How do we recognize what we are supposed to learn from our catalyst? Can you recommend any techniques or procedures that we could use to learn from our catalyst?

(Carla channeling)

We are those of Q’uo. Greetings in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator. We are most thankful for your call to us, and, indeed, we hope that we might share our thoughts with you in a helpful way. If any thoughts which we offer are not pleasing, we encourage you to lay those thoughts aside, for we speak not with ultimate authority but as your brothers and sisters within the beautiful path of spacious existence which lies open to those who seek the spirit within each moment, the life within each instant, the eternity within the now.

To speak concerning catalyst, it is well to gaze first at the way in which the physical, mental and emotional relationships of persons to others or to themselves are designed, for there is a logic to the moving forces of destiny which lies far beneath that literal logic which distills questions to a proof of an answer. The truths of the seeker are not usually clear, for the mystery that is at the base of all systems inevitably becomes the view in front of the face of one who gazes deeply enough into that which is occurring at any given time and space. This arrangement of logical alternatives cannot be pinned down because each incarnation has a basic plan in terms of areas of learning to love or learning to accept love, and these goals are fairly clear to the seeker who has persisted in inner work for any length of time.

The means of going after these goals, however, is usually very much a free will choice so that there is not one right or correct response to incoming catalyst. The attitude of the seeker in this wise might, perhaps, be skillful to choose the far-seeing eye when gazing at a situation in which there is catalyst, not moving upon impulse, not concluding quickly concerning issues, but, rather, remaining serene in the sure and certain knowledge that your destiny will provide continual opportunities to follow through with the lessons that you have identified for your own self.

Now, what consists of catalyst? To what characteristic should the seeker look to identify it? We might suggest that the experience of discomfort, whether it be physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, is a hallmark of catalyst, for catalyst, by definition, will create changes although it, itself, is not altered. Therefore, when the seeker finds itself fretting, worrying and hesitating concerning an issue the student simply steps back and takes note that there is this discomfort. Therefore, there is catalyst.

The next question within the mind of the seeker is, “How shall I respond to this discomfort? Shall I attempt to alleviate my distress? Shall I preserve patience and see what happens?” Again, there is no one answer, for that wind of life within which blows about the inner heart and cleanses the atmosphere of the spirit has a blessed and intimate connection with the discomfort caused by catalyst. There is an instinct deep within that connects in a graceful and grace-filled way with situations in which discomfort is a symptom of the transformation for which the catalyst was supplied in the first place.

There is the model of the world which sees questions and answers in neat compartments. This model of the world works well within your culture. However, it does not work at all well when the seeker is prosecuting that long, long process of seeking to find the heart of self and, therefore, the heart of catalyst.

Perhaps the shortest way of expressing or suggesting a way of dealing with catalyst is to say that each experience is a new one. The type of catalyst becomes ever easier to identify as the seeker continues with the dogged patience which is the hallmark of spiritual health. Eventually the link between the spirit within—which this instrument often calls grace—and the heart of discomfort begins to be perceived ever more flowingly and less rigidly until the happy state becomes possible wherein the seeker is upheld simply by doing the dance of life, and then gazes at all that moves him or her with a trustful and cheerful eye.

For suffering and pain, while being necessary concomitants to learning the lessons of love, do not need to be clung to or held within the mind, emotion, body or spirit. A child playing upon the seashore goes through many instances of temporary discomfort. The sun is too hot. The pail is washed out to sea. The shovel gets broken. The child swallows salt water. To the child these events mean very little, for this young spirit is still being surprised by life itself. That spirit of newness, that allowing of catalyst to move you as if it were the first experience, is a key to finding your own balance within the processes of change and transformation.

Using catalyst is something the seeker cannot avoid. This illusion of yours is created to make evasion of catalyst impossible and full use of catalyst improbable. This illusion leans upon imperfection and forces the mind and the emotions to gaze at that which is not perfect in appearance. This false world-view is designed to be that backdrop against which the common life with its suffering may become a life incandescent with the seeker’s joyful acceptance and eagerness to pursue the processes of change.

So we would suggest that you be eager and hungry for those processes of change. Recognize discomfort as the hallmark of inner work being done, and recollect at all times that this work is not mental. You may think and muse endlessly concerning catalyst, but the way that catalyst is seated in the experiences of the seeker is, for the greater part, functioning within the deep mind of which you are not conscious. The key, then, in this regard is allowing time to pass until the heart feels and senses truth. It cannot be rushed. It cannot be figured out. Although these processes do aid in a growing grasp of the incarnational pattern that you have, they cannot take that essence that is you to a more truthful or genuine expression of self. You are not here to understand and know the self beyond a certain point. You are not here to become perfect. You are here within an illusion which forces you to seek beyond the limits of that which is visible or knowable.

The hungry man has a sore stomach and when the seeker awakens to the call to walk the path of pilgrimage there is that overriding hunger and the spiritual appetite is keen. Treasure this discomfort. Allow it to continue. Allow the self to see the self with a bit of distance and let that editor or critic of the self reassure and remind the everyday mentality that when one is following the spirit surprises often occur, and the one thing to keep watch on is where the attention is placed, for there is that place within, that inner sanctum sanctorum, wherein that which is holy rests. Moving into this space is that which is the wisest of all resources to choose, for in the end all the catalyst can do is offer you opportunities to learn your own nature and to begin, just begin, to grasp infinite love, eternal life, beingness forever.

And we encourage each to find the light touch, to share the laughter and the silliness of such idealistic and spiritual goals. There is rich humor in every fiber of your density. The less you blink, the less you are overcome by the seriousness of situations, the more humor you shall find, for the Creator is most playful. So allow that spirit within to romp and play, and, above all things, to reach out to others as they ask, as you can serve. For the love you bear each other is that fruit which the other cannot create and love is the great gift, the inner and deeper truth of all being and all relationship.

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

(Jim channeling)

I am Q’uo, and greet each again in love and in light. We are privileged to offer ourselves at this time to those who may have further queries for us, and we would ask if there might be a further query at this time?

I wonder if you could talk some about accepting the darker part of the self?

I am Q’uo, and am aware of your query, my brother. You are many things which you are not aware of, for you are indeed all things. This is the great mystery of creation. We worship with you this mystery, my brother, and can only shed a limited amount of light upon this topic, for the Creator which has set all energy into motion and has pleased Itself by giving fields of energy which are called entities free will to choose the manner of their being and the way in which they express this being as a manifestation of that being.

We are aware that each seeker feels an affinity for entities that are other than the self or seemingly so, and especially feels affinity for entities which suffer. Each seeker also wishes to accept those portions of the self which are suffering and which may be hidden in their origin. We can only say to you, my brother, that as you move through the various influences in your life pattern you will find that there is a new way of looking at yourself that is developed by the processing of catalyst. There are discoveries that one makes when one finds oneself in new circumstances. There are abilities called forth, perhaps for the first time, or in a more accentuated form of manifestation that a new set of stimuli will request or evoke.

As you continue to process the catalyst that forms various patterns in your life you will find that there is more to yourself than first imagined. In this way you can begin to see the circle of your being, shall we say, that of which you are aware of consciously and dimly aware of in your deeper mind. This circle is lighted by your consciousness and your attention to it. It increases its circumference with new experiences. That you are unable to imagine what it would be like to dwell in terrible darkness and delusion, that of the murderer, that of the thief, and so forth, is only testament to the present circle of your being that it includes certain experiences and does not seem to include others.

Yet, we can assure you that as you explore more and more of this beingness—the beingness of the one Creator—in incarnation after incarnation and density after density, you will have covered a great deal more of this total being than you are now aware of. You shall set for yourself in various of your incarnations and portions thereof a variety of parameters, expressions of energy, intersections of entities, and you shall immerse yourself in the moving tides of your kinds’ history.

In this infinite march of the One to the One, by the many portions of the One there is available the infinity of opportunity that is the Creator. At various times you shall choose hither and yon and shall choose widely disparate selections of opportunities that will teach in a variety of ways that which you seek. Thus, though your present experience may seem small we assure you this is so that you can focus more clearly and sharply your attention upon those lessons which are currently before you and not dissipate your precious conscious working focus on many and sundry issues.

Thus, if you are well focused the experience of the current incarnation is also in a sharp focus or distinction that allows for efficient working. Other incarnations shall focus in other areas, my brother.

Is there another query?

What you are saying is that I should feel through my heart and focus on what is in front of me and work on that while allowing all of the other mystery that I cannot grasp to work as it will? Could you comment on that please?

I am Q’uo, and we feel that you have a basic grasp of that which we have attempted to share, though we would amplify in a small way by suggesting that the feeling through your heart of the acceptance of that which is is another way of stating the concept of faith, which is a great enabler…

[Side one of tape ends.]

(Jim channeling)

I am Q’uo, and am again with this instrument. You must have faith, my brother, that you are well placed within the one Creator, at the very center, for there is no other being or place to be, and if you walked quite literally in the shoes of your fellow seekers, you would walk as do they for reasons that are well or poorly understood, that have results that are more or less helpful, seen in a relative sense, with the cause and ultimate effect of all thoughts and actions being rooted in that great mystery that is the one Creator. And that as you do indeed walk in each shoe of every brother and sister that you know and do not know, you do indeed walk where only the Creator treads.

Is there another query, my brother?

No, thank you, Q’uo. That gives me a lot to think about from a different angle.

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

I would like to ask if there is another reason for existence besides the Creator knowing Itself?

I am Q’uo, and though we are aware of the query which you have asked we are not aware of any other reason or indication that the Creator might have for this experience which we all share, though we do not say such a reason could not exist. As far as we have plumbed this great and infinite mystery the only reason we have found for this experience is that it is our portion of the one Creator’s pattern of beingness, that is that we should become that which is and should find a greater and greater expression of ourselves to be the same as the Creator’s self.

Is there any further query, my sister?

Yes, could you clarify the notion of time? When you talk about the concept of becoming it suggests a forward moving direction oriented in time. On the other hand, we are told that everything exists at the same time. Could you comment on this aspect of creation?

I am Q’uo, and am aware of your query, my sister. We utilize the terms that are most easily understood—if we might use that misnomer—within your illusion, for to speak the ultimate truth would not only be impossible in words, but would be confusing in practice, for as you have correctly surmised it is true that all does exist in a simultaneous fashion in regards to time. However, within your illusion the focus of consciousness has been constructed in such a precise manner that the illusion that you experience does its work in what seems to be a linear progression of time and experience. However, that is not just within this illusion but is a portion of the greater experience of all that is that has been, shall we say, been segmented or focused upon in such a way that it seems that your life patterns move on after the other and in a sequential manner within each, whereas in truth there is the greater self that is your higher self that exists at this time with a complete expression of that which you are, that which you shall become, that which you have been, together with other expressions of your self as well. These you are. These you move toward. These are a portion of the great paradox and mystery of creation.

Is there a final query at this time?

How is it possible in our present experience of third density, with our five senses, the simultaneous existence of time… How can we experience it in our lives, that we exist at all times?

I am Q’uo, and am aware of your query, my sister. The great veil of forgetting which each passes through upon the entry into this illusion insures that this far-seeing ability that recognizes all time as simultaneous is that which awaits discovery only in those moments of grace, shall we say, which present themselves to you at various points within the incarnation as a kind of implication, shall we say, of that which truly is a guidepost or sign along the way. Many such experiences are achieved in the meditative state, the fasting, the prayer, the dream in which the future or the past or both are blended with the present. Thusly, the door to the greater experience is only cracked a tiny bit within your illusion so that your focus remains carefully placed upon those lessons which you choose for each incarnation.

Is there a further query, my sister?

No, thank you.

I am Q’uo, and again we thank you, my sister. We thank each present for allowing us to share our opinions with you again. It has been our great privilege to join in your circle this day and we are always hopeful that we have been able to share with you some small portion of our thoughts that might be of service to you in your journey with each other and with the one Creator. We walk with you and give praise and thanksgiving for each step.

At this time we shall take our leave of this group, leaving each, as always, in the love and in the light of the one infinite Creator. We are those of Q’uo. Adonai.