mj606

Hello Vortex, The speculation about Edgar Cayce being the "sleeping subject" is not new. His name has been connected to this phenomenon more than once. But, as you point out, EC was a relatively prominent figure - the Contact Commission deliberately kept the name of the subject in strict secrecy. To me, it is highly unlikely that the two are in any way related, except for the accidental fact that they both lived during the same time - and also the fact that EC was so involved with the "paranormal." The identity of the SS was an important secret...one can only imagine how the SS would have been regarded in subsequent years, had his name been known. We mortals have a tendency to elevate (or vilify) messengers of truth out of all proportion. With this revelatory material, it was the CONTENT that was of greatest importance. It stands on its own for each individual to evaluate, relatively free of material connections. Even when Jesus was on earth, he took great pains to leave nothing of a material nature behind - just his message of the "good news." Of course, we have the records of his having been here, but any material remnant of his existence would have acted as a diversion from his message. Knowing who the SS was would have been just such a diversion, in my opinion. I want to try and clear up an error that I think you may have regarding authorship of The Urantia Book. The sleeping subject was not the author of the papers. He was the conduit through which the papers were delivered. The actual authorship consists of a number of celestial beings - among them are angels and Melchizedeks. A list of the papers along with their authors can be found here: http://www.urantia.org/en/urantia-book-standardized/titles-papers The authors used the sleeping subject - or rather they employed him, and his indwelling fragment of God (which is called the Thought Adjuster)to bring the papers to earth. About this person, the book says: "The Adjuster of the human being through whom this communication is being made enjoys such a wide scope of activity chiefly because of this human's almost complete indifference to any outward manifestations of the Adjuster's inner presence; it is indeed fortunate that he remains consciously quite unconcerned about the entire procedure. He holds one of the highly experienced Adjusters of his day and generation, and yet his passive reaction to, and inactive concern toward, the phenomena associated with the presence in his mind of this versatile Adjuster is pronounced by the guardian of destiny to be a rare and fortuitous reaction. And all this constitutes a favorable co-ordination of influences, favorable both to the Adjuster in the higher sphere of action and to the human partner from the standpoints of health, efficiency, and tranquillity." (1208.6) 110:5.7 This is taken from a study called "How Did The Urantia Papers Come To Be?" which can be found here: http://www.urantia.org/en/urantia-book/faqs/where-did-urantia-book-come-from He was employed in this way because he consented (even if passively) to be employed. This was not forced upon him, as that would have run counter to all we are taught in the book about the sanctity of human free will. This study consists of quotes from the book regarding the revelation, its purpose and its delivery. There's also quite a bit about revelation and what it is. If you visit this link, all the quotes are linked to the text and can be seen in context that way. About Dr Sadler: He was a highly respected physician and he did, probably because of his knowledge of psychology and mental health, try to discredit those who were preying on the public's gullibility regarding seances, spirit mediums and so forth. I think it is just because he was such a leader in this field that he was chosen for the work that he did with The Urantia Book coming into being. Once he finally understood what it was that was happening, and after being unable to categorize or otherwise explain it, he became convinced that what was coming through really was what the authors claimed it to be - a revelation of epochal significance. His involvement has lent weight over the years to its authenticity because he was a scientist who applied the rigorous tests of proof to untried theories. I think that, beginning in the early 20th century, and maybe even before, that the celestials were trying in many ways to find the right avenues for delivering the book to the world. Again, human will was a factor, and they had to find people who would be willing to head up the effort, a person who could act as the conduit, a group (the Forum) who would act as the first humans to view and critique the material, and of course, those who would eventually finance the whole operation. I find it interesting that during that time the spiritualism craze was rampant, Edgar Cayce was receiving his own kinds of revelations, and the new and revolutionary "spiritual experience" of Alcoholics Anonymous flowered. I believe that the celestials were very busy trying to reveal divine truth to the planet in many ways. This was a gigantic enterprise and it took some experimentation to finally find the right people to make it happen as it did. All speculation on my part, but just saying... Anyway, the end result was that, after nearly 30 years of transmissions, question, answers, discussion, writing, and rewriting, The Urantia Book was finally completed in 1934. It remained a single book until 1955, when it was finally published by Urantia Foundation in Chicago. The Contact Commission worked closely with celestials during all of this time - unseen beings - friends of humanity - whose mission it was to deliver to Earth (Urantia) this revelation of epochal significance for the 20th century and far beyond. Just FYI - to read about all five revelations of epochal significance to our planet, you can see this link: http://www.truthbook.com/index.cfm?linkID=183 Best to All this Sunday morning... mj606

Hi Vortex and Brother Michael... Just FYI - Here's another interesting site, which will help you in understanding how The Urantia Book came to be: http://www.ubhistory.org/ And these links http://www.ubhistory.org/Documents/HB19971114_MichaelsK_26.pdf and http://www.ubhistory.org/Documents/HH1939YYYY_RowleyM_86.pdf are just a couple that give more in-depth looks at timelines and such, and have quite a bit in them about the "sleeping subject." This man was a patient of Dr Sadler. The man's wife was very concerned over his nighttime sessions of talking in his sleep and brought him to see the doctor. Dr Sadler began seeing him professionally, and wrote about him in the preface to his book "The Mind at Mischief," in which he says, in part: "A thorough study of this case has convinced me that it is not one of ordinary trance. While the sleep seems to be quite of a natural order, it is very profound, and so far we have never been able to awaken the subject when in this state; but the body is never rigid, and the heart action is never modified, tho respiration is sometimes markedly interfered with. This man is utterly unconscious, wholly oblivious to what takes place, and, unless told about it subsequently, never knows that he has been used as a sort of clearing house for the coming and going of alleged extra-planetary personalities." Dr Sadler subsequently became the head of the "Contact Commission," who interfaced with the celestial revelators. Dr Sadler was a man whose passion was to debunk "mediums" and expose all forms of "spiritism" which was all the rage in those days. His assessment of the sleeping subject was to finally conclude that this was a case that was not easily explained or understood, and he eventually became convinced of the authenticity of the source of the man's transmissions. This man's name has never been revealed, although many have tried over the years to identify him. I think that all of the people involved with him have long since died. These transmissions began in the early 20th century and continued into the 30s. The secrecy surrounding his identity was deliberate, as the revelators knew that having his name known would act as a diversion from the content of the revelation. They do tell us that the technique by which the Papers were delivered was a process that had never been used before and will never be used again. It does not fall into any of the categories that we know, such as channeling, automatic writing, etc...the subject himself was never aware of what he was saying, and expressed little interest in the content of the transmissions. Incidentally, Part IV of The Urantia Book - The Life and Teachings of Jesus - was the only part of the book that arrived complete and entire - it was not delivered in the same way as the first three parts. You can search the UB History site for even more info, if you have a mind to do so...a search for "mind at mischief" will give you a complete quote of Dr Sadler's observation of the sleeping subject. While it is a fascinating story, in the end, as Brother Michael observes, one would be better served to take the book at face value and judge it on its content rather than its origins. Best Wishes...

Nice thread, and it is refreshing to see a group of open-minded people... Just FYI, regarding the unusual words and concepts in The Urantia Book, here's a link that will help you to better understand their derivations: http://www.truthbook.com/index.cfm?linkID=631 The Truthbook.com site is all about The Urantia Book, with a decided emphasis on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in Part IV of the book. But you'll find just about anything you might want to know there, including a "listen" option, and also many fine flash movies, audio selections and topical studies. mj

Dear Michael, Your "inner witness" is speaking true... It will be helpful to remember that the Urantia Book was delivered in the 20s and 30s - the language is a little stilted at times, but as one goes through the book, the language becomes easier to read. By the time you get to Part IV - The Life and Teachings of Jesus - it is quite easy to digest. Also, the concepts that seem difficult (although so interesting) require that our brains be stretched somewhat to contain them. You'll find that the next time you read, you'll get a whole new understanding, if you allow yourself to be open. You are a truth-seeker, I can tell by the things you say in this post. Truth resonates somewhere deep inside of us, and that personal CONVICTION of truth is unmistakable and compelling. I have been a reader/student of The Urantia Book for over 20 years, and it is still fresh and full of inspiration and wisdom every time I pick it up. I am happy for you that discovered the book, and I hope you'll pay attention to that inner witness and keep exploring. Here are a couple of sites that may help you to understand better just what you have found: http://www.urantia.org/ http://www.truthbook.com/ Sincerely...