June 28, 2002

(Carla channeling)

Q’uo

We are those known to you as Q’uo. Greetings, dear ones, in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator. It is a great privilege and pleasure to join your meditation this evening and to be able to share our thoughts with you on the subject of beauty. We find it such a blessing to be able to do this, for this is the service that we have chosen to offer at this time, and you greatly aid us in allowing us to do what we came to your beautiful planetary sphere to share. We ask that, as always, you listen to that which we have to say with an open heart but reject without a second thought any concept or opinion that does not resonate within your heart and your mind and your emotions. For there is a very keen keel and rudder within each entity’s spirit that will express itself in sound opinion as to discriminating between that which is for you and that which is not. With this caveat in mind, we are then able to offer our opinions without being concerned that we are infringing upon your free will. And so we thank you for your indulgence in this wise.

This instrument’s day has been filled with beauty, and so we find it a happy coincidence to start a conversation about beauty with the emotions and feelings of this instrument towards the beauty that she has been experiencing all about her. The beauty of the lilies, the mimosa, the wildflowers and all of the blooms of this entity’s garden have enriched and enlivened this instrument’s emotions this day. The way the light glances off this instrument’s mate, his face and shoulders, the planes of his jaw and throat, have pleased this instrument as it looks upon its mate. The beauty of kindness and service to others has very nearly swamped this instrument’s emotions; the beautiful gifts that it has received this day from those about her; the kind volunteering of the one known as T2, and the gift of just the right stone from the one known as C, and the gift of this instrument’s husband: hour upon hour of work, that it may pay the bills and keep this instrument safe, and warm, and comfortable. These things are almost too much for this instrument to express. There is a wonderful feeling of being so richly endowed with beauty that there is not enough expression in this instrument’s personality or character to do justice to the richness of the experience of the passing moments of this exquisite summer day.

It has well been said by philosophers that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What is beauty, indeed? And this is not an idle question. For there is a great deal of similarity between such questions or issues as beauty and the construction of the onion. If you will think about an onion that is cut in half, you will see that there is layer, upon layer, upon layer. All of those layers are onion, but each one is slightly different, and, used as an analogy to the human spirit, mind and body, each layer is of a different constitution entirely. There are different geometries and different constructions of thought and logic upon each layer of the human energy system, and, indeed, one may move through each of the chakras or energy centers of this energy body system and gaze at this onion-like, layered effect. The definition of beauty and the issue of beauty, then, is not the shallow and simple thing that it might seem upon the surface, for each entity is working primarily with one or more of the energy centers, but usually with one primarily. And this colors the way that the layers of self appear to the self, and an entity working primarily through red ray will be seeing different things than an entity working primarily through orange ray or through yellow ray and so forth.

So the question of what triggers the appreciation of beauty is a question that cannot be answered in a simple way. The one known as T1 asked the question from the standpoint of observing physical beauty, and so we shall first address the question from red ray, which is the root chakra and the seat of sexual desire and the desire to survive. Within this energy center, the definition of beauty is colored heavily by the reptilian and mammalian brains, which are instinctual and concerned with nurture and groups, respectively. Instinctually, the great ape is geared to reproduce as thickly as possible. This is a survival mechanism and is a very deep and dependably substantial part of both the constitution of men and of women within your species. The energies of the sexual triggers to beauty are different between men and women because the biological roles of men and women are different. The male of the species is geared towards procreating with as many women as possible who have the markers for fertility and ability to reproduce. This, as the one known as T1 surmised, is not simply the experience of this one entity but is an experience common to the male gender. Within the female, there is also a heavy coloration of biological bias when gazing at beauty through the filter or prism of red ray. The energy in this case has to do with the instinct of the woman to find attractive those qualities within the male of the species that would suggest that this entity would be a good provider, a virile person, and one who would remain faithful to and loyal to the family group over a long period of time. This biases the female of the species towards finding attractive even those males who may not be so physically attractive but yet have attractive personalities or qualities that would appeal to the instinct within the female that suggests to this entity that this particular male would be a good mate. Consequently, those who are male within the human species will predictably and steadily throughout the mature life of the individual revolve around the noticing and the appreciation of those females which seem to be of child-bearing age and of a healthy and attractive physical appearance. It is neither a positive nor a negative quality in terms of service to others and service to self. It is that which is in terms of the experience of the energy body of this particular physical vehicle and the way that it is set up to interact with the many other aspects of the energy system of the soul.

When gazed at through the energies of orange ray, beauty begins to take on more of a depth, both from males and from females. At this point, the energies of communication, personality characteristics, and like interests begin to add to or subtract from the beauty that is perceived by the physical eye. This energy of personal relationships and relationship with the self creates within the eye an esthetic that is primarily focused upon enjoying the self and feeling safe within the self and within the relationship with the other self. It becomes more and more subjective within the choice of any individual as to what the elements of beauty are. Within the red-ray approach to beauty, the culturally-determined points of attractiveness will more or less evenly spread throughout the population so that many, many entities can agree that such and such an entity is beautiful and such and such another entity is not. However, within the dynamics of a personal relationship, the coloration of orange ray begins to spread out the choices that entities make so that there begins to be more of an appreciation for emotional beauty, spiritual beauty, mental beauty and other types of beauty that are not easily seen within the physical skin.

And this is a point worth gazing at for a moment, for there is almost a feeling of being locked in a small room in terms of feeling nearly forced to notice physical beauty from the red-ray level. This is the quality of instinct that is so powerful within the human animal and so important to the survival of the physical mechanism in general. Were such instincts not native to the very bone and blood of the human species, the heart would forget to pound, the lungs would forget to breathe and the body would forget to breed children. This would not be appropriate for the survival of the species. Consequently, there is almost an element of being hounded by one’s body, especially for those within the male gender. And we would suggest, for those who feel limited by this compulsion to notice physical beauty, that it is without polarity and without fault to experience momentary attraction and the tendency to fantasize concerning beautiful women. Indeed, this is to a certain extent true for those of the female gender as well. There is, shall we say, a very active sex life for almost everyone upon your planet whether or not the entities involved are having sexual intercourse or even relationships at the physical level. For, metaphysically speaking, that which one fantasizes, one is accomplishing; that which is thought becomes that which is true. This is part of what this instrument would call the background clutter of an incarnation. It is an aspect of having a physical body that is nearly inescapable and, as we said, is a benign and perfectly acceptable function of the soul within incarnation.

Beauty from the yellow-ray energy becomes a far more subtle and rich-textured thing, for within the yellow-ray energy lie family and the mated relationship, and it is within the safety and intimacy of such continuing and prolonged relationships that those who become spiritually mature are able greatly to broaden and enhance their concept of beauty. The qualities of a mate, a mother, a father, a child, or a sibling can be imperfect in the extreme, and yet, over a period of time and the blessing of shared history—we correct this instrument—with the blessing of ever-lengthening shared history, the entities within the family group or within the mated relationship become so over-drawn with the patina of loving and being loved, that even the homeliest entity becomes perfectly itself and therefore beautiful because it is that person. And finally the leaden and heavy weight of physical opinion of beauty becomes that which can take off like the kite in the wind, soaring with the energy of the wind of love.

When the heart is opened and beauty begins to be examined from the green-ray level, then it is that the entire question of beauty is transformed. For, at the heart level, the eyes of the soul are open, and all entities begin to be seen not as bodies but as beings. Within the heart, then, beauty is a function of one’s own heart. The tyranny of the outward eye is lifted at last, and the only limitation is with those who have not yet come into an awareness of their own beauty. If an entity cannot conceive of itself as worthwhile or good enough or beautiful in the sense of being a good person, then that poor opinion of the self will cast ugly shadows upon all of the outer world, and entity after entity will come up short within that poor heart that does not see its own sun, that does not see its shining glory. To us, gazing at each of you from the whole system of our bodies, minds and spirits, we see your beauty as an ever-shifting kaleidoscope. Each of you has a beauty that is endlessly describable, and yet it is the harmony and the combination of energies involved in the spectrograph of self that are so fascinating about each entity. Each of you is a vibration that is actually a complex of vibration, upon vibration, upon vibration, endlessly colored by the subtleties of an incarnation full of choices and biases and flowing from moment to moment in a thousand different ways that each of you is most likely not aware of for the most part, yet, within the flowing and subtle regions of the energy body, the changes are constant, and there are no two moments within the life of an entity when that entity is vibrating precisely the same. And yet, as a whole, the energy signature of an entity remains fairly clear and unified throughout an incarnational experience, for each of you comes into incarnation with a tremendous amount of already prepared bias which has been chosen to bring in as a part of the, shall we say, structure of “givens” that form up the structure of an incarnational experience. There is not a person, no matter what his station, his state, or expression of morality, that is not beautiful. Each entity at the soul level is tremendously beautiful. Indeed, each entity—being the Creator—has a beauty beyond all imagining, for each is all that there is; each contains the universe. And would not each, then, have all aspects of beauty and ugliness, the entire range of esthetics within the self, locked in many, many treasure troves within the personality, waiting to be opened by the right combination of circumstance and motivation?

This entity, throughout its life, has had a love affair with beauty in the sense that, as a metaphysically functioning entity, it has long preferred to look at life from the standpoint of beauty rather than from the standpoint of some outwardly determined truth or learned intellectual set of properties or ways of fulfilling the need to be attractive. This entity has long been attracted to the concept of creating a beautiful life. It is not particularly concerned with the beauty of its physical body, although it greatly delights in decorating itself and creating itself as being beautiful, but oftentimes we would say that this instrument judges itself for being too concerned with the esthetics of its actions. What this comes down to, in terms of action and function, is that this entity oftentimes will choose a very impractical and difficult ethical decision, because it is to this instrument a thing of beauty to choose in such and such a way. This has created in this entity’s life no end of interesting forks in the road, the path taken being the one that was less traveled. Is this entity correct or incorrect? This entity is itself. The question of beauty is truly a subjective one. However, we would say, as your poet, Keats, has said, that truth is beauty, and beauty is truth. That is all you know and all you need to know.

When it comes to evaluating beauty from the standpoint of the indigo ray, then it is that choices such as this instrument makes become the focus of what beauty is and how entities are seen. Indeed, looking at another being in the physical from the standpoint of indigo-ray beauty, it can easily be seen that the lines of the face, the attractiveness of the body as judged by cultural standards, the gracefulness of expression of communication and personality, begin to pale beside the sheer force of an entity’s soul character. For within the eyes of one who is seeing from the standpoint of doing work in consciousness, beauty lies almost entirely in the power and peace of an entity, in its ability to show you joy and bliss and true wisdom, according to the place in the process of spiritual evolution that your particular indigo-ray energy center has found itself enjoying the dance of working within.

Indeed, it is so that such a bias as this entity has towards beauty has, through many incarnations, somewhat biased its soul evolution. Woe betide the entity whose soul evolution is stuck at the red-ray level, for it is as though one were never able to peel the onion, never able to get to the inner surfaces. However, we would say to the one known as T1 that it is extremely doubtful that this entity is much troubled by being stuck within red ray, but, rather, this entity is mistaking a certain type of experience with beauty for the whole gamut of the question of esthetics.

Which energy appeals most to each of those within this circle? That is an ever-shifting question, is it not? Certainly, if an entity finds itself obsessed with physical beauty, there is some balancing work to be done, for it is not acceptable in the sense of metaphysical work overly to be preferring any one situation over another. It is a toxic environment for spiritual growth to be obsessing concerning almost anything, for the great key to spiritual advancement is balance. Rather, we would suggest that the way to work with such a concept or issue as beauty is to move the self through the various experiences of beauty, observing and appreciating the qualities at each level or depth of the energy at each layer of the onion realizing that, as the consideration of beauty rises through the energy centers, the quality of the considerations and the thoughts of such an entity are improving all the while. The experience of beauty is pleasant from any of the layers for depth of truth within the experience. ¹ But, certainly, the more profoundly rewarding of the esthetics begin to come in with the richness of the higher energy centers. Yet, we would not for an instant remove that wonderful, primal gusto and brio involved in the physical appreciation and delight in beauty. Should a male not delight in the beauty of the female? Should the female not delight in the handsomeness of the male? Should one not appreciate the delicious taste of good food and good drink? Should one not rejoice in the beauty of song and dance and movement and the physical world and the feast that the eyes and the ears have? Should one not enjoy the touch of soft and firm and rough and smooth? Should one not, indeed, delight as much as an otter in the play of life? We see no harm or error in such delight in beauty and would only encourage each to open the eyes more and clear the senses more deeply to appreciate every passing beauty of the day. The one known as Jim was saying earlier that it wished to keep a positive attitude, because it so much changed the perception of the life by the self. The one known as T2 mentioned also that the most constant prayer was keeping a positive thought at all times. These, too, are ways of increasing the beauty in the life, of opening the windows of the soul to let the sunshine of love and light in.

We would not have any worship beauty. We would not have any worship at anything that has a name or form or shape. We would suggest to each that, in order to remain balanced, it is well to examine strong feelings about beauty just as one would examine emotional feelings of any other kind. The assumption of preferences and biases is part of that which you came to this incarnation to refine. In order to refine one’s concept of beauty, one must first become able to be completely honest with the self concerning opinions of self and opinions of other self. This is not particularly easy to accomplish. The self must be more and more known to the self, more and more accepted and, finally, more and more loved. What is beauty? Gaze within your childhood with the eyes of a small child. Were you not gloriously beautiful? You were innocent of anything except wishing to exult in every experience of life and it is very telling that much of the experience of the young soul of an incarnation tends to be experienced as difficult so that, little by little, that beauty of innocence begins to be warped away and scratched away, and finally knocked into flinders by the seemingly poor opinion of one’s parents and authority figures; by the cruel taunts of other children; by the disappointment of the self by the self. All of these things begin to rob the growing soul of its ability impartially and lovingly to feel beautiful and to judge things as beautiful. Indeed, we would say that, for most entities coming into an awakening process, the ability to appreciate beauty has been stunted and warped. And so, there is much work to do within an incarnation to recover that innocence of eye and ear, that allows an entity to sense the beauty of the nature of each thing as it is, or what this instrument would call the ding an sicht. Appreciating the real heart and essence of each thing is the key to a balanced esthetic. And when the esthetic is balanced, and balanced for that incarnation, there is no adhering karma stemming from the decisions made within the incarnation.

We encourage, in this regard, the daily balancing of emotions. We have spoken of this often before and in this wise, we would find it particularly useful. Meditation in general is tremendously useful and inviting the silence is a way of saying inviting balance, inviting reality, inviting essence, inviting wisdom. But in a specialized meditation at the end of the day, it is very helpful to pull out all of the experiences of the day from the mental pockets in which you have quickly put them during the day and gaze at each of these emotional moments with a far more thoughtful and judicious eye. Not to judge the self, but to judge the color, the quality, the particular layer of the energy body that was seen through and, basically, to come into more and more of a familiarity with one’s own patterns and one’s own preferences.

As each preference is identified, then, the technique of balancing meditation is to allow that first feeling, that first bias to flood the emotional self, saturating the self with that precise feeling that was felt earlier in the day. Then, when that has been emphasized and over-emphasized to the satisfaction of the self, the technique involves lifting up from that extreme and allowing the other extreme, the diametrical opposite, to fall gently into and gradually replace the original emotion. And then one encourages that distortion until it, too, is extreme, so that one would see the beauty of a particular thing and one’s rush towards it and at the same time one would be able to see the diametrically opposed lack of beauty of a particular perception or opinion or impulse, so that one may see the self as a 360 degree sphere of being that includes all biases. Once one has begun to get the hang of such a technique, one becomes gradually more comfortable with one’s biases, whether or not they seem to be fair or just within themselves.

This instrument is informing us that we begin to speak too long and so we would close this very interesting question and our response to it by encouraging each to enter into the essence of the self in silence. Allow the silence to speak, for it, more than words, more than ideas, more than thoughts, have the pith and the heart of the truth. What is beauty, what is truth? Enter the silence, turn the key and enter your own heart and enter a universe of infinite discovery.

We thank the one known as T1 for this question and we leave it and this group in the love and the light of the one infinite Creator. We rejoice and we leave you in love and light. We are those known to you as the principle of Q’uo. Adonai.