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NYC Michael Speaks Live: The Art of Discipline [original date: Mar 25, 2012] Channel: Troy Tolley Edited for Clarity Transcribed by Eric Mielke [MEntity] We are here. We may ask you some questions that will ask of you an answer that may contribute to your understanding of the topic. So if there is somebody who wants to help document these responses, organize this now as we’re working to come through. [MEntity] Because of time constraints, we may have to limit our information today to the dynamics involved with the concept of Discipline. Troy has decided to call this the Art of Discipline, which is appropriate as we see anything that is involving a conscious effort or practice that leads to the evolution of whatever it is that you are practicing to be an art. [MEntity] Asking questions of us is even an art. It is something that evolves with practice. And so it is with your efforts toward Discipline. It takes practice and it evolves in terms of satisfactory results. [MEntity] So what we will do first is talk about Discipline and what that means in our terminology so that you can understand it differently – possibly differently – so that you can apply in a more useful way than you might be doing based on colloquial understanding or current societal understanding. But before we go into that we will ask you a few questions so that you can set yourself up for insight later. [MEntity] The first question we’ll ask you is “Who” – and when we say “who” here, we are speaking in terms of anybody, not necessarily someone you know. It could be a celebrity, but it would be somebody active in your life in some way. So first, “Who in your life makes you laugh? Who in your life helps you to laugh at yourself? Who in your life brings levity to your challenges, indirectly or directly?” [Answer] We can say them out loud if we want to for fun. Anybody interested in that? Well, I will pick people from the room, because Troy and Nick both make me laugh very much and at myself quite a lot. Do I…I don’t have to pick one, it doesn’t really matter, right? [MEntity] That is correct. [Comment] Okay [Answer] Oh I’m next? This is so sad, the only thing that makes me laugh is my cat. [Comment] I don’t think that’s sad at all. [MEntity] We will encourage you to think into a human circle of options. This could be a celebrity even. [MEntity] You are not on the spot, these are questions that, if you cannot answer now, or you feel on the spot, you can come back to or think as we continue. [Answer] I have coworkers I guess that, you know, we laugh, and, you know, we have levity. [Answer] For me, it’s my sister. [Answer] I wrote “Cyprus, my mother, Troy, myself, Kathy Griffen and Lucille Ball. Lucille Ball’s dead. [Comment] She is dead. [MEntity] Being dead or being alive is not a requirement, as long as they are active. And in this case, recordings or episodes certainly can still help to fulfill that. [Comment] Lucille Ball does make me laugh. [Comment] I was just saying today that Cyprus makes me laugh. I was telling Mark. Especially when she’s in distress. 6:50 [MEntity] Our next question for you, because we know the time is limited, “Who in your life is there no matter what.” [Answer] I pick the same two people. [Comment] Who are the two people? [Comment] You and Troy. [MEntity] Whether you are on good terms, bad terms, ups and downs, and even if that person is not currently active in your life, it is still someone who is there, that if you had to you could contact. You know where he or she is, you know how to contact them, and you know that you can. [Comment] Well, I may have to take Troy off my list in that regard then. (laughter) [Answer] I would say my father. [Comment] Me too. [Comment] Nicki? Paragraph? [Answer] I wrote “my mother, Cyprus, Troy, Christina, and my sister.” If I needed her, I know she’d be there. [Comment] With a switchblade out. [Comment] Oh yeah. [MEntity] Our next question would be, “Who or what circumstances tend to push your buttons, tend to agitate you?” [Answer] I’m gonna pick Troy and Nick! (laughter) [Comment] Circumstances… [Comment] Oh Mark… [Comment] It’s my turn to write a paragraph. [MEntity] Or put another way, “Who or what circumstances pushes you into discomfort at times.” [Answer] Um, I still might go with Troy and Nick, but also work. I get very stressed at work. But, Nick’s finding humor in my stress level earlier does not help with my life, does not make my stress level better. So, I’m sticking with what I have. [MEntity] Of course, these answers may change as you continue to explore these concepts, but this is a start. [Answer] That would be my job as well; the unstable, disfunctional company I work for. [Comment] Bobby? [Answer] I’m going with circumstances, and I said “being taken advantage of or being manipulated,” pushes my buttons. [Comment] Nicki? [Answer] I’m still thinking. Now I feel under pressure, I’ll just say that I wrote, “the neighbors lack of consideration, things not being good enough, people being really selfish and inconsiderate on the train,” really drives me crazy. That’s just…I’m sure there’s more, but that’s what I thought of. [MEntity] We will move on and we will come back to these. 10:25 [MEntity] First we will talk about Discipline. As you know, we like to share our perspective of concepts as a spectrum from positive to negative in terms of polarities. Discipline can be described as a polarity or spectrum, with polarities of encouragement as the positive pole and reinforcement as the negative pole. [MEntity] Keeping in mind that most of what passes for Discipline in current culture and even in past culture has been on the reinforcement side of things. Often, it is negative reinforcement, such as punishment. But there is also positive reinforcement, such as rewards. If you do something, you will be rewarded. If you don’t do something, you will be punished. Most people tend to then keep Discipline out of their lives, or at least resist the concept of Discipline, because of that emphasis of the negative pole. [MEntity] As you know, the negative pole, for our students who are familiar with our terminology, describes the more limited end of the spectrum, the more restricted end, the more focused end. [Question] Reinforcement is the negative pole you said? [MEntity] Yes. [MEntity] Therefore, when Discipline is being experienced from that negative pole, or taught from that negative pole, or brought into the life from that negative pole, it will tend to be something that you do not enjoy. Not always, some people do enjoy that: the rewards or the punishments. And especially in a Baby and Young soul paradigm, that end of the spectrum tends to work very well. If you are afraid, you will do what you are told to do. If you are rewarded, you will do what you are told to do. And so on. [MEntity] But as the soul grows older, this no longer works, and you would rather just stay away from the concept of Discipline unless you are told otherwise that it can work in your favor from the positive pole. And so what works better for the older soul is encouragement. There is no reward other than the experience itself. You do it because you want to do it. You do it because it evolves you. You do it because it moves you closer to whatever you were aiming for, rather than walking a tightrope between reward and punishment. [MEntity] Discipline is a position in your support circle of twelve, which we will not go into here, but is a familiar concept for our longterm students, and one that can be explored in our recordings or teaching elsewhere. [MEntity] There are twelve positions in your life that are always present as a form of support for you. These positions are played by other fragments who are active in your life. When you resist those positions, when you keep them from being fulfilled, when you do not allow the familiar fragments to step in and play those roles for you, then circumstances tend to fulfill those roles. [MEntity] As Discipline is basically a process of learning how to choose, then what will tend to happen, if you do not have a person in your life who is being encouraging or helping to provide structure, then you will tend to find yourself in circumstances that will push your buttons, that will challenge you, that will push you into a position where you become acutely aware of the process of choice. [MEntity] And we have used a simplistic example of standing in line behind somebody who is taking their time counting out their pennies and their coupons, and the frustration of standing and waiting. In that moment of agitation, you are experiencing the position of Discipline active in that moment. You are now in a position to make the choice to leave the line, to speak up and cause a scene, or to simply patiently wait. So the experience in those instances is an experience of acute awareness of the process of choice. [MEntity] For a lot of older souls, this is the only Discipline they have, because it is a passive form of Discipline. It just shows up, and it pushes your buttons, and it keeps you acutely aware of that process of choice. Those who are the least disciplined tend to have the most agitated experiences. Or those who have passively accepted the negative pole of Discipline will tend to draw those experiences in, so that it is always black and white, negative reinforcement or positive reinforcement. [MEntity] Do you understand so far? [Answer] Yes. 17:35 [MEntity] So to bring your consciousness to the process of Discipline means becoming active in the process of choice. Keep in mind that the whole point of Discipline and its reason for being in your support circle is because it is the very thing that helps to support your experience of freedom. [MEntity] Freedom and Discipline do not exist without each other. There is no such thing as freedom without structure. If you think about freedom without structure, you are thinking about a person free-falling. Yes that person can flail about as freely as they would like, but that is not quite the idea of freedom that most people think of when they are seeking freedom or would like to experience it. There must be something to hang on to, there must be structure, there must be parameters. [MEntity] So Discipline helps to shape the space in which you experience freedom, to shape the space and the time in which you experience freedom. This is why it is so important. When you do not have that structure, then you do not even recognize most of the time that you are so free, that you are capable of that freedom or the experience of that freedom. [MEntity] We will go further in this context to describe freedom as not being a slave to your emotions, not being a slave to time, not being a slave to your environment. In other words, Discipline frees you to make a choice that overrides anything else that you would normally find to be controlling you, such as your emotions or your anxiety. [MEntity] The circuit that must be understood for Discipline to work well in your life, begins by understanding that Discipline is an external process first and foremost. Discipline does not start internally. It works its way inward. Therefore, it takes your active effort in the world external to your consciousness to begin that process of Discipline, to begin that process of shaping the space and the time for your freedom. It is an active process. [MEntity] Once you have put into practice that external component, it begins to then become internalized so that it is no longer an effort. It is a part of you. It becomes an internal process. This is often seen by those who are wishing to become more fit and the process of exercising or putting into effect a routine of exercising. It does not happen from within. You must go to the gym. You must stand up. You must get up and move. You must take those steps first. Then it becomes a part of you. [MEntity] There are some concepts that start from within and then become more evident externally. In this case, it is something that starts externally and becomes an internal reality. But you must take those steps to do as a way of implementing Discipline. And when you do that, in general, it must come through the process of encouragement, not necessarily reinforcement through reward or punishment. [MEntity] However, in the same way that concepts that you would like to bring into your life anew begin internally or externally, so do the negative poles of a concept have to be processed first before moving into the positive pole. So when you begin the process of Discipline, when you begin the effort, you will begin from the end of reinforcement. You will have to have a sense of reward and punishment at the beginning. [MEntity] It usually works better for the older soul to use a reward reinforcement. So that if, let’s say, you are interested in exercising, that if you do your exercises for the day, you get to have a treat. This is positive reinforcement. This is not where you would like to stay, because then if there are no treats for that day, you may not implement the Discipline. [MEntity] So you must move into encouragement. And by encouragement, again we mean doing it for the sake of doing it. It is its own reward. And that means that when you go to exercise, you start to recognize that it is a value in itself. It is the treat, or whatever it is you are disciplining yourself to do. 25:12 [MEntity] Discipline is — we were originally speaking about it as a circuit — a circuit between the emotional and moving centers, or the inspirational and the action. These two components are the energy that must be in motion for Discipline to continue. In most cases, the reason you seek the process of Discipline is because something has inspired you to do so. You would like to lose weight, you would like to become fitter, you would like to whatever it is that would require Discipline. You are inspired to do so, and then you must take the action. And as you take the action, then the inspiration will show up again in different levels. And that cycle will continue. The more you do, the more you are inspired. [MEntity] That is very important to understand if you are going to actually practice the art of Discipline. It does not happen just because you are inspired. You must do. And just because you do, or rather when you do, the inspiration will become amplified. As that becomes amplified, your action becomes amplified and easier. Keeping that cycle going helps you to stay disciplined. [MEntity] This is supported by…let’s use a visual of a triangle so that at the foundation of your Discipline is action. That is the most important element of Discipline is the action. You must do even when you do not want to do. At the top of the pyramid or the triangle is the inspiration, because this is what you are aiming for. This is why you are implementing the Discipline in the first place. However, the sides could be described as being supported by the intellect and the assimilation, or the expression and the neutral. [MEntity] What this means is, in the process of the cycle of being inspired and doing – amplifying your inspiration, amplifying your doing – you must have some sort of plan, and that would be where the intellect comes in. You must have a plan. If you are going to practice the art of Discipline, it helps to have steps. It helps to have a path mapped out. This path can change. This path can be updated. It can be flexible, but you must have at least a few steps in mind as to where to go. If you do not have this, then you will not be able to reach, or continue, or sustain that cycle between the inspiration and the action. [MEntity] The assimilation side of the triangle is your comprehension or your digestion of the experience. In other words, when you get to step two, you must recognize it, you must assimilate, omprehend what you have done, give yourself credit, allow yourself to enjoy that process. Or, if you’re still at the negative end of that Discipline, allow yourself that reward. The assimilation side can be said to be the flexible side. You have to have that along with the structure or the plan. [MEntity] Are all of you following this? [Answer] Yes. 30:15 [MEntity] When we asked you your questions earlier, we asked them because in the circle of support that we have as part of our teaching, there are twelve positions. That circle of twelve is basically groups of three, because one of the ways – or rather the only way – in which evolution occurs is through the triadal process, which is also why we described the pyramid or the triangular visual so that we can make this point: that it is a process of three. There are always three sides or three elements that perpetuate or evolve a process. [MEntity] So in the circle of twelve, your Discipline support position is flanked by a Humor position and an Anchor. If you wish to implement Discipline in your life, it can help you to recognize where the Humor is in your life – or the sources of Humor in your life – and the Anchor in your life. This helps you when you are having difficulty remaining disciplined. [MEntity] Those support positions, your Humor position and your Anchor position, will help you to laugh at yourself, or to laugh. When the difficulties of implementing Discipline may seem overwhelming or daunting, turn to your Humor as a way to not lose your footing. This would be the equivalent of the intellectual side or the expression side of the same triangular visual. You must have Humor as a part of that process for you to truly be disciplined, to truly be experiencing it as an art. [MEntity] And you must have an Anchor. The Anchor is that neutral space that you can turn to that you know will not judge you, or that if the person does judge you, is doing so as a form of support in some way. So whoever was identified as Anchor can be turned to, not necessarily to be actively involved in your endeavors, but simply turned to to talk to, to ask for advice, or even to be thought of as an example to help you keep your focus. [MEntity] The Discipline itself would be the base of the triangle. So those circumstances that push your buttons, let those help in being supportive of your capacity for not being ruled by your emotional reactions, not being ruled by reactions at all, freeing yourself from those moments where the process of choice has become extremely acute. [MEntity] As you are implementing the art of Discipline, because that is the base of your triangle, so to speak, that is going to be what you will see the most, that is what you are going to come across the most: the challenges to your capacity to choose. So it is in those moments that you, in making a conscious effort, can say, “Yes I will get up off the couch even though I do not feel like it, because I am not ruled by how I feel. I am ruled by my capacity to choose. I am free to choose despite how I feel. I am free to choose despite the limitations I experience in terms of time or in terms of environment.” You can work around it, you can work with it, but you are not ruled by it. [MEntity] As we said earlier, at the top of your triangle was the inspiration. In this case that would be you. Where Humor, Discipline at the bottom, and Anchor on the side, you are at the top. You are what is being supported. And ultimately you are the inspiration, because inspiration, which is different from Discipline, is something that is generated from within. However much you may think it is external because you see it outside of you and something else inspires you, it is because it is a reflection of something that is potential within you, that you’ve already recognized as a part of you. [Comment] I think that’s one of the greatest things that you’ve said. I remember that from before. [MEntity] Yes. Inspiration is never generated externally. It is reflected externally, but it is always a reflection of that which is already internal, or a part of your capacity or potential. Not always is it understood. For instance, there may be an inspiring artist that you love or find to be encouraging, but it does not necessarily mean you are supposed to replicate that person’s art or path, but to find what it is within that is artistic, for example. 37:48 [Question] I have a question. So, I understand that Discipline is the base of the triangle. So your Discipline position, like who is in that position for you, how does that apply too? [MEntity] If you have identified an actual person…we started off our questions for you in terms of the Discipline base of the triangle, asking you about circumstances, because those are most likely what you will comes across as you are trying to implement your efforts towards Discipline. It’ll be more circumstantial. However, if you know of a person who is in your life who helps to provide you with structure – who helps remind you of the importance of what you are doing, helps to remind you of the point of what you are doing, helps to remind you of the next steps – that individual can be turned to then for help in keeping your choices in order. [Question] Well, I already know Nick plays my Discipline position. He’s just a vacuuming gestapo mostly. So how does that really apply? He is a button-pusher, that’s for sure. [MEntity] We used that angle on that question because, as we said, that is what you will come across when there is no one around. Often it is because of those circumstances that you do not make the choices that you wish would contribute to your Discipline, but rather you fall out of Discipline because of circumstances. So it is important to understand that it is not just a person, but circumstances in this case that you will have to contend with in that process of Discipline. However, if you do know your Discipline position, that would be someone you can turn to to ask you to help make a plan, to help you to stay on track, to be your accountability partner, for instance. Do you understand? [Comment] I think. [MEntity] So it is not necessarily that they will push your buttons. That is the circumstantial side. However, the person who plays that role in your life can be the person who helps bring the structure to your plans, to help keep you on track and to help keep you responsible and accountable. [Comment] Okay. [MEntity] So that might be the person you confide in to say “This is what I plan to do, can you help me stay on track? Can I report in to you?” [MEntity] If you look at what we described, these are the elements that are what makes certain organizations successful in their endeavors because they implement these things…such as weight watchers or other fitness programs. [MEntity] We use those as examples because they are quite difficult for a lot of people to implement and they epitomize to a great extent the examples of the obstacles to the art of Discipline. But they are implementing these elements that we have described and that is why they can be successful if the person who is pursuing them stays on track. They may not describe their program in quite the same way, but all of those elements are still there. [MEntity] Understanding this or hearing what we have shared with you today, is just the beginning of putting into effect the art of Discipline. We understand that this is an intellectual sharing and a sharing of information, and you may take it and set it aside and forget about it. But if you take it and work with it, if you look at the components that we have shared with you and keep in mind the polarities and keep in mind that cycle of inspiration and action, you can accomplish or aim towards pretty much anything that you wish to accomplish or aim for, even as an old soul who is quite tired. [Personal Q and A section omitted due to privacy] 43:11 [MEntity] This prompts us to add one more element: that the greatest pitfall for all of you in the process of implementing the art of Discipline is comparison. You can defeat yourself faster than you can even begin if you start from a place of comparison. It is very difficult to sustain the cycle of inspiration and action if you are comparing yourself to those who are already successful or who exemplify your aim. It is one thing to see them as inspiration and quite another to compare yourself. So we want to point that out that comparison is not necessary as a part of your process [MEntity] For instance, in your pursuit of being a singer, if you compare yourself to other people, or compare yourself as to your age versus another, or your style versus or another, or your anything versus another, you are whittling away, chiseling away at your foundation. And you more often than not, will undermine your effort if you use that process of comparison. [MEntity] The other thing your comment prompted was a question to ask each of you that, in our description of Discipline, “How often do you feel you have used the negative end for your life versus the positive end?” [Answers omitted] [MEntity] You have just pointed out what we shared at the beginning of our session with you. Your culture tends to identify Discipline as a reward/punishment system, whereas the positive pole of Discipline is doing it for the sake of doing it, for the pleasure of it. It is not something that is necessarily tied to any reward or punishment. Therefore, it is important to understand that Discipline is always, and always will be, and always has been, a part of your life. It is that spectrum between reinforcement and encouragement. [MEntity] We will say that as you work through the spectrum of Discipline, it starts from the negative pole, from the end of reinforcement. So when you are being raised, it is important to understand cause and effect. It is important to understand the reward and the punishment. That is a healthy way to introduce children to the concept of Discipline. [MEntity] As you grow older and you begin to develop your own sense of your capacity to choose, then you must be able to choose or make choices based on your own system, your own compass, your own desires, your own parameters. If you fall back on a reward/punishment system that was defined by somebody else, you have locked yourself into somebody else’s paradigm for your life. It is not necessarily that you have to get rid of that, but you must grow beyond it. You can include it, but it does not have to be the same exact structure. [MEntity] For instance, the things that were important for you to understand as being right and wrong as a child become second nature as an adult. It makes sense to you that you don’t put your hand in the fire. It is not a matter of reward or punishment, it is simply just true. [Comment] The reward is not being burned. [MEntity] However if you live in fear of fire, because you were taught to be afraid of it as a way to protect you, then you are locked into a pattern that is not necessarily helpful or healthy. So as you grow older, you must eventually – and we say older not only in terms of physical growth, but your essence’s growth as well – you must eventually move toward the positive pole so that you are making choices based on encouragement rather than fear. [MEntity] Discipline is a part of your life every single day, whether you are aware of it or not. In the same way that Humor is a part of your day every single day, whether you are aware of it or not. It is always there. All of the positions that we describe as your support circle are there every single day: Love, Knowledge, Compassion, all of the twelve support positions. And for the sake of this session, Humor, Discipline, and Anchors are there every single day, whether you recognize them or not. 49:18 [Comment] I just want to bring up one other thing. I think I’m understanding it correctly, but I don’t think it can be emphasized enough the importance of that at some point in one’s development, even when you first start learning right from wrong, positive and negative reinforcers, whatever…but at some point along the journey if you’re not told you can choose, or if you are not encouraged to choose, or if you don’t learn to choose, I think maybe you’ll never develop a natural affinity towards something. [Comment] For me, case in point, I’m a person who doesn’t necessarily like to read, and hearing what they were just saying about you start off with our parents giving you these sets of values. I wasn’t necessarily read to as a child, but I was very intellectual and I read. But really all through high school, and even up through college, I would say ninety-five percent of the time I read because it was required reading for school and for education. So I didn’t read. I mean, I read comic books. [Comment] But I read because someone else was telling me there was something to be gained from reading, and I never developed this innate love for reading, which as an adult…you know, all my friends, all my coworkers: “What’d you do this weekend?” “Oh I went and got to read my new book.” And I’m like, “That is the last thing I would want to do is pick up a book.” That’s like the last form of like therapy or pleasure for me. And it’s because, at some point along the way, when I should have realized, “you can now turn it over and you can choose to read,” I never made it a choice to read. It was always about positive and negative reinforcement. [Comment] And so I think that’s very important, in terms of Discipline: to realize or to have someone share that with you at some point, that you can now start making the conscious choice to love things or not love things. [MEntity] Your point is valid, and that is part of the growing up process, especially for those who go through the 4th internal monad of developing their own identity. That is a part of a rite of passage in every life. If an individual chooses to take that rite of passage on, they will be able to go beyond their programming. As a part of the perpetuation of your species, your first many years, up through the 3rd internal monad, you are receptive to imprinting, because knowledge has to be shared with you as a way of evolving the species. Everything that is known is then programmed into you, and then what you do with that is up to you. [MEntity] Many people do not go beyond their programming. They live within the confines of what has been taught to them. When you go through the 4th internal monad, you go through a process of keeping what works for you and expanding beyond that through your own capacity to choose, through your own capacity the shape yourself and to move forward in your life. [MEntity] And so your point is valid and is relevant to the topic. That is Good Work. [Comment] Heh. Score for you. Now it’s ten after five. [Personal Q and A omitted due to privacy] [Comment] It’s twenty-five after. [MEntity] With that we then will conclude and say goodbye to each of you. [All] Goodbye. Thanks. [MEntity] Goodbye.

Michael Speaks Live The 12 Agreements March 28, 2015 Channel: Troy Tolley MEntity: Today we are asked to speak on the subject of Agreements. This is a subject that has been shared by us from very early on in our communication with students, and though the variations on Agreements broadened in understanding and terminology, presumptions have left the subject locked in some amount of staticity. Before we launch into a "streamlining" of the subject, we will, first, comment on a few misunderstandings and presumptions that have helped to keep the concept of Agreements static. By "misunderstandings" here, we mean that the concept was infused with personal agenda, rather than used as it was offered. We tend not to assign "misunderstanding" to any use of our teaching, because you will use it however you see fit, or not use it, regardless of our clarity of intent. However, sometimes when the infusion of personal agenda is high, all but the actual term is lost. Many of you will find the first of our statements to be review, but we encourage you to look closely at what we offer here because even if the terminology and our statements are familiar, you may consider that you are prone to the use of "Agreements" for an agenda over information. ONE: AGREEMENTS ARE NON-BINDING. They are called "Agreements" for a reason. They are agreements. They can be changed, cancelled, or rejected. TWO: AGREEMENTS ARE NOT PREDICTIONS. We offer windows of time to speak to the potential for Agreements, but this is no different from looking at your own calendar of plans. Those plans can change. THREE: AGREEMENTS ARE NOT GUARANTEES. When we speak to you of Agreements and their basic context, such as "matedness," it is no guarantee of your being mated. The context of the Agreement may be the lead-in, but what is done after that point is up to the Personalities involved. Many Agreements are set with one context, and change into completely different states. FOUR: THERE ARE ONLY 12 AGREEMENTS. No matter how many nuances or variations of description for Agreements, there are only ever 12. And this is what we will discuss in detail today. In the same way that there are "only 7 Roles," the number is moot. The vast range of variation, choice, additional factors, polarities, etc., generate nearly unlimited versions of an Agreement, or a Role, for example. The 12 Agreements correspond to the 12 Support Positions of LOVE, KNOWLEDGE, COMPASSION, MENTOR, BEAUTY, CHILD, HUMOR, DISCIPLINE, ANCHOR, HEALER, ENLIGHTENMENT, MUSE. No matter what we have called your Agreements, they are one of these. The reason we choose different, more varied terms, is because if you are told you have a Mate Agreement, it can be a variation of any one of these 12. Your Mate Agreement might be a HEALER Agreement, or a HUMOR Agreement, or a combination of COMPASSION and BEAUTY. Your Traveling Agreements might be the setting for ENLIGHTENMENT, or DISCIPLINE, or BEAUTY, for example. No matter what the Agreement, one or more of these 12 Agreements is being served. This is why a Mate Agreement is not always about "love." You may have had a Child Agreement, but it serves MUSE Agreements or LOVE Agreements. It is helpful to be as specific as "child" Agreement, but it is never just about having a child. It is helpful to be as specific as a "mate" Agreement, but it is never just about having landed a mate. One of the reasons we have shared the concept of Agreements from the more specific terms is because these are a bit more immediately recognizable. They can be a bit easier for the Personality to grasp. But as your position as a student evolves, you begin to notice that these specific terms are not enough, or not the whole picture. So we can tell you that we see a Mate Agreement, but then this Mate Agreement does not show up, or does show up and is different from what you expected. This is, in some great part, due to the greater context of Agreements at work here. For example, you may have a Mate Agreement window, and this Mate Agreement is serving the BEAUTY Agreement, not the Love Agreement. The Mate Agreement is the gateway into the deeper explorations of your concepts of Beauty, both in yourself and in others, or life. As the Agreement window nears, if you are rejecting of exploring Beauty, or rigid in your perceptions of Beauty, you may miss the Agreement altogether, evade it, or abdicate the Mate Agreement. You may feel ugly, so you keep the Mate away or do not notice when someone would otherwise have caught your eye. Or you stay home when you would need to be out and about to meet. This is why Agreements are so very difficult to predict. ESSENCE makes many of these Agreements, but Personality must carry them out. And if Personality is not on board, no matter how much he or she feels open, Agreements will be evaded or rejected or missed. Think of the 12 Agreements as CORE AGREEMENTS, and the unlimited variations on more specific terms as INVITATIONS. For every CORE, there are three ways that this core can be served. PUBLIC, PRIVATE, and PIVOTAL. In other words, no matter what the "invitation" or specific term, and no matter which core is being served, Agreements can be public, private, and/or pivotal. PUBLIC Agreements are those that tend to be a part of any social dynamic. These Agreements are mostly negotiated by Personality. However, it does not matter how brief or lacking in depth, these are still Agreements and still serve one of the 12 Core Agreements. Helping the elderly lady at the check out lane as she struggles with groceries is an Agreement. Being courteous of others in a theater while sharing in the experience of watching a film is an Agreement. These are PUBLIC Agreements, and they matter as much as any other Agreements. These are sometimes based in Agreements negotiated by Essence, but mostly by Personality as it navigates the day. That smile you offered someone could be fulfilling a Healing Agreement, or a Beauty Agreement. And as you may have guessed, this helps to fill a Support Position for someone, even if only for a moment. For PUBLIC Agreements, you often never know who the person is/was. PRIVATE Agreements, however, are those Agreements that are more intimate. These could also be called PERSONAL Agreements. You do tend to know, or get to know, the individuals involved in any Private Agreements. Most Agreements we address with students are Private. Private Agreements are equally negotiated by Essences and Personalities. While your Essence is negotiating a Mate Agreement with another Essence, "you" may be negotiating a Mate Agreement with the hot guy or gal you just met tonight. As in all matters while extant, Personality will always overrule Essence, so any Agreements Essence may have been negotiating will be on hold until you are done exploring what you set up with the "random hottie." Private Agreements tend to be more of an investment and effort, and require more openness than Public Agreements. PIVOTAL Agreements tend to be wholly orchestrated by Essence, and tend to be life-changing in some way on some level. PIVOTAL Agreements tend to have been set up before birth, but sometimes these are set up during the life. ALL Agreements, whether Public or Private can be turned into Pivotal, however. That random smile can turn into a relationship can turn into a pivotal experience. However, NO Agreement can be Pivotal without Essence involved. In other words, in order for an Agreement to be life-changing, some amount of Essence, consciousness, awakeness, awareness, must be involved. The more one is manifesting Essence, the more Pivotal one's Agreements tend to be. The irony here is that the more Pivotal one's Agreements, the fewer and less-often they show up as Pivotal. One cannot sustain Pivotal Agreements over and over or you would be spinning in circles. So you may have 12 Mate Agreements, but only one of these turns out to have been Pivotal. Our sharing that there are Public, Private/Personal, and Pivotal Agreements that can be in any form of invitation for serving one or more Core Agreements is to help you to see that you are negotiating Agreements on many levels at nearly every turn and layer of your existence. When you ask us if you have any Agreements, know that the answer is already YES. Know that if you know someone in your life in any way that is more than passing, you likely share Agreements. And that brings us to the final note: YES, YOU HAVE AGREEMENTS WITH HIM/HER/THEM. If you are asking, you probably have Agreements. Or, at least, are negotiating on some level. As with all of our teaching, we encourage every student to eventually lose dependency on asking us for information that you can intuit or even guess with fair accuracy on your own. If you have a relationship, you can look to the Core Agreements to see what is standing out the most at any given time. Reading up on the 12 Support Positions can help shed light on these Core Agreements. We will now open the floor to questions. ***QUEUE IS NOW OPEN*** ViP: How do Public, Private and Pivotal Agreements relate (if at all) to Agreements of Necessity, Personality, and Essence, that you described previously? (This was in a session on Honoring Agreements, also channelled via Troy.) ViP: Is it "Public"="Necessity", "Private"="Personality" and "Pivotal"="Essence"? (But then, if our student agreements with you are Private, can they still be agreements of Personality?) MEntity: What we shared today could be said to be a broader context on the whole of Agreements. It is a way to understand better how to ask about and understand the entire concept. What we shared in the exchange you reference is a bit more detailed and speaks more to the nuances, but is basically just a different angle that can be correlated. A student can be described as making Private Agreements with us that then become Pivotal, and a student can be described as having made a Private/Personal Agreement with us that turns into an Essence Agreement with us. The three terms we describe are similar enough to correlate. But nuanced enough to make a difference in terms of how one understands the concept of agreements versus honoring agreements. caricai: Hi Michael, does your definition of "mate agreement" include all types of sexual arrangements? For example, would a one night stand, long term relationship, friends with benefits, or a prostitute who has a regular client all count as mate agreements? I guess I'm asking for both your exact definition of mate and how sex fits into this definition, as well as friendship. MEntity: When we speak of a "mate" Agreement, we speak to the potential for intimacy, however that may end up showing up or however that may be invited. All of your examples can have been Mate Agreements because they are potential avenues for intimacy in some way. ckaricai: I think I get it. MEntity: This is not to say that when we mention that you may have a Mate Agreement that you must now worry about whether to hire a prostitute or make a dating profile. We simply mean that all of those scenarios COULD have been the result of a Mate Agreement. ckaricai: You're saying that any relationship that has the potential for long term intimacy development could be a mate agreement? MEntity: The most common forms that Mate Agreements take are in the obvious experimentation for an intimate relationship or explorations of potential friendship. That is correct, Caricai. ckaricai: I understand. Thanks. Janet: If you have a relationship with someone who is known to be in your support circle -- or you are in their support circle -- is it likely that the support circle position is the primary agreement type with that person? MEntity: Janet, it would mean that most agreements, whatever the form, likely serve that Core Agreement that is at the heart of that Position. If you know someone is in a Love Position, then all Agreements, no matter the form, are likely serving the Core Agreement to love and be loved. If your mate is in a Beauty Position, it is likely that, regardless of the mate agreement, it is serving the Core Agreement for exploring Beauty. Janet: So if you were inquiring about the type of agreement a Mate Agreement serves, it might be useful to know if that person is associated with your (or his) support circle as well. MEntity: This can be an important concept to understand because as the soul grows older, the Core Agreements of matedness change. The Old Soul will often tend toward Compassion as a Core Agreement over Love. This is not to say that Love is not involved, of course, but that the Agreement is rooted in Compassion. Janet, that can be helpful to know, but even if one is not in your Circle, one might still play a Position. We limit the "circle" to the approximately 144 fragments who fill the Support Circle (12 fragments for each Position). Often, a mate is not a part of that Circle, but can still play a Position. This is because Positions are always open to anyone, even as you accumulate more permanent fragments in your Circle. Janet: Thank you. I just thought it might be useful as a learning tool to know the connections. MEntity: You would be correct. BrianW: Could you speak on how agreements can be sustained and what factors go into altering or abrogating them once they are firmly established and active in one's life? MEntity: CHOICE BrianW: Somehow I knew that was going to be the reply MEntity: This factor is the underpinning of any Agreement that is sustained. We may add that it must be MUTUAL CHOICE. You cannot "choose" to be mated to someone who does not choose this in return. Beyond choice, 4 dimensions must be kept alive for an Agreement to be sustained, and these correlate to the Axes. It could be said that you must maintain COMMUNICATION (expression/intellect), MUTUALITY (inspiration/emotion), EFFORT (action/moving), and COMPREHENSION (neutral/assimilation). If any one of these begins to fail or be neglected, the Agreement begins to diminish. AnnH: Do these happen in any particular order? MEntity: NOTE: comprehension refers to your understanding the point of your Agreement. No, Ann. AnnH: Examining the concept of support circles and pivotal agreements: would it be helpful for us (as in me) to list those people who have been pivotal to become more conscious of the agreement and support circle position? How does one go about validating and exploring these relationships in a thoughtful way? AnnH: I would amend that to "begin to go about validating..." MEntity: Your suggestion is relevant. Think of anyone who has been pivotal to your life, and you will find some correlation with a Core Agreement/Support Position. Understanding that Core Agreement/Position can then help you to see even more of what may have been missed in the pivoting. Often it is the case that one knows one has changed on the other side of a Pivotal Agreement, and Essence gains from this, but Personality may be too busy with details to grasp the point. Retrospective can greatly help in that Review so that it is not necessary to save for after the life. AnnH: Can you expand on "missed in the pivoting?" MEntity: For example, you have a relationship that "changes your life" and this meant a move, meeting new people, and may even include the breakup or separation from that person. Dealing with the move, establishing new friendships, and recovering from a breakup will not diminish the fact that your life has pivoted, (or that you were pivotal in someone else's life), but you may spend so much time focused on those more mundane elements that you miss the greater contexts. Because Essence is involved, the benefits are usually accessible, even if they are not as delightful for Personality. For example, you may be bitter about the breakup and move and uprooting of your life, but you LEARNED FROM IT and you have greater capacity for self-confidence now that you have seen that you can do such a thing, but that does not always fly with the Personality who is cursing the "asshole" who changed your life. In the end, however, you must own that you changed your life. And you can change it again. AnnH: A follow-up? Brief? MEntity: Yes, Ann? AnnH: So if we don't "sort this out" during the lifetime we do it afterwards? MEntity: Oh yes. However messy. AnnH: I can see a whole course devoted to this stuff. ckaricai: "How to survive your shitty breakup." LOL MEntity: It is 5000 years into our teaching, and the course continues. Good evening to each of you. We will conclude here for today. Goodbye, for now.

July marked the rather awkward, yet enthusiastic, leap into the exploration of the Attitude for the year, which is IDEALIST. Most entered July on a wave of Passion generated over the previous 3 months of April, May, and June in which Passion, symbols, and identity were explored, shaken, and some left behind, making way for a sense of renewal in the months ahead. Many of you welcomed the energy of encouragement for improvement and betterment by your own standards. But it appears to us that, for many, August has "fallen flat" in its sense of promise and improvement. At best, most of our students appear to be in a state of Inertia, the negative pole of this year's Goal of Flow. At worst, a quiet, deep (and for some, a secret) disappointment has sprung within and August has turned into a sensation of weight that must simply be endured, worked through, processed. We say "at best and at worst" only for convenience as a way of describing one end of the spectrum as being fairly distracting, similar to the rowing of a boat upstream, whereas the other end off the spectrum is still a sensation of going upstream, but with a dragging anchor to contend with, as well. If these states are familiar to you, it is more than likely a familiar case of Naivety, the negative pole of Idealism. Your standards set high, your expectations set high, your enthusiasm set high, and as August has unfolded, you have discovered the depth of effort between what you envisioned and where you are. It is not uncommon. Setting your vision high, igniting your enthusiasm, and then either feeling as if you are falling short within a limited time, or simply incapable of fulfilling that vision, can cause a sense of crash and burn, or at the very least, a sense of running in place. For some of our students, this collapse in enthusiasm has come because of that perceived gap between what is envisioned and where one is, but for others it has come because life has thrown you a curve "just when you were ready to dive in to your improvement," or so it seems. What we would suggest to those who feel this inertia and weight is to realize that this is exactly a part of your process. Often this collapse of enthusiasm can be consuming, which can then lead to the relinquishing of all concern, but it does not have to be. The entire point of the collapse was proportional to your passion and intent to improve life and fulfill a vision. What is often not understood about the intent to improve the life is that when that intent is genuine, then the improvement is genuine. When improvement is genuine, it is a rooting that must take place, and when something new is planted in place something that was no longer growing or nurturing you, then that old rooting is uprooted. You are in the uprooting phase of your passionate effort to improve upon your life toward your ideal. What has come up as far back as the beginning of July for some, and for most during the last week of July through this second week of August, are pivotal experiences that will change you in ways that experiences have rarely changed you, if you choose to reap the lessons that have been be brought to bear. It would be safe for us to say that if your end of July through August 15th have been less than spectacular, less than fulfilling, less than fruitful, and quite frankly more than disappointing, more than disheartening, and more than distracting from your enthusiastic vision, then you were more than likely deeply sincere in your intent to make this year "count" as a pivotal year in your self-development and direction, and that you may be missing the point of what has come to the surface during these past weeks. Some of you may find that our description of disappointment and distraction to be too familiar for it to stand out as being anything new, so we will leave it to you to intuit the validity of what we describe. For some, the experience we describe above may be a repetitive pattern, or for others, the description is too vague. We can only say that for those who are experiencing the process of enthusiasm and intention for a pivotal year toward an ideal, what we describe will hit home. An aside: Keep in mind that we describe in our energy reports the patterns that are most noticeable and have the greatest momentum, much like the kind of weather report your geographical area is generating. This weather, if it actually manifests, is valid for anyone participating in it, i.e. having to travel in it, walk in it, etc, but may only be peripheral for others who are in a climate-controlled room, or focused intently on matters that do not take them "outside." The same could be said about the energy reports and those "out in the weather" vs those who are not, so to speak. For those who might not relate to any given report, a different report would have to be given to them, relative to that person's specific world at the time. For those who do relate to this report, we would suggest going back to read our February Report, focusing on the dynamics of FLOW. We would also suggest letting your disappointments, heartaches, grief, disorientation, weight, distraction, and disheartening moments give you the seeds of change that have come from the uprooting, or the displaying, or the glaring redirection needed for you to fulfill your visions, to honor your ideals. The information, wisdom, trust, and gifts are there. We do not say this to be poetic. It is simply true, or at least it is true that you do have the capability and strength for extracting the meaning from your recent experiences in a way that the experience becomes information, wisdom, trust, or a gift. [Note: The February 2009 Energy Report is apparently lost.] We would like to add a word about Enlightenment, as we play this Position within many of our students' Support Circle: We will first say that "enlightenment" is simply a building of a structure through which one can make sense of life. It is not a goal, nor is it a state, so much as it is a natural ingredient in the process of evolution. Even your "a-HA!" moments are not moments of enlightenment, so much as they are punctuations in the book of enlightenment you write with your experiences. One of the greater steps of enlightenment, and one that is taken over and over across many lifetimes, is the submersion into experiences that are overwhelming, deeply disappointing, painfully disheartening, defeating, or distracting, and finally grasping the truth that you are allowed to feel what you feel when you are in those experiences; that you are allowed to be overwhelmed, disappointed, disheartened, distracted, and to feel defeated; that to fight these feelings, to ignore them, to shame them, to contain them, to color them with pleasantries, to rise above them, etc. only leads to addictions, sedation, therapy, and other methods of securing False Personality at the gates of life to protect you from either feeling anything associated with these experiences, or to protect you from others seeing that you are feeling anything associated with these experiences. We would call this "Endarkenment." Endarkenment is not opposite to Enlightenment, but are much like Hate and Love. Hate is not the opposite of Love, it is a misunderstanding and distortion of Love, or, in other words, both are descriptions of a kind of intimacy. In that same way, both Enlightenment and Endarkenment are attempts to make sense of life, but Endarkenment is a delusion, a distortion of the structure that helps make sense of life, and often an angry insistence of the meaning of things as if this may never change. And so it is that many of you have stumbled upon your Endarkenment, holding up to the surface of your life what it is that you have insisted is true about your life, that contradicts your passionate higher vision, your ideal. For some of you this is quite dramatic, and for others of you this may simply be a bitter undertone in your days, but you will recognize what we describe if this has been the case for you in the past 6 weeks or so, and for some of you, this has not yet happened for you. If you are one who has set out this year to make this a pivotal year, we would say that it is likely that you would be stumbling upon your own Endarkenment in the weeks to come, and this information may be of help. August has no significant global or community shifts, but it appears to us that many of our students have fairly profound sets pivotal days within the month of August. Again, though it is unusual for us to emphasize this in such a way, those of you who understand this report, will understand so with a clarity that further validates our resonance with you as students. We rarely remind you of this, particularly for the sake of our position as a teacher, and for the sake of exemplifying the valid weight of such words when said with full presence; and though it is not unheard of that we say this when we feel it most important and appropriate, we do wish to say now that it is true that you are not alone, that we do care, and that it is true that we love you. We do not share our teaching flippantly. Most of you who work with us for any length of time are not doing so as a novelty. We have a relationship with you, and that can often be forgotten in the intellectual emphasis of our teaching. But our higher perspective does not exempt us from these sensitive states of resonance with you, it simply allows us to know love for you more profoundly than we can express within the sentimental distortions of language. We do not bring all of this up randomly, of course, but to speak to some of our students who will have stumbled upon a stage of Endarkenment. The words we share in this report that would normally have been seen as uncharacteristic of our communication, will probably be heard more clearly than usual without contradiction to our usual communication. Endarkenment, as it gives way to Enlightenment, can often open one up to a great sensitivity and clarity of true communication, stripped of sentimentality, pleasantries, and other False Personality tendencies, not only between yourself and others, but between Personality and Essence, and beyond. In the same way that our words expressing resonance with you may be heard more clearly, so it is that many of you may find in the weeks to come, a heightened renewal of contact and clarity with your own guides and support groups, both physical and non-physical. [note: every year has a pattern of energy that can be described as a kind of "personality," so the energy reports are Michael's interpretation of that energy using the Overleaf System; these are not predictions, but merely observations of momentum and pattern generated by actions and choices, similar to how weather patterns can be observed and reported.]

OMW: Support Circle of 12 Workshop — October 2, 2010 Channeled by Troy Tolley (aka CocteauBoy) Note: It might be useful to read this article, originally posted just a few months before this workshop, prior to the workshop content below: Support Circle of 12 CocteauBoy: okay, I'll bring in Michael as needed, but for now, I'll be discussing this first part with you guys... Here are a few vital points to understand about the Support Circle: ONE — You should understand them FIRST as POSITIONS, not PEOPLE. These POSITIONS are always present in every life, even if the PEOPLE (or other source) aren't present or identified. TWO — Each grouping creates a quadrate with YOU in the POWER POSITION. For instance, INTIMATES are Love, Knowledge, Compassion, and you are POWER. This is because these are support for YOU. Allowing those Positions to be identified and active in your life is empowering. Geraldine: Do the people in the Positions change over time? or is it a constant -- one per position, whether met or not? CocteauBoy: THREE — ALL POSITIONS except those in the Spirit Guides Quadrate require a PERSON to fulfill them, though it is not uncommon to find substitutes. FOUR — One Person in your Support Circle should never play more than 2 Positions. Playing 3 or more Positions is stretching/stressing the relationship, and diluting the strengths of that person in your life. Brian_W: if they do play three or more positions, will they eventually "give up" one of them to make the relationship stronger? CocteauBoy: FIVE — One Position from EACH Quadrate is active and present at all times, even if you have not identified it. SIX — If you cannot identify a person for a Position, or if you don't see that Position active in your life, does not mean that the person is missing, and can sometimes mean that it is not a necessary or obvious form of support. Brian_W: ie the child position? CocteauBoy: SEVEN — The process of maturing into acceptance and use of the Support Circle includes, ironically, the lack of necessity for each Position to have an identified person, but that the Position is kept open and alive for ANYONE to play it for you. Geraldine: bingo! CocteauBoy: To answer Brian's questions: AnnH: Can pets be in a position? CocteauBoy: If a person is demanding, expecting, or offering too many Positions of a person or the self, it can destroy a relationship, challenge it, or eventually lead to refining the Positions that are natural to each. Brian_W: ah, thank you CocteauBoy: The Child Position, like almost everything in The Michael Teachings, isn't so literal. We'll get to this in the definitions in a moment. To answer Ann: Pets are substitutes for People, but can tend to fulfill some Positions to some extent. Michael says that we can tend to go for substitutes because they offer the good feelings that come with that Position, but not the challenges that actually lead to True Support. AnnH: ok CocteauBoy: Any more questions about these 7 Points before going on? AnnH: Not from me Martha: no CocteauBoy: So let's go into the deeper definitions and meanings of the quadrates. As we go through these, some of the people from your list will start to stand out. You can make a note next to them in your list, but keep in mind that your notes might change by the time we are done, or over time as you digest all of this. The INTIMATES QUADRATE = Love, Knowledge, Compassion Michael says that if these Positions are not identified, the life can be empty, dreadfully isolating, and bring a tremendous loneliness. But remember that IDENTIFYING a Person for a Position is different from the fact that the Position is always present. When it comes to the Intimates, not only are they always Present, they are ALWAYS fulfilled. That means, whether you recognize it, or not, there IS someone who Loves you, someone who can offer wisdom/Knowledge, and someone who cares about (has Compassion for) you deeply. Michael says that the actual Physical Body would eventually die if those three forms of Support were not actively exchanging energy with you, even if you don't acknowledge it. What Michael says is that we can often block out those who provide these forms of Support because we often wish to choose those people for ourselves, and we tend to choose them based on quite superficial standards. For instance, your neighbor may truly Love you. Actually, completely, unconditionally accept you for who you are, but that "doesn't count" because you are holding out for the romantic version of it that you crave so deeply. Brian_W: hehe, okay CocteauBoy: No matter what you think, feel, reject, demand, expect, etc, you are Loved, you have a resource of Wisdom, and you have someone who Cares about you beyond the surface of your life. This is way more important for you to realize than you might think, at first. It's really profound. Brian_W: Troy, quick question. In the formative years, one might be led to believe that these three roles are usually held by the parents of the child. Would this normally be true? CocteauBoy: If a person doesn't know about these Positions from the stance of a Teaching like Michael's, they still struggle with, or accept, these Positions in his or her life. Brian, hold that question... I want to get out what I know about this first quadrate, and then we'll discuss each quadrate as we go. Brian_W: okay, I'll hold questions CocteauBoy: The Love Position is defined by that person who completely accepts you AS YOU ARE. This person has no investment in your being a "better" person, and doesn't have any concern about your past as defining who you are NOW. To this person, you can do no wrong, in the sense that this person will always be able to see to the innocence beyond even the worst of your behaviour. Michael says that we would be more amazed than we can imagine if we were to truly see how often and from how many people we are truly loved. They say that while we might have a hard time truly loving, and truly being loved, when it comes to sustaining it, our lives are peppered with tremendous MOMENTS of loving and being loved. Even the Love of a passing stranger counts. LOVE = Inspiration = Emotional = Mode The KNOWLEDGE POSITION is defined by that person who can be turned to for advice, guidance, insight, perspective, and general sharing of experiences that are relevant to you. This is a person who knows what you are going through, and has probably gone through it himself or herself, relative to what you need at the moment. To this person, your life makes sense. Things are obvious to them in ways that aren't obvious to you. Michael says that we are constantly surrounded by people who "get us," even if we refuse to believe they possibly could. Brian_W: ha! CocteauBoy: Michael says that we can tend to think our personal experiences are uber-unique and that others couldn't possibly understand, but that most of our experiences are universal and that there are millions who can empathize. When we reject this Position in our lives, we move through it aimlessly, self-absorbed, self-pitying, and again, feeling alone. That doesn't mean someone isn't out there who "gets us," and has great insight for us, if we were to actually be open to it. When we reject this Position, we tend to lack the ability to create meaning in our experiences. KNOWLEDGE = Expression = Intellectual = Attitude The COMPASSION POSITION is that person who is absolutely neutral in his or her relationship with you, and who can see all navigation factors necessary for you. Being so neutral doesn't mean lacking affection or investment, but that ultimately, this person is not threatened by anything that is necessary for you to know, do, or be. The Compassion Position sees you holistically, or as a dynamic being that is not separate from your life, your body, your wants, desires, longings, fears, etc. This Position is also neutral in that even though it is always present, it is never activated until it is sought or asked for. Compassion will never impose itself, and knows that you are ultimately safe, no matter what you do, are, or know. Compassion is active only in the sense that it is always on "standby" mode, like energy saver appliances, lol. or I should actually say, non-energy saver appliances. Either way you look at it, they are always ON, even if idle. Michael says that when we reject this Position, it can show up as our thinking WE know best about our life, and that we must take care of ourselves on our own, without any help, and even if we crave intervention or help, we don't trust it when it's offered. Michael says that we usually have no idea just how many people care enough about us to tell us the truth, to help us generate energy, and to help us accept ourselves, which are the things that Compassion helps bring to integration into the life. COMPASSION = Assimilative - Neutral = Centering By the way... You = POWER = Action = Moving = Goal So with what has been shared here, Michael says that you can look within yourself and around your life and see which Positions you reject or block, and that these can lend insight into how you are using your Overleaves, or how your life is affecting your Overleaves (Personality). For instance, if you look at your Primary Chief Feature, look at its Axis, you can then figure out which Position is rejected or blocked when that Chief Feature is activated. For instance, for those of us who have Arrogance or Self-deprecation, we can tend to ignore, block, or reject LOVE the most in our lives. Brian_W: all too true.. CocteauBoy: You can do all kinds of extrapolations from there, too... Geraldine: Again -- how important is it that we be all of these positions to others' lives? Or is this all from the individual perspective only? It would seem that we could learn to accept these positions if we gave support to others. CocteauBoy: For example, because the Primary Chief Feature affects the GOAL, or our experiences of the world, but that same Chief Feature ignores or blocks LOVE, we might find that we have a hard time feeling fulfillment in our ambitions, goals, accomplishments, unless we also feel Loved. That was an example for Arrogance/Self-deprecation. Another example might be someone with Self-destruction/Greed as a Primary Chief Feature, and this tends to ignore, block, or reject KNOWLEDGE. That might mean that this person can't really feel fulfilled in his goals, ambitions, experiences of the world because he doesn't even know why he is doing it at all. TO ANSWER BRIAN'S earlier question: Until we have completed the Third Internal Monad (Independence, consciously realizing ourselves as a source and resource), we are still building our Support Circle, and act basically as extensions of our caretakers; we are subject to how those caretakers work with their own Support Positions. That doesn't mean the POSITIONS aren't there, but that we haven't taken on the task of assigning, or recognizing individuals in them. And we do that assigning and recognition, with or without realizing we are doing that. In fact, part of the successful transition out of the Third Internal Monad is the identification of at least the Intimate Quadrate in the life, even if it is later rejected or ignored. Brian_W: horray! CocteauBoy: TO ANSWER GERALDINE'S question: We will never play all Positions to other people. We tend to specialize in 3 Positions (one from each Quadrate) and provide those to a circle of people/fragments over our cycle of lifetimes. For instance, I (apparently) specialize in the LOVE, HUMOUR, and CHILD Positions. I meant to say, 3 Positions, one from each of the first three Quadrates, but we can eventually specialize in one of the Positions in the Spirit Guide Quadrate. Brian_W: I'm curious (if there is time) as to which of those three that each of us here today specialize in CocteauBoy: And that's a great question, Geraldine, because the more you understand your strength in what you have to offer, you are better able to be clear with others as to what you bring into their lives. Brian, that's something that should become more obvious to you as you explore the meanings of each Position. Just looking at Love, Knowledge, and Compassion, you should get an immediate sense of what you tend to bring to other's lives, even if it's minimal. Brian_W: true, okay CocteauBoy: Any questions about these first 3 Positions? Maureen: If the Compassion position is on "standby" can one BE that position?? CocteauBoy: Today we are going to concentrate on these first three because they are the most important to our sense of vitality, fulfillment, and presence in this life. What you learn from focusing on these three can then be used in the other Quadrates outside of class. Brian_W: Could you comment on where Essence Twins, Task Companions and Travelling Companions might fit into this? CocteauBoy: TO MAUREEN: yes, you can be that Position, and you might recognize it in yourself if you tend to mozy about your life, but happen upon others that you know, or don't know, and either recognize in yourself a deep empathy for them, or find that you are good at responding to their cries for help, even if you sometimes do it begrudgingly. AnnH: Are there primary, secondary, etc. support circle positions? CocteauBoy: The "standby" that a person might feel if he or she specializes in Compassion is almost a tangible sense that you could be called upon at any moment to be needed. This Position rarely questions whether he or she is "needed," because that person knows he or she is. TO BRIAN: Essence Twins and Task Companions always play one or more of the Positions. Traveling Companions often do, but not always. AnnH: Even if they're discarnate or we have not met them? CocteauBoy: The reason it's important to think of these as POSITIONS FIRST is because the truth is, EVERY PERSON IN YOUR LIFE (temporarily or permanently; in one lifetime, or across many) plays into at least one of these Positions for you to some degree. Maureen: So if someone in say.. the Love position dies - do they still "have" that position or is it taken over by someone else? CocteauBoy: TO ANN's first question: Yes, there are tiers of strength in playing Positions of Support. For instance, I play as my second tier: KNOWLEDGE, MENTOR, and ANCHOR next. Then COMPASSION, BEAUTY, and DISCIPLINE last. A big Hello on that last one. Martha: lol CocteauBoy: TO ANN's and MAUREEN's next question: Brian_W: haha AnnH: Hollah back on that Discipline one myself, Troy. CocteauBoy: The energy exchange that is Love, Knowledge, and Compassion is there, with or without the presence of a person who might play those Positions, or might have played a Position, but is no longer alive, but for the Personality's sake, a physical presence is important to eventually identify for that Position. If someone played a Position for you in this life, and then is no longer alive, the energy of that support isn't lost, but it does lose its medium of manifestation. Maureen: Would it feel like abandonment? Geraldine: not to put too fine a point on this, but from what you said about 3rd IM -- no one who even has a theme with several others for a quadrate still cannot solidify that until ALL four in the quadrate process their 3rd IM and choose these positions? CocteauBoy: On a Soul Level, you will still receive and exchange, and the Personality will still feel the benefits of this if that energy is recognized, but the Personality shouldn't block new or alternative sources just because it was so present from a previous person. TO MAUREEN: whether the loss of a loved one who provided LOVE is interpreted as abandonment, or not, has to be up to the Personality. Not everyone will feel the same way. TO GERALDINE: It's not that the Positions aren't already there, and that peers aren't available for access and exchange in those Positions, but that we are still building them as a resource for ourselves, and still affected by our caretaker's use of their own Support Circles. For example... Our experience of the world, and our access to it, are usually very dependent on our caretakers'/parents' navigation of the world, so we don't always find direct access to our own circles until we develop our independence. We might have a fellow playmate be in our Love Position and fulfill it just fine for now, but that would be from the pool of people our parents gave us access to. As we grow older in Soul Age, and choose our parents more carefully, we tend to bring in the stronger support earlier and earlier. Geraldine: ha -- since I was given up for adoption -- my access to both my ET and eventual TravC was thwarted -- but only until I "found" him when I was 23 :) Brian_W: Somehow I've got my mom and sister (the one I still talk to) pegged as fulfilling that Love position Geraldine: Live long enough and you might know many who'll fulfill it :) Brian_W: hopefully CocteauBoy: So how many of you can identify a person for each Position of the Intimate Quadrate, even if you would prefer it to be someone else. Brian_W: I think I got all three of mine filled AnnH: I can identify more than one in each Brian_W: although I'm curious, can it be more than one person? CocteauBoy: TO BRIAN: yes, it can be more than one. Maureen: I have my one of my sisters (in my entity as well) in 2 positions so.....she's been there since I was 2 years old! Brian_W: Okay, cool CocteauBoy: So before going into the rest of the Positions, let me explain something called STRINGS. Martha: not sure Geraldine: I cannot identify the Knowledge position Geraldine: but I may need to redefine my meaning for the word, too Brian_W: ironically, I've got Geraldine as one of the compassion people CocteauBoy: STRINGS is a concept that is NOT necessary to fully understand, but it can help us to see our incarnational lives on larger scales. Geraldine: actually, I see compassion as one of my strengths, Brian Geraldine: it fits me quite well -- the neutrality, lack of emotional passion, etc CocteauBoy: TO GERALDINE: Michael says that a good way to help understand the Knowledge Position is to also think of it as the FEEDBACK Position. It would be the person/s that you actually let yourself hear when it comes to insight about your life. AnnH: Yes, it does. Martha: Which position is it again that self-destruction blocks? Geraldine: I'm more apt to "hear" from people online than in r/l Martha: me too CocteauBoy: Michael doesn't differentiate between Digital and Analog life since there is still a tangible medium involved. AnnH: Huh, not me. Much better with the audio. AnnH: Though it's easier in chats than in posts. Maureen: Is it possible to have "given over" the knowledge position to channeled teachings?? Geraldine: well, for me, it's listening for a particular clue or piece of data that makes a part of the puzzle solid CocteauBoy: Self-destruction = Expression Axis = Knowledge Martha: yup, that sounds right CocteauBoy: TO MAUREEN: keep that question in mind as we go through the rest of the Position and I think you'll see how the teachings fit in vs a person in Knowledge. Maureen: thank you CocteauBoy: Okay, back to STRINGS... STRINGS is Michael's way of describing the strength to which someone plays a certain Position for you. That String is determined not only by how well that Essence plays that Position across lifetimes as a preference, but also how often a Position is played by that fragment for your own Essence's Personalities. The way I've found this to be meaningful is to never presume that just because you've identified someone as playing a Position for you, that it is automatically that person's greatest strength, or preference, in supporting you. Brian_W: so there are some sort of underlying agreements to these positions then, be it on personality level or essence level? CocteauBoy: Michael calls these Strings because it refers to a contiguous sequence of values, or basically, describes how often your support for each other has overlapped. Although anyone and everyone can play any Position for anyone, there do tend to be those who develop extensive experience in providing you with certain forms of support, and vice versa. Michael really only recognizes the first 12 Strings. So that means every person has at least 12 other fragments in each Position who have specialized playing that Position. TO BRIAN: yes, Agreements are very important part of developing these Circles, and that's all any of us have to go on in our very first lifetime. We make Agreements with each other based on interests, and then build from there across lifetimes. Knowing who is who in your Strings is not as important as your just recognizing and being open to each Position being fulfilled. To the degree that you need the Support, and to the degree that you are open to it, you will draw in exactly who/what is needed. Maureen: Is it possible to see yourself different than others see you? Who is right?? CocteauBoy: TO MAUREEN: that's a great question... you can't control what someone else needs and wants and expects from you, but you can become clearer in what you know is your strength, and then offer that, even if it is called something else by that person. The clearer you are about what you can offer, the more likely that person will receive that, instead of expect something else. We can always do any of the position on a short-term basis, but in long-term Positions, it's important to be clear. Brian_W: For long-term positions, look to people who have been regularly around you for a few years? CocteauBoy: We have already gone beyond our 4pm stopping point, so let me finish with a quick run-through of each of the other Positions/Quadrates, and then give you your "homework." TO BRIAN, that would be helpful for a starting point, but you may also discover that someone new in your life is also playing a Position. Some of the Positions don't require long-term presences. As you'll see as we go through them now. You can get through an entire lifetime living from the support from each Position in short-term bursts, but some of the Positions need to be fulfilled regularly, like LOVE, while others like Healing might only need to be fulfilled once in a lifetime. The INSPIRATIONAL QUADRATE = Mentor, Knowledge, Child MENTOR is defined by that person who most-closely models what you aspire to be, do, or have with your life. This is usually a person who is doing, or has already done, with his or her life what you wish to do with your own. MENTOR = Expression = Intellect = Attitude Brian_W: does this limit itself to career, or other aspirations as well? CocteauBoy: Brian, if your career represents what you want to do, be, or have in your life, then yes, otherwise, it could be anything that might be thought of as the ideal. BEAUTY is defined by that person who is there to point out or represent the good, the bright, and the positive side of things. This is the Position that helps you to see the patterns within the chaos. Often, this person is considered beautiful to you, yourself. "Beautiful" being defined as provoking a higher perspective. BEAUTY = Assimilative - Neutral = Centering CHILD POSITION is defined by that person who provokes from you your own capacity to care, nurture, love, etc. Often that is actually a child, but it can be anyone who tends to bring out of you these qualities, including the want to help them, to guide, etc. CHILD = Inspiration = Emotion = Mode You can see from the INSPIRATIONAL Quadrate that each of these Positions have to do with provoking the best possibilities within and without. These Positions are called upon quite often, whether we realize it, or not, but aren't vital to the lifetime in the same way that the Intimates are. You could say that the INSPIRATIONALS provoke us to BE our Best, to SEE the best, and to GIVE the best of us (mentor, beauty, child). The CLASSMATES QUADRATE = Humor, Anchor, Discipline HUMOR POSITION is defined by that person who represents or brings laughter to the life. It really is that simple. It's the person who helps us to remember that things can be funny, that they aren't as tough as they might seem, or can make fun of the absurdities and pains of life. And if we really let that Position take effect, it helps us to laugh at ourselves. HUMOR = Expression = Intellect = Attitude ANCHOR is defined by that person who has been in your life the longest, and that you always know you can contact for most anything, anytime, if you really had to. That doesn't mean you would, or will, contact that person, but the truth would still be that you COULD. Martha: I can see servers specializing in Anchor, and sages in Humor CocteauBoy: ANCHOR = Inspiration = Emotion = Mode DISCIPLINE is defined as that person who heightens your own awareness of the impact of your choices, decisions, and actions. This can sometimes be the obvious forms of discipline, but can also show up as that person who really challenges you to keep your mouth shut, or that it takes a lot not to not fly off the handle when around, or even a stranger who is "pushing your buttons," and you rise above that. Brian_W smiles CocteauBoy: Discipline can be like a teacher providing limitations for focusing, or like an annoying prick who makes you think twice before you do something irrational. DISCIPLINE = Assimilative - Neutral = Centering This may not seem Neutral, but for those who push us to think twice, they are often immune to our sense of intensity over the matter. The SPIRIT GUIDES Quadrate = Healer, Enlightenment, Muse A HEALER is defined by that person or spirit or experience that brings healing. That's it! It could be a doctor, and good friend, or a smile that makes your day. Healing is necessary on long-term and short-term basis, so it will depend on your life experiences as to how much of this you need in your life. HEALER = Expression = Intellect = Attitude ENLIGHTENMENT is defined by any person, teaching, theme, philosophy, etc that provides you with a structure or framework for interpreting, navigating, and building your life. Michael plays the Enlightenment Position for all of us, here. I should say, they play "AN" Enlightenment Position; you may have others. Enlightenment Positions provide us with a way to understand the overall contexts of life. ENLIGHTENMENT = Assimilative - Neutral = Centering Geraldine: When I wear my tinfoil covered hat, only Michael comes through. Martha: :) CocteauBoy: MUSE POSITION is defined by "pure aspiration." It is a QUALITY against which you measure yourself as bringing meaning, fulfillment, and embodiment to that Quality. It's the only Position that is NEVER a Person, but can always be represented by a person. Your Muse can usually be described by a word or a phrase, and that can often be found in those people who inspire you the most in your life. A Muse can be represented by anything and everything, as long as it embodies that Quality. So if your Muse is FREEDOM, for instance, you may find Martin Luther King, Jr is an embodiment of your Muse. Or if you find that CREATIVITY is your Muse, you might find a certain artist embodying your Muse. MUSE = Inspiration = Emotion = Mode So that concludes the four Quadrates of the Support Circle of Twelve! NOTE that the first and third Quadrate of Support are ALWAYS HUMAN, and if not played by Humans/other fragments, then the effects are often lost, and felt. Geraldine: The one that made an especially loud bingo! was Child position being mode -- I've never been particularly warm and nurturing -- it fits with my mode of observation -- I tended to watch kids like they were bugs Martha: SO when you ask Michael for personal info on this, what do they give (you'd told me they have a "report" type thing) CocteauBoy: The second Quadrate uses the most substitutes, and those can work, even if we should try to embrace the people who would best play those Positions. Martha: AH, and I am passion mode and I have been passionately nurturing CocteauBoy: The Fourth Quadrate is up for anything to play the Positions of Support. Geraldine and Martha, that's exactly what you should be doing! Take the connections and look for patterns in the Support Circle for insight into how you've blocked or accepted or played the Positions! MAUREEN, yes, I wasn't in trance today, but had Michael here as backup, if I needed them! MARTHA, I was playing around with the Report idea, but from what I understand, it would require a list of identified people and their suspected positions, and then Michael would validate that, and then expand upon the patterns each have played for each other. Geraldine, lol, re-read it, you'll see it go in and out... I sometimes turned over only a line or two to them... Geraldine: I could see a report being developed out of this -- with some effort CocteauBoy: Okay, one last thing! YOUR HOMEWORK: Use your list of people and add as many as you can to each Position as you think they may play it, making the first Quadrate your priority. Then prioritize those people in the order you think they play that Position strongest. Go through that list then and free some of those people from the Positions you imposed on them vs what they might play naturally. Go through that list then and try to see those who have been such a pain in the ass may have actually been contributing to your well-being all along... Give special attention to the Spirit Guide Quadrate and help yourself identify and define those Positions. And finally, go through and figure out from the first three Quadrates which Positions you enjoy playing the best and most-often. I'll send each of you the original article about the Support Circles so you can expand on that, but keep in mind it is kind of old and in need of updating.

MMW - May 19, 2018 - You And Your Inner Voices MEntity: Hello to each of you. We are here, now. We can begin. Today we are asked to speak on the subject of your "inner voices." Every person will have a multitude of "voices" rising from within themselves and this can be quite confusing at times. There will be the voices of your False Personality, True Personality, Essence, your various Guides, the voices left from Imprinting, and the voices of Fear and Love, etc. and your Core Voice. For younger fragments these voices meld into a simplified and often single voice that is assumed to be one's own voice and all choices and prompts are led by that inner voice. For older souls, it becomes clear that there are a multitude of voices within and they are not always in harmony with each other or with reality. The younger soul can ignore that differentiation, but the older soul seeks to understand this and learn from it, heal from it. The Psyche can only hear so many voices, regardless of how many sources there are. We will not be addressing the fractured mind and mental illness today that shatters the organization of input. What we discuss today is the average mind, and in particular, the average mind of the older soul. For most fragments, regardless of the number of sources, there are only 12 paths for those resources to be funneled. This helps the individual to remain whole and centered, even as these voices may become conflicting and confusing. These can be referred to as the 12 Paths of Inner Voices, but it can also be referred to as The 12 Inner Voices." 12 may even seem rather high for your count of Inner Voices, but there are always far more than 12 resources within you. - Keep in mind that you are not limited to your inner voices. Each of you have a multitude of outer voices, as well. Having this internal system of 12 paths to organize the input is necessary for sanity. This system reflects the Support Circle Positions. However, these pathways can be corrupted or distorted from various experiences and this can change a pathway of inner support into a pathway of inner sabotage. We will share the 12 Inner Voices now, along with how they tend to show in Positive and Negative ways. LOVE: +Enthusiasm -Desperation KNOWLEDGE: +Curiosity -Anxiety COMPASSION: +Empathy -Paralysis MENTOR: +Receptive -Denial BEAUTY: +Awe -Escape CHILD: +Risk -Reckless HUMOR: +Lighthearted -Dismissive DISCIPLINE: +Considerate -Cruel ANCHOR: +Wisdom -Trapped HEALER: +Responsible -Interfering ENLIGHTENMENT: +Breakthrough -Breakdown MUSE: +Aspirational -Exhausted (or Numb) And finally, the CORE VOICE that manages and navigates all other voices when the True Personality and Essence are aligned - POWER: +Choice -Reaction This system filters all voices of input to your life, both internally and externally. You will seamlessly funnel the voices to be those that, for example, support LOVE or corrupt LOVE, or support HUMOR or distort HUMOR, etc. For most fragments, 3 of these Voices tend to be brought to the surface for priority consideration, depending on life goals, circumstances, events, context, relationships, etc. For example, if someone is interested in a life of Healing, then the Voice of Healing will tend to be a priority. This means that the healer will tune into all input that supports this path of healing, which means that the voices will be prompting a sense of Responsibility for all that one can be and a capacity to respond appropriately, which is how one heals and invites healing. However, this may be corrupted by voices that tell you that the only way to heal yourself or another person is to Interfere, which translates into someone else doing the work for you, or you doing the work for someone else. This person would know that her inner Voices are healthy if they are prompting a sense of Responsibility for differentiating between what she can and cannot heal on her own or for another person, as well as reconsider all of the voices that tell her that she needs to be rescued or that she must save everyone from themselves. For most fragments, the daily life tends to be navigated by the Love, Knowledge, and Compassion Voices, showing up as Enthusiasm, Curiosity, and Empathy, or as Desperation, Anxiety, and Paralysis. For those who paying attention to people, to the world and world events, Mentor, Beauty, and/or Child tend to be incorporated in some way with Voices supporting Receptivity, Awe, and Risk, or distorting one's participation in the world through Voices of Denial, Escape, and Recklessness. For those who work on long-term goals and collaborations or who are generally social and accessible by choice or by circumstance, the Inner Voices of Humor, Discipline, and/or Anchor tend to come into focus bringing Lightheartedness, Consideration, and Wisdom, or they corrupt and distort this by being Dismissive, Cruel, and/or Trapped. For those who tend to be in positions of service, teaching, healing, counseling, etc. the Voices of the Healer, Enlightenment, and/or Muse come into focus with support for Responsibility, Breakthroughs, and Aspirations, or they are distorted and corrupted Voices that emphasize Interference, Breakdowns, and/or Exhaustion. The one who gives final voice to all of these voices is the Core Voice, or the Voice of POWER, who will support and encourage CHOICE, or push one into REACTION. WORKSHOP: Though you may have questions for clarification, as you have read through these descriptions, which do you feel are your Voices of Priority, or the ones that seem to be most familiar to you? How would you describe the ratio for each in terms of Supportive/Distorted, e.g. COMPASSION 75% Empathy, 25% Paralysis (you can shorthand with Compassion 75/25) You may respond here as you determine this, or comment that you choose not to do so at the moment. Uma: I think my Voices of Priority are relative to whom I am relating because they all seem familiar, and I also think I am 90/10% Positive if not more in my daily life Bobby: I feel more comfortable of the positions than I do of the percentages but here goes. Compassion: 60/40, Child:70/30, Humor: 75/25 DianeHB: Knowledge 50/50, Compassion 50/50, Anchor 60/40 -- I feel like it's been more of a struggle to stay in the positive pole in the last couple months, so this is how I've been experiencing them recently. MichaelE: In most of my life to this date I have prioritized Love, Knowledge, and Compassion, but recently I have been moving into using Healer, Enlightenment, Muse. So I will give the percentages for those. Healer 50/50; Enlightenment 75/25; Muse 25/75 Maureen: It's so hard to choose. I feel like all the positions have been activated over the last few years. Some are more challenging than others. For right now: Compassion (95/5), Healer (90/10), Love (60/40). MichaelE: Well, Muse is more like 40/60 these days. I am getting better. MEntity: Your assessments are not static or meant to be conclusive, but a starting point in how you determine if you are listening to the voices of support or the voices of distortion. It is merely a practice in self-reflection and awareness so that the cacophony of voices are not overlapping, but find some sensible and useable organization. CONTINUING: Maureen: Trump and the world chaos is what's put the monkey wrench into Love for me. I lean to Desperation because of world affairs far too often these days. MEntity: It is important to note that the Voices of Distortion are not meant to be ignored or avoided. The difference between the Voices of Support and the Voices of Distortion is that those of distortion are not permanent and they are never yours. They are never your own voice. However, they are voices that you considered to be valuable or meaningful at some point, even if they were distorted and corrupted. These tend to be voices of fear that were either told to you from others with corrupted inner voices, or told to you as a distorted means of protecting you, or misheard voices that were never questioned. Most of your distorted inner voices are likely only seeking to protect you. With that in mind, as you explore this system for understanding your inner voices, it can be helpful to first ask which of the 12 paths a voice is either trying to support or trying to protect. If you find that the voice is seeking to protect you, you are automatically returning your Core Voice to Power through Choice, rather than through Reaction. From that state of Power, you can then choose to give more weight to the truth of the supportive voice, and give comfort to the voice of protection. Comfort is almost always received fairly well by a negative voice when the Core Voice comes from a place of Power/Choice. It may need to be repeated several times across time, but if in every instance you are choosing and not reacting, the voice of protection will begin to see that you are safe, and begin to quiet. Uma: Michael, can you define Psyche as used in the beginning of this session? MEntity: WORKSHOP: Of all of the voices, which do you feel rises in distortion the highest and/or the most often as a means of protecting you? (we will respond to questions after this) And which do you feel is your most supportive and consistent voice of support? DianeHB: Definitely Knowledge/Anxiety for protection and maybe Mentor/Receptive for support. Bobby: Compassion (-) Paralysis as a means of protecting and Humor (+) Lighthearted for support Uma: Anxiety, Paralysis and Escape are the most frequent hecklers, while Empathy, Considerate and Responsible are consistent cheerleaders Maureen: Love is the most protective or distorted... showing up (these days) as my love for "the world". Compassion is my most consistent voice of support. MichaelE: Knowledge/Anxiety; Healer/Responsible MEntity: As you look at your array of inner voices through this system, do you feel you have more of a say, so to speak, in how these can be utilized, welcomed, understood, calmed, etc? Maureen: Yes Uma: Yes DianeHB: Yes MichaelE: Yes Bobby: Well... Paralysis seems like a biggie for me and was suprised to see it associated with Compassion but I'll take all of this and maybe work on it from a different angle now. MEntity: There is no need for our assessment of each of you because part of the work of listening to or calming your inner and outer voices is your own self-assessment. This same form of assessment can be used for your outer voices, as well. Is your friend speaking in terms of support or distortion? Is your family contributing input that is supportive or distorted? Listening to the world through this system of understanding can help you to raise the voices of support and calm the voices of fear. ****QUEUE IS OPEN FOR QUESTIONS**** Uma: Actually, Michael I would like your assessment of my self-assessment: that gives me the most understanding of where my blindspots are. Uma: as well as your definition of Psyche MEntity: We will not weigh in on your assessment as that would defeat the point of what we seek to convey as part of this workshop. However corrupted one's inner voices may be, this method of self-assessment is immune to the effects of that corruption because all voices of corruption are only seeking to protect you. When you take a moment to reflect and gain understanding and lend value to these inner voices, even the most distorted voices see this as an act of self-care that is immediately approved. Our only feedback would be that you are correct, because you cannot not be. As for the term "psyche," we use this term interchangeably with MIND, or even "spirit" as this is the meeting place of Emotion and Intellect. In other words, it is a term to describe the combined functions of the Intellect and Emotion. Uma: Does Ego correlate with the POWER position, sorting experiences/perceptions from those voices? MEntity: As for blindspots in your self-assessment, none of you will have these when it comes to assessing inner voices because inner voices are not linked to perceptions, but to receptions. One's perception of the self and the world can have blind spots, but one is never deaf to inner voices. You will hear all of them. However, you will tend to give greater meaning and value to some voices over others for various reasons, and this is where this self-assessment helps you to see how you do this, and how to change this if necessary. Yes, Bobby. Bobby: Since you're using Paralysis as the distorted voice of Compassion, I'm not entirely clear I suppose on how/why this is someone else's voice. MEntity: We choose the term Paralysis because this is the voice that tells you that you cannot make a difference. Every fragment inherently knows that one can make a difference, even if incrementally or slowly or later in time, but the soul never assumes it is helpless or does not matter. If you are paralyzed by sensitivity, caring, wishing to help or make a difference and feel you can do nothing or not enough, it is not your voice. It is a voice that comes from those who have convinced you that it is someone else's problem, or that it is better to do nothing than to fail at trying, etc. It can also be the voice that weighs the difference between convenience and compassion and chooses the comfort of convenience. It is often a distorted form of self-care (or compassion) that is wrapped in unnecessary self-preservation. MEntity: Does this make sense? Bobby: That definitely rung a bell MichaelE: Yes MEntity: Uma, yes, the Ego correlates to the Voice of Power. We have never disparaged the existence of the Ego. It is necessary and should never be rejected or suppressed, but understood and integrated as a more responsible and conscious driver seat of the personality. Uma: trying and failing to make a difference and recognizing that one cannot build a bridge (as you told me regarding my sister) are different things MEntity: Ego can come from a place of Power through Choice, or through Reaction. The Ego that most wish to suppress is that of Reaction. Uma: yes, I understand what you are saying about Ego and that clarifies it for me MEntity: Teachings that focus on the diminishing of Ego rise from Young Soul paradigm where the Ego is almost entirely driven by Reaction. Uma: bingo! Uma: most of my previous teachings were from the Young Soul paradigm MEntity: And yes, there is a difference between Surrender to forces greater than you vs determining one cannot make a difference. Embracing Surrender when forces are greater than you actually helps one to make more of a difference because she can focus on where she can make a difference rather than determine she cannot make any difference at all. One is a self-assessment that refines how and where one can make a difference and one is giving up altogether. Uma: I see that and totally agree that that is the only way forward. MEntity: This speaks to the parable about the man who walked along the beach tossing stranded starfish back into the ocean and being asked why he would do such a thing since there were thousands stranded and his actions ultimately did not matter. His response is that "it matters to this one." This is how Essence functions. To ignore taking any action because one can only make a little difference is a corrupted voice. Yes, Diane DianeHB: Similar to Bobby's question, can you explain how Anxiety is the distorted voice of Knowledge? MEntity: We chose the term Anxiety because it is a tornado mix of knowing too little and feeling too much about it. This voice arises from those who taught you that your feelings (or theirs) matter more than the truth. It is the voice that taught you that worry is a benefit and a sign that you are participating. It was taught to you as a solution for not being certain or feeling safe. It is a way of doing something without knowing what to do. Does this make sense? DianeHB: Yes, thank you MEntity: Final question - Michael MichaelE: If someone is struggling with moving out of a distorted voice, is there a way that someone else can assist them? Such as responding in an external supportive version of that voice? MEntity: Yes, if you are the one with the knowledge of this system, you can more carefully bring a voice of support to another, and also more carefully listen to those voices of support around you. One does not need this system as a means for determining what is supportive or what is distorted, however. Supportive voices are always invitations (even if they are strong invitations), whereas voices of distortion are always imposing and forceful. Supportive voices have listened, and distorted voices never listen. As long as your assistance is invitational, it is supportive. This may or may not be successful to your standards or expectations when helping another, but it is always worth offering. We will conclude here for today. Your inner and outer world are in a constant state of teaching. It is up to you what you choose to listen to and learn. Good day to each of you. Goodbye, for now.

OMW - Aug 6, 2011 - Validating Your Profile Channel: Troy Tolley [MEntity] Hello to everyone. We are here. We will begin with discussion about the concept of Validation. We have shared on this subject many times, but will do so again, as it is a subject worth revisiting on a regular basis, or as necessary for rekindling the active process of validating. We have described the processes of Validation to include INTERNAL Validation, EXTERNAL Validation, and TRUE Validation. INTERNAL Validation is the process of determining what is valid and true for the self, and this does not have to be valid and true for anyone else. EXTERNAL Validation is the process of determining what is valid and true for others, and this is not always valid or true for the self. TRUE Validation is the process of matching Internal and External Validation into a kind of wholeness. The Validation process is never about absolutes, and is always about personal truths. Truth that is from the Global or Universal Levels of Truth require no validation for them to be Truths, but Internal and External Validation can help one to work with those truths, reject them, work around them, etc. For instance, Gravity is true for your planet and everyone on it, regardless of whether you have validated this for yourself, or not. However, if you fall down, you now have an experience that may validated the truth of Gravity for you, Internally validating it. If you see someone else fall down, you may then have witnessed the validity of Gravity for others, Externally validating it. This is True Validation. But in terms of Validation, it only means that it is now "true for you." However true and valid Gravity may be, there may be some who refuse to validate it for themselves, or they ignore the implications of what falling down may mean. This kind of logic and equation, if you will, remains the same for Universal, Global, and Personal Truths. NONE of them are true and valid for YOU until you Validate them. Validating from only one side, Internally or Externally, does not mean a truth is half-valid, or not valid, but that it is only true IN THOSE CONTEXTS. For instance, Love is a Universal Truth. You may have validated that it exists Externally, because you see it play out around you, and hear about it, and know others claim to have experienced it, but you have never truly grasped the validity of it for yourself. This means that Love is true and valid Externally, but not Internally. For YOU. Conversely, you may have grasped the magnitude of what Love truly is, moving unconditionally and with agape through your social and intimate relationships, accepting yourself and others, but having a hard time seeing this same state played out among your fellow humans in the world; seeing a great lack of love around you in others' lives. You know that Love is True. For YOU. But you have not Externally validated it in a way that it shows up in the world around you. Keeping this difference between Internal Validation and External Validation in mind can free you from a great deal of confusion and frustration when one is lacking. We often see our students using Validation as a form of defense against participation in the world, or as a means to delude themselves, or resist ideas and insights, because they have decided what is true Internally, but forget that it can also be validated Externally. Some of our students decide what their Overleaves and Role are, and regardless of feedback or evidence to the contrary, or evolving understanding through study, will continue to uphold that those Overleaves are valid. And they are. To them. And some think this is as far as Validation needs to go. Others may receive an inaccurate set of Overleaves from a channel and then work hard to make those Overleaves fit, because this set has been presented as valid, Externally, via the channel. Some think this is as far as Validation needs to go. In other words, Validation is reduced to "If I say it is true, that is all that matters." or "If [a channel] says it is true, then it must be." To some extent, both of those statements are true and valid, but only if you decide they are. Determining what is true for you, or accepting as truth what is true for others, are fair ways to work through experiments and explorations of the Physical Plane, but neither of these bring wholeness, and neither of these allows you or Essence to be fully present in your world. True Validation is not "easy," and it is often a dangerous obstacle to evolution, but it is also one of the only ways to truly evolve. When we say that it is "not easy," we mean that it is not often the case that you can find Internal and External agreement for validation. When we say that it can be a "dangerous obstacle to evolution," we mean that sometimes when both Internal and External validation matches up, those involved can resign from validating or questioning beyond that. An example of the first might be a homosexual teen who knows "who he is," and yet his family insists he is wrong about, or for, his sexuality. An example of the latter might be something like that which comes from cult thinking, such as "Jim Jones," "Manson," or "Heaven's Gate." This is why we build into our teaching an insecurity or instability that will always remain as a means to keep our students questioning, grappling, trying to make sense, taking separate stances, etc., because it is a teaching that supports your evolution, and is not meant to provide comfort and sanctuary. As soon as all of our students would agree, this teaching would no longer be a teaching. We share all of this with you because the process of Validation is not as simple as deciding what the truth is, and it is not as simple as someone else deciding what the truth is, and it is not as simple as everyone agreeing. It could be said, then, that Validation is "an active, conscious, constant navigation of Internal and External truths that can never be presumed conclusive." Before we get into the Overleaves, we will share one more consideration regarding Validation. Validation is a Monadal Process: a process of returning to a state of wholeness that is compromised of seemingly contrary or divided forces or states. This Wholeness is ultimately greater than the sum of the parts. Validation, then, is a constant dance between Internal and External truths. When one insists on one or the other, division is the result, regardless of how true something may be Internally or Externally. But there is a solution, even if only temporary, along the way to True Validation. And along the way through True Validation. And that is through the truth of: I DO NOT KNOW. Or: THEY MAY NOT KNOW. Taking the example of the homosexual teen who has struggled with accepting his sexuality, and has done so with great love, but is rejected by family for having done so, with their insisting he is wrong or bad, how can Wholeness for the teen come from this? He would embrace these conflicting truths, allow them to exist, under the umbrella of "THEY MAY NOT KNOW" and "I DO NOT KNOW. In this case, "They May Not Know" would refer to the fact that the family may simply not understand that that this difference in sexuality is of no threat, no consequence, no sin, and nothing more than a small part of him. This grasping of their lack of knowing can help to cultivate patience, and to help deflect the personal feelings of rejection and hurt that come from their lack of knowing. "I DO NOT KNOW" might refer to the fact that he does not have the skills right now to manage the rejection, the necessity to educate them, the impact of their words, etc. NOT KNOWING is always a viable bridge between conflicting truths. It "buys you time," allows for patience, compassion, effort, awareness, insight, perception, etc to come into the process. To be even more inviting of those helpful qualities, it might be helpful to add: "It is okay for now... that I do not know." or "It is okay for now, that they do not know." All of what we have shared above can help in the process of validating your Profile, Overleaves, Essence, and all channeling that might come through our channels, as well as your explorations of self, relationships, choices, and life. It can also help you in moments of conflicting truths where the battle to impose an External Truth over yourself, or to impose an Internal Truth over others, is simply useless and pointless. True Validation never comes through imposition, but through education and invitation. If you find that you are uncomfortable with a truth, or trying to force a truth, it does not necessarily mean that this truth is not valid, but that you "do not know." And that is as profound to embrace as knowing. Now we will move this into application for validating your Overleaves. Before we take on specific questions, we will say that the above can be applied in this way: Your Overleaves can be Internally Validated by you through your understanding of the terminology and how those accurately describe and lend insight into how you understand yourself. Your Overleaves can be Externally Validated by others through your seeing the behavior and feedback of others in relation to you, as you gain this self-understanding. External Validation of your Overleaves does not necessarily mean that someone else decides, "yes, that term fits." To rely only on confirmation of terminology would never give you True Validation. But if you find that your Internal Validation of the terms as they help you understand yourself is also affecting how others respond and react to you, as well as how you respond and react to them, then you may have found True Validation. In any case of terminology where you may not KNOW, the next steps are education and invitation. Which is why we are here with you today. We will leave it to Geraldine to choose the order of the questioning, but we will now open the floor to your questions about specific elements of your Profile. We will offer what we can for help in your, at least, Internally Validating the term, and then your External Validation may come in time. FLOOR IS OPEN [Martha] my question is about true vs public/private - is that on the table? [MEntity] Yes, Martha. Formulate your question about this and we will respond. [Martha] some of the overleaves for me are so different between true - public - private that it seems it speaks to me not having my subs integrated or something along those lines especially the centering was completely different for each one so some help with understanding that is what I'm looking for [MEntity] The Public and Private sets of Overleaves are shortcuts to understanding how, in general, one wishes to be seen, and how one is seen. They do not speak to sub-personalities, but do speak to the facets/personas that one may have developed. In your case, your sets describe the distance between how you see yourself vs how others see you, or how you wish to present yourself vs how you tend to be received. [Martha] So I act like a server and look like a warrior? LOL [MEntity] Though personas/facets may be related to sub-personalities, they are not necessarily connected. [Martha] or act like a warrior and look like a server? [Martha] but all sage cast :) [Martha] it's confusing [MEntity] In your case, the profiles speak more to the fact that you find yourself falling into positions of subservience and nurturing on a rather regular basis, but because of the resentments that may come from that, you can show up as harsh, frustrated, coercive, pushy. To respond to the Sage Casting for both, it would simply mean that you will still be expressive in either case, and often in loud ways. [Diane_H] I would like more clarity on Server casting. How I use it, etc. You previously mentioned I mainly serve myself, which I agree with. But most of my days I act more Scholarly. [MEntity] Though the Role is how one "shines" in the world, it requires the presence, or Manifestation, of Essence for that to happen on any regular basis, and this is something a Personality may or may not strive to do in a lifetime. However, Casting will always show up, as it is how the Personality defaults to functioning on a day-to-day basis. To help with Validation of any Role or Casting Position, it can help to look at other qualities that describe that Axis. In the case of the Server, you would want to look at the fact that this is an Ordinal Casting, first. It is Ordinal/Inspirational, next. This means that on a day-to-day basis, you may find that you naturally gravitate toward one-on-one scenarios, rather than group scenarios, and because you are Inspirationally-Cast, it would mean these one-on-one scenarios may require some sort of Meaning for them to be at all. [Diane_H] That's true, I hadn't thought about the Inspirational aspect. [MEntity] If something of Meaning can be brought to the exchange, then it may be more comfortable or pursued, but meaningless or random social or intimate contact is usually not of interest to the day-to-day functioning. The Priest seeks to bring Meaning to the masses, or a path to the creation of Meaning, whereas the Server seeks to bringing Meaning to the individual, or at least a path to the creation of that Meaning. [Diane_H] That really fits. [MEntity] If Server Casting is valid for you, it may show up as your being an important contact person for an important handful of fragments over time as you connect them to Meaning. Looking further, it might show up as a Re-evaluation in your pursuit of your Goal, Reserved in your Relationships, Stoic in your Perceptions, and even Self-deprecating, in general, in your day-to-day functioning. Re-evaluation of your Goal would show up as your constantly ebbing and flowing, halting and launching, always questioning the progress of your pursuit of your actual Goal in terms of the Overleaf, but also in terms of general goals, such as career. [Diane_H] Wow, that's a bull's-eye [MEntity] Reservation in your Relationships would mean always monitoring yourself, sometimes with Restraint, and sometimes with Inhibition, as you build yourself up in contexts of intimacy and resonance. The Stoicism in Perceptions might show up as your always keeping cool, or appearing cool, unfazed, no matter what you see, or how something is perceived, sometimes through Tranquility, and sometimes through Resignation. Though you will have your spectrum of Overleaves that describe you in much more detail, your Casting Position is like a packaged form of that entire Axis, and it will permeate the other Overleaves in some way. [Diane_H] But I also have all neutral overleaves, how would I begin to tell the difference between sliding and effects of casting? [Diane_H] Or perhaps I slide to the Server overleaves more easily? [MEntity] Neutral Overleaves ALWAYS appear like other Overleaves, hence their being Neutral. Neutral Overleaves will always "slide" as a means for functioning, and they may often go to the Axis of the Role or Casting. In your case, for you to truly Flow, you will slide to Growth or Dominance. Both of these are on the Axes related to your Casting and Role. The GOAL will remain the same, which is to Flow, but your means of Flow is to sometimes turn your challenges into opportunities for Growth/Evolution, and sometimes into opportunities to return yourself to a position of Dominance/Leadership. Validating Neutral Overleaves will always go back to looking at the Positive and Negative Poles as descriptions of where you land. For example, you tend to "take charge" and move into Dominance because you have fallen into Inertia, or feeling like life is not going anywhere, or is moving in a direction you would rather alter, and though you will use Dominance to alter that Inertia, it is still for the sake of Freedom, or returning yourself to a state of peace, not a state of control. [Diane_H] Very true [ClaireC] My "True Work/Life Task" seems rather abstract, no doubt because it probably relates to the "Big Picture". I'm able to validate that I do find commonalities amongst apparently disparate people and groups of people, however, could you give me other examples of how the pursuit of my "Task" has manifested in my life? [MEntity] Yes, Life Tasks are deliberately broad in scope, because we do not wish to define for you how you fulfill your Tasks, but our descriptions should still be able to be found in evidence, if valid, and if the Task is actually pursued. In some cases the evidence is obvious and grand, and in some cases, it is "right under your nose," and completely missed. In your case, the pursuit of this Life Task is still being explored, and there are only hints of its fulfillment at the moment. Most paths of fulfillment of a Life Task are rather subtle in the beginning, and are often not even clear until retrospect is possible. Your pursuit seems to show up most often in two ways: through being "in the middle" between those who are divided in some way, and by pulling together concepts from various systems that can then be translated into something useful for yourself or someone else. You seem to do this so naturally that you might even take it for granted. [ClaireC] Yes, this really resonates with me. [MEntity] Some may dive into a system and that becomes a core around which other systems must adapt, which is just as valid a means of exploration as any, but in your case, your Life Task is to bring systems together like gears in a clock. And by "systems," we also include people. For now, with minimal evidence of your Life Task, we can offer this up as a means to help with your Validation: Beneath your relationships and philosophies, you may find a dominant undercurrent question that may be something like, "Now, how and where does THIS fit..." [ClaireC] That's exactly how I function....like a giant jigsaw puzzle [MEntity] Others may relate to that kind of questioning, as well, but in your case, it shapes a great deal of your choices and pursuits, all funneling into the Life Task to find or create commonalities/common ground within various systems. [carolyn] Hello it's vey good to meet you here. I would like to ask if stepping into a designated "space of information" regarding the nine realities, could be used as a valid way of creating greater understanding around the True Validation of Overleaves. Particularly if this involved working in tandem with an entity mate or someone from your Circle of Support [MEntity] If we are understanding you correctly, we would say that is a valid means for bringing True Validation. This would be a process of recognizing that you may not share the same understanding, insight, experiences, "reality," but that your intention to invite and educate so that you can build some shared understanding, insight, experiences, and even "reality," then. It can also be the same if you already share these things, so that feedback is felt to be trusted and honest when exploring who you are to yourself and someone else. [carolyn] Share the same Overleaves? [carolyn] Well an aspect of your overleaves to be more precise. [MEntity] If you already share a reality with someone, share truths, share perceptions, it can be helpful for the validation process, but only if the intention is for validation, and not justification. [carolyn] By "inviting" say the Enlightenment position from your Circle of Support to assist, could this help further validate as opposed to justify? [MEntity] Those who share the same overleaves may show up as completely different Personalities because of how those Overleaves are used, so this would need to be considered, but there would be core traits that can be used by both. An Enlightenment Position from your Support Circle, such as we are for you and our students, is quite helpful for validation of such esoteric, philosophical, and intangible elements of the self and life. The Enlightenment Position helps one to develop the structures through which experiences are organized, understood, and processed, and having that in place can help a great deal when seeking True Validation of anything. Have we understood your questions accurately? [carolyn] Yes, thank you. [Geraldine] I've never completely validated to my satisfaction that I'm Sage-casted Sage; however, I think that is in large part due to poor definitions for Old Soul Sages in positive poles. I've validated my saginess more from how I acted when younger more than as I've been during the past 20 years or so. Although, I'm accepting that Old Sages may be far more wise and involved with truth than we give them credit for being. But, I liked how you worked with Diane's casting based on her Axis. Would you do similarly for me, even though I have matching casting/role? [MEntity] First, we will say that in the case of Sage for Casting or Role, the "packaging" would include Acceptance, Power, and Idealism, even Greed. In your case, these would show up not only when you "shine," but as a means for functioning on a day-to-day basis. Regardless of Soul Age, Sages will ALWAYS be affected by issues of Acceptance, and regardless of the Goal, will always move in directions that support or encourage Acceptance. This progresses in cycles of pushing for Acceptance of the self and of pushing for Acceptance of others. Beneath every motivation of a Sage is somehow connected to the pursuit of being Accepted. [Geraldine] Yes, I'm prone to a sweeping feeling of being rejected on a heartbeat. [MEntity] In other words, Dissemination or Oration will always be related to a Sage's navigation of Acceptance. For example, most Sages who Orate do so as a means to compensate for a sense of not being Accepted. [carolyn] I was cast with Sage as a discarnate Essence Twin, Priest role and Artisan cast. They all seem to fit on some level. [MEntity] Common to the motivation of all Sages would be statements that might go something like "I am telling you this so you can accept me;" or "I am telling you this so you can accept that;" or "I am telling you this so you can accept you;" or "I am telling you this so I can express my acceptance." [Martha] Oh yeah, that fits [Martha] A Sage must have come up with the "Like" button [MEntity] Going further, all Sages take a stance of Authority or Oppression in terms of relating information to you. Sages RELATE to the world, or to others, in terms of Expression in the face of Oppression, or sharing information as an Authority on that particular information. Power Mode is about being Present, and this is how Sages make their presence known. This is why Sages can come across as "obnoxious" and as "know it alls," because this is their nature: to be themselves, even when you wish they would not, and to speak or communicate with confidence, even as they know there may be more to learn. Sages have PRESENCE, or in our system, POWER. Sages cannot relate to others without feeling PRESENT. Otherwise, they are invisible, and invisible equals non-existent. No other Role (or Casting) requires their Presence to be known as a means for experiencing existence. Sages must show up somehow, to someone, or they die, either or both metaphorically and literally. Going further, all Sages, regardless of Soul Age, see the world in terms of how it can be improved. Regardless of the Attitude of the Personality, there will always be a theme of communicating for the sake of improving what has been deemed in need of improvement, whether this is a slow conversation, an awkward moment, a relationship, or a paradigm. Sages may do this through telling you all of the steps necessary for that improvement (coalescence) or by simply telling you it needs to improve (naivety). To Geraldine: are you finding resonance with these descriptions? [Martha] (I know I am) [MEntity] We will continue. In terms of the validating your Overleaves, will offer up statements and questions that can help in determining the validity of your set of Overleaves: [Geraldine] (and yes, I was) [MEntity] For your GOAL, a helpful way to understand how it shows up in your life is to ask: Is this a state to which I constantly strive to return my life, or the lives of others? For instance, those with a Goal of Acceptance will always find a theme of effort to be accepted, accept themselves, accept others, and encourage others to accept each other. Always. No matter what is going on in the life, the pursuit of this quality represented by the Goal is always a motivating factor in every choice. The Positive Pole is usually the most obvious way to find the validation in terms of your aim, and the Negative Pole is usually the most obvious in terms of when you feel the most ineffective or defeated. In other words, someone in Discrimination may see it most obviously in terms of moving his life into a state of refinement, or Sophistication, but can also validate Discrimination by seeing that he turns to Rejection as a way of dealing with defeat or ineffectiveness. Acceptance can see that he aims for bringing more affection or Agape into his life and the lives of others, but responds with Ingratiation when feeling defeated or ineffective in doing so. For your MODE, it can most often be validated by what you seek to encourage out of others, and what you often see is missing in others. For instance, Passion Mode would tend to encourage Passion out of others, and may gravitate toward others who lack Passion. Observation Mode might encourage others to pay more attention, and often gravitate toward those who have a hard time seeing clearly. For the ATTITUDE, it may be most easily validated by seeing what it is you most often find yourself trying to convince in others. The Spiritualist will try to convince others to the possibilities, and the Cynic might try to convince others to see the other side of the obvious, while the Idealist would try to convince others that the self, relationship, life can always be improved upon. We do not have time in this format to go through each overleaf, but these efforts to convince can show up in both positive and negative ways, relative to the poles. For instance, the Spiritualist would seek to convince others of possibilities, and can do so through helping others verify those possibilities, or by encouraging blind faith, or belief. In another format, in another time, we can describe all of the overleaves in terms that are far more capable of use for validation. We will conclude here for today. Our channel is fading in focus. Good day to each of you. Goodbye.

This question was originally posted by Kathy on 1/11/08. Some people seem to be especially drawn to having animal companions in their lives and others do not. Is there any correlation between the various roles as to who is going to enjoy/need/gotta have animals in their lives versus not? RESPONSE FROM MENTITY: There is no true correlation that could be used to describe why one fragment may prefer animal companionship over another fragment, beyond a few considerations: 1. Most who prefer companionship with a non-human, which we differentiate from ownership of a non-human, have usually developed the Emotional Center to some capacity that allows for empathy between the self and another species, regardless of Role or Soul Age. The degree of capacity for empathy is less relevant than having the capacity in the first place. In other words, to desire companionship with a non-human does tend to require empathy to SOME degree, but it is rare that an individual with no practicing capacity for empathy can nurture a companionship (with any animal, for that matter). 2. Most who make companionship with a non-human animal a priority are either lacking in other forms of intimacy from human animals, "overflowing" with intimacy in the life to the point of being able to share beyond the species, or both, in that certain areas are lacking, while other areas are flowing. In all of these cases, they are usually marked by its being a priority to have non-human companionship. 3. Many who have not allowed a human to fulfill the Child Position within the Support Circle of 12 will often turn to non-humans as surrogates for catering to that part of the need for support. ALL fragments require to feel needed, wanted, and effective in the life of something beyond themselves and while the point is to draw that position into the life through other Essences, many will find non-human animals a fine surrogate for that experience. Beyond those factors, it could also be said that the older the soul (in Manifesting, not Age), the wider the circle of compassion and empathy, thus leading to ever-widening embrace of all species beyond the self.

OMW - Feb 16, 2013 - Life Quadrant Positions Channel: Troy Tolley [MEntity] Hello to each of you. We are here, now. We can begin a discussion about the subject of Quadrates, or Life Quadrant Positions. [MEntity] Life Quadrant Positions are a form of Configuration. [antinius] But are "not the same concept as social or formal Configurations?" [MEntity] Configurations are a broad term for any group of fragments whose dynamic is contributory. [MEntity] Most Configurations discussed among our students are those with long-term projects as emphasis, and are specifically-formed groupings. [MEntity] However, Life Quadrant Positions are how one tends to behave in terms of contribution in ANY dynamic generated between the self and another. [antinius] I can see the distinction. [MEntity] These are default Positions one will tend toward, and are easily usurped when one steps into more formal Positions as part of more formal, or even social, Configurations. [MEntity] The contributory Positions of Configurations beyond Life Quadrant Positions is relative to the Task, or Project. The contributory Positions of the Life Quadrant Position is relative to one's general sense of strength on one's own. [MEntity] Knowing one's Life Quadrant Position is helpful for not only understanding one's personal sense of strength of contribution, but can also help to explain how others tend to respond to you, expect of you, and receive from you. [MEntity] The Life Quadrant Position is not something with an agenda, Task, or Project, but is simply a part of how fragments relate to one another and find the most basic forms of support in any other fragment. [MEntity] The Life Quadrant Positions are not dependent upon an organized dynamic of 4 people, but are Positions inherent in every fragment so that every fragment can have access to that kind of basic input and contribution from any other fragment, regardless of intimacy, freindships, status, distance, etc. [MEntity] For example, wherever you are, and with whomever you are, you can access Love, Knowledge, Compassion, and Power from any and all other fragments with whom you may interact. [MEntity] The reason every fragment defaults to one of these Positions, and the reason every fragment can access the benefit of these Positions through any other fragments is because they are the most vital and persistent Positions that every fragment most often needs as part of a life. [MEntity] These Positions are Intimate Positions, regardless of with whom they are shared. [MEntity] This is why the kindness of a stranger can mean so much, even when you have never known this person before, and may never see that person again. The intimacy is inherent in the dynamic because of the resonance generated. [MEntity] Understanding the social dynamic of a group, or an informal Configuration, can be helpful for understanding the behaviors of individuals within that group, but regardless of their Position as part of that social Configuration, beneath that is their Life Quadrant Position, which then tends to come into effect when outside of that group. [MEntity] This has often been the reason for why someone seems so different when in a social situation, but then relates to you very differently wnen one-on-one. [MEntity] Their Life Quadrant Position is what comes to the surface in those more intimate settings. [MEntity] The same goes for how you function. [MEntity] You may gravitate toward the Power Position when in a social group setting, but one-on-one find that your strength is Compassion, or Love. [MEntity] The Life Quadrant Position often comes from one's Axis of Essence, but is not ruled by that correlation. [MEntity] So Servers and Priest will tend toward the Love Position; Artisans and Sages tend toward the Knowledge Position; Warriors and Kings toward the Power Position; and Scholars toward the Compassion/Support Position. [MEntity] Those correlations can be relevant in terms of Essence, but any particular Personality/lifetime can develop its own Quadrant Position that goes beyond the tendency of Essence. [MEntity] However, the default Life Quadrant Position will still tend to be Axis-related, and so the dynamic of one's Essence and Personality in any given lifetime can give clues to one's default Position. [MEntity] For example, if one is a Priest Essence, this would tend toward the default Love Position, but if the Personality has a great number of Overleaves and influences relative to the Action Axis, then he or she may have a tendency toward the Power Position. [MEntity] We will suggest a moment now for calculating this for yourself. We will offer the correlations here, while you add up the influences. [MEntity] Using the link below, look for your Essence, Role, Casting, Overleaves, Primary Centering, Soul Age, and Level, and determine how much Inspiration, Expression, Action, and Assimilation are in your dynamic: [MEntity] http://goo.gl/3wHMY [MEntity] Use the "value" line for Level. [MEntity] LOVE = INSPIRATION; KNOWLEDGE = EXPRESSION; POWER = ACTION; SUPPORT/COMPASSION = ASSIMILATION [Janet] I'm both Artisan and heavy on the expression axis. So Knowledge for me. [MEntity] WORKSHOP MOMENT [Maureen] So far I have a real mix Michael [GeraldineB] I think I use most of the positions, but I'm definitely dominant on the knowledge one -- followed by compassion, then maybe power, then maybe love [Maureen] I'm Expression/Action, then Inspiration, then Assimilation. So Knowledge/Power, Love, Compassion (based on the chart) [MEntity] What you want to do, if you choose to grasp the nature of your default Position, is to look for that Primary Quadrant Position. There is always Secondary Position, but rarely a Tertiary or Quaternary backup. [MEntity] The Positions describe qualities that every person can call upon, but we are not describing qualities of interest, we are discussing default contributions of strength that affect others. [GeraldineB] Then, for me it's ALWAYS Expression/Knowledge [antinius] The numbers say Expression/Knowledge for me, but intuitively I feel more like Compassion/Assimilation [MEntity] Once you have determined your Primary Quadrant Position based on the math of your personal dynamics, you may then see from that same math what your Secondary Quadrant Position may be. [MEntity] The Secondary only tends to come into effect upon expectation and demand by another fragment. [Maureen] I may be Power as my Primary then and Knowledge as my Secondary (based on specualtion and the chart) -- but I'm not sure [MEntity] For example, your Primary may be Knowledge, but someone is desperate for Love, so you offer Inspiration "in a pinch." [Janet] That helps Michael. So my secondary is probably Love. I have the second highest number of over leaves on the inspiration axis. [MEntity] The Secondary can come up, as well, when you are alongside another with the same Primary, and one of you is enough of that Primary for the receiving fragment, so you can shift to your Secondary to help complement the dynamic. [Maureen] I feel that do whatever is required in a group -- I watch for what's needed. [MEntity] If the math of your Overleaves and Essence do not reveal a Primary and Secondary Position to which you resonate, then this tends to be the case for one or both of these scenarios: [MEntity] Inaccurate channeling or assessment of Essence and Personality dynamics, and/or Imprinting. [MEntity] If your nature is to be more inspiring, but you were always in a position that demanded of you to be action/power, then the Personality will stick with what it has learned, rather than default to its own dynamics. [MEntity] Regardless of how one may naturally default, this can be completely overridden over time. [MEntity] So much so that it feels almost as if it is natural to you. [MEntity] This is not a good or bad thing, but a result of choices made, consciously or subconsciously, that helped shape your sense of contributory strengths. [MEntity] Whatever your Primary may calculate out to be, and regardless of your Secondary, you would want to consider to which of the Positions you feel you most relate and identify. [MEntity] If there is a discrepancy, then it is an opportunity for you to determine if there is an underlying strength that is more natural to you that you may have dismissed, and can learn to own again, or you can wholly embrace your chosen Position over your inherent Position, and know that it is your choice. [MEntity] We will share some key elements of each Position to help in your understanding and assessment: [MEntity] LOVE - Inspiration - tends to wish to reflect, represent, and encourage the most possibility and potential in another person; tends to like to initiate; tends to start many things, but needs the details to be carried out by other Positions; tends to feel obligated to care when others will not; tends to allow room for difficult people, even to their own detriment; [MEntity] KNOWLEDGE - Expression - tends to wish to be exemplary in what has been learned; tends to see the bigger picture and patterns of the life; feels strongly about giving form to ideas and ideals, and not leave them as mere pondering; tends toward easier time making decisions; tends to find the truth not threatening; [MEntity] POWER - Action - tends toward tangible results, plans of action, and sustained motivation; tends to have access to resources that allow for implementing plans; tends to be resourceful and unwavering; tends not to be daunted by what needs to be done; [MEntity] COMPASSION/SUPPORT - Assimilation - tends toward listening and observing; tends to easily see obstacles and challenges that need to be addressed; tends toward allowing room for struggles, but not at the expense of intentions; tends toward empathy in a way that allows for true comprehension and understanding; tends not to be afraid of being wrong or making mistakes. [MEntity] As you can see, each of these are a part of each of you, but one of these is how you best contribute to others. [MEntity] Based on these limited descriptions, where are each of you in terms of your calculated default vs your sense of preference? [Maureen] I'm still struggling Michael [MEntity] What do your calculations reveal, Maureen? [GeraldineB] I'm definitely on target for Knowledge as my primary position and compassion/assimilation for secondary [Maureen] I feel my strength is Love but I gravitate towards Knowledge [GeraldineB] do you use knowledge to "perfect" Love? [Maureen] yes -- I think I do [GeraldineB] Then Love is probably your strength as you work to shore it up [antinius] Three 5's, three 4's (plus a 3 and a 2), so Knowledge and Compassion; a know-it-all Sage with a soft spot. I like to share knowledge, but some of my most intense interactions seem to be more about Compassion. [Maureen] Love can be boring -- LOL [GeraldineB] LOL [antinius] LOL, yes Jesus [Maureen] Hey -- i'm not that far along ...yet [Maureen] :) [antinius] We're all on the path. [GeraldineB] c'mon, Maureen . . .you're a fricken Old 7 Priest -- of course it's "love" [Maureen] but my OLs say it differently [MEntity] Do you find your math reveals your strength as Power, Maureen? [Maureen] Power and Knowledge are tied -- at 3 each [Maureen] Inspiration is 2 [Maureen] or Love [antinius] I get Power and Knowledge from you sitting at a computer in LA, Maureen. ; ) [Maureen] ...and I feel that I play all the positions that Michael mentioned [Maureen] This is frickin hard! LOL [MEntity] We see your math as being 2 Inspiration, 3 Action, 2 Expression, and 1 Assimillation. [Maureen] so I suck at math now! [Maureen] LOL [Maureen] I know what I did -- I included my Mercury Bodytype (that gave me an extra Expression) [Maureen] So yes then -- it would be Power (at 3) Michael [antinius] Power doesn't follow the instructions! [Maureen] it doesn't look like it! [Maureen] The description of the Knowledge position reads as my Life Task -- this isn't easy to figure out! [MEntity] We think we have you, Maureen, as: ROLE and CENTER = Inspiration; CASTING, LEVEL, and ATTITUDE = Action; AGE and GOAL = Expression; MODE = Assimilation [Maureen] Yes Michael -- so Power is my natural position then? [MEntity] If you are having trouble discerning your Life Quadrant Position, you are comparing too many contexts of behavior. Your pursuit of the Life Task is a personal pursuit, and not a general contributory scenario. [Maureen] I'm obviously in the negative pole of my Attitude! (Supposition) [MEntity] However, in your case Maureen, however much you relate to all of the Positions, you may be able to safely say that your default Life Quadrant Position is strongly motivated by GETTING THINGS DONE, effecting tangible results, a constant movement, activity, and calibration for making things happen, not only for yourself, but how those things for yourself affect others. [MEntity] You cannot simply sit by and watch. [Maureen] That sounds spot on Michael -- as tiring as that can be :) [Maureen] ...at times [MEntity] We say that affectionately, not as a fact. Of course you can sit and watch, but it is not in your nature to do so. Even when you choose not to affect a change, it stays with you as somehow your responsibility to do so. [Maureen] yes it does [Maureen] Thanks Michael (with affection) :) [MEntity] If it is valid that your Life Quadrant Position is naturally POWER, then you may find yourself at the hub of a great deal of responsibility, obligation, and demands, even if not explicitly asked of you. [MEntity] And we do not mean this in the sense that one may have duties for a job, but as a part of the basic dynamic of relationships. [Maureen] Yes - I understand [antinius] Michael, would you agree that my default is Knowledge and my secondary is Compassion? [antinius] Or do I have them reversed? [MEntity] Rod, yes, we see your assessment as valid. [antinius] Knowledge, then Compassion? Any further insights on that? [MEntity] Rod, when we share the next set of information in a moment about these Positions, it may shed further insight. [antinius] OK thanks. [Janet] I believe for my default one-on-one position knowledge is probably correct and I concur with love as the secondary. But the Power position resonates strongly -- perhaps that is more the position I gravitate to in groups and 'situations'? [MEntity] Our next set of information may help understand this. We will continue, then. ****** [MEntity] Working with what you have calculated as your Primary Life Quadrant Position, consider what we have to share next, and then bring in the different positions to which you resonate or may feel is more accurate than your calculated position, if that is the case for you. [MEntity] What we share now is a consideration for "taking responsibility" for your Life Quadrant Position. [MEntity] In other words, regardless of any other Position to which you resonate, consider that your Life Quadrant Position is in effect and has an effect, with or without your realizing it. That is because Life Quadrant Positions are in effect whether consciously or not. [MEntity] So if one's Position is Knowledge, regardless of how dismissed that strength is, Knowledge Position will tend to find it expected of him or her to "know better," to have insight, to give advice, to figure things out, to be examples, to be available with wisdom or information. [MEntity] The Knowledge Position will also tend to think that others cannot provide the same kind of insight and knowledge about life that is not already known by the Knowledge Position. [MEntity] Power can tend to be drawn into positions of resource, availability, and presence even as they try to focus on their own work. [MEntity] Power can tend to develop a resentment for the demand and expecation on their energy, if this is not managed well. [MEntity] Love can tend to be drawn into positions of intimacy with complete strangers that often requires awkward and uncomfortable establishing of boundaries, and often expected to be the source of inspiration in others' lives. [MEntity] Compassion can tend to be expected only to listen, but not to contribute. And often to listen to the same things, over and over. Compassion is often "just supposed to be there," but not necessarily do anything. [MEntity] All of the things we described above are parts of the "job" of each Position, and those expectations and demands on the Position do not go away. One can only learn to own his or her Position in more effective ways. And the way to do this is to become more conscious of that Position as it plays out in your life, and then to own it, to be responsible for it, and to let it be a strength, not a burden. [MEntity] You may not like that you are a Power Position, but you are good at it, and when managed as a strength, it becomes free from the weight of demand and expectation. [MEntity] You may not like that you are in a Knowledge Position, but you are good at it, and your ideas, examples, and expression matter to those around you so much so that you are often used as a model for many behaviors in others. [MEntity] You may not like that you are in a Love Position, but you know how to bring out the best potential in yourself and others, and when you dismiss this impact, you can squash potential, both in yourself and others. [MEntity] Taking responsibility for your Life Quadrant Position is profoundly empowering, not only as you embrace the strength as it is experienced by others, but because it frees you to be more of who you actually are, and by contributing more from how you CAN, instead of how you think or wish you can. [MEntity] Think of your Positions in these highly-simplified terms: [MEntity] I AM LOVE - I can help you get started [MEntity] I AM KNOWLEDGE - I can offer you a map [MEntity] I AM POWER - I can help you get there [MEntity] I AM COMPASSION - I can ride with you [MEntity] In those simplistic terms, how do each of you find your calculated Positions resonate? [Janet] I think Power resonates with me far more than Love, although Knowledge is almost certainly my primary [MEntity] Janet, which is your calculated Primary? [Janet] Knowledge. [Maureen] well I am a "super" coach -- so yes it is resonating now Michael [antinius] I think I got it right--Knowledge, with Compassion "in a pinch" [GeraldineB] I was truly laughing at "I can offer you a map" -- that is so me (and it's the way I practice the pinched secondary, compassion) [antinius] I LOL'd at the map comment too! [Maureen] I am noticing Michael, that these positions don't line up with the Support Circle positions (by title). [MEntity] NOTE: if one were calculating and found a tie among the results, we would suggest doubling the count for Essence, first, and if this were not to help, then double the Attitude. If those do not work, then you might resort to simple self-assessment of which tends to be the Primary. [MEntity] In what way do you mean, Maureen? [Maureen] well everyone is their own Power position [Maureen] and Compassion in a Support Circle is much more "outspoken" -- the Quadrate Compassion position reminds me of the Love Position in the Support Circle [antinius] Michael, is there also a “You may not like that you are in a Compassion Position” statement? [Maureen] for example... [MEntity] Yes, since Life Quadrant Positions are part of a vast network dynamic among fragments, they are only contributory, and not central to any Configuration. [MEntity] Maureen, the Compassion Position can be outspoken, but only after listening, regardless of what Configuration. In terms of Life Quadrant Position, the scenario for being in the position to listen is far more often a part of the life than one who only has that Position as part of a Configuration with a task. [MEntity] Rod, we can say: You may not like that you are in a Compassion Position, but your capacity to care matters, makes a difference, for both you and the receiver, even if it inconveniences you for the moment. Caring does not mean having to dimiss your own needs, but dismissing the needs of others does not serve your own, either. [MEntity] We will open the floor for a round of questions regarding this subject before we close, if there are any questions. [GeraldineB] Does the design of Personality include weighing the factors for OLs based on what the Quadrate will be like? [MEntity] Geraldine, Configuration Positions outside of Life Quadrant Positions are relative to the project or task, and while one's position within those Configurations can be served by the strengths of a Life Quadrant Position, they are not dependent upon them. [MEntity] Someone may have a Life Quadrant Position of Love, but shine in a Position of Power for one Configuration, and as Knowledge in another, and fall into the Eccentric Position when at a party. [MEntity] The Positions of Configurations are defined and fulfilled more by their relative position in that group, rather than by the inclinations of a Personality and Essence. Consider the difference between how one may apply oneself in the work place versus how one may behave at home. [Maureen] So how would Power Position in a Quadrate fit into the Support Group -- as the individual takes up that position? [MEntity] Maureen, if one has a Life Quadrant Position of Power, and is the Power Position in a Quadrate Configuration, then one would simply be playing a Power Position in a Configuration who happens to also have a Life Quadrant Position of Power, and who is always at the center of her own Support Circle. [MEntity] Though the same term is used to describe these Positions among different groups, there is no conflict or confusion among them as they are played out. [Maureen] So I wouldn't necessarily play an actual position in someone's Support Circle -- but I would help them to actualize their own position on Power -- like Self-Empowerment? [MEntity] If it helps, think of the Power Position within the Support Circle as the EMPOWERED Position, while the Power Position in other contexts is the EMPOWERING Position. [Maureen] Yes -- Thank you! [MEntity] Your Life Quadrant Position has little relevance to what Position you may play in someone else's Support Circle. [Maureen] I can see that now -- Thanks :) [MEntity] We will conclude here for today, then. Each of you can take your time to consider how you play your Life Quadrant Position in life, and consider how others may randomly play them in your own life. These positions are more obvious when interacting with those not in your personal circle, but as you are a general participant in life. [MEntity] However, when you gather in groups of 4 or fewer, you may also see your Life Quadrant Position come to light, and those of others.

LIVE MICHAEL SPEAKS Open Floor Q&As MAY 26, 2013 Channel: Troy Tolley [Question] Hello Michael. I would like to ask about the relationship of Greed Chief Feature to Self-destruction CF. How the first relates to the second, and what one can do if the energy turns pitch black and suicidal. That was my question. [MEntity] Greed and Self-Destructions are methods of protection against one's fears regarding "having." Greed is enlisted as a means for protection against the fear of lack, while Self-destruction can be developed as a protection against the fear that the life is actually being wasted, that one is not even worthy of the life force that animates the self. Greed will seek to compensate for the lack by obtaining more and more, and will tend to fixate upon something that represents the potential for satisfying that lack. Self-destruction will see to compensate for the sense of waste by constantly striving to earn the worth of having anything at all. Greed says that I am worth more than this. Self-destruction says I am not worth this (or this is not worth it). [Comment] Slightly paradoxical. [MEntity] There are many degrees of manifestation of these Chief Features, and they range from the most literal and obvious to the most subtle and insidious, as with any Chief Feature. When one is consumed by the self-protection of Self-Destruction, there are two ways that can help to move through that "black and suicidal" state: One is to utilize the Positive Pole of the partner Chief Feature of Greed, which is to say that one would focus somewhere, somehow, on something for which one has an appetite. Anything. A great tasting food. A beautiful sky. A television show. Positive Poles of Chief Features are never "positive" in the sense that Overleaves have positive poles. This is because the Positive Poles of Overleaves describe a difference between an inclusive state versus an exclusive state. In Chief Features, the "positive" pole is relative because it is more inclusive, but it is still a state of division, defense, and separation. Using the positive pole of the partner Chief Feature of Greed, which is APPETITE, can bring one back into a state of participation. And this can help to serve the second suggestion we have, which is to WAIT. When one is in a "black and suicidal" state, the only option is to wait. It will pass. It WILL pass. It may return again and again, but it will pass. And it is not a conclusive state. Nothing is. This is a "heavy" topic that can be further explored, but we think these are insights and suggestions that can be helpful, especially if taken in while not consumed by the Chief Feature, and then called upon. If there is nothing more that one can do when in that state, repeat: WAIT, JUST WAIT. And do so. [Question] Hello Michael. I am very interested in the Fragment in Siberia known as Vissarion ( and his following). I have a feeling that in this case " there is more than meets the eye". I'd like your brief take on his chosen path and philosophy. Is he a transcendental soul? thanks. [MEntity] The fragment in question appears to be a charismatic Early Mature Priest-Cast Sage with a means of packaging delusions so that they are fairly useful, attractive, and generally harmless. He is not a Transcendental Soul. We refer to his Idealism as "delusion" here, only in the sense of its claims and conclusions. The idealism, itself, is as most idealism: a perspective that seeks to improve upon that which can be improved upon. When Idealism cannot be fulfilled, it can turn into Naivete, and either bring about failings or even disastrous consequences, or be repackaged in delusions that can help to sell the ideals. [Comment] hmm alright. so his claims for being enlightened rebirth of jesus are part of the charismatic idealist package? hmm [MEntity] It plays upon the narrative of persecution, as well, for those who would refute his claims are clearly in denial, or not capable of recognizing the truth of this return. [Comment] haha this brings to focus my own naivete, as i almost/did believed him myself. this brings a lot for me to reflect on. [MEntity] Of the many who have made this claim, this fragment appears to be fairly harmless, with "good" intentions. We remind you that your capacity to choose, to believe, and discern is one that you must cultivate, yourself, and consider our input one of many, and not the definitive answer. We share with you our perspective, and this will always only ever be another version of the truth, even if seen from a higher, clearer, more informed position; it is still only a version. [Question] Michael, a lot of us in our 20s and 30s have had or are having trouble figuring out careers that are right for us. What suggestions do you have for how to go about choosing a satisfying career path? [MEntity] It is always advisable to explore career options from two different angles: that of experience, and that of experiments. Experience gives you information based on your hobbies, inclinations, interests, fascinations, and all that those bring to you. Experiments include the obvious exploration of the unknown, either intentionally or unintentionally, but also includes giving a chance to various positions of work or study that are available and accessible that may not have been given a chance. The "Do what you love and the money will follow" is not always true, as many will attest. There must be an audience, a market, a demographic, a need, even if these are created by you, yourself, as part of a launch or nurturing of a career. Along the way of working with Experience and Experimentation, regardless of one's age, it is important to keep in mind that there will most likely be pressure to draw an income or sustain independence in some way while figuring out what one wishes to do. Doing what one must do, is not the same thing as doing what one will do. Though there are many ways to dispute, delineate, or deny this, there will always tend to be only the 7 broad categories of pursuit for careers as described by the Roles: CREATIVE, COMMUNICATION, GUIDANCE, HEALING, LEADERSHIP, LAW, and RESEARCH Artisan/Sage, Priest/Server, King/Warrior, Scholar There are many combinations of these things, of course, and subcategories, but from this simplified breakdown, one can begin to help oneself discern a direction. [Question] Leadership = Warrior and Law = King? or vice versa? [MEntity] These may or may not correspond to one's Role (or Casting,) as there will always be imprinting, accessibility, need, etc. Because the career of an individual, or source of income, is relative to Personality, using one's Overleaves as they fall on any dominant Axis or Axes can help more than one's Role. This is a good start for helping one with this process, though there can be more discussed on this subject, or more help on individual bases. [Question] Hi Troy/Michaels, I would like to know more about Mary Magdalene. Any information that you would consider important that would pertain more to our current paradigm. I am particularly interested in her role/connection with Jesus, how they worked/supported each other. Thanks [MEntity] Though an individual will manifest the Infinite Soul, it is still a fragment, an individual fragment, who acts as the conduit for that manifestation. The life of the individual is not forced or formed by that Infinite Soul, but the choices, realizations, and actions of that fragment help to create the point necessary for the Manifestation. Those choices, realizations, and actions are certainly informed by a definite thread of awareness "direct" from Tao. However, the fragment incarnating is still Human, at least in this case. In most Manifestations of Infinite Soul, there is the necessity for the complete Support Circle of that fragment to be intact, active, and available, as well as (at least) one fragment who will act as "the savior" for that individual. The fragment known as "Mary" was the Anchor Position in the King's Support Circle, and was this individual Personality's "savior." There must be that one person who fully grasps and allows for the utter despair, fear, and confusion, as well as the profound bliss, wisdom, and enlightenment as it is experienced by that Human and individual Sentient hosting. Mary was that fragment for this King. The spectrum between "darkness and light" was allowed with her, and she presented to him the acts of permanent forgiveness, tranquility, redemption, and agape that was not found in any other relationship. For every Manifestation of the Infinite Soul, there is a "Mary." After the recovery from the Manifestation, these fragments went on to form a union and to live out a rather peaceful life in sanctuary, raising children. [Question] Michael, I have the following question, and if it is quick (for you), was Mary Magdalene the Essence Twin of Jesus? [MEntity] Yes. That is correct. [Question] hello Michael, I'd like to ask, regarding making choices, how to distinguish between choosing from Essence, vs choosing the path of least resistance. [MEntity] That would be difficult, as they are often the same thing. However, it may be helpful to think more in terms of choosing AS Essence the path of most desirable flow. We say this because one never has to choose *between* Essence and a path of least resistance, and while one may choose the path of the most desirable flow, it will not necessarily be a path of no resistance. Choosing AS Essence simply means making the choices that appeal to you while grasping the greater impact of those choices to the best that one can grasp that. Choosing the path of greatest desire simply means creating a path by listening to one's quiet impulses, questioning the more demanding compulsions, and trusting yourself along the way. [Question] what if the lack of resistance itself is what causes the appeal [MEntity] These paths are not so definitive as "Essence" vs "path of least resistance," but we can say that as one begins to make choices AS Essence, the level of resistance in the life tends to reduce. By resistance here, we do not refer to the level of challenges, effort, or obstacles, but to one's resistance, one's experience of pain, suffering, etc. There is a difference between "path of least effort" and "path of least resistance." Water cannot be faulted for its flow. Essence and Personality cannot be, either. It is natural. It is gravity. The path of least resistance, however, is not always the path of choice, and the path of least resistance is not always the path of least effort. Mountains are divided by the natural flow of water and its meeting with resistance, even as it follows its path of least resistance. However, water is always flowing toward the larger body, and it will cut through mountains to do so, and this is also how Essence functions. With that in mind, it can be helpful to consider asking which is the path of least movement vs the path of fulfillment. Which path seems to be moving you toward something greater, and which path seems to distance you further from that. "Something greater" can be defined by you. If you do not know of something greater, or if you have no inclination to flow, move, make an effort, or act on desires, then it can be helpful to LET yourself simply sit there in that, be with it, until you are done with it. Letting yourself be with that can often be the very state one requires so that one can fill again to a point where the flow returns. To help one determine how well one is choosing AS Essence, one need only look to one's relationship with Choice. If you refuse the practice of choice, then you refuse Essence. If you embrace the responsibility, effort, and capacity for choice, you tend toward navigation as Essence. From there, the resistance or flow of the path is fairly moot. [Question] Michael, following on Janet’s question about C2E6 being a Resource Beacon, how would you describe Cadre 1 Entity 5 as a Beacon or an “open invitation …that allows for specific benefit to others”? [MEntity] Cadre One, Entity Five tends to act as a Communication and a Guidance Beacon, but actively covers all Beacons to some degree. The others are covered to such a great degree that Communication and Guidance are only technically more pronounced.

Michael Speaks 051510 Open Floor [MEntity] Hello to each of you. We are here. We will begin the queue now. [QUESTION] Hello Michael, my question is regarding Cadence mates. Could you please elaborate on that connection... How do they function with each other? How do they work together to accomplish their global job? [MEntity] We would first point out that our term "Cadence" refers to any group of 7 with a relative resonance, which means that a Cadre is a Cadence of Entities, for instance. We point this out because we know that many students use the term to refer to the smallest grouping of 7 fragments of a single Role as cast within an Entity. There are many variations on "Cadence" across a Cadre and within an Entity. We point this out not only for clarity, but to say that our response would apply to all Cadences. We use the term "Cadence" to reference not only the rhythmic flow/count of fragmentation from Tao in 7/8 time, but as a musical reference to the culmination and "conclusion" of that flow into what are Cadres. We will also clarify that while we are aware of the terminology, we are not familiar with what is designated as "global jobs" beyond what might be a part of a Configuration of Agreements across a Cadence, which might be global in scope; otherwise, there are no inherent "global jobs." The relationship among Cadence members would be akin to positively-romanticized sibling relationships. Although the entire spectrum of human relationships can be had between Cadence Members, there does tend to be a kinship that is "softer" even in the worst of circumstances, relatively speaking. Those cast in the 1st, 3rd and 5th Positions tend to gravitate toward each other, as do 2nd, 4th, and 6th positions. The 7th position tends to be in a more "aloof" position, so to speak, and often becomes a focal point for other members of the Cadence. For instance, it is not uncommon for the Entities 1 through 6 to generate Personalities who feel they are "in love with" 7th Entity members and the various Personalities that are generated by the Essences of that Entity across lifetimes. The same can be said of a Cadence of Roles within an Entity. This dynamic of focus and support might best be understood if one were to visualize a pyramid with the 7th Position being at the "top" so that all of the energy and focus, gravitationally-speaking, is distributed among the other Positions for that 7th Position. This is not a literal description, but one that helps you to see that inherent dynamic of that Configuration. [QUESTION] Would it be appropriate to say that each of the 7 positions, in conjunction with each other, allow for a more complete understanding and exploration of the various lenses that a Role in essence can perceive, itself? [MEntity] We would agree. We would also agree to that description on the larger scales, as well. For instance, a Cadence of Entities (Cadre) in the Love (first) Position of its Energy Ring (12 Cadres) would collectively bring perspective, experience, and comprehension to that subject for the Energy Ring. [QUESTION] is there a more specific name to indicate we're talking about the smallest group? [MEntity] The Cadence of Roles (which could be called a scale of Notes) would collectively contribute to the whole of that Role's experience, perception, and comprehension within the context of its Greater Cadence (group of 49; 7X7). Greater Cadence might also be called a Chord. Cadence members spend more lifetimes together than any other grouping, and that number of lifetimes is greater on the smallest scale of a Cadence than on the greater scale of Cadence. For example, the Cadence of Roles in an Entity spend the most lives together, and then the Cadence of Raw Numbers. The Cadence of Raw Numbers could be called Octaves that include the Traveling Companions and Essence Twin. All of the Cadence variations could be considered as various "Melodies" within a Cadre. [QUESTION] what is the difference between the cadence of roles and the one of raw numbers? I thought that was one and the same? what is the distinction? [MEntity] A Cadence of Roles would be akin to the Notes on a scale from C to A, whereas a Cadence of Raw Number are like the 7 C Notes in 7 Octaves, or the 7 D Notes, etc. [QUESTION] does that make an entity or cadre a Song? [MEntity] A Cadre could be considered a Song. On the scale that becomes the Design or the Harmonies, the "words" that would be required by definition for a Song are no longer as relevant. On the larger scale, we would describe the grouping in terms of orchestral terms. [QUESTION] I'm going to get less esoteric for a bit. it strikes me that the US is more divided politically/emotionally than I have seen in my lifetime (even the 60's). There seems to be very little being done about real problems. How much does this really matter to individual personalities? What is a helpful point of view on this? [MEntity] The clearest metaphor we can find for describing where your country (and world) is currently would be at the crest atop the first hill of a roller coaster. "Half" of the people would be feeling the momentum forward, while "half" would still be hanging behind the hill, feeling the pull, but not seeing where it is going. The "half" in the front have a clarity that those "in the back" would not have, despite the fact that "everyone" knows they are on a roller coaster. Those "in the back" would have a bit more anxiety and resistance, in real world terms, as the gravity of evolution pulls them forward. We remind you that this "pull" and evolution are not imposed, as it is a choice to get on the "roller coaster" in the first place. We would also add that many "in the front" of the evolution are "egging on" those "in the back" to some degree for fun. "WE ARE ALL GONNA DIE!!" is similar to what even some "in the front" are calling out, but on higher levels of perception, we see this as the "brattier" of the Essences who get a kick out of generating drama for the younger souls. Many of the same fragments acting as alarmists fully "know better," but enjoy the drama and humor. It is easier to enjoy such things when there is a higher perception of events and probabilities. In the same way that many Essences will "pull up their lawn chairs" around the section of the Astral Plane allotted to "hell" just for the amusement of watching the younger souls who think they must burn in "hell," so do some fragments carry over that sense of humor into the Physical Plane to play on the younger souls' fears of evolution. The division you sense is valid, but temporary. Now that the Infinite Soul manifestation is less-likely to intervene, the more "obnoxious" of fragments on both ends of the spectrum of evolution will be more obvious, and this "obnoxiousness" does not preclude the possibility of being harmful. [QUESTION] What is "temporary" in this context? [MEntity] For the most part, we see the majority of probabilities "teetering" toward various angles of dramatic destruction, but no fragments are truly interested in going there. Once the planet has moved into a Mature Soul gravity of evolution, even the Infant and Baby among the population begin a sensitivity that recognizes PAIN as a common denominator among everyone. One of the first steps toward unity is the capacity to recognize suffering in another, and even the Oldest of Souls had trouble doing so before the shift into a Mature Soul Paradigm. Once that gravity begins, then compassion becomes a priority over competition (Young vs Mature). [QUESTION] Do you have any ballpark time-frame when things will start to calm down? [MEntity] Those who might still want to harm others as a means to alter or resist evolution may do so, but we have not found any probability where this happens on any scale that has impact. Most Baby and Young Souls are "more bark than bite" in general at this time, but this does not mean there will not be those who represent the extremes. In most probabilities relative to where and when you are asking this question, the full forward momentum that then takes everyone with it onto an evolutionary roll, so to speak, is in approximately 2 years. [QUESTION] It is well known that events on the Physical Plane are linear in time, yet it has been mentioned several times that events on the Astral Planes and above are non-linear, as well as a future on this physical plane parallel in which technology may allow there to be instances of non-linear time. Could you please explain in further detail this concept of non-linear time, and how it works around the concepts we know of as special and general relativity, particularly temporal causality? [MEntity] The concept of non-linear time is best understood in vertical terms rather than horizontal terms, if you will. Linear progression happens "all the way" up and returning to Tao. Linearity is not lost, it is simply not the only perspective. The past is still the past, and the future is still the future, and the present is still the present. However, to help one imagine the concept that is often referred to as non-linear time, we would refer to the imagery of a 365 Day Wall Calendar. Within the Physical Plane, "you" exist within one of the boxes representing the Day. You progress from box to box, day to day, and there is very limited perception of the entirety of the year in front or in back of your point of reference. [QUESTION] so would it be correct to say that as you move up vertically, you see more and more on how actions in the present affect the future, but future events cannot affect the past, so to speak? [MEntity] From the Astral Plane, time is still quite linear in experience, except that it could be said that you have the equivalent of a clear view of the Month, rather than the limitation of the Day. From the Causal Plane, the view is more like being able to see the entirety of the wall calendar for the Year. [QUESTION] so you observe the events simultaneously, rather than individually? [MEntity] Yes, the comprehension, experience, and perception of events is not linear, even though the progression of events are. This is why we use the differentiation between horizontal and vertical: it is merely a matter of perspective that allows for the experience of non-linear aspects. [QUESTION] Wouldn't that interfere with choice though, if an action is seen to create an undesired outcome? [MEntity] No, it would not interfere with choice, but enhance it. Even within your single box, or your single day, you learn from experience how to anticipate the outcome of a choice before it is acted upon. Your capacity to anticipate within a day could be likened to our capacity to see probabilities on the metaphorical scale of the year. To be clearer in our response, we would have to include one more dimension of consideration with our visual. In "reality" there is never one calendar on that wall, but a multitude of calendars superimposed one over the other, over the other. The progression that one makes throughout the "year" would "weave" among those calendar layers, if you will. Each calendar layer representing a probability from the moment. Your choices determine what layer of calendar you are living. For instance, your choice to lash out in defense against an offense vs generating a creative, peaceful solution might be the difference between one layer and another layer of the year's calendar day. [QUESTION] Is this how parallels are constantly splitting off, based on the infinite number of choices that can be made? [MEntity] Yes. Our analogy of the Calendar Layers would be the equivalent of Parallels, or Dimensions. This is why when one might ask about a past life at one point in the current life, there may be a list of pasts that are linearly linked to the current life's moment, but at another point in the life, that moment may have a very different set of linear links to the past, because it is resonant to a different layer of the calendar now. [QUESTION] Though we do not see it on the physical plane, is it possible for us to jump around on different levels based on our choices, or new choices, or are we "stuck" on the same calendar? [MEntity] Shifting Parallels (calendars) happens on a regular basis, and happens on different scales from the Personal to the Global. Personal shifts in parallels can be generated through the accumulation of DECISIONS that then lead to pivotal CHOICES. We differentiate Decision from Choice. A Decision could be akin to HOW one takes the next step, and CHOICE is WHERE one takes the next step. Most Decisions create a path, and that path leads to a Choice. And that Choice can lead to generating a new parallel, or merging with another parallel. We will conclude this response with the clarification that the concept that "everything happens at once" should not be taken as a literal concept, but rather as a description of the capacity to comprehend on larger scales. For instance, when we said that all Roles within an Entity are "cast at once," we did not mean this literaly, but more in the same way that one might say that in the course of a day of baking, the chocolate chip cookies were all baked at once, and the ginger snaps were baked at once, etc. Even on the scale of Tao there is order, and that order has a progression, regardless of how massive the scale of comprehension. Time is simply a means for creating "space" within denser dimensions to allow for comprehension of progression. [QUESTION] You said cadence members spend the most lifetimes together. Is there an average number or percentage range of lifetimes that you spend with your primary cadence and raw # cadence mates? I’ve only asked for shared lifetime counts on a few people, trying to get a sense of how all that fits into things. [MEntity] We would say that Cadence Members spend more than 70% of lifetimes together in some meaningful capacity, in general. That 70% would include those lifetimes where at least one of the fragments is incarnated, but another is acting as non-physical guide or support. [QUESTION] At one of these open forums a while back Michaels mentioned that no one in attendance then had much support in their lives. What exactly is this phenomenon; support that is? What does it look like? Where are we placed with it and without it and what's it mean i.e., its significance? [MEntity] Every fragment has support in its life or it would die, but many do not consciously recognize the support, or do not consciously allow the support. Support could be said to be the network of life forces that are required for any Sentient to manifest in form. Support is active on the smallest of scales, such as within an individual lifetime, but are also vital on larger scales, as in terms of Universes; Universes are organized in groups of 12, and each plays a position of support for the others. The support of which we speak at the moment is the support that exists, with or without your Personality's permission or acceptance. It is dynamic and energetic, yet tangible. For instance, someone had to raise you. Someone had to heal you at certain points. Someone had to teach you. Someone has inspired you. Someone has fed you. The amount of support one has within the life is phenomenal when truly comprehended in terms of what it has contributed to your being here, now. The degree to which one allows, seeks, or invites support is often proportional to the degree of awareness and consciousness. Support occurs on an Intimate Level, Inspirational Level, Comrade or Classmates Level, and a Guiding or Guides Level. We have elaborated upon this in other exchanges regarding the subject of the Support Circle of 12 for every fragment. We will ask Troy to include that article in the final transcript for your further study and application. Note: See Support Circle of 12. A search for 'support circle' is advised as well, since there have been multiple transcripts that reference the concept. [QUESTION] I've just started recognizing the differences in intensity and extremes between different soul ages and different internal monadal experiences as an effect on how Chief Features display. Is this true for all of the various overleaves -- i.e., even frequencies and energies? As a general rule, is the slide between negative and positive poles less dramatic with age and experience? [MEntity] Your observation is valid. What you describe is the spectrum of perspectives, experiences, and comprehensions that range between the poles. As the soul grows older, it moves from a more reactionary bounce between the poles, into a response-oriented pendulum swing between the poles, and then into what might be best visualized as an arc between the poles. This arcing is what could be said to be the "Third Perspective." The older soul still has access to the range between the poles, but from a third perspective, or a perspective that is more "outside" of the self, from a higher elevation, an arc. This allows for a non-attachment to the experiences, comprehensions, and perspectives, while still participating in them. The evolution through the use of the spectrum between the poles of overleaves then could be described as a progression from attachment to detachment to non-attachment, or reactionary to responsive to True Choice, or from bouncing to swinging to arcing. We will conclude here. Good day to each of you. Goodbye.