Why We Incarnate

[ckaricai]

Originally posted to eTLE on Sept 21, 2014 by DianeHB
_________________________________
Originally posted on September 24, 2011. Reposted here for discussion.
Channeled by Troy Tolley

 

Michael: Hello to you both. We are here. We can respond to your questions now.

 

Tex: Hi, I’m a really old Michael student. I studied this teaching when the first book came out. I do not know all the latest material but have watched some on the sidelines as Diane asked questions on weekend sessions.

 

It has been a very busy last few weeks. I’ve been totally overloaded with work to the point I have not wanted to think about the 'Big Picture'. Just survive and do the work at hand. This has made me wonder -- why do we incarnate? What is the emotional pull that would make a being come to a place where the basis of survival has nothing to do with our true beingness? A place where 'Mother Nature' murders all her children. But firs she lies to them about what they are. Of all our mis-identifications about what we are, the greatest lie is that the human body is what we are, and that the death of the body is our death. Is this really a place of spiritual growth? Seems like a place of spiritual suppression. It seems like a Disneyland of confinement with no vision outside the gate. Why is a place of constant misinformation the basis of development?

 

Michael: Our first response would be that this is certainly one way of looking at the experience. And therein lies one of the primary motivations for incarnation. To experience it, digest it, interpret it, AS YOU. As "Tex." Regardless of how you feel about it at this point, we can assure you that it is not the only way to experience it, digest it, and interpret it. The perspective and interpretation you describe is not untrue, but it is not entirely truthful, either.

 

In your case, as a Scholar, and as a Pragmatic Scholar, at that, experiences eventually have to "make sense" to you, have some reason, order, some structure, cause, effect, etc. This is part of your design. It is part of why you are here, if you will.

 

We will address the more philosophical question in a moment, but we think addressing your interpretation will lend far more insight into things than simply to hand you a pat answer.

 

In addition to your being a Scholar, which lends you an inherent inclination for cataloging and ordering experiences, you are also Artisan-cast, which means your daily experiences/perspectives will tend toward Order out of Chaos. Artisans require great structure for functioning properly, or there can be chaos, not only for themselves and their experiences of the world, but for those around them. Being Artisan-cast will probably generate this need for you as well.

 

Your "bigger picture" is one of chaos that has no order, and one way that you bring a sense of order back to that sense of chaos is to submerge yourself into a microcosm of immediacy that can be controlled, or attempted to be controlled, such as you described at the beginning here.

 

Tex: That's true. I am happy when I just get up and go to work. I feel like there is no order "out there", so I have to create it in my life.

 

Michael: Rather than falling prey to such dichotomy, and focusing the extremes, it may help to give some attention to the "chaos" that is inherently a part of your own daily order: For instance, simply brushing your teeth is an act of chaos, if you were to only focus on the profound impact of bristles and water and abrasive on a surface. Showering is a display of chaos if the blast of water is the emphasis, with the flooding and foams, but only if you miss the point of its beauty.

 

We realize that comparing a shower and brushing your teeth to a tsunami or terrorist attack is absurd, but we are only pointing out at this point that there is a bigger picture, from the smallest experiences to the largest.

 

Aside from your personal need for order and structure vs the chaos of life, a more philosophical response for why there is an incarnational process is that your Essence absolutely and profoundly comprehends that you are safe.

 

Tex: So this is like a TV show for my essence?

 

Michael: We know this brings little comfort to the Personality who can only see from the "inside" of an incarnation, and because Personality is deeply intertwined in biology, the instinct for survival can tend to interpret much of life as threatening and dangerous. That is its job. However, the more one gains consciousness, the more one begins to bring Essence into the Personality, and when this happens, the "bigger picture" begins to unfold as, at least potentially, making some sense.

 

To compare a lifetime to a tv show or a movie is only fair as far as the sense of safety. To compare the profundity of experiences within that experience as nothing more than a "tv show," however, is not fair.

 

Michael: When you go into a theater for a movie, and you submerge yourself into that film, it can make you terrified, laugh out loud, cry, etc. and those experiences are profoundly valid and real, despite the fact that an illusion is provoking them. However, you KNOW you can leave the theater and you are not lost, and you can go your separate ways from those you may have met up with, and you know you will see them again, etc. To that end, incarnation is very much like that.

 

Tex: I still don't get what motivated essence to make the choice to incarnate.

 

Tex: What motivated essence to seek a series of experiences.

 

Michael: Tex, imagine yourself in the absolute safety of prison cell. You are fed, clothed, given free time, provided entertainment, access to libraries, and can even interact with whomever you choose. You are absolutely safe. But you are still in prison. Suddenly, you are offered a chance to leave that prison to enjoy absolute, profound freedom and creativity. There are no limits. None. At all. This unleashes a chaos of behaviors and experiences outside of that prison because such a freedom has never been experienced before.

 

Tex: So the Tao is felt to be a type of confinement?

 

Michael: Because of the chaos of such a freedom, it is vital for time to be set aside for digesting experiences and refreshing the perspectives. Because there is such a profound freedom and creativity, there had to be a way of comprehending the impact of such freedom and creativity, and this requires some sort of order. The Physical Plane is the only plane where that kind of order exists, and consequences are experienced so profoundly. Matter is dense enough to actually feel it, and time is in place enough to generate memory, presence, and anticipation. Eventually, the consequences of actions, thoughts, and feelings begins to be noted, and you evolve.

 

One of the most obvious symptoms of waking up within all of that matter, density, and time is the type of sensitivity and empathy you describe. It much like the feeling of, "oh my god. what have we done. what are we doing." And this is where your own Soul Age comes into play.

 

Tex: Yeah, that's me! :)

 

Michael: You have reached that shift in consciousness that now grasps the magnitude of pain, struggle, tragedy, and suffering that is inherent in the Physical Plane because you have now completed the Mature Soul experiences, which are often wrought with those qualities, and you are now just beginning to try on the perspective of the Old Soul.

 

If the Mature Soul Age is about developing empathy and compassion and sensitivity, then the Old Soul Age is about figuring out how to use it, and not just be at the mercy of those qualities. During the Mature Soul Age, this empathy, compassion, and sensitivity is used for immediate scenarios, such as Rights, Relief, Healing, etc. but the Old Soul now wants to apply it on spiritual, global, and universal levels. And in order to truly do that, the "bigger picture" must be comprehended.

 

The "bigger picture" includes the suffering, tragedy, and pain to which you have become sensitive, and because you easily relate to the Mature Soul state of mind, it is easy to get stuck there, lost in it, and overwhelmed by it, but in this life, you are stretching yourself to lay down alongside the suffering, tragedy, and pain all that which is actually beautiful, pleasurable, peaceful, and blissful.

One way that you will be able to do this is to catch yourself when you are microscopic in perspective. Or myopic. By this we mean that for all of the tragedy, suffering, and pain in the world, there is a thousand times more kindness, giving, pleasure, sharing, and goodness. That is a fact that can be proven to you in any of your single days of life.

 

Because the culture is still immersed in a Young Soul paradigm, the most "exciting" and challenging of perspectives is cropped and enlarged for everyone to indulge in. Crime, politics, fear, outrage, nature's "cruelty," violence, etc are fed into your psyches as if that is the truth about the world. But it is not. They are truths, but not The Truth. They are fed into your psyches, not just for entertainment, but for awareness so that those who are moved to be involved in helping alleviate these things can do so. The Mature Souls gain great edges by having these feeds of information from which to choose causes and movements and revolutions.

 

If we were to describe the ratio of what you describe as so unappealing about incarnation, to that of which is appealing, only about 10% is actually unappealing.

 

Tex: I do tend to get a little caught up in causes, but then I usually feel they don't amount to much.

 

Michael:  Without being too poetic, we can say that if a raindrop condemned its value by how much water it carries, there would be no oceans.

 

Rather than taking our word for it, use your days to help you "prove" the fact that life is amazing and worth the risk of incarnation. Look at the love that you share, the thoughts you get to have, the feelings you allow, and the ratio of opportunities for suffering vs the opportunities for pleasure.

 

What tends to happen to early Old Souls is a strange shift in consciousness from jadedness back into innocence and awe. "You" have been incarnating so many times that much of "life" is now taken for granted. We can say without intending this to be insulting that it is can become easy, convenient and lazy to only see the suffering.

 

Tex: Yeah, my life goes more smoothly than most people's.

 

Michael: The shift during the 2nd Level is a shift that moves from indulging in the dramatic and melodramatic to suddenly seeing the awe-inspiring beauty that is like that of the child, but now from a place of wisdom, not just curiosity. In other words, you do not have control over the world and its people. You do not have control over nature and its chaos and beauty. You do not have control over weather and geological shifts. You do not have control over a great deal of life. But you have control WITHIN those things.

 

People will do what they do because they have as much freedom as you do, in terms of experiences to seek, to learn from, to avoid, to suffer from, to impose, etc. You are one of the adults among children, if you will. If an adult were to resign from his position of power on a playground of children just because they are screaming and running around, throwing rocks at each other, skinning knees, and being rather stupid, he would be missing the point.

 

Tex: Yeah, I'd be outta there :).

 

Michael: He can stand above them and look down upon them, or he can manage them by ranting and trying to control them, or he can dive in and "play" along with them and allow them to learn from example, which is one of the most-favorite ways for a human to learn. And this matters.

 

Tex: Does this have to anything to do with my 5th internal monad?

 

Michael: In terms of your 5th Internal Monad, it may be a part of it, as this Internal Monad, or rite of passage, is one in which a person embraces who he is, moving beyond who he decided to be.

The 4th Internal Monad is a process of building the self from personal choices about who one wants to be vs who one thought he should be or was told to be. The 5th Internal Monad is a process of releasing even your own ideas about who you had decided to be, and embracing who you are at the very core. This often means surrendering to parts of you that you may have fought to rise above, ignore, control, etc.

In your case, this may be the embrace of the fact that you are genuinely sensitive and easily moved.

 

Tex: Yeah, I always try to hide that.

 

Michael: What this embrace would do is allow you to make more creative and pleasant choices that make room for that sensitivity, instead of making choices that navigate you for the sake of protecting yourself. And by extension, this alignment and embrace of sensitivity would, ironically, expand your awareness of what else is in the world besides that which provokes you into paralysis.

In other words, if your focus in life is emphasizing your own protection, then your perspective of life is going to prove to you just how much of the world there is that is dangerous. As you manage your sensitivity as a positive quality that is valuable, instead of as an Achilles’ Heel that must be guarded, and/or only used for extracting from the world the threats in it, you might find that your sensitivity is actually the very portal to your greatest bliss, wisdom, and comprehension.

 

Think of Sensitivity as having two extremes: a Negative Pole of Paralysis/Reaction and a Positive Pole of Awareness/Choice. In these terms, the Positive Pole will INCLUDE the Negative Pole so that even when you experience paralysis or reactions, you know that you also have a choice because you are aware.

 

The Negative Pole is exclusionary of the Positive Pole, so that if you only focus on Paralysis and Reaction, you feel you have no choice, and that you would rather your awareness be redirected or even blinded. Of course, this then extends into perspectives of the world so that now the rest of the world is always wrought with lack of choice, lack of awareness and paralyzed or reactionary.

 

We could have responded to your question with a quick and accurate response of: because incarnation is one of the most exciting, amazing, profound, and beautiful experiences any Essence will ever have. There is nothing like it. Even the pain and suffering is blissful in the end. We simply have no other Plane to match it in terms of ecstasy. But we wanted to walk through the various aspects of who you are so that you understand why you extract this perspective, which will increase your capacity for choice as you continue to come across it. And we wanted to point out that chaos and order/beauty are never separate. They are one within the other, and often the only thing differentiating between the two is the consciousness that is perceiving it.

 

Tex: Yeah, I've often contemplated that everything I saw was within me, not out there. And I could change channels. :)

 

Michael: And we wanted to point out the fact that pain and suffering and tragedy are surprisingly only a minority of experiences of the Physical Plane. In fact, it is of such a minority of experiences that fragments tend to only suffer by association, extracting from others the pain and suffering, or making problems where none truly exist. This is why "the news" is so popular, and sensationalizing tragedies so prevalent in media. There is simply not enough suffering to go around.

 

Tex: LOL

 

Michael: Your world is extremely safe, loving, and far more at peace than what is chosen for focus, but the emphasis of these painful and tragic and unfair scenarios is vital, as well, because it is not just the individual who evolves, but an entire Sentience. And this means pitching in, caring, and expanding awareness to include not just those who experience joy and love and peace, but those who are not in those experiences.

 

As we described with the Positive and Negative Poles of Sensitivity, so does Soul Age do the same: the younger Soul Ages tend to be exclusive of older Soul Ages, by the very nature of their focus of experiences, whereas the older Soul Ages tend to be inclusive of younger Soul Ages, by the very nature of their awakening, awareness, sensitivity, empathy, experiences and wisdom.

 

You not only have the capacity for allowing room for those who may be the equivalent of metaphysical brats in the incarnational process, of even 'evil,' if you will, but for yourself, who is not those things, and does not have to be consumed by the focus of others. You can help where you can, if you choose to do so, and you can nurture and create and play in your part of the physical plane where others can join in on your idea of a great life.

 

Returning to a previous statement: it is not that Tao is like a prison, but that the sudden release of creativity and freedom as a fragment is explosive, much like being freed from a prison, but of course, unity is NOT like a prison, and is just as attractive as individual freedom and creativity.

 

This is what evolves the universe. That explosive dive into freedom and creativity in our fragmentation, and then the subsequent longing for return to wholeness and unity. An expansion and contraction to which we know of no end at this point.

 

Tex: I have often wondered what absolute unity would be like. If maybe it is my reality and everything else is made up.

 

Michael: Glimpses of this are possible within a single lifetime when you grasp the magnitude of just you. There is nothing about you that is singular. "You" are nothing but unity and wholeness of molecules, atoms, cells, and layers. There is nothing you own or experience that is not of unity and wholeness because it could not and would not exist without the cohesiveness of unity to create it, such as your car, your bed, your floors, your walls, etc.

 

Reality is real. It is not literally an illusion as some teachings profess it to be. Things, thoughts, actions, people, and effects do exist. However, reality is not just about the props and players, but about the projections, reflections, and interpretations.

 

Tex: I think of illusions as things that come and go.

 

Michael: For example, a slap is a slap. It is a slap no matter who does it. But if a child in your lap slaps your face, and a stranger walks up and slaps you, the projection, reflection and interpretation would most likely be very different. The slap is a reality, but so is your choice in how to experience it. And you always have a choice. In the end, you get to decide what is true of that slap.

 

The older your soul gets, the more inclusive it is of every aspect of the experience, so that the emphasis is not just on the obvious. If the experience is only interpreted from the point of impact of the fact of a slap, then there is no Awareness or Choice, but only Paralysis and Reaction.

 

We realize that we cannot resolve the problems of the world, and the paradoxes of incarnation during one conversation with you, but we can suggest ways of experimenting with your perspective and your days, along with greater self-understanding, so that you may resolve these things for yourself.

 

We feel that is much more useful than a simple "because we said so" type of response, or something that ignores the fact of suffering and pain in the world, which is, in fact, very real.

We are aware of our going over in time. We will conclude here with you today.

 

Good day to each of you.Goodbye.
 

Edited June 11, 2016 by ckaricai
clean up formatting

[NickF]

This is a remarkable session. I remember reading and commenting on this session at the old site. The questions and answers are all so thoughtful and wonderfully good. Glad this has been saved here. Thanks.

 

"This is what evolves the universe. That explosive dive into freedom and creativity in our fragmentation, and then the subsequent longing for return to wholeness and unity. An expansion and contraction to which we know of no end at this point."

[PPLD]

Fantastic conversation with Michael.

Thank you for sharing Tex!

[Juni]

Michael: "The shift during the 2nd Level is a shift that moves from indulging in the dramatic and melodramatic to suddenly seeing the awe-inspiring beauty that is like that of the child, but now from a place of wisdom, not just curiosity. In other words, you do not have control over the world and its people. You do not have control over nature and its chaos and beauty. You do not have control over weather and geological shifts. You do not have control over a great deal of life. But you have control WITHIN those things."
I missed this, the first few reads. I'm second level too.  Good to know there is something more than the wild emotional seesawing to look forward to. :)
 

 

[Dawn]

This is still one of my all-time favorite sessions! Thanks for sharing it again here.

[NickG]

This is my favorite ? I have quite the myopic view of life at times so its nice to return to this to at least test imagine and try what Michael has said out. Play with it, experiment with it and truly grasp why we are all here. 

[DanielaS]

I actually pinned the link to this session on the homepage of my phone months ago. I relate very well, especially as another pragmatic Artisan-cast Scholar. :)

 

The part of this transcript that always make me giggle is right at the beginning when Tex so eloquently, poetically, and dramatically describes the absurdity of the physical plane and Michael says, "Our first response would be that this is certainly one way of looking at the experience."

 

That dry sense of humor. I feel like I could actually hear Michael chucking in that line, if they could chuckle.

Edited September 6, 2016 by DanielaS

[Heidi]

On 5/29/2016 at 10:19 PM, ckaricai said:

As you manage your sensitivity as a positive quality that is valuable, instead of as an Achilles’ Heel that must be guarded, and/or only used for extracting from the world the threats in it, you might find that your sensitivity is actually the very portal to your greatest bliss, wisdom, and comprehension.

This was my favorite part. It's as if they're saying what we view as our weaknesses can be our greatest strengths.

[Kasia]

On 29/05/2016 at 10:19 PM, ckaricai said:

Michael: And we wanted to point out the fact that pain and suffering and tragedy are surprisingly only a minority of experiences of the Physical Plane. In fact, it is of such a minority of experiences that fragments tend to only suffer by association, extracting from others the pain and suffering, or making problems where none truly exist. This is why "the news" is so popular, and sensationalizing tragedies so prevalent in media. There is simply not enough suffering to go around.

 

I've never thought about it this way, but this is so true! How much of the suffering and tragedy we "endure" has never actually happened directly to us. Hopefully that path of empathy eventually leads to the realisation that choosing joy by association is also an option.

 

Such an incredible session. Thanks @TexB, this certainly is one to keep coming back to!

[Uma]

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

We could have responded to your question with a quick and accurate response of: because incarnation is one of the most exciting, amazing, profound, and beautiful experiences any Essence will ever have. There is nothing like it. Even the pain and suffering is blissful in the end. We simply have no other Plane to match it in terms of ecstasy.

 

 

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

it is not just the individual who evolves, but an entire Sentience.

 

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

This is what evolves the universe. That explosive dive into freedom and creativity in our fragmentation, and then the subsequent longing for return to wholeness and unity. An expansion and contraction to which we know of no end at this point.

 

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

Reality is real. It is not literally an illusion as some teachings profess it to be. Things, thoughts, actions, people, and effects do exist. However, reality is not just about the props and players, but about the projections, reflections, and interpretations.

 

This is one of the best sessions I have read. Thank you @TexB and @PPLDfor quoting it in the Favorite Michael Quotes section, which is how I got here from the August Challenge. All the above quotes are really BIGGIES to me, but not surprising that they come in response to such a basic and profound question that you asked, Tex: WTF are we doing here?

Edited August 2, 2017 by Uma

[Luciana Flora]

On 06/09/2016 at 0:00 AM, Juni said:

Michael: "The shift during the 2nd Level is a shift that moves from indulging in the dramatic and melodramatic to suddenly seeing the awe-inspiring beauty that is like that of the child, but now from a place of wisdom, not just curiosity. In other words, you do not have control over the world and its people. You do not have control over nature and its chaos and beauty. You do not have control over weather and geological shifts. You do not have control over a great deal of life. But you have control WITHIN those things."
I missed this, the first few reads. I'm second level too.  Good to know there is something more than the wild emotional seesawing to look forward to. :)
 

 

I really like  this information about the 2nd level.

[Uma]

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

We realize that we cannot resolve the problems of the world, and the paradoxes of incarnation during one conversation with you, but we can suggest ways of experimenting with your perspective and your days, along with greater self-understanding, so that you may resolve these things for yourself.

Okay, so let's have two ?

[Larissa]

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

And we wanted to point out the fact that pain and suffering and tragedy are surprisingly only a minority of experiences of the Physical Plane. In fact, it is of such a minority of experiences that fragments tend to only suffer by association, extracting from others the pain and suffering, or making problems where none truly exist. This is why "the news" is so popular, and sensationalizing tragedies so prevalent in media. There is simply not enough suffering to go around.

? What a positive way of looking at it! This will be my new attitude toward it!

 

Great Session Tex, thank you for sharing it & at Ckaricai for re posting it!

Edited October 26, 2017 by Larissa

[Bogi]

On 30.5.2016 at 5:19 AM, ckaricai said:

He can stand above them and look down upon them, or he can manage them by ranting and trying to control them, or he can dive in and "play" along with them and allow them to learn from example, which is one of the most-favorite ways for a human to learn.

"learn from example" - monkey see, monkey do ?

My colleague takes her daughter to work recently and telling her how to do things is not enough. You have to show it to her. How to blow the nose p.ex. But it is funny to sit with her.

[Uma]

So good to read this again now @TexB. It seems particularly relevant at this moment.

The same quotes still resonate so much.

And this:

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

You not only have the capacity for allowing room for those who may be the equivalent of metaphysical brats in the incarnational process, of even 'evil,' if you will, but for yourself, who is not those things, and does not have to be consumed by the focus of others. You can help where you can, if you choose to do so, and you can nurture and create and play in your part of the physical plane where others can join in on your idea of a great life.

 

Returning to a previous statement: it is not that Tao is like a prison, but that the sudden release of creativity and freedom as a fragment is explosive, much like being freed from a prison, but of course, unity is NOT like a prison, and is just as attractive as individual freedom and creativity.

 

This is what evolves the universe. That explosive dive into freedom and creativity in our fragmentation, and then the subsequent longing for return to wholeness and unity. An expansion and contraction to which we know of no end at this point.

There is no end to it. Fuck.

[Amira Sa'Di]

On 5/29/2016 at 11:19 PM, ckaricai said:

The 4th Internal Monad is a process of building the self from personal choices about who one wants to be vs who one thought he should be or was told to be. The 5th Internal Monad is a process of releasing even your own ideas about who you had decided to be, and embracing who you are at the very core. This often means surrendering to parts of you that you may have fought to rise above, ignore, control, etc.

In your case, this may be the embrace of the fact that you are genuinely sensitive and easily moved.

 

Michael: What this embrace would do is allow you to make more creative and pleasant choices that make room for that sensitivity, instead of making choices that navigate you for the sake of protecting yourself. And by extension, this alignment and embrace of sensitivity would, ironically, expand your awareness of what else is in the world besides that which provokes you into paralysis.

In other words, if your focus in life is emphasizing your own protection, then your perspective of life is going to prove to you just how much of the world there is that is dangerous. As you manage your sensitivity as a positive quality that is valuable, instead of as an Achilles’ Heel that must be guarded, and/or only used for extracting from the world the threats in it, you might find that your sensitivity is actually the very portal to your greatest bliss, wisdom, and comprehension.

 

Wow, I'm 2nd level old, myself, and I feel rather embroiled in this particular process. While ducking and dodging the drama, I, too, am dealing with the issue of being sensitive and easily moved. This issue has brought back to the surface the dilemma of being a female, focused energy-dominant priest, and trying to have a successful heterosexual relationship while not being "altogether" heterosexual. It seems like I have been "provoked into paralysis" by the outcome of my efforts to squeeze myself into this limited, self-protection driven perspective. I'm so glad the "TLE Powers that BE" decided to list "pansexual" as a sexuality choice in the profile form. Looking at my sexuality from the perspective of this designation really frees me up to consider more creative and pleasant choices as I embrace my sensitivity, my focused energy, and the complexities of my being.

 

Great session!

[Dinnerplate]

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