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OMW - Mar 5, 2011 - Choice Vs Circumstances Troy Tolley, Michael Channel MEntity: Hello to all of you. We are here. We understand that we have been asked to discuss the sometimes-confusing subject of Choice, and how this may or may not conflict with the subject of Circumstances. First we will discuss the concept of Choice: this concept has been discussed to a great extent in our body of information, but much of the concept has been discussed in terms of its foundation, and not its "structure," so to speak. Choice is the most-powerful and immediate tool any consciousness has, and all forms of consciousness have Choice. That is an example of a foundational statement. This is a factual statement. But what is built upon that is often inaccurate and misleading. That fact that Choice is available to every fragment and every form of consciousness does not elaborate upon the DEGREE of Choice that a fragment or form of consciousness may have at its disposal. It also does not account for the degrees of consciousness that a fragment may have to have as a means to increase the capacity for choice. It also does not account for the restricting factors of any given life, relationship, or event. So the concept of choice becomes a painful, confusing, delusional, dishonest, and harmful structure built upon an empowering, clear, aware, honest and healing foundation. We clarify the difference between the "foundational" and the "structure" because there is no paradox and no conflict between the two, but when one is confused for the other, the conflicts and confusion can come. The concept that "All is Choice" is a foundational statement, but not a structural statement. ALL is Choice, but this does not elaborate upon the fact that there are variations on the dimensions of "you" who make these choices, and that while a choice may be made in one dimension, it is not one that is made in another. ALL is Choice, but this does not elaborate upon the fact that this is not a statement of permission, but a simple foundation of existence. It does not elaborate upon the evolution of choice-making, and that fragments learn how to choose in ways that match their growing consciousness and manifestation of Essence. This is why the choice between "murder" and "not murdering" becomes an easy choice as one evolves. So while "All is Choice," and "Choice is the most-powerful tool you have" are true, it will help to understand the structures that are built upon those concepts in varations that can make sense. All forms of consciousness have Choice, from the subatomic to the complexity of Sentience. The degree to which a consciousness is closer to Sentience is the degree to which that consciousness makes choices that range between atomic and anatomic, or put another way: in a range between reactionary to creative. Bacteria have Choice, but can only react to stimuli. Humans have Choice, and that can range between reaction to stimuli all the way to conscious, creative problem-solving and beyond. The more one only reacts to stimuli, the more one is bound by the atomic, or the lack of consciousness. The Soul Ages describe this process of learning how to choose, and choosing how to learn. The Soul Ages describe the widening range of realization for a Sentient Being to excercise its capacity for Choice. The Infant Soul does not have the same capacity for Choice as does an Old Soul. It must be LEARNED. And in a microcosmic reflection, the newborn child does not have the same capacity for choice that an adult has. The Old Soul child does not have the same capacity for choice that an Old Soul adult has. This is because that capacity must be REMEMBERED. The Internal Monads are a description of that remembering process. Every lifetime is a remembering process, and every new Soul Age is as well. Every new Soul Age is the equivalent of a new Personality, in many ways, because it is a new paradigm upon which the Essence must now build from an old paradigm. The first 3 Levels of any Soul Age, and the first 3 stages of the Internal Monads are entirely about regaining consciousness, or "remembering." The 4th Level/Stage is about the application and building upon that memory. The 5th is about the experimentation with those new structures; the 6th is about the integration of those experiments; and the 7th is the comprehension/archiving of all of the experiences gained across that Age or Lifetime or span of lifetimes. We share this with you because it is helpful to understand that process and why it is a part of our mapping of existence, but also because it can help you understand the spectrum that you may have as choice at any given time, in any given circumstance. CIRCUMSTANCES is a term that Troy chose, but we can work with this as a term that describes situations, scenarios, conditions, limitations, etc that appear to be, or are clearly beyond your control in any obvious way. CHOICE will ALWAYS exist in some form in ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. That range of choice will ALWAYS range between atomic to anatomic, or between reactionary to creative. It might even be fair to call the range as being between Reactionary to Conscious, and while that is fair, it is slightly misleading because there would still be some degree of consciousness to your reactionary choices. For instance, your compulsions: doing what you know you do not want to do, but doing it anyway. Compulsions are reactionary. Impulses are Creative. To return to the ideas of Foundation and Structure, like the statements about Choice, it would be true to say that one is born into Circumstances that are not the choices of the Personality, but that would be a foundational statement. It does not elaborate upon the fact that the Personality is a beautiful and brilliant extension of Essence who created the Personality through its capacity of choices, and that the circumstances were chosen as Essence's ideas for how best to explore the life as you. It could be argued, then, that the life is not "your" choice, and that would be true to some degree, but only as true as "you" are not manifesting or allowing Essence into the life. The more one aligns with Essence, manifests Essence, the more the life becomes a creative process, and not a pinball game of reaction to stimuli. Therefore, while Circumstances may be limiting, and your Choices restricted to the context of Circumstances, the CAPACITY for Choice is never limited. Within the most extreme of Circumstances, you will always have the choice ranging between reaction and creativity. You may not "choose" to die from a long-term illness in any way that seems obvious to you, but you CAN choose to react to that experience as a form of survival, or choose creative ways of dealing with it in a way that evolves you. You may not "choose" to be poor in any way that makes sense to you, but you CAN choose between constant reaction to the circumstances, and creative responses to the circumstances. You may not "choose" to grow old in a way that hurts, but you CAN choose between reacting to that pain, and being creative through it, around it, beyond it. You may not "choose" who challenges you, and who may die on you, or who may assault you, or who may praise you, but you CAN choose to default to reaction or to creative response. All of this is summed up in the cliche, but valid, statement that you may not choose what happens to you, but you do have a choice in what to do with what happens to you. The most extreme form of Circumstance within a life is what we will call SUFFERING. Suffering is a relative term, so we will not define any conditions for it beyond the fact that anyone can Suffer for any reason that he or she deems circumstances are beyond their control. SUFFERING is a natural part of being alive. It cannot be avoided, and it will happen to all of you in some way, some how, some time. Not because it is imposed upon you, but because each of you will go through a process of interpreting experiences in a way that cause Suffering. Each of you Suffer in every lifetime in some way. Even the Transcendental and hosts for the Infinite Souls suffer. This is because there will ALWAYS be Circumstances beyond your control in some way. In the same way that we described the Learning and Remembering process of Soul Ages and Internal Monads, so does the approach to Suffering evolve. Suffering is avoided at all costs as an Infant Soul, and as an infant child, but Suffering is eventually and actively embraced as the soul ages, and as the adult comes into maturity. To avoid Suffering is a Survival Reaction, and a valid one within context. To embrace Suffering is to embrace your Creative Force. This is why it is well-known that those who suffer within a lifetime tend to be the most creative. Suffering is one of the most fertile of experiences for generating a return to a Creative Force within. It is NOT the only way, but it is a way that is so often a part of the life that it has come to be counted upon by Essence in many ways. When one abdicates Choice, Suffering is painful and overwhelming. When one enlists Choice to any degree closer to Creativity, Suffering becomes a rich resource, and often a direct path back to the self, and to Essence. All Infinite Souls embraced Suffering in its entirety. All Transcendental Souls, as well. This is NOT because Suffering is "noble," but that it is a part of life, a part of living, a part of being alive, in a body, and within the structures of limitation that are built upon various foundations. To avoid Suffering is to remain locked in Survival Mode. To consciously embrace it as a part of life is to Evolve. This does not mean one must seek it out, though we doubt we need to warn of this since suffering is often found without "looking for it." There are three types of Suffering: Survival Suffering, Denial Suffering, and Conscious Suffering. Survival Suffering is a closed loop of Suffering that is often generated through circular blame, guilt, shame. This is not a "true" suffering, but one that is brought upon the self and can be broken at any moment, though may require support and intervention. Survival Suffering tends to cut one off from others, the world, relationships, and life. Denial Suffering is an open loop of Suffering that drags others into it as a means to help the fragment continue its denials, lies, refusals, delusions. This is not a "true" suffering, but one that is brought upon the self as a means to avoid responsibility and accountability. Denial Suffering often leaves a trail of broken relationships, hurt people, and can lead to sociopathic behaviors. Where Survival Suffering isolates the fragment, Denial Suffering creates closed allegiances and alliances that become defensive fences between the self and "reality." Conscious Suffering, or True Suffering, is when one recognizes that there is nowhere else to go, so to speak. When one "loses" a loved one, there is nowhere to go but to suffer the grief. When one struggles with illness, there is nowehere to go but to suffer the challenges. When one struggles with pain, there is nowhere to go but to suffer the endurance. Conscious Suffering is the willingness to stand in that, and let it be. Conscious Suffering is the willingness to be present for the experience. Willingness to be present is a willingness to own what power one has in the circumstance, regardless of how limited that power may be. Owning the power that one has in the most limited of circumstances is the embrace of Choice and Creativity. Embracing Choice and Creativity means allowing for uncertainty, and paves a rich path back to the core of the self and to Essence. While Suffering is not a "noble" thing, it does lead to noble characteristics that every fragment eventually embraces and evolves. The 7 Nobilities, if you will, are: PRESENCE or Self-Authority; STRENGTH or Endurance; INNOCENCE or Wisdom; CREAVITY or Solvency; EMPATHY or Self-Reflection; FORGIVENESS or Self-Responsibility; and TRUST or Experience. The first two are Action Oriented, resonating to King/Warrior respectively. The second two relate to Expression Axis, and Sage/Artisan respectively. The third set of two relates to the Inspirational, and Priest/Server respectively. And finally the Assimilative and Scholar. The "Nobilities" will tend to be emphasized in various degrees depending on the predominance of Overleaves across the Axes, and, of course the Role and Casting. We will OPEN THE QUEUE here for your questions regarding what we have shared so far. Type three asterisks *** to indicate that you have a question, and we will call upon you in order. QUEUE IS NOW OPEN [Maureen] What comments would you make re: the axiom – “If you have the choice choose to enjoy” related to today's material? Maureen, we think that is a valid statement, and in MOST of life circumstances, that choice for \enjoyment is present, but it would be a lie to say that it is a choice in every circumstance. It is rare that a fragment would or could choose to "enjoy" Suffering, itself, but one CAN choose to find moments of joy, or to allow moments of joy, however fleeting, to count, even in the midst of Suffering. If someone suffers from cancer, it would be irresponsible to tell that person to choose to enjoy the cancer, but it would be helpful to remind them that there is joy beyond the suffering, or alongside the suffering. Does this response offer some insight, Maureen? [Maureen] move towards inclusion rather than exclusion - yes thanks Yes, Maureen. That is a valid elaboration. [Corinne] Could you explain further the differences between structure and foundation from the beginning part? The difference between Foundation and Structure is the difference between what IS the concept and the DETAILS of that concept. The concept of a foundation for a home is fairly standard, for example, but what the details of that home may be as built upon any foundation is varying. It could be also be said to be the facts within the facts. CHOICE is a foundation for any form of conscious, but the details of how that choice is built, evolved, utilized, applied, etc is as varied as any home. Does this help clarify? [Corinne] Ok...it's clearer. Is this distinction relative to choice similar for the essence and the personality or different? Another example might be that you have a LIFE, and that is a Foundation, but what you DO WITH THAT LIFE is the structure built upon it. [Corinne] AH! I see. You will always have a range of Choice between Reaction and Creativity within any Circumstance, but you will not always understand or consciously choose your Circumstances. [Oscar] Hello Michaelses ;) Would you care to elaborate on "...any way that seems obvious to you", which you mentioned in relation to possibility of Choice? For example, one may not "choose" a certain illness, but the choices made over time during the life may end up resulting in that illness. To that extent, one DOES CHOOSE the illness, but it is no way an obvious process. Another example might be that one may not "choose" to be attacked by a murderer or rapist, but the choices that lead one to be in a certain place at a certain time resulted in being accessible to the attacker. To that extent one DOES CHOOSE the path that leads to the attacker, but in no way that is fair to call an "obvious choice" made by a person. One may not choose to live with the aches and pains of growing older in a finite body, but one DOES CHOOSE to grow older, and thus the inherent conditions that go along with age must be included in that choice. Do these examples help to clarify? [Oscar] yes very much so, thanks =) [DanR] Michael, could you comment on a bias seen in fragments where they view their own suffering as arising from unfortunate external circumstances while they view other fragments' suffering as arising from poor choices? For example, “I am poor due to a bad upbringing and lack of opportunity while they are poor because they chose not to work hard.” Does overcoming this bias help with Essence evolution? The first example is one of Survival Suffering: blame on the past, on the upbringing, on the past. Survival Suffering is wrought with comparisons for the sake of excuses and alleviation of self-reflection and self-authority, self-responsibility, etc. Comparing Suffering is never insightful. It is about as useless as defining a line between Art and Not Art. By this we mean that while there are three types of Suffering that do have symptoms and behaviors distinct to each, they are still Suffering. Anyone who Suffers can use your help, and if you suffer, you can always use your own help. Therefore, yes, the transcendence of comparisons will always help one to tend to his own Creative solutions for his suffering, rather than to ensure them because they are justified when compared to others'. Comparisons are helpful for navigation, but if not used for navigation, they become the parameters of centrifugal vs creative force. Does this help in answering your question? [DanR] Yes, thank you very much Michael. [Bobbi] Having recently been dropped by a friend of 35+ years, I am left wondering if my change from uneasy ally in her Denial Suffering to offering self-empowerment/self-love suggestions caused the freeze-out. Do I try to get back in, or let her evolution continue without me? Your observations are valid. The "freeze-out" is often the modus operandi of those in Denial Suffering, and if we see the correct fragment, your assessment is valid. As mentioned before, Suffering is Suffering, regardless of Denial, Survival, or Conscious, and any Suffering person can use your help. The choice is yours to make, but there is a risk that it could lead you to your own Suffering in some way. And if you are willing, then that can be a path of Creative Force. We would say that it would be helpful to continue what you have already done, which is to continue along lines that are on your own terms, and not catering to the perceived delusions. [Bobbi] Would the risk be rejection? [Bobbi] Again. There is a way to return to the friendship with more offers of support and intervention without it being consuming, and that would be through calling upon one of the 7 Nobilities that come naturally to you, or that you wish to take on as a challenge. [Bobbi] Thank you. Very helpful. When one moves into uncertainty, risk, and limitation of choice, but recognizes that choice is still an option, then calling upon one of the 7 Nobilities can help one to focus the choices. [Bobbi] Good to know and have in the holster! For instance, in your case, you can make the choice to take the risk because you are willing to challenge your Empathy, or to utilize your Forgiveness, or to encourage her Strength by exemplifying it in yourself, etc. As we said, Suffering is not the Nobility, in itself, but from Suffering comes the 7 Nobilities, and one eventually learns to call upon those actively and willingly in the lifetime. When one actively calls upon a Nobility, then Suffering is minimized, if not diminished entirely. [Bobbi] I must have missed that in the other books. ;-) It is not there. Our teaching is not completed in any book. [Jill] Would it be accurate to say that someone who is highly sensitive is highly reactive due to interpretation of experiences? Highly Sensitive does not automatically equate Highly Reactive, though the phrase "highly sensitive" is often imposed upon those who are more obvious in their reactions or creative responses. Highly-sensitive people simply react OR respond quickly. Those who are highly-sensitive require more downtime for calibration and recalibration, since their sensitivity equates quickness. On the surface, and often, yes, this is reactionary, but it can evolve into a quickness of consciousness and creativity just as easily as anyone can. Does this lend insight to your question? [Jill] Is sensitivity due to Overleaves, imprinting etc.? Sensitivity can be a result of any number of combinations, but most-often it is the result of AWARENESS. When one is "sensitive" in the sense that one is offended by the slightest thing, it is NEW, or RAW Awareness, whereas one who is "sensitive" in a sense is intuitive and transcendent of the senses, it is INTEGRATED Awareness. [Jill] Thank you. I have been struggling with the distinction for quite some time Sensitivity is a state that every fragment strives for, and cycles through in terms of rawness vs integration. Being easily upset or offended only means that one has not found acceptable solutions to the awareness that has come to be, and this can be the case in a spectrum of situations. For instance, one can be sensitive to the behaviors of others in a way that upsets one because this emphasizes the differences between oneself and another. What to do with that awareness is then a process of Integration. [Jill] So we can truly feel empathy on the way to agape? One can be sensitive to the plight of animals, or the oppressed, and but raw awareness will be ineffective and reactionary, often exacerbating or defeating the awareness, but integrated awareness will be responsive, effective, creative, and educational on behalf of that awareness. Jill, one cannot be in a state of agape without empathy. We will conclude this workshop with a suggestion for each of you to examine the 7 Nobilities and to look at which ones are more challenging, which ones are natural to you, and which ones have not been considered. Look at the risks you may be willing to take in the life, and call upon one that you feel could help minimize the potential for suffering. Examine where and how in your life you feel you suffer because of circumstances, and see if you can stand in it Consciously so that it is transformed into a path to your Creative Force. [Corinne] What are the differences between the Nobilities you capitalized and those you didn't? While there may be variations in the limitations and freedoms relative to Choice, you will ALWAYS carry with you the spectrum between Reaction and Response/Creativity. Corrine, we added a more personalized sub-description for convenience. It could be said that the capitalized is the foundation, and the lower-case is the structure; or put another way, the concept and the application. [Corinne] I see. Thanks. We must conclude here today. Good day to each of you. Goodbye.