The Process and Nature of Grief
Reading time: 7 - 11 minutes
This article below is taken from a private session and permission was given to share it.
STUDENT LEVEL: understanding of The Michael Teachings terminology is helpful for this article.
THE NATURE AND PROCESS OF GRIEF
Grief is always about change, and the process of accepting the truth about that change. This change is always in relation to something or someone else. Though the change may not be a literal loss or a literal death, the experience is always as if both of these have occurred.
Grief can be experienced during changes in objects, experiences, and relationships. Grief can be experienced across the spectrum from the death of a loved one to the missing of a phone call or an opportunity. The intensity of grief over a missed phone call can be as deep as that of losing a loved one, if that phone call meant something to the griever, and the loss of a loved one can be as quickly processed as the simple missing of a phone call, if the griever anticipated the loss and began expanding the symbolism assigned to that loved one.
The intensity and shock of grief is equal to the momentum of the relationship, and the longevity of grief is equal to the depth of symbolism of the experience, object, or person. When the momentum is strong (which would include relationships that are "taken for granted") the greater can be the intensity of surprise and grief. The deeper the symbolism assigned to the object, experience, or person being grieved, the longer that intensity will take to process over time. In other words, the more something or someone means to you, the longer the grief is experienced, and the more investment you had to in that something or someone, the more shocking is the loss.
First, we would say that the general understanding of how grief is processed in the 4 steps of Shock, Search, Disintegration, and Acceptance is valid. Some processes are describe in 5 steps and others in 7 steps, but we see these 4 steps as being the most succinct. The first three steps deal with questions relevant to the stages of acceptance of the new truth, (How?/Why?, Where?/Who?, and What?/When?) and the fourth being that of the acceptance, itself. The questions listed above are vital to the process of grief and paired like the axes of our own system because they are relevant to the axes of our system (Inspiration, Expression, Action, Assimilation). We will elaborate below.
There are two ways for understanding the process of grief using our teaching and perspective: one is through the understanding of the Body Types; one is through the understanding of the Overleaves.
Because grief is a physical plane phenomenon, the body is the entire structure for this process. Therefore, the Body Type plays a pivotal role in the overall struggle for acceptance of a new truth.
In all cases of grief, the resolution comes when the individual feels he or she has "made sense" of the truth in the change. How each individual comes to make sense of that truth can be understood in the Body Type. The Primary Body Type will reveal where the emphasis of questioning is most in need of "making sense" for that individual or the grief cannot be processed.
Lunar and Saturn Body Types tend to make sense of grief through Emotional processing using the imagination and perception, and do not require logic for comprehension. The questions of WHERE and WHO must be answered for these Bodies. For instance, sense must be made of Where the loved one has gone, and Who one is after accepting this truth of change. The more difficulty in answering these questions, the more intense and lengthy the experience of grief.
Venus and Mercury Body Types tend to make sense of grief through Intellectual processing, using analysis and insight, and can often seem surprisingly calm during their grief. These Bodies tend to allow plenty of room for the emotions, but do not emphasize them as the primary form of processing. Instead, sense is sought to be made through the questions of WHY and HOW. For instance, when a loved one dies, the struggle is in the answering of Why this happened, and How it could have happened.
Mars and Jupiter Body Types tend to make sense of grief through the Physical process of action and reaction, and can seem the most shut down or volatile of all. These Bodies feel the experience of grief the most personally, as it brings into glaring reality the body's own mortality. Those with Mars or Jupiter Body Types can be the most reckless and dangerous with their bodies, seemingly fearless, but if faced with the death of someone, it impacts them in a way that way that can short-circuit them indefinitely. These Bodies must make sense of the WHEN and the WHAT of the grief, bringing into question the When of time and mortality, and the What of accomplishment, What was unfinished, and What happened, etc.
Note that the What of an experience is very different from the Why of an experience. What happened is very different from Why it happened.
Solar Body Types are the Neutral Body Types and will tend to process grief relative to the Body Type of the other individual involved who may have been lost, or in the way that is most familiar to them from imprinting and example, or by proxy of who is most intimate with that body.
For all Bodies, the questions of Who/Where, How/Why, and When/What must be answered to some degree for resolution, but the most demanding of questions would be those associated with the Primary Body Type.
Understanding grief in terms of how it processes through the Overleaves can also shed light on the experience. As this is a physical phenomenon, and played out through the Body, it is only natural that the Overleaves that make up the Personality would be involved, as they are biologically embedded.
For simplicity's sake, we are using the term "overleaves" to describe the components of the process below, but not all of the terms in this process are technically overleaves.
As grief is the process of accepting the truth of change in relationship to something or someone, grief always impacts the Mode first, which is the overleaf that manages relationships. Centering is impacted next, then the Goal, then the Body Type, then the Attitude, then Soul Age, and finally the Role in Essence.
This process can be understood in terms of impact and then ignition for each Overleaf.
The change, loss, death impacts the Mode/Relationship, igniting the inescapable necessity to adapt to the new truth of the relationship. This then impacts the Centering, throwing the fragment off-balance, thus igniting the Centering as the means for beginning the process and resolution of the experience. This then impacts the Goal, throwing off participation in life and personal ambitions, igniting one to recalculate directions and personal choices. At this point, the Body Type is impacted, which ignites the arcing questions that are primary to that individual's physical existence. This then impacts the personal philosophy, or Attitude, about one's existence, which then ignites a calibration of that personal philosophy so as to adapt to the new truth. This new truth then impacts the Soul Age that represents where Essence has plateaued in evolution, igniting further evolution and stretching. The stretch in perception impacts the connection to Essence, igniting manifestation of Essence back through the Body, where the other side of the change and new truth can now be embraced.
The Path: MODE > CENTERING > GOAL > (BODY TYPE) > ATTITUDE > SOUL AGE > ESSENCE
This may seem rather elaborate for those processes of grief that do not seem lengthy or intense, but the length and intensity have no bearing on how it is processed in the Overleaves. It will always impact the Mode first and then move through the Overleaves, resolving in the manifestation of Essence, or the return to Being or Self, so to speak.
This process through the Overleaves is often not completed and the grief remains "stuck" in one of the areas represented by the Overleaf path we described above. When grief gets stuck in an area, it can become a part of that area of the Personality, affecting that "overleaf" in a way that draws grief into that area of life in other ways, and even becoming a primary contributing factor to the eventual death of the body. For instance, if grief becomes "stuck" in the Emotional Centering of a fragment, then this fragment may constantly experience grief within a majority of relationships. If the grief were to be "stuck" in a Spiritualist Attitude (seeing the potential in life), then that person may interpret the majority of potential around himself as only having the potential for loss.
To pull all of this together, we could map it out in the following way:
Stage One of Shock is processed through > Mode > Centering
Stage Two of Search is processed through > Goal > Body Type
(Who/Where, How/Why, or When/What is now emphasized)
Stage Three of Disintegration is processed through > Attitude > Soul Age
Stage Four of Acceptance is integrated through > Manifested Essence
A final consideration is to note that the processing of grief is very different from recovering from grief.
7 Spheres of Awareness
Reading time: 10 - 17 minutes
Today's quote sent from the Michael Entity Twitter Account:
"Tao, by extension Essence, experiences more love when what is created (Personality) seeks creator rather than creator imposing on the life."
comes from the following article, originally published in April of 2002.
I'm experimenting with the idea of posting the quotes here so you can always see the original context, if any, but I don't want to keep doing this if no one is really getting anything out of it, so let me know if this is something you enjoy.
ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT:
04/04/02
Seven Spheres of Awareness of Essence
Hello to all of you. We are here. We understand the topic to be "7 Spheres of Awareness of Essence." We will share what we can in regard to this within the time available.
As many of you are aware, the Physical Plane is not the only Plane of existence. The Personality only exists within the Physical Plane, along with the Physical Body, while Essence exists to some degree in all Planes "at once." In any given lifetime, the Personality is capable of gaining awareness of its own Essence in varying circles of awareness. A Soul Age or Essence Role or Overleaves do not limit the Sphere of Awareness, though it can be said that these things contribute to the ease or challenge of gaining awareness. The oldest soul may have a particularly difficult lifetime that inhibits awareness, while a younger soul may find blissful connection to Essence on all levels. It is the choice of Personality as to whether it wishes to have a connection to Essence on a conscious level and to what degree.
Essence NEVER imposes itself on its Personality. The Personality is too valuable for that kind of relationship. Essence needs the Personality as an extension of itself to explore and learn from the Physical Plane. Essence cannot exist fully where you are incarnated without a body of some sort. For that reason, Essence allows the Personality to seek Essence as Personality sees fit, though Essence is ever watchful and loving to each version of Personality within the Physical Plane. Though Essence is not as attached to the Physical Plane as a Personality, Essence still finds great empathy and ever-growing love for each Personality.
The Tao, and by extension the Essence, finds it to be a far more loving relationship to have what is created seek the creator, rather than the creator enforcing itself on the life.
As Personality and the Body grows within each lifetime, it must "re-remember" all of its Soul Levels and Ages and regain that level of consciousness and perspective all over again. It is stored in the Instinctive Center exactly where you are in your development as Essence, but each new Body must regain consciousness as a means to house the perspective of Essence. Some may or may not reach the previous level of Soul Age.
It is perfectly possible to have a Young Soul lifetime wherein the fragment is technically an Old Soul, depending on several factors in Personality. The difference is that each Soul Level has its capacity to gain up to and through all 7 Spheres of Awareness. It could easily be said that these Spheres of Awareness are the Levels WITHIN the Soul Levels.
The 7 Internal Monads could be said to be the process of INTERNAL rites of passage toward moving through a Soul Level, while the 7 Spheres of Awareness may be said to be the EXTERNAL process of moving through a Soul Level. Both must be completed and experienced within as many lives as it takes before moving to a new Soul Level.
The 7 Spheres of Awareness then could be described as follows:
Sphere One: This is the simplest Sphere of Awareness. This Sphere is basic to any Sentient Being. This is self-awareness on the most rudimentary and mechanical level. You are aware you are alive; that you must feed yourself; that you must protect yourself; that you must interact with life. Sphere One is the most separated, narrow, and isolated of all Spheres of Awareness. There is no real concept of "spirit" or anything more than what is immediately tangible. This would extend into areas of "love" and other such intangible experiences.
The fragment perceiving from within this Sphere merely does what it needs to do to survive and to gain the next experience.
This fragment usually experiences life solely from the Negative Poles of the Personality and rejects all forms of intervention for helping raise its awareness. There is an absolute disconnection from all life forms around this fragment. It is hard for them to even understand the "point of living."
Sphere Two: This is the Sphere wherein you get a glimpse of life through the Positive Poles of your Overleaves. You gain a bit of awareness as to what your Essence is like, even if not fully defined. You decide you must have a soul. That much is at least considered to be possible.
This Sphere of Awareness begins to expand beyond the limitations of the Body and into the realms of possibilities. Imagination becomes more harnessed for creativity, rather than fear and protection, as in Sphere One, and the fragment begins to consider his dreams along with other concepts that are not tangible, yet acknowledged as experienced. It is a Sphere in which the fragment begins to consider his relationship with himself as more than a machine, but a BEING.
Sphere Three: Expanding beyond the Spheres previous to this, Sphere Three allows the fragment to begin to consider the intangibilities between it and others, not just within. The fragment begins to long for and seek deeper intimacy.
This Sphere is marked with the awareness that other fragments share a history with you that extends beyond the current life and Personality, even if this is not quite understood. The relationship to Time begins to change and there is less emphasis on it as a constraint, but rather as a convenience.
Sphere Four: This is the Sphere of Awareness that brings a fragment to the reality its own Past Selves to-date. The fragment becomes capable of acknowledging wisdom gained from outside the confines of the current life and allows influences from Past and Future Lives alike.
This Sphere finds Personality capable of recognizing patterns in the life and the life of others, enabling the fragment to envision probable futures as they are created or as were planned before the life.
The fragment begins to realize that the Personality focused on at any given moment does not diminish the reality of MANY versions of that same Personality across Parallel Universes created by Essence to house all of the choices possible.
This is the Sphere that the fragment truly has the capability for channeling, healing, directing energy, and using psychic tools.
(We will note here that ALL Spheres are capable of Intuition, which is simply the extension and combination of physical senses. True psychic awareness, though, is not the same thing.)
Sphere Four is the first time a fragment discovers a true relationship between the Personality and the life and finds a deep sense of trust and safety as the life unfolds.
Sphere Five: This is the Sphere in which you begin to see others as extensions of yourself. It is profoundly realized that the helping of others to resolve their own troubles will also contribute to you own lessons on many levels.
This Sphere brings with it the realization and awareness that the Personality is a temporary and a beautiful “child” of Essence.
A strange double awareness will be experienced here, wherein the trials and challenges of the life indulged in, while maintaining a consistent awareness through the perspective of Essence that “all is well”.
Sphere Six: This is the Sphere of Awareness that brings with it the realization that the Universe has an awesome structure that can be understood. A new, consistent relationship to what might be called "spirit" then develops. You begin to recognize the "signatures" of different spiritual families, or Entities, and find the lifetime heavily focused on what might be called "the path." This "path" will be, of course, defined and created by the individual fragment, but a deep recognition that ALL are on variations of similar paths will be incorporated into the life.
This is the first time the Fragment begins to recognize the value of life in other species beyond itself. Energy and life force, as expressed in all its forms, begins to become deeply important to the fragment to be in harmony with. While the Fifth Sphere allows the fragment to see other fragments as extensions of self, the Sixth Sphere will build on this and find this extends to animals outside the realm of that fragment's own Sentient Species. The fragment profoundly grasps that other beings are capable of relative fear and have relative emotional lives, too.
From this Sphere a deep longing for what might be called "home" begins to motivate the life.
Sphere Seven: This is the Sphere wherein the fragment finally grasps how to use all of the tools of the Body, the Physical Plane, and the Personality and finds the life unfolding, changing, and being created in profoundly acceptable ways.
ALL limitations of the lifetime are found to be acceptable, while all of the possibilities are recognized as well.
There is no division between Essence and Personality in any way. All Levels of Soul Age gained to that point are used effectively and appropriately.
This is the Sphere where it is difficult to find anything ugly about life. A childlike innocence is regained and everything becomes new and fun again, without fear of anything. We include the "fear of fear" in that statement. Sphere Seven allows Fear as a tool appropriately. If fear is experienced, it is recognized as simply part of everything that is wondrous about the life.
There are, of course, far more detailed descriptions of each Sphere of Awareness available, but we share this for you within the time frame available here. What we have shared should allow for adequate consideration.
<> Can one be aware and functioning on several Spheres at once, i.e., I resonate with Spheres three through seven, I feel as if I've been there and living these Spheres, or is your essence setting up these stages to bring them to your awareness so that when you get there it feels like home.
Different Spheres of Awareness may be present within different contexts of your life. For instance, you may have Sphere 3 Awareness when in relationships, while having Sphere 4 in your Career. Your Awareness will fluctuate throughout the lifetime and you will recognize different time frames having different Spheres of Awareness as well. Although you progress through the lifetime to gain Spheres of Awareness, you will move "up and down" through the Spheres as relative to your experiences.
Sphere One, for example, will ALWAYS be available in any lifetime. It is the Sphere of the heaviest of Karmic relationships. A fragment may have reached the Sphere Seven of Awareness in a lifetime, but a ribbon of Karma may be chosen to burn and the Awareness will then constrict to Sphere One as it is dealt with.
<> What is meant by "to find other animals outside the realm of that fragments sentience"?
In your case, the Awareness would begin to include strong resonance and recognition to beings who are NON-human. The recognition may only begin with the recognition of other ensouled beings, such as Cetacean and Gorillas, but eventually would include those beyond that.
<> How do we regain consciousness, and open this instinctive center to better communicate with essence?
In the interest of using the time available efficiently through this channel, we will say we have answered this question in other chats. These transcripts would be available through Troy or his web site. Troy, or other students, will direct you to those detailed responses. There are different ways each Essence Roles may find to open connections to Essence.
<> If you advance through a soul age level within a life - say Old 3 to Old 4, do you start again at Sphere 1 of awareness and 'lose' the previous awareness, or do you overlap and keep that awareness and start over. How does that work?
These are rare and interesting lifetimes when a fragment transitions within a lifetime without taking on a new body. The Older Soul finds this process to be less confusing, but still have a great deal of challenge in this shifting. When a transition of Soul Age or a Soul Level occurs within a lifetime, yes, the Personality will undergo a great change in some way, even if only over a brief period of time. Considering that the Body will have not lost its memory, it is quite possible to regain those Spheres of Awareness within minutes.
There is a process that occurs for those who move Soul Levels within a lifetime. We refer to that experience as an Octave Ending/Beginning, and would be another topic in itself. But to simplify the response, since the Body will not have been replaced, the evolution through the Monads and the Awareness Spheres will not have been lost when entering the new Soul Level.
<> I thought 6 level was the heaviest level of karmic payback and most psychic not 1or 4.
You are comparing the 6th Level of a Soul Age to the 6th Sphere of Awareness of Essence. They are completely different contexts. When in the 6th Level of a Soul Age, depending on the Soul Age, the lifetime may be submerged in Sphere One of Awareness or not. We realize English is a bit limited in our choices for describing progressions and evolution. We suggest that similar terms do not mean the same thing, necessarily, when in different context.
For most Older Souls, Sphere Five of Awareness is quite common when experiencing the 6th Level of Soul Age. This allows for the life to be lived consciously, while still being free to indulge in the Karma.
<> Therefore essence awareness lags soul age.
It may help to think of the Spheres of Awareness as being angles of perception toward an experience. In other words, as Awareness progresses, you move from only Personality experiencing, to Essence AND Personality being present for the experience.
We are open to suggestions for more appropriately naming these 7 Spheres. And yes, Awareness Spheres may exceed or "lag" behind Soul Age, but eventually Awareness on the 7th Sphere must be reached as a means to move to the next Soul Level.
<> Please expand on the "true relationship between personality and the life" as mentioned in Sphere four.
It is the first time a fragment may consider that life happens FROM them, rather than TO them. It is the first time a fragment may realize that he or she may not only being learning how to choose, but also choosing how to learn.
Quotes From Michael
True Presence means embracing your past and your possibilities, not ignoring them.The Present is not an acute experience.
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