Chapter 11

FROM THE TEACHINGS

It is your heritage to heal, to prophesy, to see, to open, and to look upon all that is. Sometimes during Daniel and The Eternals' channeling we had to stop and take a few deep breaths; the amount of information coming made us feel overwhelmed. Even The Eternals commented on this. The source remarked that the energy was becoming heavy in the room; or, "the energy feels to be turning in on itself." Sometimes a joke or a demonstration from The Eternals relieved the sheer density of the atmosphere. Each session provoked questions and the questions required answers and the answers provoked still more questions.

Aside from the questions we asked aloud, we all had underlying questions. My wife Ann and I often discussed these, and she talked about the changes occurring in herself as a result of her wonderings. "When communications purporting to be from a psychic source started happening in my own house, I was interested and intrigued," she said. "At first, I wasn't sure who or what they were, what purpose they served, or more especially, if they would ring true for me. These questions and more were answered. And yet more and more came into my mind to be asked. "Suddenly it occurred to me that the questions were addressed to sources who were not limited by space and time with their knowledge, and this gave me pause. Asking the right questions seemed important because I wasn't sure how long these sessions would last. "Yet, looking back, this seems an all too human response of mine because I can see in retrospect that this was a false fear. "We were not given just knowledge, but wisdom on a much deeper level.
My mental concepts definitely broadened, along with my horizons, which I now more clearly perceive as having no end." I believe most participants in the Teachings felt much the same way. Here is a sampling of the questions they asked; you can judge for yourself the wisdom of The Eternals' answers.

Free Will

You said earlier this evening that everything is predestined. And you have also said that there is total free will. Could you explain this seeming contradiction?
"..Everything is predestined, that is true. If you take control, you set yourself at liberty from all things. If you have liberty, then how can that which you do be predestined? Yet you chose to be born where you are born. Therefore, you have predestined your life and even as much as given yourself the chance for that liberty. So the liberty in itself was predestined, and therefore all the choice you make from it."

That was a masterful use of words. It's very difficult, I'm sure, to explain. You're saying that perfect freedom can be preordained or predestined, so that every free choice that is made once the liberty is attained, was predestined just because the liberty was predestined?
"..To have total liberty you cannot have predestination. Because if you have total liberty, you can do anything that you choose. And yet, if you placed yourself in that situation to begin with, you have predestined yourself or prearranged for this to take place, already knowing that you could make either choice. You have arranged to make the choice that you desire to make. Therefore, in essence, it would suffice to say that everything is predestined, that there is no free will in that sense."

In the entire universe, are there other planets that have life forms similar to our own?
"..No, this is not entirely what was intended, but the person that brought this up seemed to think that they were going to go to another planet to work out their progressions. This is not to say that there is both life terrestrial and extraterrestrial, that there is even glory terrestrial and extraterrestrial, for when you receive your divine heritage, that which you are, that which you have a right to claim, when you receive full power, you have command of the whole universe,and if you had command over all, would you spend your time here? Wouldn't you travel as you wished? Therefore, there is life and there is force and there is energy at this time all about the universe and all about the stars, and each star itself is a life and an energy and an entity. How come, if it were not so, that the prophet Daniel would say we shine, shine, shine as the stars? This was why it was written, for you yourself have the capability of taking any form you desire. It is only your own mind and the abstracts which you hold yourself into, it is only in the reality which you have desired to perceive, that has bound you to this earth physical. But do not think you're going to go elsewhere to work out that which must be worked out. The slave will not go to the quarters of the king to perform his hygienical tasks. Therefore, how will man go to the heavens and the stars to perform the inner cleansing? If it be that your abode is in heaven, then the spaceships shall be there before you are. If it be that you shall return to the sky, then the birds have heritage over you. If it be that you go to the ocean, if that is where you life is, then the fish go before you. If it is that the kingdon of God is within you, then you shall have all the divine heritage before all else. Does this make this clear?"

Somewhat, I - it is clear. It isn't clear. It's not clear. Okay. R2-D2, E.T., and little weird worms with eyeballs are not living on Mars working out progressions. If all is energy forms, even yours, though you perceive yourself as solid, you are bound to this earth only inasmuch as you have bound yourselves. Yet because we have chosen this as the ground to work out, or to purify ourselves, this is the only place it may be done.
"..For those who will accept, there is an eternal heritage, a divine heritage among all energy, among the stars, a glorious and a wonderful heritage, so to speak. But for those who will not accept, they cannot go beyond this realm, and there is no chance of leaving it. They are terrestrial, they are terra firma bound."

Men and Women

I would like some input on the spiritual roles of men and women. Is woman less than man? "..Man cannot be born unless he passes through the womb of woman. Christ was carried in the womb of a woman nine, yet ten months, before he was delivered to the world. If God saw fit to give his son to a woman (before he gave his son to the men of the world), then is not that woman placed first? It has been said that there will be no marriage, no giving or taking of husband or wife in the kingdom the kingdom that is within. All are equal and all serve a function. You are the same in spirit, be you male or be you female. You have the same rights and the same power. You have the same chance for glory both terrestrial and extraterrestrial. You have the same rights and the same heritage. Male cannot live without female nor can female live without male. If one cannot live without the other, then one is not superior to the other."

What about their roles and symbolism?
"..There is a lot of symbolism in Eastern religion, talking about the Yin and Yang, the female and male principles. Also, in a lot of alchemy, they talk about androgynous persons. Why is that an ideal - to be androgynous? The Yin and Yang of the Chinese people is the balance and counterbalance, is good and evil, dark and light. They have accepted it as the Yin and Yang to be called female and male. Yet this was not the original intent. But it is the dark and the light, the truth and the non-truth. To be a person who is totally one within one's own self is to be spiritually full. To set yourself aside, to purify yourself, to say, "This will make me holy if I do not have sexual intercourse"; to say, "My hymen is not broken"; or "My semen may not leave my body" does not make one better. For it does not matter if you indulge daily and are thankful for the gift you have been given or if you give praise by not doing. Each, in its own way, is bringing glory and it is the state of mind that you accept this with. Therefore, there is no gain and no loss in the state."

[In a book called Secret of the Golden Flower I have read] references to "the secret" being involved in some sexual process. I wonder if you could talk about this?
"..You have two different modes of thought. The thought of the Westerners is that they should take their sexual drive and turn it inward. It gives them no more power, no more potency. If this is what you seek, it is of no benefit. On the other hand, if you are God and your body itself is the living temple, if you yourself are the son of God and the God, then to defile your body is to defile God himself, God herself. To do this is to bring about a defamation of that very God which you would worship. Therefore, out with sexual practice which is harmful to the being, as practiced in the Satanic cults and in some of the freer cults of witchcraft and in some of the cults of the nethergods of the mother Earth and of the moon. This is defiling that which was made in the image of and is of God itself. It was written not to commit adultery. Now, if you commit adultery, you are lying. And all evil evolves from lies and lust. If you take any sexual practice and do it for self-gratification and you care not for the other person, then you do injury to that person. And if you bring a child into the world and that child has been conceived at an ill-conception, he shall suffer the evil also. And yet, this can be overcome by balance and counterbalance. To love, to give of yourself freely to another, to sacrifice yourself in this way, is proper."

Buried Cities

Have there been entire living cities deep inside the earth not the cliff dwellings of the Southwest, but entire cities deep inside the earth?
"..There are even now entire cities in the very earth itself. You see, the government looks for the nuclear holocaust. They know what is coming. They have set themselves aside and have built entire cities with fountains, streams, lakes, ponds; yet they are buried.....this gives escape routes to our executives in Washington when the time of trouble comes. Oh, they think not of these poor people about here who shall be burned to pieces, but of themselves. In their little secret chambers they think no one knows of their places and where they dwell under the grounds. ....There are those in the desert. There are those on the very edges and outskirts of the metropolitan area of Washington itself - slightly to the south and slightly to the north. They build these thinking they can escape and leave the rest of the world to be burned to a sizzle. You see, they take this threat very seriously and they know there is no way to make a lasting peace and that the earth shall fry, fry, and die. ....These cities shall be bombarded and destroyed, burnt, crushed. And the remains of these shall look like Hiroshima, the center of Hiroshima.
The City of the Spirit ....There is also that city where those that are spiritual dwell. It is not found by man, but by spirit alone. ....The city is open and yet no one can proceed through except that they be in spirit, that they might travel through the earth itself. For the door is open and yet only to that which is spiritual. It is a city where the spirits are indwelling. It is the city where there are many learning centers and the facilities are great. And many go there for rest and seclusion. It is also in the deserts of the West of this country but only to be found in spirit. ....If you can lift yourself out of body, then you can travel to where you wish to go. And if you are out of body, you are in spirit and if you are in spirit, you can walk through the doors of the spiritual city and there attend your schooling, and there enjoy your leisure."

What is the name of this city? What is it called?
"..Ala-made Rish-nard, Ala-made Rish-nard, Ala-made Rish-nard, Ala- made Rish-nard [as in a chant].

Can these schools [in the spiritual city] be visited in dreams?
"..They can be and they are, quite frequently, and usually unknowingly."

Why is there a physical location for a school, for a city, of spiritual beings?
"..You have an earth. They have an earth. You're in the same place and yet you do not see them. Do you not think they would desire to have a home to live in? And yet, they create what they believe and what they desire so they may have all fullness of beauty as they wish. And among them they have consensus that they should have a place of rest and peace and learning. And this they have made."

Do the inhabitants of this city have physical bodies of any nature?
"..This is a physical body [pointing to his own hand]. Yes. This is the body they have [pointing to about two inches beyond his actual hand, as to the aura].

Astronomy and Astrology

At the beginning [of the session] you said we had the power within us and the right to override ... [planetary] influences. Wouldn't it be better for us to make the choices rather than for the planet to make the choices for us [i.e., to exercise our own free will without regard to the planets]? Wouldn't astrology then be a diversion, a distraction that shouldn't be emphasized? "..This is why there have been so many commands and ordinances against it - even the holy rites of the Jews. These commands have also been taken by the Christians. Should we follow that idea and disregard astrology? Look within. Astrology is nothing to you. If you can see, you have more than you can find in the stars. If you are God and you are the Creator, and you have divine essence, how will you go to the stars and ask them, "What's going to happen on my date tomorrow night?" Are the stars going to tell you more than you can find by searching your own soul? It is impossible. Look within yourself and all things will be clear. But do not think this makes astrology invalid. ....what has validity in astrology, as it is practiced now, and what is merely a product of wishful thinking? Astrology does not tell the future as some would desire it to. Astrology is a guide to personality characteristics or tendencies or traits, and yet can be overridden by the person. Astrology is not binding. It is a trend and a trend only. To put it in scientific terms (terms more acceptable to the scientific community), biorhythms follow a small clock. In turn, astrology is simply a larger form of biorhythms turned out on a greater time cycle, a larger clock. All of the superstitions that have come down with it through the millennia are nonsense. Yet as much good has been lost as has been gained in superstition, for much of the truth of it, at times, has been obscured; and yet there is always the light of hope.

Armageddon

Without question, The Eternals' view of the future was the most difficult, controversial, and upsetting to everyone in the groups. The Eternals painted a grim picture of the future. There will be cataclysm, devastation, and holocaust affecting the entire planet. Whole continents will disappear. Much of the destruction will be manmade. Great warring armies, led by figures of evil incarnate, will destroy the world; no one nation or people is to blame. Some of the destruction will also come from polar shifts and wavering. Here are a few excerpts.

Is this the reason the world won't come together [in peace]? Because one or more of us has greed?
"..One of you has greed? One? One or more... The world is filled with greed. And those among you who say, "I do not have greed, I want nothing," don't think that the ego trip of placing yourself totally without greed is not also a form of lust and greed for its own sort of power. Not one among you has completely defeated greed. It is not something you can totally overcome because there is always the latent possibility. It sits there and because of your free will, it can blow up at any time. It's like a little egg in your skin, just waiting to hatch and infest you with worms. Greed is a rot and a leprosy and a death. And that is the reason for the destruction. The destruction comes quickly."

You mean the destruction of the world as we know it? Is that what you are talking about, or the destruction of the individual?
"..The destruction of the world, the end of this age. The time shall come to an end 60,000 years, and yet, 500 do pass. The time is short." [This was one of The Eternals' cryptic answers. We were told that "all time is sealed," meaning that some dates were not to be given.]

If we, as individuals or as a group, were to decide that there is to be [peace on earth], is that possible?
"..Yes, but - and we must stress this strongly - you speak in terms of "is it possible" in your realm of reality. It is possible in our realm or your realm of reality, or anybody's, so to speak. But you must have a group consensus to bring a "peace" that is to everyone, that is to all. A collective peace must be brought about by collective realities converging together for this. That is not to be reached in the near future. There must first be an unbalancing and a total upheaval. Once everything is scrambled, then it can be placed back together....Things must fall apart. They must be completely destroyed before they can come together."

How can we best prepare for this scrambling?
"..The best way to prepare for it would be to be dead. It's going to be very unpleasant for those who are alive ... in the physical form. There will be melting of flesh. There will be horrible times. There will be great droughts caused by the radiation and by the screens or the ionosphere being destroyed. There shall be great heat from the sun scorching because of the atmosphere being in such a disarray.....And yet at the very end of this, at the very collapse of this, is when - your society - shall become utopian. Only by being completely destroyed can it be brought back together again."

Is all this to occur within our lifetimes?
"..Yes, it will be in the lifetime of some, but not all. Fortunately, some shall escape. But this is not of really great importance, for what is physical is of no importance. It is only a minor speck of reality. Look within yourself, this is important."

You say everything will be so destroyed that there's no point in preparing for it physically. Is there?
"..What good is it going to do you to build a bomb shelter if the earth decides to make a great quake and collapse it? What good is it going to do for you to make yourself an undersea getaway, if sombody is going to come along with a torpedo and blow it to pieces? In essence, there is nothing that can be done to prepare. Prepare your innermost self, and don't worry about the physical."

Will all the people on earth be destroyed?
"No.... The things that will be destroyed first will be the large population areas. But there will be people surviving in every area. Some shall survive to rebuild when they have regained their strength."

Will they be mutated from what they are now?
"..No, life will be as it is. There shall be surviving and everything shall not be totally destroyed. And after a time of cleansing and purification, it shall all be rebuilt...."

Should someone consciously have a child, knowing that this terrible time is coming?
"..If you fear the time, then you should not have a child. If you do not fear the time and you can teach your child not to fear, then there is no cause not to.... Yet if you can alter your consciousness and accept it as truth that you are divine, then you will walk upon the water that is shifting under your feet, you will walk upon the molten rock and you shall thrive. Therefore, there is no evil for those that know and receive of their heritage. And if it be your child that receives his heritage, then there is no evil. But for those who would look after the physical, it is chaos and utter destruction; a place of agony as will not be seen again nor past".

How long after all this turmoil will the peaceful times come, and will there be anybody present who will survive into those peaceful times?
"..Yes, there will be some who will live, and the time shall come immediately, because consciousness shall be altered; and once the consciousness is altered, immediately everything changes to that state. There will be no delay. This is the reason that some of the Apostles chose to say that things would happen in the twinkling of an eye, in a moment. For once that consciousness is gained and believed, it is set in motion and it is instantaneous. There will be no gap, but there will be a rebuilding.....[It is as if people say] "Oh, my God, the world's blowing up. There must be something else. Wow! Look at all these horrible things happening. I must search for the truth quickly." With enough people thinking this way instantly, the consciousness shall be altered. With enough people wanting the truth, seeking the truth, it can be altered. The whole thing could be avoided if people would simply change their ways.... It can be, but it won't be."

Is there anything that can give people a sense of hope, instead of despair, fear, and anxiety? "..There comes a new land and a new time.... There will be years of peace, a time of continual hope. And it will take many years to bury the bodies from the destruction at this time of peace. And the peace shall be lasting, and will not leave. There will no more war come about after the peace has been.... For man shall find his place - his most holy place - among the lights.

Religion

People at the Teachings often questioned The Eternals on religious topics. For instance, there were many questions on the meaning of specific passages from the Christian scriptures or on Christian figures like Joan of Arc. There were questions on Mormonism, Judaism, and the Rosacrucians. There were also questions on the writings of Confucius, Castenada, and Gibran, who, while not concerned with sectarian religion, have written on spiritual, ethical, and moral issues. These questions, I believe, reflect two concerns. First, for most at the Teachings, The Eternals' concepts were unfamiliar and new, and the doors to spiritual experience that seemed to be opening puzzled and sometimes troubled them. Second, if they are familiar with a religion (I use the word to mean an organized institution propagating certain beliefs), people seem to want to compare the teachings of The Eternals with those of the churches with which they are familiar. It is almost as if they are saying, "Is this right? Or this?" But The Eternals speak ever of oneness and universality, of balance and counterbalance. Thus, for instance, there was this exchange.

You mentioned Christ.... Is that one in particular, or are you centering on that one name?
"..We are many: of Vishnu and of Mohammed, and of Christ and of Elohim, Yaweh, and Yeshua, of those who guided the hands when the Talmud was written, of those who walked along and guided the words as Confucius constructed, of those who sent visions to Mohammed, and those who brought about the visions to Joseph Smith, to those who were among the Shakers.... We are many, and yet we are all. How much of the teaching of Christ have been altered over the years in translation? A great deal. How much of them can we rely on and how do we tell what's proper and what's not?" You can rely on a great deal of them also. The changes have not been in the sections that contain the truth. ....the underlying teachings - the teachings of truth, the teachings of light, the teachings of self- consciousness, the teachings of love, the teachings of the inner spirit, the teachings about the inner eye, the teachings about the spiritual world itself - all remain intact. What has been done has been the creation of such things as would allow the churches to take over. The substitution of such things as sabbaths and Easter, the substitutions of ordained priesthoods.

The Eternals expand on this idea in other exchanges. The gist of the remarks is that while the teachings of religion are correct in essence, they have been misinterpreted or "manipulated in such a way as to allow for authority figures to come in and take over the willing sheep." The questioning goes on: The vibratory force that was Jesus Christ.... has that same force been on Earth in other progressions?
"..Yes. All forces travel again and again."

Has that force ever taught again as it did in the form of Jesus Christ?
"..The consciousness of Krishna, the consciousness of Christ, is not so much so that this deity had to teach. And when we say deity, you also are a deity. When one looks, and when we say the consciousness of Krishna, the consciousness of Christ, when one sees within himself and can reach full and total consciousness or awareness, he has awareness of the past and of the present and of the future. He has a total awareness - a oneness with the original vibratory force which has become all vibratory forces that are around him. This has been achieved by others throughout the ages also. What has made this sect [Christianity] so powerful is the fact that it was persecuted so strongly. That which is persecuted always rises - for to be persecuted is to cause friction which must be counterbalanced. And yet, much was lost. If you must look to the teachings, look to the teachings of the Gnostics. Now in Christ Himself, was He alive? Has He walked this plane before He was born to the Essenes? Yes, but it is not important to you where he walked or who he was, for this will not alter one thing, one jot, nor one tittle, not one iota, nor one small speck."

A Jewish participant found the references to Jesus as the Christ (i.e., the Messiah) "hard to hear," and asked, "Is the whole Jewish race wrong?" After an answer stressing, again, the universality of the Christ, The Eternals said: The Jewish heritage is correct, the Christian heritage is correct, the Moslem heritage is correct. The Christian heritage has not left the Jewish, they have simply added to it that which is good. The Moslem heritage has not left the Jewish, they have simply led their ways down their own path and added that which is good. Therefore, the Moslems say that their Savior shall return with a shout, and a mighty shout. The Christians say that Christ shall come even from the heavens with a loud shout and a blowing of trumpets by the archangels. And even Krishna shall return in the like manner. How be it that if all of these agree, and even the Jewish scriptures themselves say that the earth shall roll upon its axis, and prophesy a time of peace, that this cannot be accepted? We have not overcome confusion by far."

Scriptural Exchanges

The Eternals commented at some length on interpretations of various passages from Christian scriptures. Here are three typical exchanges.

Could you give us an interpretation of the Beatitudes [the remarks of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 3:12 and other references]?
"..This was the sole purpose that we are gathered for, in essence - that we might bring about a knowledge of peace and love."

In Matthew 5, they talk about those that mourn being comforted. How shall those that mourn be comforted? How shall those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness be filled? [Two questions; the answer has been combined into one.]
"..There is a balance and a counterbalance. All things are balanced. Therefore, if you are in a state of sorrow, you shall come to a state of happiness. If you are in a state of trouble, you shall come to a state of peace. Second, there is altering of the consciousness; and if it be that the consciousness is altered and that all be set about as it said it would, then there will come a time - a glorious time - of peace, when all shall be in good and all shall be in righteousness. If this be so, then how will it be that they should be hungry? How can we, as the salt of the earth, lose our savor; and where shall the salt be cast out? And how shall we be trodden under foot? [The reference is to Matthew 5:13.] You look within and you see the kingdom. You believe it is within and then you turn, and do not believe. Again you have lost your savor. You have lost your divine heritage. You have lost that which you had found. It is written that you can profane God, that you can profane the Father, and that you can profane the Son, but you cannot profane the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit and enter into the holy kingdom. For if you deny the power, the vibratory, the creative supreme power, the power, Holy Spirit power, Holy Ghost, or power - whatever you want to say - if you deny the power, then you cannot look within and you cannot attain that which is within yourself. If you do not attain that which is within the supreme light, then you are within the outer darkness."

Spiritual Experience

With the next two exchanges The Eternals invite participants to open a new door to the understanding of spiritual experience.

When and what is the kingdom of heaven?
"..The kingdom is now the kingdom within. In my father's house are many states of consciousness. And I go to prepare a state that you might have it for yourself. If it were not so, we would not have told you of the consciousness. Who is your father? Call no man father, for there is none that is holy. We speak of the supreme vibratory force; that which was before that which is come into being."

Could you please tell us about the different heavens? You spoke of the Fifth Heaven, what are the other heavens?
"..The Fifth Heaven was an allusion to the Books of Enoch, wherein he spoke of traveling through the heavens. Don't think that your soul shall rest in Heaven. For if you are to go to Heaven, then the birds shall be there before you. And if your soul shall rest in the sea, then the fishes have precedence over you. And if the kingdom of God - if the kingdom itself - dwells within your heart, within you, then you are there before all else is there. Is heaven within us, is that what you are saying? Did not Christ himself say the Kingdom of Heaven was within? [Questioner answers yes.] If it is within, howbeit that is is up there in the clouds [that] your little gold harp and your set of wings await? Don't look for the "pie in the sky".... This is not where you belong, you are not "up there." And yet, when you claim your heritage - your divine heritage - and have full and total and complete freedom, and release - liberty of all liberties - you have total power and soar where you will. As the tree falls, so it lies. And that is to say, in that state of consciousness which you die, that state of consciousness in which you are in."

Forgiveness Please speak about forgiveness.
"..You must learn, in essence, to forgive yourself. To forgive yourself is to forgive all others. You cannot actually forgive, for forgiveness is a term that exists only in abstract. For if you truly reach a point to forgive yourself or another, you have reached the point where you realize it is a thing that you should not have held against yourself or against another. Therefore, forgiveness is an abstract. No such thing can exist. And this is why we tell you to forgive yourself. Do not judge yourself from the beginning. Do not judge those around you and, in essence, you have forgiven them because you have never created that which would be forgiven. For all evil lies within yourself, as does all good.It is not what another does to you but what you have perceived and how you have reacted to it. Religious teachings are full of the concept of forgiveness."

Is that something man has put in?
"..No, but it is something that has to be spoken of in an abstract term. To truly forgive is to love and to not hold against. But once you have forgiven, you cannot say, "I have forgiven that person," for to truly forgive is to wipe the slate clean and it is no more."

I am still interested in the dynamics of forgiveness. Could you speak to us more about it?
"..To forgive is a very powerful thing. In order to forgive, you must totally - totally - remove all of the doubt, all of the grudges, that you hold against a person. This has been said before; in as much as to say, "I forgive you," does not mean a person is forgiven. To forgive a person is to return them to the state that they were at before they did it. And in order to do this, you have to love them so completely that you can accept what they did without holding it against them. This has to be total and complete. And with faith, where doubt - even the least shadow of doubt - constitutes not a slight lack of faith, but total, total dis-faith, total disbelief; so with forgiveness. The least shadow of resentment, the least shadow in your mind, or even remember the evil, is totally and completely bringing yourself to a point where you have no forgiveness for the person. For you can only do one or the other. You cannot forgive a person halfway. For to do that is not to forgive at all."

Soul Mates

Could you please clarify the term ... soul mate? Is this a common experience?
"..When one speaks of soul mate, one speaks of people who have what some would term karmic tie, not of any type but of one that is favorable. Now, if you have a favorable tie with another individual, it can actually be not because you have done well in the past, but you have done evil, and then it must be counterbalanced. So therefore, when you say that you have a soul mate and you get along so fabulously, it might do you well to look into the recesses of your mind and to see what evil you have done in the past that makes you do such good now. Soul mate is a misleading term in that it would lead one to believe that you have lived forever and ever happy with this person. That is not true, this does not necessarily mean that you are in a fairy tale with this individual, although it is also possible, if you are progressing and have another individual progressing with you, that you will choose the same planes together again and again. In this [case, the expression] soul mate, in its essence and in its true sense, would be somewhat correct. However, you may be balancing a karmic trend, so to speak, of another individual, so the term itself is not always relevant in the way that it is used."

Do entities in these progressions tend to travel together or do they separate once they are out of progression and go their own way totally?
"..They travel together at times, if it is required by balance and counterbalance. If it is not required, then they will travel their own way if they choose to do so. But just as friends might choose even in this physical plane to walk together, so can these spiritual entities choose to walk together. This is of their own making and of free choice."

Can that companionship go through several progressions here on this earth?
"..It can go through as many as desired. It can go through one year, a thousand years, or ten thousand years, and it makes no difference."

Personality and Spirituality

We all see ourselves as people with personalities. Do you have a personality after you make the transition that's called death in this world? Do you keep the personality that you have when you are in the body?
"..You are asking about existence of personality as in continual, onward and onward. That part of your personality which you now reflect you shall maintain. It will not necessarily be the part that will be lighting up the room, so to speak, the next time that you are present in this plane. Your personality is like a diamond and it has many facets cut on it. And it shines and it sparkles according to the way the light hits it. So now you may appear to have one personality, and yet you speak of a different personality in death. You may have a different personality in five minutes from now, or a minute past. A person's personality is a reflection of his own truth, his own knowledge and wisdom, reflecting that which is around him also. So yourself is part of your personality, and all that is around you is part of your personality. It is not something that can be separated nor divided. And yet only one small surface of it may show at a time, or even in a hundred or a thousand years. And that still leaves many sides to shine. But yes, even if that side is not shining, still the rest of your personality is there. For if you're looking at half a diamond, it does mean that the other half of the face or surface is not present."

Life Records

[Do] we, as humans, have a soul which is a ... form of life energy?"
"..Your soul is your conscious energy, that record which is recorded and not erased, that which is balanced and counterbalanced, that which is remembered of beyond all time.... Your ... body has life-force, but within this body itself you store information that will move out of the body and continue onward."

Is there a specific place in our body where this life information is stored? Is that throughout our being or does it have a localized center in the physical?
"..It is not localized in the physical itself, but it is localized in the spiritual."

Where is it localized in the spiritual?
[The Vessel draws a circle with his hand around the center of his chest.]

Is that what would be called the heart chakra, that circle that you are drawing on your chest?
"..It is the door of the heart, the chakra so green."

And that's where our life records are stored, in the spiritual?
"..In the fire of the green. In the essence of the being. In the chakra of the heart. For from the heart comes love, and from the heart comes hate. And as you speak with your mouth, you reveal the very feelings that are in your heart. And with your mouth, then, why do you curse man, who is made in the image of God? And yet, bless God Himself? For is not to curse one made in the image of God as great a sin as to curse God Himself? Therefore, if you can bridle the tongue, you have mastered the heart. And to master the heart is to master all things.

Past Lives and the Concept of Time

In ... Seth Speaks, (Roberts, Jane. Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.) and the different Seth books by Jane Roberts, an idea has been presented that all our past lives are happening all at one time. That all our previous lives are, right now, happening all at one time but at different levels. Is this so, or is this just a confusion of concepts?
"..It's immaterial in the spiritual world. Time does not exist to start with. Time is simply a manmade device. Time is created that you might control your life a little better. First you see that the sun sets and rises, and you have night and day. And you say, "Time is a day and a night." Then you divide it, "Well, I'll do this when the sun is in the middle of the sky [pointing], and I'll go to bed when it sets here [pointing] in the evening." And you divide it yet again, "When the sun - that precious little light - has come up, just where I can see it over the trees, I'll eat something. Then I'll go out and do some work. And by the time it gets right there, straight up over my head, I'll be hungry so I'll eat more." And it continues, until you no longer control time, but it controls you. "I must do this when the sun rises, and as soon as it gets to the point of noon, I have to have something to eat or my stomach will absolutely collapse." And time doesn't even exist. For what was, still is. And what is to be, has already passed."

[You said earlier that] a few people here present have had lives in the Middle Ages in a monastery.... Is one part of them still [there?]
"..A diamond has many sides. You may only see one side at a time, but the other side is still there, and still where it was, when you walk around it to look at the other side. [Author's note: To put it another way, the past, present, and future form a single crystal. The past is just one facet.]

In other words, you are saying that that is a reality at some level? As real as the flesh that you have on your bones. [Author's note: This was a difficult concept for me and the group to comprehend, and our questions reflect our groping for understanding. Even the reply, "As real as the flesh on your bones," was not a fully clear statement, as we were also told that all is an illusion, or "unreal."] If time does not exist, and there are many facets to our being, as there are facets to a diamond, and you have spoken of the facet that is showing, is it possible to go back or to cross from facet to facet or is only one showing at one time?
"..It is not the normal reality to cross from facet to facet, yet this is done quite frequently."

Is it a skill that should be developed, or an ability to try and develop?
"..Most would term it a gift. And yet a gift must be worked at hard to develop it to its potential. Sometimes you can jump from facet to facet, or from time to time.... If it is true that all time is nonexistent, can a person be progressed so that he can experience his future life, as he can be regressed so that he can experience his past life?
"..Do you desire a cryptic answer? Then one you shall have. Yes. [Laughter. Earlier in the session, someone had commented that many answers were cryptic.]