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This material originated with the March 2010 Michael Speaks. Special thanks to BrianW for posting his copy of the session or the content would have been lost. Although this session suggests that the missing content will be added, this has not yet been done. The roles covered in this session are those that were represented by session attendees. MEntity: Hello to all of you. We are here. We will begin with a discussion on the topic requested. Before doing so, we would like to point out that while it may seem to be the case, it is actually impossible to misrepresent, misunderstand, or misapply our teaching. When we say "impossible," we speak in relative terms that describe the fact of so many nuances and dynamics that go into representation, understanding, and applying our teaching. Our teaching cannot be misrepresented because it is either represented, or it is not. Beyond that, it cannot be misrepresented because if the student is not discerning and questioning beyond the representation, then he or she is not learning anyway. Our teaching cannot be misunderstood because this implies that there is a standard method and means for understanding. The only time this teaching is "misunderstood" is if one standard is held up against another. You will understand this teaching as you understand it. However, we will add to that statement that your understanding is never complete, and to presume that it is would be the end of learning. Our teaching cannot be misapplied, as again, this would imply a neat standard that describes how it "should" be applied. Even when our teaching is used as a platform for justifying behaviors, or to seek a sense of specialness, it is being applied on your terms, and those are the only terms we encourage. However, we would add to that statement that your terms are never fully understood, and to presume that your terms are static is to halt growth. When we say "halt growth" and "the end of learning," we mean these as temporary conditions of the Personality, and not permanent on any meaningful level for Essence. Though Troy's introduction was not intended to provoke this clarification from us, we do think it important to distinguish our channels' opinions from our own. That being said, there is validity to the fact that there is little recorded from us through our channels about the distinctions among the Roles in how they manifest through the Soul Ages, and we can address that today. We must point out, though, that anything we describe about any aspect of our teaching will, by necessity, be "generalized," as there is simply no way to describe ALL Old Sages, for instance. Numerous factors go into the manifestation of a Personality and Essence within a lifetime. Our Teachings can best be understood in both CONTEXTUAL and HOLISTIC terms. Contextual in that each phrase, term, or polarity is distinct within a specific context, and that context is an entity in itself, so to speak. Holistic in that this is a system that works dynamically, "organically," and when understood as a system, comes to life in a way that cannot be fully understood in its parts. For instance, if one were to be described or dismissed as being only a Kidney, it would not capture the full humanity of that individual, but to understand the functioning and purpose of the Kidney is vital on its own. Furthermore, lacking comprehension of the full humanity of that individual leaves one lacking understanding in how that particular Kidney actually functions for that particular person. We say all of this to you before delving into the topic at hand because what we will describe today, for the most part, is CONTEXTUAL. Within the time limits, we will cover Mature and Old Soul contexts for each Role, but will complete the subject with Troy so that Infant, Baby, and Young are included in exploring each Role. Each of the Roles through the Soul Ages could best be understood as manifesting more and more Essence through the Personalities that are created. Essence Manifestation can and does happen within all Soul Ages, but the degrees to which that manifestation occurs does grow. What we will describe today are what those degrees might look like for the Mature and Old Roles, in both positive and negative ways. Keep in mind that regardless of your technical Soul Age, you may be manifesting younger Soul Ages at various points within the life, or for the entire lifetime. For the most part, manifestation of various soul ages is proportional to the various contexts of your life, so that if you work within a Young Soul environment, you may call upon the Young Soul aspects of your Essence, and in Intimate circles, you may call on more of your actual Soul Age. "Manifesting Soul Age" is not static, and is not a description of limitations. It is simply a description of emphasis and resource for the lifetime, a relationship, a career, project, etc. What we describe today is a Role manifesting its actual Soul Age. Because of Personality, this may show up wildly different among that Roles "in the world," so what we describe may only be obvious to you privately. The progression through the Soul Ages for the Roles could be described as a progression of emphasis from DOING to HAVING to BEING. Infant and Baby emphasize DOING. Young emphasizes HAVING. Mature emphasizes the reconciliation between HAVING and BEING. And Old emphasizes BEING. Understanding this can help lend insights into the various Soul Ages and how the Roles manifest. Now we will walk through the Roles as they might be understood in Mature and Old Soul contexts. MATURE SERVERS Mature Servers tend to find themselves struggling with the reconciliation of Having Recognition, and Being Helpful. Over the course of the Young Soul Age, it finally occurs to the Server on a profound level that it is okay to be recognized, praised, rewarded, and that a reciprocating circuit of energy is vital to sustaining Service. Service is not a one-way circuit. One cannot serve where it is not received, and one cannot continue to serve without some form of exchange of nurturing at the very least. For many lifetimes previous to the Young Soul Age, this nurturing is either neglected until it cannot be any longer, or it is found in breaks between Serving. The Young Server then tends to use that entire Age to "catch up" on self-service to the extent that it can. In the Mature Age, then, the reconciliation begins between having that necessity of exchange in nurturing, and the core Being that seeks to serve in meaningful ways. Mature Servers, then, tend to be extremely busy, pulled in many directions, internally and externally, while they struggle with issues of utter availability and ineffective over-extension. The eventual reconciliation comes when the Mature Server only offers service when it can. OLD SERVERS The Old Server now emphasizes Being, and in this case, Being Helpful. At the very core of the Server is the design to HELP. (An aside: At first, all design in the early Soul Ages is manifested as compulsion as the default design is relied upon, but eventually becomes impulsion as the capacity for conscious choice grows.) Old Servers often do not "serve" at all in the capacity that one would think of as serving. The Mature Soul is ACTIVE. The Old Soul is PASSIVE. In this case, the Old Server "passively" Helps. The Old Server then begins to use exemplification as his or her means of offering Help. The entire life, self, and Being become the manifestation of Essence in that the Old Server WILL NOT allow himself or herself to suffer. If help can be gained from that by another, then the Old Server may extend upon that, but it has learned that suffering is a useless experience and will refuse to Help at the expense of self, but will unconditionally Help those who are willing to give up suffering. That may sound conditional, but it is not. It is simply a hard lesson learned that those who suffer most often choose not to be helped in any meaningful way. We define "suffer" here as that state of intellectual and emotional overwroughtness that leaves no room for solutions. Those who suffer in that way eventually learn that they are the only ones who can transform that experience, and all other influences are merely salves or addictions. The Old Server does not cater to that endless dynamic. MATURE ARTISANS The Mature Artisan has just come from an Age where it experienced being able to create and have everything it could possibly imagine within the constraints of resources at the time. The Mature Artisan now enters into an Age that must reconcile Having What It Wants and Being Who It Needs. Previous to this Soul Age, simply wanting something was often enough to have it, because it could either be created, or it could be discovered, and most of what was wanted was tangible and all "new" to the Artisan. In the Mature Soul Age, nothing tangible is "new" anymore, and what is most wanted is often intangible. This causes a struggle for the Mature Artisan so that cravings can often show up as a distraction with "things" as a means to compensate for the intangible, or as rejection of "things" as a means to hold out for the intangible. Mature Artisans can often find themselves in desperate relationships, devastating patterns of collapse and destruction, and manipulative methods for finding ways to be special. More than any other Role, this Role, in general, struggles with the inner battle between Specialness and Uniqueness. What the Mature Artisans eventually realize is that it is THEY whom they crave, desire, and want more than anything "in the world." Therein lies the reconciliation between Having and Being for the Mature Artisan. Artisans tend to develop patterns that leave them functioning only as conduits, often feeling as if "they" are left out, or left behind. During the Mature Soul Age, it is the first time in a long time that they "come home to themselves." And recognize their vital part in the equation of their desires and wants. Until that realization has been comprehended, there will be many instances where the Mature Artisan develops symbiotic relationships that continue to enforce the loss, or blurring, of self with environment or another. OLD ARTISANS The Old Artisan is often no longer concerned with creating tangible things, but struggles to make the entire life the creation, the work of art. Everything around the Old Artisan becomes symbolic and every symbol has meaning in relation to the self. The Old Artisan, then, is often tireless in the effort to showcase the life, the Personality, and even the relationships as symbolic extensions of the Soul. They become extremely sensitive to any deviation or distraction from their own symbology, and can often find themselves bewildered, hurting, and profoundly confused by these things. They develop systems of symbology that work, but often do not realize that these are not always the same symbols or meanings that others will tend to use. Eventually the Old Artisan realizes that there are a multitude of symbols and meanings for symbols that cannot be truly standardized, and this is when the Artisan is finally free. In conclusion for the Old Artisan, if the freedom is not found through the realization of various symbolic systems, then that Artisan may find he or she begins to tunnel-vision into a closed network that only supports his or her system of symbols, and anything beyond that is either a threat, or is ignored. Due to time constraints, we will do our best to streamline the details for each of the following Roles, and Troy will "flesh it out" for the final transcript. We will address Old Warrior, Old Scholar, Old Sage, and Old Priest now. We will include the rest in the final transcript. OLD WARRIORS The Old Warrior has now moved through the Mature Age that helped to reconcile the struggle between HAVING AMBITION and BEING SAFE. During the Mature Age, both of those terms become profoundly redefined so that "ambition" becomes "enthusiasm" and "safe" becomes "loved." The Old Warrior then begins to naturally generate enthusiasm over emphasis on accomplishment and ambition, and begins to persuade circles of love from the self and from others as opposed to circles of protection and safety. Protection is no longer seen in terms of defense against physical threats, but as a transformation of strengths through the capacity to love. This may go counter to what is often understood as a Warrior, but the Old Warrior is done fighting, and seeks to share what it has found to be the most bountiful resource and strength in the universe: Love. Of course, this can show up in many different ways and to several different degrees, but when the Old Warrior is manifested, it has a profound sense of safety in the world and seeks to extend that validity to others. If the Old Warrior has not comprehended that sense of safety, he or she will often show up as emphasizing warnings, concerns, preemptive strategies, and constant over-anticipation. OLD SCHOLARS The Old Scholar has now moved through the Mature Age that helped to reconcile the struggle between HAVING EXPERIENCE and BEING INTIMATE. During the Mature Age, the reconciliation between Experience and Intimacy is a long, often painful, road for the Scholar. Much of what is considered necessary by the Scholar for Experience is to have as "clean" an experience as possible, which often means leaving others out of the inner world that processes these experiences. QUESTION: Could you define intimacy in the sense of your meaning? MEntity: Intimacy here is meant as any form of Resonance, from sharing common ground to sex. The key being that it is INCLUSIVE, in that what is shared is not only mutual, but experienced as mutual. More than any other Role, the Scholar struggles with issues of Intimacy, of feeling connected to others, of finding common ground, and of feeling embraced. The Old Scholar has realized that Experience and Intimacy are not mutually exclusive, but Intimacy has been put off for so long for the sake of experiments, exploration, etc., that the world of Intimacy as an Old Soul is entirely new for the most part. Because the nature of the Scholar is to observe objectively, then this search for Intimacy may often be approached from the angle of provision, in that IF it exists, then it must be something provided for the Scholar, and not something he or she must work to generate from the self. Intimacy is such an amorphous concept to the Scholar that in the Old Soul Age, it will either feign intimacy as a means to have any kind of human contact at all, often leaving it to others to sort out the details, or to nurture that intimacy, or it will finally realize that he or she IS the source of intimacy, and begin to develop this from "the inside, out." The issue for the Scholar is often that if it is not found externally, then it is not a valid Experience, and therefore is not to be trusted. Ironically, anything that is already deemed as so amorphous that it cannot be trusted when generated within will also be deemed suspicious when generated from others. Therefore, the key for the Old Scholar in his or her embrace of Being Intimate is to begin comprehending TRUST. Trust is a mix of anticipated results and past experiences. It is not blind, and therefore it can be used by the Scholar. When the Old Scholar begins to recognize his or her embrace of himself, he or she can then begin to embrace others. If the embrace of others is attempted before the embrace of self, then there will always be an equation that returns the Scholar back to the beginning. They are highly mathematical that way. Trust comes in as the gathering of experience grows to show the Scholar that he or she will not die because he or she reached out, and that one is not alone just because one might actually like oneself. In short, the validity of Being for the Scholar cannot be proven through others, but the validity of others can be proven through the embrace of Being. OLD SAGES The Old Sage has now moved through the Mature Age that helped to reconcile the struggle between HAVING FUN and BEING HONEST. Now the Old Sage begins to emphasize Being Honest, even if it means at the expense of Fun. Old Sages often begin to withdraw from the "stage" and move into tighter circles that value honesty and true communication. It is no longer appealing in any way to simply perform the life. For the first time, the Old Sage values the importance of truly being SEEN. Even if there are a myriad of personas from habit and skill, the emphasis will still be there underlying every relationship and every opportunity: PLEASE SEE ME. This starts out as a kind of panic for some Sages entering the Old Soul Age, in that their existence depends on the utter honesty and rawness of being SEEN, and this can show up in desperate attempts to be understood, clarifying themselves, over-explaining, etc. This eventually levels out to a simple state of invitation. The emphasis moves from needing to be seen exactly how the Sage sees himself or herself to an emphasis on understanding how others actually see. This comprehension frees the Old Sage from the panic and loneliness of not being seen, and moves him or her into simply BEING HONEST. Once the Sage realizes that he or she cannot control how others interpret others, then Being Honest stands as an invitation, not as a prompt. QUESTION: How much of this "role in essence" material applies to casting? MEntity: All of what we have described can be extrapolated to apply to understanding Casting and Imprinting, in terms of Roles. INTERJECTION: I've never thought of Imprinting being a co-equal on use of role descriptors MEntity: For many who live as the Role that most influenced them, it can be helpful for freeing the self by transforming the dynamic that keeps the imprinting locked in place. Imprinting will always supercede Role and Casting, as Personality has the most control and influence while Physical. We should say, Imprinting will always supercede Role, Casting, and Overleaves. INTERJECTION: So, that's why it's especially important to figure out one's parents' profiles :) MEntity: Not necessarily. What would be more important is honest self-examination to determine just how conflicted one is within himself or herself. When Imprinting is useful, there is no conflict. When Imprinting is harmful, there is often pain ranging from apathy to tremendous turmoil. Harmful Imprinting ALWAYS shows up as the reprimanding voice that undermines your efforts. ALWAYS. Harmful Imprinting ALWAYS shows up as any conclusive voice within that divides you and defeats you. Your inherent nature, when free from harmful Imprinting, is truthful, loving, and energetic. When weighed with harmful Imprinting, you become divided with a dishonest, shameful, and undermining force against that inherent nature. However, it must be understood that Imprinting is NEVER PERMANENT and can be shed at any moment. If one struggles for any length of time with that Imprinting that is harmful, then some part of the self finds some value in it. We define "harmful Imprinting" as any Imprinting that has been kept beyond the 3rd Internal Monad that does not serve the Personality and Essence in any helpful way. QUESTION: why and how is it that a personality tends to manifest more essence as it progresses through the soul ages? QUESTION: still don't understand this... QUESTION is personality designed that way by essence? MEntity: The progression of Soul Ages is our way of describing a regaining of consciousness that allows for bridging between the Essence and Personality. That regaining of consciousness is done through experience. Therefore, in early lifetimes that have less experience, then it goes that less consciousness is involved, and thus less manifestation of Essence. Even the Oldest of Souls must regain consciousness within a single lifetime, yet that regaining of consciousness is accelerated because of the sheer weight of experience previous to that lifetime. It is not that manifestation of Essence does not happen within earlier lifetimes, but that the manifestation is specific to the degree of consciousness, relative to the degree of experience. So an Infant Soul can manifest Essence fully into the lifetime, but most of that manifestation would still be within the contexts (or degrees) of Survival. When an Old Soul is born into a body, that infant body is going to drool and wail and poop itself as it focuses on surviving. To that degree, that Personality's consciousness can manifest Essence. As that body grows, so does its capacity for consciousness. In that same way, the ROLE grows for ESSENCE. The Role and Essence are two different things. Therefore, the "body" that is the Role must grow over lifetimes as a means to manifest more of its Essence.