Michael Speaks: July 13, 2009

MEntity: 

Hello to all of you. We are here now. We will begin with a response to Jon's question.

QUESTION: What is Michael's advice for not just surviving in this economy, but thriving? It seems like there is extra opportunity because everyone else is pulling back. I would like to know we can use those opportunities to their fullest...

MEntity: 

In terms of lucrative ventures, anything focused on the improvement of daily life is going to be received well, especially if it is affordable and has long-term use or impact, from entertainment to practical gadgets. It appears to us that anything connecting an individual to a group is going to be received well, also.

We offer that response up as our perspective, but not as a suggestion, or advice.

We think that any fragment can "thrive" in any economy when the basics of shelter and food are provided, so the lucrative ventures and "opportunities" are presuming an economy that is fairly thriving by material standards compared to survival. The opportunities that may be most lucrative and beneficial in terms of material well-being would be any that are in keeping with Mature Soul values that continue to be recognized. Any venture that emphasizes improvement of stable position, and positive impact of the individual among groups, may be found to be lucrative.

We are describing a broad context because your creativity and personal passions must be the fuel for what is pursued or provided for material abundance. What we would suggest is a process of examining what drives your enthusiasm, or frustrations, and then measuring those against the skills and tools you have for either sharing that enthusiasm, or providing a solution for the frustration, and then determining if there is a market for it. If there is no market, then create one, if you choose to do so. It is not necessary to wait for the masses to help shape your investments. It is often the case that the most lucrative ventures have come from sharing what was never considered by the masses at the time.

We would suggest never to underestimate your creative impulses, though it is helpful to eventually focus them.

To summarize: for the world as it stands now, the areas of high receptions would be those that encourage positive group experiences and/or emphasize the pleasures of living in a shared environment.

Beyond this, we would suggest speaking to a competent investor, as they may have a much closer "finger on the pulse" of any immediate ventures of interest.

QUESTION: Recently much fervor is being talked about over future pandemics (viruses) on the rise. USA is talking mandatory vaccine shots. Is there cause for concern over widespread pandemics and/or the mandatory vaccines? What can we do to protect ourselves and loved ones concerning the shots and/or viruses? Thank You.

MEntity: 

The choice to abide by enforced laws, or not, will still be your choice, though you would have to be willing to take on the potential consequences of either direction. There will always be ways around enforced laws with which you do not wish to comply, however difficult that may be.

Mandatory vaccinations appear to be a low probability for enforcement at this point. It would be more likely that incentives would be used. At this point, "fear" is enough of an incentive for most to comply. So the concern over mandatory vaccines appears to be unwarranted at this point, but the concern over "pandemics" is valid concern, at least among metropolitan areas where constant close contact is a daily event. And when we say that the concern is valid, we do not imply that as a prediction, merely that the concern is more valid than that of the concern over mandatory vaccines. Vaccines would have little effect on preventing a "pandemic" or "epidemic." If it were to happen, it would be as a result of a mass lacking of immunity against a fast contagion and no vaccine can predict this. Only after-the-fact of spreading infection would a vaccine become effective.

QUESTION: is the vaccine harmful?

MEntity: In the use of any vaccine, there is always a risk, but the risks that are posed are limited to a small percentage of the population. In most cases, a vaccine either works, or has no effect at all. In isolated cases, the effect is not as desirable.

QUESTION: I see, but there will be more viruses on the rise?

MEntity: It is valid that viruses are morphing and mutating at speeds and volumes unprecedented, but so are immune systems and most are capable of keeping up. In most instances of a viral scare, you would see that it is affecting mostly the elderly or infants or those with already compromised immune systems. This is not to say that those with weak systems need not be protected, but that this reality helps to alert to any spreading dangers long before the majority would be at risk.

QUESTION: so by not getting vaccinated we are not placing others at risk?

MEntity: 

Choosing not to be vaccinated puts no one at risk but oneself, if you wish to call it a "risk." We say this because your lack of immunity has little to do with the level of immunity in another.

The greatest "vaccination," or boost of immunity, that anybody can have is a high level of self-esteem. At the root of all immune deficiencies is a proportional blow or chronic erosion of self-esteem. When medicine and community emphasize the well-being of the individual's sense of place, purpose, and position within his or her life, then disease and contagion will have all but disappeared.

QUESTION: what is Michael's definition of real purpose / real task / real mission - is this something that is contractual between our essence/and, our fragment and, essence will come in to communicate it to us... it seems that this "real work" occurs for fragments between the 4th IM and 5th IM, does it have 7 levels of operation ??? and, if so, what are they ??? maybe some people do it before the 4th-and, starting of the 5th - and, do it throughout their lives

MEntity: 

We would think our phrase of "Life Task" may be of relevance here, and we would define that as "the original motivation for the physical form and for the dynamics of the Personality." There are no contracts in this case, but there are intentions and agreements that are helped along by Essence until the Personality is no longer interested. The Life Task is what Essence intended to experience in the lifetime through this particular Personality.

What Essence intends NEVER overrides what Personality decides. Essence has no urgency for these intentions because it is fully aware of the fact that it can create another lifetime and body for trying again. In addition to the option for creating new lifetimes for the intent of a task, there are also parallel branches within a single lifetime where, more often than not, at least one version of "you" does co-create the life with Essence and fulfill the task. Essence will never impose its vision upon the Personality beyond the original motivation and design.

Most Personalities can determine their Life Task quite easily because it is more often than not something they already do. The Life Task is a primary consideration in the design of Personality, so whether one experiences the fulfillment of that task, or merely develops fruitless habits and patterns, the clues would still be there. If one is not already doing something related to the Life Task, then clues are usually found in what one WISHES one were doing.

It is valid that the 4th Internal Monad is usually the stage within the life when a fragment truly questions the alignment of self with soul, or life with Essence, or path with presence, depending on the spirituality of the individual. There are seven stages to the process of fulfilling the Life Task and they correspond to the seven stages within the 4th Internal Monad. We will include a link to those in the final transcript.

See The 7 Stages of the 4th Internal Monad.

QUESTION: How is life task related to self karma. Are they the same?

MEntity: The Life Task is related to Self-Karma only insofar as Self-Karma is an obstacle to the fulfillment of the Life Task. They are not interlocked, but some fragments can find the distractions of Self-Karma to block or deflect any sense of fulfillment of the Task. Many are capable of managing both the Life Task and the work of Self-Karma, especially if the Life Task is in an unrelated life context from the Self-Karma.

QUESTION: Is there only one life task, or is there typically a bundle of tasks to be completed?

MEntity: Some choose to have an arcing Life Task with several tasks to build upon, but the concept of the Life Task is a singular context as a whole. It would help to think of the Life Task as a QUALITY sought to be experienced, much like the Goal is. In fact, the Life Task is simply a more focused detail of the Goal.

QUESTION: I would like to hear you discuss more about choice. From my understanding, every personality has the ability to choose. However, incarnations are planned out ahead of time as well as parents, agreements, TC's, etc. What I would like to know, is what would happen if a baby were to be born when no Essence planned that life out? Is that something that is possible if personality does indeed have free will and choice? Would that baby be born without a soul/Essence? What would that life be like? Can humans really act outside of Essence's influence, has it ever been done, and when?

MEntity: 

In all cases of Incarnation, the first 7 years of a life are lived "without a soul," so to speak. By this we mean that the body and Personality are most vulnerable to the choices of others who are fully incarnated and the Essence of that Personality does more in that period of time to help shape the path of the life than at any other time, for most fragments. It takes up to 7 years for the Personality to fully resonate and embrace the Essence, if at all. It could be said another way that it takes up to 7 years for the soul to "move in" to the body, though we would not mean that literally. With this 7-year process in mind, it may be more easily understood that a body born despite an Essence's choice to "back out" is then "up for grabs" for any other Essence, and bodies are often grabbed up when they are available like this, much in the same way that one might scramble to catch the next bus or plane. However, while it does happen, it is extremely rare that any body or Personality would be born without the Essence fully committed. That kind of birth happens most often during the Infant Soul Cycle, but when it does happen, the body dies within a relatively short time of birth if no Essence grabs it up.

It is never the case that an adult Personality or body is conscious without an Essence.

QUESTION: so, personality is doing the gathering at that stage?

MEntity: During the first 7 years of life, the Personality is most passive in its gathering of experiences, and Essence is most powerful, though this will vary from Personality to Personality, of course.

COMMENT: so it seems there are some "limits" to choice in a manner of speaking

MEntity: 

The key here is understanding that Choice exists on all levels, and each level has its perimeters. Essence's level of choice is vast and encompassing of Personality's level of choice. Personality's level of choice is limited by the contexts, tools, and mobility of the lifetime, but always overrides Essence's choices while physical.

When we are quoted as saying "All Is Choice," it is implicit that we spoke of the various levels of "you" that is "all." In addition to that, it is implicit that CHOICE does not automatically mean CREATION or cause. It can also mean RESPONSE. Not all impact in your life will be of your choice, but what you choose to do with that impact will be your choice. Eventually the experience of Essence and Personality are blurred into each other and the life is a co-creative process that has no sense of division.

QUESTION: what are the 7 levels of real essence contact?

MEntity: 

Becoming more intimate and aware of your Essence could be described by these seven stages below. We are describing them in terms of the level of consciousness brought to the process of Choice.

ONE: Conscious Choice; if you are aware that you are making a choice, you are at least within the first stage of Essence contact

TWO: Self-Nurturing Choice; if you are aware that you are choosing, and that your choices are intended to nurture yourself, then you are at least within the second stage of Essence Contact.

THREE: Pleasurable Choice: if you are aware that you are choosing, that your choices are intended to nurture, and that your navigation is pointed toward pleasurable experiences, then you are within at least the third stage of Essence Contact.

FOUR: Causal Choice: if you are aware that you are choosing, that your choices are intended to nurture, that your navigation is intended to bring pleasure, and that all of this can be considered in the context of its impact on others and your probabilities (future), then you are at least within the fourth stage of Essence Contact.

FIVE: Truthful Choice: building upon the previous four levels or stages, we would describe the fifth Stage as that of being incapable of deceiving yourself or others, or making choices based upon lies that you have come to rely upon as truths about yourself or others in ways that cause harm, isolation, pain, boredom, or lack of fulfillment. We rarely see a full movement into or beyond this fifth Stage.

SIX: Trustful Choice: building upon the previous five stages, this stage describes a sense of peace and trust, not only in your personal awareness and sense of capabilities within the life, but upon your Essence as a part of your resource for knowledge and history. This is not a blindness or moments of leaping into the unknown, but of a deep peace that your intuition and inner guidance is exactly what is appropriate for you, and that if you were discover differently, you would trust that you simply recalibrate.

SEVEN: Playful Choice: this is a level of living that builds upon the previous six levels and has no fear. Fear is used as a form of information, not imprisonment or paralyzation. It is a deep recognition of your existence before, within, and beyond this Personality and lifetime, and life is then experienced as a massive opportunity to play, whatever that may mean for you.

There are other ways to describe these seven stages of intimacy and embrace of Essence by Personality, but this is one way that is applicable and valid.

QUESTION: What causes the emotion of being annoyed, and how is it useful?

MEntity: 

Being "annoyed" is often a defense against helplessness, or a wish to control a person, circumstance, context, or time frame; it is an offshoot of the Impatience and Martyrdom Axis, and even if those are not your habitual Chief Features, they are still accessible to all. In short, it is a control issue.

Annoyance is only as useful as one takes the opportunity to see it as informative. Annoyance points out where one wishes others would change so that one does not have to.

If there is chronic, unwarranted annoyance, keep in mind that the extent to which one is annoyed is the extent to which one is avoiding a truth about oneself. Those truths are usually painful and connected to the past and wounding. Mild annoyances are simply distractions, but if the experiences rise to chronic distraction, or to a clear pattern, there is information in those experiences that are specific to the individual being annoyed.

QUESTION: So the work lies with the one who is annoyed, not the one who is annoying?

MEntity: 

The "work" will always lie with the one who is triggered because there is no real way to control others without the risk of generating Karmic Ribbons.

All of this being said, annoyance is just another form of navigation.

If something or someone annoys you, it does not mean there is some deep, dark underbelly of wounding to unveil; it can often simply mean to move in a direction away from that which annoys you. It can often mean speaking up when you normally would not. It can mean offering alternatives, instead of presuming a limitation. It can mean adapting, despite your resistance.

The key in most annoyances is in what you WILL NOT DO because you feel you "shouldn't have to."

One way to heal an annoyance that may be a constant in your life is to recognize that you feel your personal rights are being violated. If one can identify exactly what right is being violated and voice that right internally or externally, and then act most accordingly, then many situations can be relieved that way.

And finally, we would say that it is important to note here that the emphasis is not always about relieving the annoyance; this is often not possible in cases where physical danger may lurk, such as speaking up against a band of armed hoodlums who are ruining a movie. The issue is in giving yourself permission to claim back your right in some way. You may not be able to convince others of your rights, but you can make the choices that are most serving of your rights. And once one has begun to understand, reclaim, and nurture his or her own rights, then the fulfillment of the rights of others does not seem as offensive or annoying. The hoodlums, for instance, while by most standards would be violating a multitude of social boundaries, are simply overcompensating for rights that they, too, feel have been violated in their own life. Annoyance then can become empathy and you would find other ways besides the enjoyment of a movie can help to nurture your own sense of rights.

QUESTION: This is a carryover from the last chat and may be confusing; however, I'll try and lay some groundwork. Last month's chat, we had a very nice session on how it's the Role in Essence that evolves through the Soul Age Levels, and that it's Roles that go through the various Grand Cycle evolutionary experiences, not Essence, per se. Yet, conversely, we're also told that it's Essence who holds their casting place in Entity, which then recombines as a single being as it were, including recombining the Entities into a Cadre being, and even onwards into an Energy Ring being on the way back to Tao. My question would be a need for clarification about how Essence retains individual integrity enough to have Roles and multiple grand cycles within this larger recombined or integrated structure of Entities to Cadres to Energy Rings.

MEntity: We will offer up this analogy for you to consider: Within your single lifetime you are born and live a life full of impact, choices, relationships, foci, paths, environments, experiences, etc. At the end of that lifetime, it could be said that who you are is the culmination of that entire lifetime. Each day, each month, each relationship, each environment, etc., to your Personality in no way loses substantial existence or influence simply because the Personality ages. And so it is for Essence. Every Personality, lifetime, Agreement, Karma, Configuration, Entity, Cadre, Energy Ring in no way lose their relevance at the eventual "end" of a Grand Cycle. To take this further: in the same way that your waking up in the morning and changing clothes does not lose the day before, so it is that Essence does not lose itself. This may be difficult to fathom, but this analogy is as accurate as possible. Each Grand Cycle to Essence is like each day to your Personality, so to speak. Most Essences have only been "awake" for "3 days," then.

QUESTION: Although, how can one go on to be new roles, grand cycles, etc. -- are those akin to personalities to Essence types of experiences?

MEntity: Yes, when Essence (or Spark) returns to Tao and then chooses a new Grand Cycle, its choice of a new Role and relationships and Casting are similar to the Role's choice of a new Personality, parents, geographical location, and Overleaves in each lifetime.

QUESTION: So when essence recombines in the Causal Plane and above on its way back to Tao, it is still able to access these memories, even after it is Tao?

MEntity: Yes, the memories are always there for the "Spark" that is behind the choice of Essence Role, but not necessarily for the Essence Role and Personalities that are distinct to a particular Grand Cycle and Physical Plane. It is a misnomer to call them "memories" in this case, but it is the most accurate word for now.

One of way of understanding this thread of continuity for the Spark, or Essence, is to imagine a box of photographs from your childhood, and a box of videotapes from your youth, and DVDs of your adult life, etc. With each passing stage of life, your memories of the past are not a constant in your mind, but those stored images can trigger those memories in an instant. The same could be said of your Spark, or Essence, as it moves from one Grand Cycle to another. A "box of images" are left with Tao, so to speak, and can be drawn from at any point, or pulled up in between Cycles, but the "memories" are not exactly prominent in the current focus.

QUESTION: So while individuality is 'lost' it is still 'retained' - I love when the rule of paradox applies

MEntity: The need for individuality is lost, but not the validity of it.

QUESTION: I have a question about the influence of past cycles. It there are two fragments, A and B. Fragment A has completed 15 cycles as a human being Fragment B has no previous cycles. If both are beginning a new grand cycle, how would the perspective of A be different from B in the Infant stage? Generally how would the experience of the entire new cycle be different?

MEntity: We can only speak from observation of similar phenomenon, and what we have observed is that "fragment A" would manifest Essence and propel through the levels of Soul Age at a rate that could be described as "faster" than that of "fragment B." In most cases of a Sentient Race, the gaps in Grand Cycle experience are bridged by fewer incarnations from those who have more Grand Cycles. In other words, "Fragment A" may have one lifetime for every 10 of "fragment B." This is why the lifetime count for many of our students is lower than those who are of a much Younger Soul Age, because the average Grand Cycle count for your species is three, whereas many of our students average around nine.

QUESTION: Would there be a qualitative difference? For example I read a book at 12 (younger) and then I read the same book at 50. the same experience but so different also.

MEntity: Sometimes that is the case, however, most Grand Cycles are not repeated within the same species or planetary system, so it is not a revisit of familiarity, but a completely new experience for all involved. Most of you have never been human before.

QUESTION: most? that means that some have . . .

MEntity: Yes, but humans exist in other locations of your Universe.

QUESTION: Are they pretty much exactly the same as us, or are there noticeable evolutionary differences?

MEntity: When we said "humans exist in other locations," we meant that you would recognize them as exactly like you for the most part.

QUESTION: Why go through it a 15th time? Just for speed?

MEntity: Grand Cycles are commitments to completely new species and location, or a new species in the same location, or the same species in a new location, but rarely does Sentience return to both the same species and location.

QUESTION: I understand that animal companions are extremely connected to the human they are with, but do they ever stay (alive) past what they would choose based on the human's needs? And if so, what effect would that have on the animal?

MEntity: No. When an animal companion is "done," he or she or it is done. If there is still life, it is because the life is not over. For animal companions who are developing the Emotional Center, the experience of a lengthy process of aging can bring tremendous evolution to that Center, not only for the animal, but for the caretaker.

QUESTION: "Balance implies obsolescence of the overleaves. Balanced man is no longer stuck. He is free to move in real space where there are no limitations" (Messages from Michael). I can only interpret this to mean that it is possible to change one's overleaves - not easy, but in rare cases, possible. However, the overleaves can be regarded as part of the physical plane, and there is also the common idea that the positive poles of the overleaves represent the true personality. I don't see any real conflict in this (as it sometimes appears in discussions), unless one assumes it is possible to exist on the physical plane without overleaves, as the quote above seems to imply. Comments?

MEntity: Overleaves do not change except in very rare instances of Walk-ins, when the body that would normally die is then passed on to a new Essence. It is then that the new Essence can use the next 7 years of recovery for altering the Overleaves. Overleaves are genetic, so the changing of them is not an easy or popular process, and most changes are limited by Axis (e.g. Idealist changes to Skeptic, or Growth to Re-evaluation).

QUESTION: So, what does this 'balanced man' mean?

MEntity: 

What is meant by "balance" here could be more easily understood as "choice-driven." When one is choice-driven, then one can choose to act, feel, and be accordingly and not just through the dictations of design. For instance, though one may be an Idealist by design, one can direct that Idealism through various tools of choice, including the entire spectrum of that Axis, through the study of impact from his choices, and even through the search for understanding the primary perspectives (Attitudes) of others. When one is "balanced," it simply means that one is no longer restricted by design, only by the capability to choose. Choosing from within a structure or design is not a restriction; it is a necessity. True freedom does not exist without structure or design.

We will point out that while one cannot truly change his Overleaves, he can USE the other Overleaves at will. In other words, just because one is an Idealist does NOT mean one cannot comprehend the perspective of a Pragmatist or a Stoic or a Cynic. The "balanced" person is capable of empathy and that empathy would be based upon the capability to expand beyond your design. Watching a good actor is an example of these statements. Just because one is born with black hair by design does not mean that he or she cannot wear a blonde wig, and wear it well. You may not be able to change WHO you are, but you can always change HOW you are.

QUESTION: Are sages particularly adept at this?

MEntity: We would not say they are particularly adept as much as we would say they are more quickly interested in that path to true freedom of expression.

QUESTION: If someone evolves in their expression of an overleaf, does this capacity ever extend to ability with other overleaves

MEntity: Yes, when the use of one Overleaf excels, so does the potential for use of the other Overleaves. The benefit of one benefits the whole. The Attitude is the primary pivotal Overleaf for all Personalities, by the way.

QUESTION: Does all of the hoohah about "raising one's vibrations" or elevating one's dimension have to do with this basic quotation about "real space without limitations"?

MEntity: We do not think all conversations, or "hoohah," about raising vibrations relates to our quote, but we can say that our quote has nothing to do with raising vibrations, except insofar as expanding the capabilities of choice might be equated to that concept.

QUESTION: Michael, this may be too personal to be relevant in this forum, but if not, are you able to see any reasons why the 60's Rock n' Roll artist "Jimi Hendrix" resonates so familiarly with me since I learned of his existence as an early teen?

MEntity: 

We can say that this fragment resonated to many for various personal reasons that we can address more directly to you in another format, but on a larger scale this fragment was also a symbolic representation of "possibility," which appealed to a great many beyond the medium through which he expressed that possibility. The showcasing of his skills was new and exciting and pleasurable to many, and this ignited a great deal of creative inspiration for many to use within their own lives in meaningful ways. When any fragment is able to be showcased as eloquent, artistic, and talented beyond the apparent obstacles of the times, inspiration is bound to ensue for many. Recent examples of this on a small scale could be said to have been the fragment known as "Susan Boyle" or the captain of the flight that landed in the Hudson River. On an even larger scale than the fragment who was "Jimi Hendrix," many would say that the fragment known as Michael Jackson embodied this inspiration of possibility over obstacles, as well.

We will conclude here. Goodbye.