The question, of a general nature, is what lesson is to be learned when goals seem unattainable after a great deal of effort has been expended?

[Happy Birthday, Jim McCarty!]

(Carla channeling)

I am Q’uo. I greet you in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator. It is a great blessing to us to be asked to share this meditation with you, and we would pause with you for a few moments of silent meditation so that we may truly become one with you and flow in harmony and in rhythm with your thoughts and your needs at this time. We shall pause. We are Q’uo.

[Pause]

We are again with this instrument. We are Q’uo, and again we greet you in the love and the light of the One Who Is All. Your query is concerned with what your peoples call ambition, an ambition to succeed, an ambition to fulfill the potential. It is based upon an interesting supposition among your people, namely that something smaller than the life experience of the life itself is that which is called the work.

The difficulty in recognizing one’s true work seems to stem from that distorted value which your peoples place upon that tool of power which your peoples call the money. It is assumed that that which is done in exchange for money is that which is the work, and it is assumed that, therefore, even when one is not receiving money for something, one may still be in a training period for some time, but after a certain time it is assumed that the work itself shall begin. Such is the distortion which money has created by its distortion among your peoples.

It is our opinion—and we stress that it is opinion only and is not an irreducible truth—that the only work which may be called “The Work” of any entity is that work done in consciousness during an incarnational period which has a net result as judged by the self after the incarnation of polarizing the entity more and more strongly towards service to the Creator and to others. Thus, life is the work, and work is the life.

This may rearrange the thinking upon the query of this evening, which is, “What is the possible reason for such extended effort and then no expected outcome?”

The emphasis upon the outcome is that which has been distorted by your money system. If it is seen that one’s own life is a gift which is going to be created by the self by life’s end within this density, then it may be seen that whether one had an expected or an unexpected outcome for training, that the actual work lay not in results, but in attitudes and biases which have been gained during the training, and that this process would go on regardless of the outer circumstances changing by apparent success or apparent failure.

Let us back up a bit and speak in a deeper way, as you know we are fond of doing, my children. You know that each of you is a perfection unique and amazing to the Creator, just as the Creator is unique and amazing, mysterious and wonderful to each of you. You know that as you gaze upon each other, you gaze upon the face of great mystery. And yet, somehow each entity manages to stop the ears and blind the eyes of the miracle of each moment in order that it may function in what is seemingly the here and now of a hustle-bustle life experience.

How blessed it feels to kick off the shoes of the workaday world, to tuck a metaphorical piece of grass between the teeth and gaze into the metaphorical open sky for daydreaming. How very, very good it feels to unwind and relax, to let one’s mind drift. My children, it is not only pleasant—it is life itself to that entity which dwells within, which is learning the true lessons and doing the true work of the incarnation.

We are speaking here of meditation and of those states of mind associated with meditation which may seem to be a waste of time to the civilized mind. We find this word in the instrument’s vocabulary has many connotations, and we wish them all to be recognized, for civilization is also an artificiality, and all of those notions and belief systems which arise from the cultural medium which you enjoy can be a deadening and numbing influence upon those who are not aware that at some point it is necessary to remove oneself from the grip of civilization in order that the creature which dwells within in illimitable light might move about, breathe the fresh air of unconstructed thought, and go deeper and deeper into that portion of mind which is nourished by light and love and contemplation and which gives as fruit of this kindness from the conscious mind a harvest to the conscious mind of health and right knowledge. The aid which meditation may yield to an entity is equal to that entity’s desire for that aid.

There is no desire which is not fulfilled, and when one feels that one has worked for a long period of time and yet the goal has not been accomplished, it is often interesting to go back and reexamine the deep desires of the heart and mind. It may be that there is a far, far deeper desire for the deeper learning which is brought about when one has a long-standing and seeming failure. This consciousness of clay feet and imperfection causes a kind of unhappy tension which is called suffering, and this suffering creates a frame of mind in which the deeper senses become more and more sensitive and begin to make choices.

We question each who has an unfilled dream whether in the suffering which has gone into disappointment there has not been a great deal learned which could never have been learned in the face of continued contentment and happiness.

The strength of desire is the measure of the result of desire, for the universe is completely rhythmical and responds to that which is asked. There is a spontaneous simultaneity about existence, and in that still point, as one of your poets has called it, it is truly there the dance is. When one finally rests in meditation after great suffering and hoping and seeking, one may finally get a glimpse of what has been learned by the deep self.

To those to whom that glimpse has been given, no suffering ever seems so hard again, for those are the ones fortunate enough to grasp the deep reality, which is that in terms of the deeper desire of the heart they have not been unsuccessful at all, but instead successful beyond their dreams.

You see, my children, the movement in development of personality is from the surface of things, deeper and deeper into them, until finally the seeking and the sought become one; one thing, so that you are not meditating, but finally you are the meditation, and this meditation is your perfect poem, your arrangement of your consciousness, and you know in an instant that this consciousness is the gift which you shall give to the Creator, and so no longer can you feel unsuccessful.

We are aware that the moments when one accepts the self as the Creator must be few and far between for those of you who dwell in third density, for it is the function of your physical illusion to fool you quite efficiently. If you do not suffer in some way, if you are not made uncomfortable by circumstance, shall you seek at all? We found in our studies that our third-density experience was not as vivid as the experience which you have upon your planet. This is due to the fact that our Logos, as we find this instrument to use the word, did not choose quite so vivid an archetypical expression of the one infinite Creator.

You, in the planetary sphere you enjoy, have an especially excellent illusion. How then are you to embrace yourself and the consciousness within you in the midst of an illusion which delivers to your consciousness a distorted and incomplete report of the self? Again, we suggest meditation, that in the still moments of meditation, you might come upon yourself, and, not looking directly, still recognize that self as both self and a greater Self. And in the greater Self’s persona, perhaps you shall catch a glimpse of the glory that lies within you.

The development of faith and will is in large part a development of the will to seek and the faith to keep on seeking. A persistent, sustained seeking throughout an incarnation, regardless of any results that appear within the incarnation, is in our opinion the very best gift which can be created by you. You are creating a life, and you shall not be done in that great career until your last breath has left the physical vehicle and you yourself move from space/time into the time/space of metaphysical life, that greater life which you hunger for while caught within the clumsy prison of the physical vehicle. You shall be light and free. You shall be full of light and full of freedom. Yet, here and now, within the prison of the earthly body, is your great chance to be faithful to your own consciousness.

So seek, my children, seek always, and know that while it is well to move according to the tides of circumstance, it is far more deeply helpful to have an inner life which is completely independent of outer circumstance, a life in which meditation and contemplation are both that which is desired and among the fruits of that desire. If you are not enjoying your meditations, may we suggest that you vary the conditions under which these meditations occur. And do not refrain from meditating because of a difficult patch, for in any difficulty, yet to remain faithful to the seeking is a very helpful thing for one who wishes to polarize more and more towards service to the Creator and others. The development of that will which under the velvet offers the strength is much recommended.

We find that there are queries within the group this evening, and we would like to answer as many of them as we may. We would at this time transfer this contact to the one known as Jim, We are those of Q’uo. We thank this instrument and would now transfer.

(Jim channeling)

I am Q’uo, and greet each again in love and light through this instrument. It is our privilege at this time to offer ourselves in the attempt to respond to those queries which those present may have for us. We remind each that we offer but our opinions and wish to appear not as an authority, but as brothers and sisters who seek as you seek on the same journey of seeking. May we begin, then, with a query?

Yes, I have a question. Recently I read some literature concerning crystals and their properties and their value, and I’ve also read things in the past that said the opposite of what I have recently read. One is positive and the other one is negative. Could you comment on the use of crystals to a person who is seeking what value they have maybe in helping a person to polarize their—I guess, their direction of seeking? Anything you could say about crystals would be appreciated.

I am Q’uo, and we find that there is much that can be said upon this topic, and it is our desire to speak in those areas which might be of most use in this instance. Any aid of the nature of the crystal that an entity employs in its journey of seeking may be valuable in that seeking according to the desire and purity of desire for polarization that the entity contains within its heart of being as it utilizes the crystal or any other gadget, shall we say, for it is the crystallization of the self or the personality of the self which is the process of evolution for each seeker.

As the seeker is able to regularize the thoughts, desires, actions and words that proceed from its being, and to focus these energies in a manner that partakes of service to others toward a positive polarity, the entity is making of itself, and more specifically the energy centers or chakras of the metaphysical self, a kind of crystal that accepts the white light of the one Creator and refracts it in a balanced fashion so that each energy center lends its distinctive coloration of vibration and yields again the white light.

If an entity wishes to accelerate the process of evolution, the process of utilizing catalyst in the daily round of activities, and gleaning from that catalyst the bias in consciousness towards service, then the entity may seek to share that quality of polarization with others by means of the healing that is possible in the use of the crystal. This healing is a process which is first used upon the self as the entity gathers the experience of its journey and allows the fruit of this experience to move through its being, to enter into the crystal and resonate in harmony with it and become amplified by this harmonic resonance and move to an other self that is in need of the kind of balancing of energy centers which your peoples term healing.

As the crystal is utilized for the enhancing, the balancing, or the healing of the energy centers of self or other self, it must, however, be understood that there is the attendant responsibility to utilize the increased energy patterns or intensified patterns in a manner congruent with the chosen polarity, for, indeed, the enhanced experience carries the responsibility to be utilized in a manner that is as pure an offering of love to the one Creator as the seeker is able to make.

May we speak further, my brother?

No, thank you. That was very good.

I am Q’uo, and we thank you, my brother. Is there another query?

So what you’re saying about the lesson of working hard for a goal and the goal not being accomplished is—you’re saying that it is if that trying has crystallized or regularized that person’s metaphysical personality, then the real goal of creating a better crystallized personality is being done, and therefore the real goal is being accomplished, and it just looks like the goal is not being accomplished. Is that right?

I am Q’uo, and we find that you have in general summarized that which we have attempted to offer this evening in response to the query offered us…

But sometimes people succeed wildly, or at least adequately. I mean, not everyone has goals that they haven’t achieved. So, are the people who are actually seemingly successful less so?

I am Q’uo, and we have not yet finished the response, and would at this time attempt to cover the additional information that you have requested. It is our observation that the peoples of your planet have so succeeded in placing about the mind complex those veils which shield it from far-seeing and becoming aware of the deeper patterns of experience that are realized in each incarnation and the work done in each incarnation, that the efforts of any one seeker in the metaphysical sense are largely unknown to that seeker, for what you seek within your illusion is the quality known as love or compassion and the expression of that compassion or attitude of compassion within the consciousness in such a focused fashion that one polarizes the being so that it is more and more able to accept increased love and light energy from the one Creator, and proceed therefore upon the path of evolution.

The polarization prepares the personality that it might be able to accept the increased energy of vibration in a stable manner without disintegration. The ability to discern the precise manner by which this process is accomplished is a lesson which lies beyond that which you now attempt to learn, and is described by many as that known as wisdom. Those of your peoples within third density who seek the lessons of love do well to gain even a small portion of that lesson, and do not yet reach the quality or lesson of wisdom which allows the clear perception of the white light in its movement throughout all of creation.

Thus, the qualities which you seek to nurture within your being, those of will and faith to persevere in the seeking of love, are those qualities which discipline the personality in a fashion which allows further seeking and further progress upon the journey of seeking. The process is largely unseen, and not dependent upon the outcome for particular effort or group of efforts within an incarnation that are designed by the seeker as its attempt to polarize in consciousness.

The attempt and the intention are those qualities which further enhance the will and faith and thus the polarization of the being, and it is these qualities that one works upon when one seeks to survive the moments and long periods of disillusionment, confusion, frustration and the various trials that test the entity’s dedication to service and to seeking. And these moments of difficulty are seldom appreciated amongst your peoples as being those times during which the greater work is accomplished.

[Side one of tape ends.]

(Jim channeling)

I am Q’uo, and am again with this instrument. We shall continue.

It is often those times of the seeming accomplishment of a goal which one has long sought that seekers look to as a sign of work well done. However, we would suggest that there is little possibility of entities within your illusion ever being able to see with eyes clear enough to know when work has truly been accomplished, and it is those times of difficulty in general which are most valuable to the seeker of truth. Truly, there is no means by which one cannot serve and seek to be of more service, yet it is far better to continue the effort of seeking with great perseverance and without the necessity of counting the return that is most valuable to the seeker within your illusion, for the fruits of your seeking are metaphysical in nature and escape, for the most part, detection by those within your illusion.

May we speak further, my sister?

I’d like to take the opportunity to ask one more question, with apologies to everyone else for the hogging the questions, because I have a stake in this myself. [Name] is not the only one who keeps thinking that surely there is an outcome that has not been achieved, and I’m learning a lot tonight too. Two years ago I lost a very, very dear friend, my beloved companion Don Elkins, and it was very sad the way it happened. My mind has been full of the sadness of it ever since. And even as I come up to such a joyous occasion as my wedding, and even as I’m involved in very, very happy preparations, yet still the sad parts haunt me. And it’s as though I were Don, thinking Don’s thoughts during the time that he was suffering, and so I still suffer. Even though I’m sure he himself has gone on, yet I still suffer with him in those last days and minutes of his life when he really felt alone and there was nothing I could do about it.

And I just wonder, is there an intrinsic value to this suffering that I go through? I know that a lot of the work that I’ve done in the last year is the result of some of the deepest suffering that I went through in which I discovered a lot about my own personality and how to be a powerful personality. Should I just rejoice in this continued suffering, and assume that there is an intrinsic value in it? Is there an intrinsic value to suffering? Or being unfulfilled—let’s make it more general.

I am Q’uo, and again, my sister, we remind you that the true nature of your experience is that which is hidden for the most part from your ability to sense or perceive. Indeed, there is value in suffering. Have you not produced a fruit from the suffering? Can this not nourish others? In the larger sense, the Creator is able through your suffering to be glorified as the suffering is borne with a joyous heart, for it is the expression, then, of the discovery of love where one would not expect to find such.

It is not often or expected that each seeker will find even a small measure of love in a conscious fashion within any portion of the life experience which is devoted to suffering. Yet, it is true that within each such moment exists the one Creator, whole and perfect, full of joy and balanced in love and light. As the seeker who suffers discovers more of that joy in the moments of suffering, thus does the seeker remove yet another veil that covers the greater view from inner and outer eyes.

May we speak further, my sister?

No, Q’uo. I thank you.

I am Q’uo, and we thank you, my sister. Is there another query?

Q’uo, concerning the crystal, does the crystal have any value to—does it have any extra special value unto itself, if it is just left where it is or if it is just, not utilized, just as a crystal? What value over and above anything else does a crystal have?

I am Q’uo, and we see that there are many ways in which we may respond to this query. We see the query focuses primarily upon value determined by use, or in a more general sense, the value of the thing in itself. Indeed, the creation known as a crystal has value, as does any portion of the one Creation, and has more particular value as a regularized portion of light which may in an harmonic fashion intensify the movement of light. Thus, the crystal is that which offers a passageway for light of a metaphysical nature to move and to offer itself in service to other portions of the one creation by enhancing the beingness of the vicinity in which the crystal resides. This quality is like unto the faucet which in your domiciles offers the nourishment to those in thirst and need of refreshment.

May we speak further, my sister?

Thank you. That did answer it.

I am Q’uo, and we thank you, my sister. Is there another query?

We’d just like to thank you very much for being here tonight.

I am Q’uo, and we find that for the moment we have exhausted those queries which have been presented to us with joy and sincerity, and we thank each for these gifts of your love. We have enjoyed this opportunity to share with you our journey of seeking, and we look forward, as you would say, to those times within your future gatherings that we may so join this group again. We are known to you as those of Q’uo, and we leave each at this time in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator. Adonai, my friends. Adonai.

(Carla channeling)

I am Nona. I greet you in the love and in the light of the infinite Creator. We have been called to this group this evening to offer our healing sounds and we thank this group for requesting healing. We are not much used to words, and so will take leave [of] you except for our song. We are those of Nona.

[Carla channels a healing melody from Nona.]