps, I am an expert
on anger, even if I am not angry anymore.  
you to do.