January 11, 1998

(Carla channeling)

Q’uo

We are those of the principle known to you as Q’uo. Greetings in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator. We regard it as a great privilege and blessing that you have called us to your circle of seeking this day. We are very glad to share our feelings with you, asking only that you use your discrimination and not simply accept our thoughts because they are our thoughts. Let your own sense of recognition be the standard by which you accept information. You will find that your power of discrimination is great for you can indeed recognize and have a certain feeling towards that which is your own personal truth, that which for you is a resource and a tool. Let the rest go.

You ask today about the relative merits of attempting to live life consciously, aware of the self as a spiritual being, observing and, conversely, being caught up completely in the illusion. Were we to recommend one mode of expression over the other for third density we would be forced to choose the confusion and the babble of the unthinking everyday carnival, with all its amusements and rides, that greets you each morning as you gaze out of your physical senses at the physical world. It is not that living consciously is a lesser thing. Indeed, whole densities are spent in such work. It is, rather, that third density is valuable because of and not in spite of that heavy pall of confusion and illusion that animates this Earth world.

Were each present to be able to satisfy herself that all was being done appropriately in the moment to moment relationships there would indeed be a kind of bone-deep pleasantness to the incarnation. However, although weary, battered and tired as you are you may now wish for the contentment and peace of the lifting of the veil, as spirits you hunger to come into this illusion because it is only within the illusion that an entity can work upon that pivotal first choice: service to self or service to others. When one has all the rules in hand, knows all the players, knows all the values, one may play well at that game but feel or learn nothing. It is when the spiritual entity is thoroughly mixed up with the clay and mire of life in the physical illusion that the challenge may be raised to live by faith and not by what you see.

It is felt by the spirit who is descending into matter that incarnation within the material world is a pearl of great price, something eagerly hoped for by far more entities than can be accommodated at this time. Your sphere experiences [numerous] forces inevitably moving through that which can be considered a dying and rebirth or a time of initiation and a time of peace, and since this is a harvest time, each of you hoped to come into this confusion to paddle about in it and to meet each choice in a way that discovers the self to the self. One thing that one cannot do as an observer is surprise the self, and it is when you surprise yourself with who you are that you feel and sense into your spiritual identity, which is quite a bit larger than your physical identity. You are a personality shell; that is, you are consciousness which has adapted itself to incarnation within a second-density physical vehicle.

This consciousness cannot be brought completely into the illusion, for this consciousness that you are is all that there is. To bring all of self into the illusion would be to erase the illusion, and this illusion creates for each of you other selves to relate to in order that you work upon yourself by reflection. Lost in the running of the everyday chores you make choice after choice after choice, in little ways and in larger ways, and when those choices are easy and obvious the polarization value of them is measured. Those moments when you discover yourself being or acting in an unpredicted or unpredictable way are little nuggets, little treasures. For this personality shell that you are was carefully chosen to contain those gifts and limitations of character and personality that will best serve you at this time. The material before you, the relationships in your life, all of these things you gave yourself as gifts. Some of them gifts to wallow in with pleasure, some of them gifts to challenge yourself. And the entity unknowing is the entity at the cusp of choice.

We would balance speaking of the unknowing, incarnational self by talking also concerning work in consciousness, the other alternative, shall we say, that life observed that each thirsts for. This instrument, by nature, by the gifts of personality, character and will, which she and the Creator cobbled together for this particular incarnation, spends a good deal of time, perhaps a higher percentage of time within incarnation than most within this circle, being completely within the moment, having that experience of the present self observed. To this instrument this is not a gift or an accomplishment. It is a simple fact of her nature. This instrument, therefore, is more aware of the negative aspect of such a frame of mind than the positive aspects. To this entity it is simply irritating to discover time and again that one has not been on the right page or even opened the right book as far as knowing what is occurring. So this entity has the inner experience of scrambling upon the surface of life in order to take a look around at the illusion. Therefore, this entity, more than most, grasps the value of the unobserved self, the self completely within the illusion. For this entity finds itself involved in causing inconvenience to the self and to others because of her lack of awareness of space and time.

There is, of course, much to be said for the entity who has been able to so live the life so that a rhythm has been caught and that marvelous beating heart of all that there is informs, enables and blesses all experience. It is a joy indeed to find the self in that holiday delight, that thrill of knowing that all is as it should be. These moments, however discovered or achieved, are wonderful, true and lovely. We encourage each, when those moments of delight occur, to mark them down in the heart, to look at the significant self, for these are moments of truth when the illusion falls away and all is real. It is not the reason that you are in the Earth world. Nevertheless, such moments are most blessed.

This instrument has a favorite phrase, “the prayer without ceasing,” and this is her version of being in the flow or being the observer, and there is such feeling in those measured moods of awareness when the self feels awake and alert to the world about. There is such pleasure in staying within that upper triad of energy centers, the heart, the throat, the brow, of green, of blue, of indigo. And this is the crux of the situation. Each spiritual student hungers and thirsts for these feelings of certainty, of orientation within the larger universe. It desires to cast off the shackles of culture, to spend all of the time, if possible, rejoicing and delighting in the beauty, the truth, and the unity of all that there is, for the joy to be aware permanently that you are part of that harmony.

Yet this Earth world remains that extremely vast stage upon which you and those about you dance and sing and speak with each other, discovering self, other self, and offering the reflection of self to self. This instrument has often said to those working upon the path of spiritual evolution, “Try not to work in the upper energy centers more than you work in the lower energy centers.” And we feel that this is a key to your own use of both modes of awareness. Mental, emotional and physical health as well as spiritual health are a matter of balance. Each entity is unique and has an ever moving, ever developing, always spiraling path of energy flow. When one has not yet awakened to one’s spiritual identity yet still one is aware of the flow when one is in it. There is not anyone who does not do good work while asleep. There is a drawback to those who are not awake and are not consciously aware of wishing to accelerate their rate of spiritual evolution, nevertheless this does not keep them from progressing. And in the fullness of time the entity most completely immured in the illusion shall one day, without conscious effort achieve realization. Evolution is absolutely inevitable. The rate of evolution is that which is questionable.

And with this instrument we would encourage each not to be laggardly or to feel better than the entity who is not aware of spiritual evolution. Insofar as you have become aware of the process of evolution, of the kind of thing spiritual evolution is, yet still you are equipped with the full array of challenges, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and all of these threads of being have their own best luster and strength. So much of the tapestry of life is created from difficulties, the dark side of things that we cannot overemphasize the value of these lower energies and working upon them as though they were as exciting to work with as the higher centers.

You see, work in consciousness proceeds from the heart. However, the heart’s energy is entirely a creature of the power, shall we say, that is brought to the heart. Those who wish to skip working on the self in relationships, with regards to issues such as sexuality, survival and so forth, may wish that they could spend all of their time working on communication and consciousness itself, yet unless the energy centers of red, orange and yellow, of survival, self-identification and association with others, are addressed, and that with respect, there will be a lessening of the flow of energy into the heart. And one can only work from the heart upward with that energy that has come through to the heart. Those who have experienced the rising of kundalini, that flow of energy up the spine, know that its origin is the root chakra, those organs of generation, reproduction and elimination that together form the great taboo, the great unspoken subject in your culture. Yet there is great need here for much balancing with regard to the issue of life itself. This is strictly red-ray. And so much depends upon that way in which you meet this opportunity for life.

The self in orange ray seems a bit drab to work upon. “How do I comfort myself?” These questions of self to self can burn the midnight oil within one’s mind and create endless and often agonizing tangles. Often work in this energy center is not fun. And with yellow ray there comes an even greater burden of the learning curve which must be achieved in each and every relationship, in each and every joining of all groups, working with all desires. The heart may wish that it could break out of these cages of lower energies and burst the illusion of maya. And yet you came here specifically to be tied down, specifically to be confused, and to work within this great unknowing.

We cannot make the lower energy work more fun by sugar-coating the process involved. It is hard work to work from the self in relationship, the self with issues, and yet it is that for which you have come. You have come here to be confused, to be challenged, to enter a learning situation such as this one. We encourage each to see the whole panoply of the self from the lowest to the highest reaches as one seamless wheel, each part of which is as important as the other. There is not a favorite place in which the personality shell shall choose to work. Indeed, the most reliable method of becoming one with the flow of things is simply to wait until they come to you, as the ones known as R and J have both expressed. And how difficult is that waiting, yet once one has been able to surrender in one wise, on one front, once one has been able once to say, “OK, I give it up. I don’t care. Whatever your will is, that is what I want,” that surrender makes the next one easier. The life of faith, if it has a beginning, begins in the dirt, the dust, and the mire.

That clay self must be tossed into mid-air and this is the way it must be for you again and again. And each of you has found far more than once that moment of resolve, that moment of choice, and you have said, “I surrender. Not my will, but Thine.” We encourage each to continue to have the courage to take that leap into mid-air. When you are not one with your environment, when you are at odds and are very much a human being, know that you are still learning. Indeed, you are probably learning more than you are in those moments when you feel supported, for the learning is in the strife and friction of life. Consider yourselves as little distilleries. Now, a distillery is something that takes a raw material and refines it until its nature changes. And each of you is a spiritual distillery taking in the odor and muck of daily living.

And so it is that in yielding to it and cooperating with it in trust, hope and faith, that you maximize the transparency of your self and your personality. When you are suffering, when you are confused, when you are lost in the illusion, know that you are working, that you are on the journey from head to heart. Of course you are not within the heart all of the time, not within this illusion! It is far better that you stay within the illusion. When you come out of that illusion and have those moments, this is wonderful. This delicious. This is dessert. But the meat of living is in the ordinary and the often ignored daily affairs. Your mind is infinite. If you could only see into the self, the roots of mind come through the life of one self into the life of many, into the greater and greater groups, and finally into the All. And each of the steps and ramifications is a universe unto itself, and this infinite repository and resource indwells each of you. You have all the material that you will ever consciously pursue and adore resting comfortably and in fullness within your being. A portion of that infinite Self that begins with your personality shell knows this fire. But for you within this density at this time, embrace the confusion. Do your best to live consciously, aware of the issues of free will, love and service. But do not be upset or discouraged with the self or with getting lost within the illusion. You are supposed to be lost most of the time. This is how you learn. And this pattern of the discovery of your self, it will show you to yourself, and that self that it shows you, ah, what an infinite thing you will find!

The self unaware, the self aware. The self undone and the self composed. These are one. It may seem like a vast difference to each of you, but we assure you that the basic vibration inside of incarnation and outside of incarnation is the same. You may muddy your vibration by being unhappy with the self or unhappy with others or in some way moving athwart of living, but you are still yourself and you are still at work on your path no matter how deeply confused or suffering you feel.

This instrument hears the unpleasant cry of two of this instrument’s cats in the upper floor of this dwelling. These two entities are deeply enmired in their illusion and yet they too learn and they sound unpleasant to other ears. But each thing that they do is appropriate for them. Begin to have this kind of feeling about yourself. Know the satisfaction of putting up that first floor before ascending to the higher second floor of inspiration.

We would at this time transfer to the one known as Jim. We leave this instrument in love and in light. We are known to you as those of Q’uo.

(Jim channeling)

I am Q’uo, and greet each of you again in love and in light through this instrument. At this time we would offer ourselves to any further queries that those present might find the value in asking.

R

I am confused. You are not saying that there is no value in mediation and opening yourself to the energies that work with you?

Q’uo

I am Q’uo, and am aware of your query, my brother. We spoke at the beginning of our response to the primary query for the day by saying that if we had the necessity to choose between these two ways of being we would choose the confusion of your third-density illusion over the feeling of atonement and peace that each seeks within this heavy, physical illusion. Our choice would be thus for it is within this confusion that one can learn a great deal more than is possible to learn in a more harmonious environment. Indeed, this is the reason that this third-density illusion is such an intense place for growth and such a valued experience for each spirit which seeks incarnation here. The learning that is possible when there is mystery and darkness all about carries far more weight in the total beingness of an entity than does the learning which is inevitable and obvious in the harmonious realms of existence. We also recommended, my brother, that when these opportunities [are present] for feeling atonement and the presence of the one Creator in all His or Her perfection, that one enjoy and luxuriate in them, for they are the frosting on the cake. However, as we spoke earlier, the meat of this incarnation is to find love and light in the confusion of the daily round of existence. To find those gems of inspiration embedded in the muck and mire of everyday experience is far more valuable.

Is there another query at this time?

R

No. Because I am much lost. I will think about it some more.

Q’uo

I am Q’uo, and we would make an addition to our response. When one finds oneself at the cusp of choice and is confused as to how to respond, perhaps with another entity, an argument, a disagreement, a miscommunication, one has at one’s disposal the entire previous store of experience from the incarnation to [use in creating] a response to the situation. One has a range of emotions that the choice may be embedded within. One has a range of reactions from the one with whom one speaks and interacts. All of these are bits of information, opportunities to learn, to learn the power of the love of the one Creator to transform, for instance, when one is able to tap into this resource. To learn regret that one has caused injury, to learn the determination that one shall not do so again, to learn a vast array of possible responses. Indeed, the experience offers an example of the infinity of the moment. In this moment one may learn how to give love in a way that is much quicker, intense and efficient than this learning could be accomplished where harmony, oneness and the power of love and light are obvious and the proper response is given without thought, without effort, and the entire mind/body/spirit of the entity is affected but little. Whereas in the intense moment of third-density confusion the love and light that you find there carries a great deal more value and weight in your total beingness and moves your mind/body/spirit further along the line of evolution than is possible in the same amount of experience within the higher realms of harmony and oneness.

Is there a further query at this time?

J

What is the value of meditation in the daily experiences?

Q’uo

I am Q’uo, and am aware of your query, my sister. As one has gathered about one all the various confusions, experiences, communications and so forth one draws certain tentative conclusions about how best to respond within the incarnation in order to determine how to find and share those qualities of love, of light, of harmony, of service, and so forth. Within the meditative state these tentative conclusions and experiences may seat themselves in a manner which allows their influence to have its sway within the total being. One is able to more clearly make sense of one’s experiences by allowing a certain kind of settling out to occur, and for the allowing of inspiration to make its natural response as one considers the events of the day, allows them to have their weight and go their way, and then finds the sitting and the listening to the one Creator to produce an inspiration, a motivation, or simply a recognition. It is in meditation that the confusion and distraction begin to fall away and the foundation of one’s being begins to be revealed and becomes more accessible to the entity in the daily round of activities when found in meditation.

Is there a further query, my sister?

J

No. Thank you.

Q’uo

I am Q’uo, and we thank you. Is there a further query at this time?

[Pause]

I am Q’uo. As we have apparently exhausted the queries for this session of working we would again take this opportunity to express our gratitude to each entity here for inviting our presence and again remind each that those words that we have spoken that ring of truth, take them and do with them as you will, letting all others fall away. We are those of Q’uo, and at this time would take our leave of this instrument and this circle of seeking. Adonai. Adonai.