Messages from Michael

«The following material has been compiled from the transcripts of literally thousands of hours of mediumistic dictation beginning almost a decade ago. For the sake of the privacy of the medium, her family, and her many associates, all names have been changed, except the name of the entity with whom the medium has been in contact» — el Author's Note de Yarbro fija el estatuto de todo el volumen: lo impreso sale de transcripciones de miles de horas de dictado mediumístico empezado casi una década antes, y todos los nombres están cambiados por privacidad salvo el del ente con el que dice estar en contacto la médium. Es la declaración que convierte a *Jessica Lansing* y a los miembros del grupo en seudónimos.

«The opinions and comments given by the entity Michael appear in a sans serif typeface and are entirely those of the entity. They do not necessarily agree with the attitudes, opinions, convictions, or beliefs of anyone else connected with this book» — la segunda regla del Author's Note, que es tipográfica y a la vez de responsabilidad: lo que el volumen presenta como del ente va en sans serif, es enteramente suyo y no compromete las actitudes ni las creencias de nadie más ligado al libro.

«Occult studies have always fascinated me: for more than twenty years I’ve been actively interested in the field, and for the last eighteen, I have practiced certain of the less strenuous disciplines, such as tarot card reading and palmistry. For a little more than four years I read cards at the Magic Cellar, a San Francisco nightclub devoted mainly to stage magic, now unfortunately closed. I’ve also experimented with alchemy in conjunction with writing a series of historical horror novels, published by St. Martin’s Press and New American Library» — Yarbro abre el Preface de 1978 declarando su propio recorrido: más de veinte años de interés activo, dieciocho de práctica de las disciplinas menos arduas —tarot y quiromancia—, cuatro leyendo cartas en un club nocturno de San Francisco y experimentos con la alquimia al hilo de una serie de novelas históricas de horror.

«For the most part I avoid other occultists, particularly those who put the emphasis on the window-dressing aspect of their studies. I also dislike the generally manipulative attitude and dogmatic approach of occult groups» — y declara de qué se aparta dentro del mismo campo: de los ocultistas que ponen el acento en el escaparate de sus estudios, y de la actitud manipuladora y el enfoque dogmático que atribuye a los grupos ocultistas.

«My introduction to the woman I call Jessica Lansing in this book had nothing to do with the occult, and nothing to do with my writing. She and I share an intense interest in music, and it was through musical activities that we met. I did not know about her occult interests and she did not know about mine until we had been acquainted for almost a year. At that time I gave her passes to the Magic Cellar, and during the evening, read her cards. It was roughly two months later that I attended my first session at her home» — Yarbro cuenta cómo conoció a la médium y lo dice de entrada con el nombre cambiado: por la música y no por lo oculto, sin que ninguna de las dos supiera del interés de la otra durante casi un año.

«neither the credulous acolytes that mark a great many such groups, nor upper middle-class dabblers after an extra thrill. The people were professionals, calm, sensible, and questioning. They checked out Michael’s facts and challenged them. I liked that. There was no religious devotion to the teaching, only a careful exploration. I liked that. The emphasis was on understanding and clarity. I liked that. And Michael has an acerbic wit, which delighted me» — la continuación de esa frase en la plana siguiente, con las cuatro razones por las que el grupo le gustó: ni acólitos crédulos ni aficionados de clase media alta, sino profesionales que cotejaban y desafiaban los datos de Michael, sin devoción religiosa a la enseñanza y con el acento puesto en entender.

«Invariably the question arises: do I believe it? The only answer I can give is: sometimes. Certainly Michael has an uncanny ability to pick out significant moments in my life and has identified the times in the historical past to which I am most drawn. It could be that Jessica is a very skillful telepath. It could be that she is creating this, after exhaustive study, out of whole cloth. But I don’t think that’s» — la respuesta que Yarbro da a la pregunta que ella misma dice que siempre surge —si cree lo que pasa— y las dos explicaciones alternativas que se plantea y no descarta del todo: que la médium sea una telépata muy hábil o que lo esté fabricando entero tras un estudio exhaustivo.

«the case. Whatever it is she does, she does it legitimately. She has got information about people that she doesn’t know and that I don’t know and the response has been positive» — y el límite con que cierra esa reserva: no dice que sea verdad, dice que lo que hace lo hace legítimamente y que ha dado información sobre personas que ni ella ni Yarbro conocen.

«For example, one of my friends, knowing that I was attending these sessions, told me that her cousin Sunny had written to her: Sunny had a new male friend she couldn’t make up her mind about, and was seeking advice. I did not know Sunny or the man involved. However, I took the question to the session and was given the following answer by Michael: The man in question has an agreement with the lady Lenore. The agreement involves the furthering of an intellectual project. We would doubt that anything of an intimate nature would come of this association, however it will greatly help both of them in the completion of their Life-Tasks» — el caso que Yarbro ofrece como ejemplo, con la respuesta del dictado transcrita dentro de su propia narración: la pregunta por el amigo de una prima que no conocía, y la respuesta que habla de un acuerdo con *la dama Lenore* en torno a un proyecto intelectual y no íntimo.

«I relayed this answer to my friend. As it turns out, she did not pass it on to her cousin because, she said, she was chicken to admit she had asked a Ouija board about it. Six months later, the cousin and the man opened an art gallery in San Diego, and their partnership has been financially and professionally successful. Incidentally, the cousin is named Lenore, but usually goes by her nickname, Sunny, because the aunt for whom she is named is still alive» — el desenlace del caso y el dato que Yarbro pone como coincidencia: la prima no recibió la respuesta, seis meses después abrió una galería con ese hombre, y se llama Lenore aunque use el apodo Sunny.

«No, I can’t explain it. There have been psychic researchers who have investigated these sessions, and they, too, vouch for Jessica’s legitimacy. Whatever she is doing, and whoever she has contact with, there is no fakery involved» — la frase más corta del prefacio, seguida del único aval externo que Yarbro invoca: investigadores psíquicos que han examinado las sesiones y que, según ella, responden también por la legitimidad de la médium.

«This book came out of ten special sessions and the transcripts of eight years of general sessions. Those transcripts cover three thousand typed pages and the number is increasing. I have made every attempt to present the material as directly and as uncomplicatedly as possible. I have not changed anything Michael has said, although I have often reduced several of the group’s questions to one question in order to» — el método de compilación declarado en cifras: diez sesiones especiales más ocho años de transcripciones de sesiones generales, tres mil páginas mecanografiadas y en aumento; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«avoid confusion. When that occurs in the text, there are no quotations around the question, indicating that it is a simplification of a number of related questions» — la regla tipográfica que gobierna la lectura del cuerpo entero, y que Yarbro enuncia como suya: nada de lo dicho por Michael se cambió, pero varias preguntas del grupo se redujeron a una, y cuando eso pasa la pregunta va sin comillas.

«At first I was dubious about what she was doing. It seemed so easy and so pat. She had, of course, a great deal of practice and familiarity with her technique as well as the inner discipline of concentration that enabled her to work for hours without any visible sign of fatigue. Her group was also interesting because the members were» — su primera reserva, dicha sin suavizar: le parecía demasiado fácil y demasiado *pat*, y lo que la lleva a seguir no es un argumento sino la práctica de la médium y la disciplina interior de concentración con que trabajaba horas sin fatiga visible; el tramo se corta donde la plana termina y sigue en la siguiente.

«At this time I would like to give special thanks to the fourteen members of the Michael group who gave generously of their time and allowed me to use their material as well as themselves (with changed names) in the text. Gratitude is also due Sharon Jarvis, my editor at Playboy Press, who has been unstinting in her encouragement; to Terry Garey, who helped me organize the material; to Lyndall MacCowan, who prepared the manuscript and found her way through more than a thousand file cards; and most particularly, a great deal of thanks to Jessica Lansing for making all her records and her special gift available to Michael and to this book» — el agradecimiento nominal del Preface de 1978: los catorce miembros del grupo que prestaron su material y sus personas con nombres cambiados, la editora de Playboy Press, quienes organizaron el material y prepararon el manuscrito, y la médium por dar acceso a sus registros.

«Had anyone told me when I started going to Michael-sessions back in the mid-1970s that I would still be attending them twenty-seven years later, I would have thought that absurd. Not that I wasn’t interested, for I most certainly was, but as fascinating as Michaels’ material was, I could not envision myself staying with it for any significant length of time. Which just goes to show you» — Yarbro abre la nueva introducción de 2005 midiendo el tiempo transcurrido contra su propia expectativa: veintisiete años de sesiones que en los años setenta le habrían parecido absurdos.

«For those of you encountering this material for the first time, let me say that Michael is a reunited Mid-Causal Plane Entity of more than a thousand individual souls, a teacher who talk in the plural, and so I have borrowed from one of the group members in order to avoid a grammatical mare’s nest, and will refer to them as the Michaels, so that saying “they”and using plural verbs will not be too confusing» — la presentación que el volumen hace del ente para el lector nuevo, y de paso el cambio de número: Michael es, según el libro, una entidad reunida del Plano Mid-Causal de más de mil almas individuales, un maestro que habla en plural, y por eso Yarbro toma de un miembro del grupo el nombre *the Michaels* para evitar el enredo gramatical.

«In the intervening years since the Michael group began, many people have come and gone from the group: a very few have died; some have left; some have left and then returned; some have divorced and one has left; some have left, returned, and left again; some have left but continued to ask questions by phoning or e-mailing them in for sessions; some have moved away geographically and participate only through phone-ins. A very small number—fewer than a dozen—have only participated by phoning in or e-mailing their questions, having been brought into the group by one of the members and okayed by» — el censo de idas y venidas del grupo en veintisiete años, dicho sin cifras redondas: muertos, salidas, regresos, divorcios, quienes siguen preguntando por teléfono o correo electrónico, y los que solo participan así.

«The characters in this book are combinations of actual group members, which was done for reasons of privacy, and which I will continue when providing additional information, identifying persons only by Role and Cycle when that is required» — la declaración que gobierna la lectura de todos los personajes del libro, y que Yarbro da como decisión de privacidad: son combinaciones de miembros reales, y en el material nuevo solo se los identifica por Role y por Cycle.

«In the early years of the group, exact transcription of the Michaels’ communications was not required, even though the answers were read back, but over time, the standard of transcription steadily increased. Now, where the transcripts disagree, the variations will be included for your comparison. In preparing this new edition, I have spoken with many present and former group members, asking what they would like to see added, deleted, or changed. Where such alterations are present, they will be identified as such» — el otro cambio que la edición de 2005 declara sobre sí misma: la transcripción exacta no se exigía al principio y fue subiendo de estándar, las variantes entre transcripciones se incluyen para comparación, y las alteraciones pedidas por los miembros se marcan como tales.

«For those who are familiar with this book in its earlier incarnation, you will be glad to know that the all-caps style for the Michaels’ comments has finally been set aside, and instead, the Michaels’ remarks will be set in this sans serif typeface in order to differentiate it from the rest of the text. The additional chapter at the end is entirely the Michaels, and so is entirely set in sans serif» — la regla tipográfica de la edición de 2005 y su historia: las mayúsculas sostenidas de la versión anterior se retiran y lo del dictado pasa a la sans serif, y el capítulo añadido al final es enteramente del dictado.

«As has been the case from the beginning, I am often asked if I believe what the Michaels teach; I still answer “Most of the time,” for although in general the information has proved correct far more often than not, I don’t swallow it whole, nor do I expect anyone else to. However, I hope you will find, as I do, that the Michaels’ perspective and insights are still fascinating. As the Michaels have frequently reminded us, Belief is not required» — la respuesta de Yarbro a la pregunta por su propia creencia, veintisiete años después y con el límite dentro: *most of the time*, porque la información le ha resultado correcta más veces que no, sin tragársela entera ni esperar que nadie lo haga; y la frase del propio dictado que cita, que la creencia no se exige.

«And although the Michaels can be eloquent, their version of English is all their own. Grammar and syntax as the Michaels use them, are unique and consistent, and have been through five mediums and almost thirty years» — lo que Yarbro sostiene sobre la lengua del dictado, que es a la vez el dato más fuerte que da del arreglo: gramática y sintaxis propias, únicas y consistentes, sostenidas a lo largo de cinco medios y casi treinta años.

«Many thanks to Paula Guran and Cælum Press for bringing this work back into print, and to allowing me to insert and expand on the Michaels’ remarks. May this prove one of the Michaels’ favorite reminders: There is no way you cannot learn» — el cierre de la nueva introducción, que agradece a la editora y a la casa el regreso a la imprenta y el permiso de insertar y ampliar lo del dictado, y termina con otra frase que atribuye al dictado, que no hay manera de no aprender.

«the rest. Most of the current group has been participating in it for more than a decade, and there are still two members who have been in the group as long or longer than I have. About a dozen of those» — la antigüedad de los miembros en 2005: la mayoría lleva más de una década y quedan dos que llevan tanto o más que Yarbro; el tramo se corta al fin de plana y sigue en la siguiente.

«During the last decade, two members who were part of the group before I joined have offered me their transcripts of early sessions, in order to augment or supplement some of the early information in this» — el aparato de transcripciones que la edición de 2005 incorpora: dos miembros anteriores al ingreso de Yarbro le ofrecieron sus propias transcripciones de sesiones tempranas; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk, dentro de la misma plana, y sigue en el chunk siguiente.

«book, which, when comparing the transcripts they had made to those from which I worked, felt that some important parts had been left out. I have accepted their generosity gladly, and pass along thanks to them, without mentioning their names, as they requested. One is a Mature Priest and one is an Old Scholar; when I use material from their transcripts, I will identify whose transcripts are being used» — la continuación de esa misma frase: quienes le dieron las transcripciones veían omisiones al cotejarlas con las suyas, pidieron no ser nombrados —un Mature Priest y un Old Scholar— y Yarbro declara que identificará de quién es cada transcripción que use.

«Over time the Michaels have augmented earlier remarks not only with explanations, but often indicating when an answer has been specific to an individual or individual question, and when it has a more general application. From time to time, the Michaels provide one or more volunteered “downloads” on topics of group interests. These have ranged over such diverse subjects from the dangers of» — la práctica que el volumen llama *downloads*: exposiciones que el dictado ofrece por su cuenta sobre temas de interés del grupo, después de aclarar cuándo una respuesta fue específica de una persona y cuándo tiene alcance general; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«over-population, and the role of esthetics in individual lives as shaped by cultural influences bearing on it, to the function and perceptions of physical senses, to the very nature of evolution, both of the physical plane and of the Tao» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la lista de temas de esos *downloads*: de la superpoblación y el papel de la estética en la vida individual a la función de los sentidos físicos y la naturaleza de la evolución del plano físico y del Tao.

«who have left the group have gone on to other studies, or have lost interest in this kind of work. At present, our youngest member is in his late 20s, the oldest is in his early 70s; most of the members are professionals, five have their own businesses (I include myself in that number); two are in the trades; one is a civil servant; one is in the medical profession; we have our usual assortment of musicians and writers as well as a pair of tough-minded engineers» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: adónde fueron los que se marcharon, y la composición del grupo en 2005 por edad y por oficio, de los veintitantos a los setenta y tantos, con mayoría de profesionales.

«Over the years we have had more musicians, social workers, physicists, physicians, psychiatrists, lawyers, actors, and artists in our numbers. In the last twenty-seven years, we have only three times voted to ask a member to leave the group, which strikes me as a pretty good record, all things considered. And before you ask, the group is still closed. New members are brought into the group only after the group agrees, and one person saying “no” is sufficient to turn down a proposed member. I am not permitted to recommend members» — los oficios que pasaron por el grupo a lo largo de los años y las tres reglas que Yarbro declara de su funcionamiento: solo tres veces en veintisiete años se votó pedirle a alguien que se fuera, el grupo sigue cerrado, un solo *no* basta para rechazar a un candidato y ella no puede recomendar miembros.

«We are here with you tonight. With that phrase the entity known as Michael introduced itself to» — la primera frase que el libro atribuye al dictado y, pegada a ella, la narración de Yarbro que la data: una noche de octubre de 1970, por el tablero. El tramo se corta al fin de renglón de la plana.

«Jessica Lansing on a pleasant night in October of 1970. Jessica, then thirty-two, is a publicist by profession, a well-educated woman with an extensive background in the arts religion, psychology, and history. Her husband, Walter, is a building contractor; a pleasant-faced man with an abiding interest in all aspects of engineering. On that particular evening, they were entertaining a number of dinner guests including Craig and Emily Wright. There were four other guests, but they were not to participate in the extraordinary event that would occur» — Yarbro presenta a la médium con el nombre cambiado y da su oficio, su edad y su formación, y presenta al marido y a la pareja de invitados que participaron; los otros cuatro invitados quedan fuera del suceso.

«Jessica and Walter Lansing had long been interested in parapsychology and psychic studies and occasionally tried their hands at different techniques, but with no significant results. On that October night they had decided to try the Ouija board that Jessica had been given as a gift. The dinner party was not going well; the mixture of guests had not “clicked» — el arranque que Yarbro narra sin ceremonia alguna: interés anterior por la parapsicología sin resultados, un tablero de ouija recibido de regalo y una cena que no estaba saliendo bien.

«I had my doubts about the board, of course,” Jessica says now very matter-of-factly. “Sometimes I still do. What startled me at first was that it was so unexpected» — la médium, citada por Yarbro, declara su propia duda en presente y no solo en pasado, y sitúa lo que la sorprendió en lo inesperado y no en lo asombroso.

«This letting go of expectations, although Jessica did not realize it then, was crucial to opening up that part of her mind through which the entity Michael operates. That night she had ceased to want the board to work, her mind was open and, though alert, it was wandering somewhat. Walter, too, was becoming restless and their other guests were talking quietly over coffee in the living room while Craig and Emily sat with Jessica and Walter in the dining room. They were comfortable and very much at ease, not upset or hostile» — la explicación que Yarbro da del mecanismo, y es suya y no del dictado: soltar la expectativa fue lo que abrió esa parte de la mente de la médium por la que, según el libro, opera el ente.

«It was then that the planchette began to move, slowly at first, and then briskly. The words were spelled out, and the message read: We are here with you tonight» — la escena de la primera respuesta, narrada por Yarbro: la plancheta se mueve despacio y luego rápido, y las palabras deletreadas dan el mensaje con que abre el capítulo.

«Reaction ranged from derision to confusion to curiosity. Walter was quite disturbed, insisting that he had had no part in that comment, that the planchette had just “moved.” He thought that Jessica might have done it, but she insisted that if anyone had, it was Walter. Emily was the one who thought to ask who “We” might be» — las reacciones del grupo aquella noche, repartidas por Yarbro entre burla, confusión y curiosidad, con la sospecha mutua de haber movido la plancheta y la pregunta de Emily Wright por la identidad del plural.

«Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my practice as a surgeon,” he says, “it’s that people will find a way to express what’s frightening them or angering them. Often it comes out in illness. It’s one of the most difficult problems doctors have to deal with. Michael has warned us about this tendency many times. Many illnesses have psychosomatic origins, and with something as chancy as a Ouija board, well, I was suspicious let’s put it that way» — Craig, cirujano según el libro, da la razón de su desconfianza desde su oficio: la gente encuentra cómo expresar lo que la asusta o la enoja, muchas veces por la enfermedad, y un tablero de ouija le parecía una salida demasiado incierta.

«is,” she continues reflectively, “that Craig was the one who was most anxious to go on. I was scared and Walter was reluctant and Emily was alarmed, but that skeptic over there”—she nods toward Craig—“he was all for it» — el reparto de posiciones aquella noche según la médium: el escéptico del grupo fue el más ansioso por seguir, mientras ella estaba asustada, el marido reticente y Emily alarmada.

«You may call us anything you wish. “We were nonplussed,” Walter says. “None of us knew what to say to that, but even though I felt damned silly, I asked the board what we would call it if we wanted to make contact with it again. Was there some name that whatever-it-was would accept?” The last name a fragment of this entity used was Michael» — las dos respuestas del dictado a la pregunta por su nombre: primero la deja al arbitrio de quien pregunta y después da el nombre como el último que usó un fragmento de esa entidad, no como el suyo propio. La segunda frase va precedida de la narración intermedia de Yarbro.

«Each soul is a part of a larger body, an entity. Each entity is made up of about one thousand souls, each of which enters the Physical plane as many times as is necessary to experience all aspects of life and achieve human understanding. At the end of the Cycles on the Physical plane, the fragments once again reunite as we have reunited» — la doctrina del alma y la entidad tal como el dictado la enuncia en la primera sesión: cada alma es parte de un cuerpo mayor, cada entidad reúne unas mil almas, cada una entra al plano físico cuantas veces haga falta, y al terminar los ciclos los fragmentos vuelven a reunirse.

«We are of the Mid-Causal plane, was the prompt correction. The Astral plane is accessible to the Physical plane. We are not» — la corrección que el dictado hace a quien lo llamó *astral guru*, y que es donde el libro sitúa al ente: del plano Mid-Causal, no del astral, que es el accesible desde el físico.

«We are not the path to spiritual enlightenment. We offer a way to human understanding based on our own experience, first as humans ourselves in both troubled and tranquil times and now as the reintegrated fragments of a Causal body no longer alive as you know it but still with keen awareness of what being human entails» — lo que el dictado declara no ser y lo que declara ofrecer: no un camino a la iluminación espiritual sino una vía a la comprensión humana basada en la experiencia propia, primero como humanos y ahora como fragmentos reintegrados de un cuerpo causal.

«We are not the path. We are an ancient entity that comes to all who ask [and whose Life Plan and Life-Task support this work. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la misma negativa repetida, con el añadido entre corchetes que la edición de 2005 toma de la transcripción de un miembro: el alcance se acota a quien lo pide y cuyo Life Plan y Life-Task sostengan ese trabajo.

«Our purpose is to teach some understanding of the evolution on the Physical plane so that the student can reach some insight into human behavior which will enable him then to stop brooding over interpersonal relationships or the lack thereof and concentrate on personal Life Plans» — el propósito que el dictado declara para sí: enseñar algo de la evolución en el plano físico para que el estudiante deje de rumiar sus relaciones y se concentre en su propio plan de vida.

«Human behavior at times defies understanding until a teacher can bring this understanding about; then the student must agree that the teacher’s words are right and true. In other words, the student must realize within himself that the teaching is true. Understanding occurs when the student can go on to agape [the Greek concept of selfless and nonsexually expressed unconditional love], which is the goal» — la doctrina del maestro y el estudiante, con el corchete donde el volumen glosa el término griego: la comprensión no se impone, el estudiante tiene que reconocer dentro de sí que la enseñanza es cierta, y la meta es el agape.

«If one is to seek the path to spiritual enlightenment one must first become aware of one’s own inner humanness and exploit this to its fullest. If one is to seek the highest truth of all, one must first be able to recognize what is false—in other words, the lies must be told before the truth can be sought. In order to understand, there must be agreement on all levels. Love is the truth toward which we all aspire. In this we include ourselves and other entities like ourselves still seeking» — el cierre del capítulo primero, donde el dictado pone la mentira antes de la verdad como orden necesario y declara que también él y otras entidades como él siguen buscando.

«There is no exalted purpose behind human life. The life itself is the purpose and is only one stage of evolution, which proceeds in an awesomely ordered, unalterable line until the created in effect evolves to become the creator. We prefer not to use the word God in speaking of the ultimate creative force of the universe» — la tesis más desnuda del dictado en la primera sesión: no hay propósito exaltado detrás de la vida humana, la vida misma es el propósito y es una etapa de una evolución ordenada e inalterable hasta que lo creado se vuelve creador; y la negativa a usar la palabra Dios.

«From this Tao comes all things physical and nonphysical; to this Tao must all things return, each in its time and only when each has evolved to that point» — la fórmula con que el dictado responde a la pregunta por el término chino: del Tao viene todo lo físico y lo no físico y a él ha de volver todo, cada cosa a su tiempo y solo cuando haya evolucionado hasta ese punto.

«I felt very spacey that night,” she says now. “I thought I was in another world, and I suppose in a way I was. I kept thinking that none of it should be happening. And I wondered, ‘why me?’ I mean, look at me. I’m a sensible married woman. I’m forty. I’ve got a teen-aged daughter. I work in public relations. I’m not exactly the sort of woman usually exploring the occult» — la médium, citada por Yarbro, se describe a sí misma por lo que no encaja: mujer casada y sensata, con hija adolescente y trabajo en relaciones públicas, no la clase de mujer que explora lo oculto. La cifra de la edad que da aquí no es la que Yarbro da en el capítulo primero.

«It is easy to agree with Jessica Lansing. She sits in her high-ceilinged living room dressed in a neat suit. Her hair is light brown, a short pageboy cut. She is wearing a pair of jade earrings, but none of the bangles, bracelets, or shawls that one usually associates with many of those pursuing the occult. She is an attractive woman, not much different from those who live in the other houses on this woodsy hill. Her hazel eyes are direct and intelligent; she has a ready laugh and a subdued charm» — el retrato que Yarbro hace de la médium, construido entero sobre lo que no lleva: ni brazaletes ni chales de los que se asocian a quien anda en lo oculto.

«You know, when Michael said that there was no way to end the cycles prematurely, I was shocked. I’d read some of the Hindu religious writings, and I remembered what had been said about that. The worship of Kali is supposed to extinguish the soul once and for all. Buddhism also teaches that the soul wants to return to Nirvana and be free of the burdens of rebirth. This seemed a direct contradiction of what I had read» — la médium pone lo dictado en contradicción con lo que había leído: el culto a Kali como extinción del alma y el budismo como vuelta al Nirvana libre del renacer, contra la negativa del dictado a que los ciclos se acorten.

«There is no premature return to the Tao. Evolution is an extremely slow and painstaking process, for only perfection becomes the stuff of which» — la respuesta del dictado a esa objeción: no hay vuelta prematura al Tao porque la evolución es lenta y penosa y solo la perfección sirve de material a los universos; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«universes are made. We are far from that perfection, even on our exalted plane: we cannot even define perfection [as the Tao achieves it (Priest’s transcript)] which is the end point of evolution. We can only know that it exists because we sense a higher state in those above us, just as you can only sense higher centers in exalted souls on your planet» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 toma de otra transcripción: ni siquiera en su plano pueden definir la perfección, y solo saben que existe porque perciben un estado superior en los de encima.

«Human understanding is the lesson of the Physical plane; without it, there can be no growth of the soul. To strive for spiritual enlightenment without gaining human understanding is to disregard the real purpose of your existence on the Physical plane. We cannot stress this enough. To this end, we make this teaching available to all who ask [when the Life-Task makes such study “applicable” as well as contributory. That does not mean that such study is an “error,” only that for many it is included in the Life-Task, which provides a kind of “added incentive” to pursue such interests in this, or any number of other, forms. For those who have no such factor in the Life Plan and who choose such pursuits, the study is valid, of course, but it may not be as “central” to the focus of the life that it is when it is “part of the package.” (Scholar’s transcript)» — la lección que el dictado declara propia del plano físico, con el largo corchete que la edición de 2005 añade desde otra transcripción para acotar a quién le toca este estudio y a quién no; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That first night none of the four anticipated that these sessions would become a regular part of their lives, taking up many hours, and with transcriptions running over two thousand pages» — Yarbro mide lo que aquella noche nadie esperaba: sesiones vueltas parte regular de la vida de los cuatro, con transcripciones de más de dos mil páginas.

«This entity perceives itself as a part of the greater whole that is the oneness. This entity also perceives all of its fragments making up the whole, much as you perceive the individual parts of the anatomic structure. We would have to, at this point in our own evolution, agree that there is a pervasive cosmic awareness that is certainly present at the Tao. It is extremely doubtful, however, that those lofty entities on the Buddhic plane really long for the personalities they left behind aeons ago. What is lost is not the perception of self—what is lost is the personality’s perception of the apartness, the separateness which is an illusion of the Physical plane» — cómo se percibe a sí mismo el dictado, según lo que dice: parte del todo único y a la vez perceptor de sus propios fragmentos; y lo que sostiene que se pierde al reunirse no es la percepción del yo sino la de la separación, que llama ilusión del plano físico.

«Reason. Man has always endeavored through the creation of chaos, or of a chaotic system (they’re one and the same), to create the illusion of complexity which exists on the Physical plane. This illusion of complexity, that which we choose to call false order, by its very chaotic nature creates order of a sort easily incorporated into the belief systems of those who are» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la razón: el hombre crea el caos para producir la ilusión de complejidad del plano físico, y de ese falso orden sale un orden que los sistemas de creencia incorporan; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«limited to it. The concept of a physical god was created out of this very chaos—the necessity to solidify. The solidification of the cosmos—in an ironic sense, is true, of course. Since there is no such thing as nothing… No-thing. But the solidification of the cosmos is man’s first step toward explaining away those unexplainable phenomena with which he is confronted when he first confronts the physical universe. He must, of course, reduce it to the smallest possible limits» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: el dios físico como creación de ese caos, la solidificación del cosmos como primer paso del hombre para explicar lo inexplicable, y la reducción a los límites más pequeños posibles.

«You, Emily, have accepted restrictions that you do not need. Your soul does not seek an anthropomorphic god. The soul has searched through the ages for truth. The Scholar has sought to intellectualize all experiences of ecstasy and has therefore denied the experience. Being now in touch, however timorously, with truth, is both threatening and incredibly inviting. To allow the experience, ritual or some form, that will enable the intellect to recede could be beneficial. More talking about it is not Good Work, and merely prolongs the agony that must, of course, [in almost all human fragments. (Scholar’s transcript)] precede the ecstasy. We patiently await your trying another doorway» — la respuesta del dictado a una miembro del grupo que se declara religiosa y se siente aludida: la reduce a restricciones que dice que no necesita y le propone dejar que el intelecto se retire por el rito o alguna forma, en vez de seguir hablando del asunto.

«Belief is not required: you will reincarnate anyway. A leaf does not have to believe in photosynthesis to turn green» — la frase que el volumen repite después como divisa del dictado, respondida a quien declara no poder creer en la reencarnación: la creencia no se exige, como la hoja no cree en la fotosíntesis para verdear.

«Michael,” Craig said as he stared at the Ouija board, “is a smart-ass.” The others laughed then, a little embarrassed at Craig’s statement. “We agreed with him,” Jessica says merrily. “That made it worse. It’s true, though. Michael is a smart-ass» — el juicio de un miembro del grupo sobre el ente, repetido por la médium sin desmentirlo y hecho suyo por el grupo entero; es de los pocos lugares del libro donde la voz del grupo califica al dictado.

«Primarily because the word God in your society has become masculinized and requires the use of the masculine pronoun, thus perpetuating the personification of the universal creative force, which is ethereal and not physical. This cannot be personified, even for teaching purposes with this cadre [the groups of students in contact with the entity Michael]. It would be treading on thin ice for this entity. For us, this teaching is a form of evolution. Unfortunately the word god gives rise to anthropomorphic fantasies that have no place in this teaching. For our purposes we shall call this constant creative force the Tao, for it is impossible for the western mind to construct any visual image around this word» — la razón que el dictado da de esa negativa y el término que pone en su lugar: *God* se ha masculinizado y arrastra la personificación de una fuerza creadora que no es física, y llama Tao a esa fuerza constante porque la mente occidental no puede construirle imagen; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«One of those women hasn’t spoken to me since,” Jessica says, a trace of a frown between her brows. “I know it was rude of us to ignore them as we did, but this seemed so much more important than an evening of whist» — el precio social que la médium declara de aquella primera noche: una invitada que no volvió a hablarle, y el reconocimiento de que fue grosero ignorar a los otros invitados.

«Well, now that I think about it, this was much more important than whist. I wish they hadn’t felt so… threatened by what we were doing. There’s nothing to be afraid of in what Michael has to say. It doesn’t always make you happy, but there’s nothing to fear in it.” She sounds a little defensive as she speaks and her well-manicured hands tighten on the arms of her bentwood rocking chair. “I wish more people were willing to accept this material. I never talk about this at work. It’s unfortunate that this has to be so secretive. But my boss wouldn’t know how to handle this, if he was aware of it. And it could be so useful» — la segunda mitad de esa misma declaración: que no hay nada que temer en lo que se dicta aunque no siempre alegre, y el secreto en el trabajo que ella lamenta porque le parece que sería útil.

«The realities, of course, depend upon the perceiver. This session itself is a good example. Some in this room perceive us as real. Others do not. The same could be said of unidentified flying objects and other unexplained phenomena. Another concept of reality begins with the widespread agreement that a certain object is “real.” We think that Bishop Berkeley had a few words on this subject» — la doctrina de la realidad que el dictado enuncia poniendo la sesión misma como ejemplo: unos en la sala lo perciben real y otros no, y lo mismo dice de los objetos volantes no identificados; de ahí pasa a la realidad por acuerdo generalizado y remite al obispo Berkeley.

«That first night the session lasted almost five hours. “We were» — la duración de la primera sesión según Yarbro, cinco horas; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«all so groggy we could hardly speak,” Jessica recalls. “There wasn’t a coherent sentence between us. I kept thinking that I didn’t want it to be over. Then Walter got up enough nerve to ask if Michael would still be around to communicate with us if we stopped the session for a while.” The answer came back quickly. By all means. We now have access to eternity» — la continuación de esa misma frase en el chunk siguiente: el agotamiento del grupo, la resistencia de la médium a que terminara, y la última respuesta del dictado a la pregunta de si seguiría disponible.

«When those seeking to “define their lives” beyond the limits of choice cling to this, or any teaching, the purpose of such work is often lost, for the transformation of “information” to “dogma” is always a hazard of such teachings, and far from the intention of any Mid-Causal teacher. We have nothing we impart other than information, and no goal in its imparting other than to answer those questions we are able to answer, with the caveats that we cannot predict and we will not “tell you what to do,” since that would abrogate choice, which is in diametric opposition to our purpose in providing information. We would wish to underscore that point: we have no intention of communicating “dogma,” but only “information” which you are, of course, free to use or not, as you choose. However, if you make “dogma” of our teaching, we would wish to point out that your purpose in doing so does not align with our purpose in providing it. (Priest’s transcript)» — el bloque *Chapter One: Additional Information*, que la edición de 2005 toma de la transcripción de un miembro y pone en boca del dictado: la advertencia contra convertir la información en dogma, la negativa a predecir y a decir qué hacer, y la razón, que eso anularía la elección; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There is, of course, an ultimate reality that is absolute. This can only be glimpsed when the Logos is brought to bear. Physical things are very real on the Physical plane, and should be respected as such in order to avoid possible serious collisions with doors that are really and truly there» — la realidad última que el dictado declara absoluta y solo vislumbrable cuando se trae a colación el Logos, con la advertencia práctica de que lo físico es muy real en su plano y conviene respetarlo para no chocar con las puertas.

«On the Astral plane, things are truly real on the Astral plane. In another frame of reference the same admonition holds true. We on this plane also perceive certain Causal phenomena as real, and there is agreement. We believe that holds true for the high planes. This same subject has been occupying philosophers happily now for many thousands of years. There is, oddly enough, always an opposing opinion that goes something like “accept that nothing is real.” Does this suggest anything to you» — el cierre de esa exposición: cada plano tiene su realidad y su acuerdo, el asunto lleva milenios ocupando a los filósofos y siempre aparece la opinión contraria de que nada es real.

«To tell you the truth,” Jessica says ruefully, “we were all pretty scared. At first I was afraid that nothing would happen, and then I was afraid that there would be more material from Michael, and I don’t know which feeling was worse» — el miedo del grupo dicho por la médium con las dos puntas a la vez: miedo a que no pasara nada y miedo a que hubiera más material.

«I kept thinking about all the warnings in the Bible about various malicious spirits, and I didn’t know what to think. The more I considered it, the more worried I got» — una miembro del grupo sitúa su temor en las advertencias bíblicas sobre espíritus maliciosos, que es el único lugar del capítulo donde la objeción es religiosa y no de método.

«When I first attended a session, my life was in a shambles. I’d tried shrinks and ministers and every other kind of therapy you can imagine. I did it all. I’d lost my religious faith, my sense of direction, my self-esteem, the whole works. I figured this couldn’t be any worse than what I’d already been through, so when Craig suggested I come to a session, I did» — la miembro que se volvió mecanógrafa del grupo cuenta en qué estado llegó: psiquiatras, ministros y toda terapia imaginable, sin fe religiosa, sin dirección y sin autoestima.

«This wasn’t a presto-chango wonder cure, but it gave me answers. I’ve gone back to my church, and I feel comfortable about that decision, which I wouldn’t have been at the beginning, you know?” Lucy glances at the others. “Michael isn’t out to change anything or anybody, but if you pay attention to what he says, you can make changes in yourself, if you want to. After a while, I wanted to» — y lo que declara haber sacado: no una cura milagrosa sino respuestas, la vuelta a su iglesia y la idea de que el dictado no busca cambiar a nadie sino que uno se cambie si quiere.

«For about the first six months,” Jessica sighs. “Then the group got a lot bigger. Most people come only for a few meetings and then leave. This is not easy information to deal with over a long period. It’s very demanding. However, there are about thirty people who have been with the group for more than a year, and, of course, some of us have been at it for longer than that.” She looks at her guests. There are ten other people in her living room. “Most of us here have been actively involved getting this information and attending sessions for more than six years. As you know, I’ve been at this about eight years. Lucy has been with us almost eight years. Leah and Arnold have been with us about seven years. Sam Chasen, over there, is a social worker and he’s been with us off and on for about seven years. David Swan, the tall guy with the turquoise eyes, has been with us a little over six years. Corrine Lawton, the woman with the beautiful silver hair, has been in the group about five years. She’s the most expert one in the group on Eastern philosophy, and she’s been a great deal of help. The last one, over by the window, is Tracy Rowland. She and Craig and I are the ones who work the board for this group» — la médium censa el grupo y su rotación: seis meses de núcleo, la mayoría que viene unas pocas veces y se va porque el material es exigente, unas treinta personas de más de un año, y los tres que trabajan el tablero; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This is not the sort of group most people would expect to find involved in this sort of work. They are not bohemians, dropouts, or thrill-seekers» — Yarbro declara de entrada lo que el grupo no es, y con eso fija el tono de todo el capítulo: ni bohemios, ni marginales, ni buscadores de emociones.

«I came to philosophy through math,” Corrine says. “Mathematics, the further you get into it, is more and more like philosophy and art. I found that I couldn’t confine myself to the academic side alone, that I had to be more involved in all aspects of it, and over the years, that’s drawn me to various esoteric teachings. Most of the teachings, of course, don’t hold up under this kind of scrutiny, but those that do continue to fascinate me. That’s why I’m still in the Michael group» — una miembro del grupo, matemática consultora según el libro, da su razón de estar ahí: la mayoría de las enseñanzas esotéricas no aguanta ese escrutinio y las que lo aguantan la siguen interesando.

«At first it was scary, as Jessica says. The planchette really does move by itself. I tried at first to think of reasons for it: perhaps subterranean water or sunspots or earth tremors or something devious in the back of my brain. But I’m more used to it now, and I’ve stopped looking for ‘rational’ explanations and simply take it as it comes» — otra de las que trabajan el tablero describe el fenómeno desde dentro y la lista de explicaciones que se buscó: agua subterránea, manchas solares, temblores o algo torcido en su propio cerebro, hasta dejar de buscar explicaciones racionales.

«I wish now I’d been here the night they had a more-or-less physical manifestation of Michael. The first time I was told about it, I was relieved that I wasn’t in the group yet, but now, I think I missed something very important» — la misma miembro sitúa la manifestación física como el suceso que lamenta haberse perdido, después de haberse alegrado de no estar.

«Michael took it pretty well,” Jessica goes on. “He said that there was no way to force the daughter into cleaning her room, and that this woman would do better to understand why her daughter wanted to live in chaotic surroundings. He said that her husband and his brother had been comrades-at-arms in three earlier lives, and that those bonds are never broken. He flatly refused to predict» — cómo respondió el dictado, según la médium, a las preguntas domésticas que empezaron a llegar en sobres cerrados, y la regla que el libro le atribuye desde aquí: se niega de plano a predecir.

«Your husband has fulfilled certain Agreements that he made between lives. It is only the cultural and societal definitions of the Physical plane that define such relationships as legitimate or adulterous» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por el adulterio de un marido, que es donde el sistema pone los Agreements por encima de la calificación moral: lo que define una relación como legítima o adúltera son las definiciones culturales y sociales del plano físico.

«Your neighbor comes because she feels she is welcome. You must make up your mind if you want her there or not, and then tell her how you feel. We realize you fear to give offense, but you must make up your mind which is more important to you—your privacy or her feelings» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por la vecina inoportuna: devuelve la decisión a quien pregunta y le nombra el miedo a ofender como lo que hay que resolver.

«We are not the Ann Landers of the cosmos» — la respuesta con que el dictado corta la tercera pregunta de esa sesión, y que Yarbro presenta como el fin de su paciencia.

«We can manifest through any of you in this room. It would require» — lo que el dictado sostiene sobre su propia vía: puede manifestarse por cualquiera de los presentes en trance ligero; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«a light trance, which all of you are capable of achieving and maintaining [although many of you would make an effort to “shape” the answers. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 toma de otra transcripción y que introduce la reserva: muchos de ellos se esforzarían por dar forma a las respuestas.

«We had moved into the house only eight months before. I mention that because I want you to understand that the house was brand new. Some of the windows hadn’t been opened yet. The laundry hadn’t been hooked up. We hadn’t installed a pet door for the dog and cats yet. It was a foggy night, so everything was closed up» — la médium fija las condiciones materiales de la manifestación antes de contarla: casa nueva de ocho meses, ventanas sin abrir, lavadora sin conectar, sin puerta para los animales y noche de niebla con todo cerrado.

«It was a little after ten, and there were eight people at the session, not counting Jessica and me. The couch was against the far wall rather than where it is now. The Franklin stove hadn’t been installed. We checked around the house afterward to see if there were any openings we had neglected, but we didn’t find anything» — el marido completa la escena con la hora, el número de asistentes y la posición de los muebles, y declara que revisaron después la casa sin hallar aberturas.

«We are not of the Physical plane, Michael began, But our existence is valid, nonetheless. For that reason, we will manifest to you in a way that is not physical by your standards. We are not doing this to frighten you. We are only interested in assisting you to verify us» — lo que el dictado anuncia antes de la manifestación: que su existencia es válida aunque no sea del plano físico y que se manifestará de un modo que no es físico según el criterio de ellos, no para asustarlos sino para que se concentren en la enseñanza. El troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«First,” Jessica says, “the temperature in the room dropped. I mean just dropped about twenty degrees, like walking into a refrigerator. There was nothing gradual about it. Then a wind went around the room, blowing things over. The sheet music on the piano was scattered all over the room, the paperbacks on top of the bookcase were blown off, two pictures that were matted but not framed were blown off the walls, and anything that could rattle, did» — lo que la médium declara que ocurrió: caída brusca de unos veinte grados y un viento que recorrió la habitación tirando partituras, libros y cuadros sin enmarcar.

«Only once,” Walter says with an expression of relief. “That was a little over a year ago, when we had a very troubled person attending a few sessions. We all became more and more uncomfortable with him, because it was growing clear that he did not want to truly pay attention to Michael’s teaching. He wanted to be given some sort of instant» — el marido data la única repetición de un suceso así y la vincula a un asistente atribulado que, según él, quería magia instantánea en vez de la enseñanza; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«magic that would change him around. Instead, Michael kept telling him things about karma and Agreements and soul development, and this guy just got madder and madder» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: lo que el dictado le respondía a aquel hombre —karma, Agreements y desarrollo del alma— y el enojo creciente que eso le producía.

«This time, the room seemed to get very dark, as if the lights were failing. It wasn’t really any darker, but there was this shadow gathering in the room. I don’t know how else to express it. The air itself was shadowed» — la médium describe la segunda manifestación por lo que le falta al lenguaje: no más oscuridad real sino una sombra que se juntaba, el aire mismo sombreado.

«According to Michael, it came from the members of that man’s entity who were between lives and who were trying to reach him.” Walter nods to the others as they agree with him. “Michael says that those of us on the Physical plane do have access to these disembodied fragments, but that we tend to reach out to them only in moments of stress. Obviously, for this guy, he was going through some real stress» — la explicación que el grupo atribuye al dictado: la manifestación venía de fragmentos de la entidad de aquel hombre que estaban entre vidas, y a esos fragmentos desencarnados se accede sobre todo en momentos de tensión.

«Of course you must realize that spiritually oriented groups of persons where acceptance is the cardinal rule will attract many lonely, maladjusted persons searching for the reaffirmation of their humanness, and these persons will not be helped to grow spiritually but will bask in the warmth of acceptance for a time. Those spiritually on the true path will still be able to see the sickness. This phenomenon is certainly not unusual. It is only that these groups are founded upon the principles of love and acceptance and often the members fail to confront even the most obnoxious behavior in these spiritual interlopers. What is apparent there is that these persons are not going forward in growth at all and are in fact acting as dead weight and making the path more difficult for others to climb» — la advertencia que el dictado da sobre los grupos de orientación espiritual, y que es de lo más duro que el libro le pone en boca: la regla de aceptación atrae a los solitarios y desajustados, que no crecen y se calientan al sol de la aceptación mientras el grupo no confronta ni la conducta más molesta; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We have been lucky. Though Michael has said that luck has very little to do with it» — la médium acepta la suerte y cita a la vez la objeción del dictado a esa palabra; otra miembro insiste en que es suerte, y el volumen deja el desacuerdo sin resolver.

«It is true, Walter, that this personality cannot love. Only the essence, the intrinsic core of the soul, is capable of loving, and only when its demands are met will you, any of you, truly love. We have suggested to you that the way to achieve this is giving up the personality’s expectations of the experience. You are yet scornful of this truth. Prior expectations poison the experience. Yet, it goes far deeper than this. You are, all of you, part of something much greater than you know, and most of you fear to realize this. Only when you become willing to part with your ultra-precious identification will you glimpse the vastness beyond. Most of you love on your own terms only, and this is not the goal. You must learn to love on no terms. With the troubled young man you asked of, you, Walter, insisted that he accept your aid in order to earn your love. This is not Good Work. If you wish to learn true agape, you must be able to love him without qualification. By love, we do not mean that sentimental outpouring that most often passes for love in this society, or the sexual obsession that is labeled love to make the lust acceptable. We do not mean to imply that affection and sexuality are, of themselves, detrimental, but we do mean that your expectations in these areas are more vulnerable than most» — la doctrina del amor que el dictado enuncia contra un miembro del grupo que quería ayudar al hombre atribulado: solo la esencia ama, las expectativas previas envenenan la experiencia, y amar con condiciones —exigir que el otro acepte la ayuda para ganarse el amor— no es Good Work; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We impart our knowledge impartially. We do not require that you agree. You may reject anything we say. The choice is yours» — la fórmula con que el dictado fija su propio estatuto ante quien lo objeta: imparte sin exigir acuerdo, y lo dicho puede rechazarse.

«During the Astral interval, the study is retrospective and unchangeable. [We do not mean “classes” or “school” for study—we mean fully integrated “reflection” without the imposition of societal or Chief Feature judgments and resultant “fears,” “justifications,” “guilts,” and “shames” which inevitably color the experience of your life, given the nature of ensoulment on the Physical plane, and the “expectations” created by agenda-based teachings, such as, but not limited to, religions. (Priest’s transcript)» — lo que el dictado sostiene del intervalo astral, con el largo corchete que la edición de 2005 toma de otra transcripción para negar que sean clases o escuela y hablar en cambio de reflexión integrada sin los juicios del Chief Feature ni los miedos que las enseñanzas con agenda producen; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«On the Physical plane you have the opportunity to change right up until the moment of the last breath» — la razón por la que, según el dictado, la enseñanza vale la pena: en el plano físico se puede cambiar hasta el último aliento.

«There must be a perception behind the words. The words have been muttered many times in meaningless contexts because they were literally blowing in the wind and addressed to forces completely detached and unable to answer. In order to have this concept made valid, the situation must be apprehended and the plea addressed to the correct source» — la objeción del dictado a la idea de arrepentimiento de última hora que un miembro le atribuye: sin percepción detrás, las palabras se han mascullado en contextos vacíos, dirigidas a fuerzas incapaces de responder.

«The correct source is within you, in the soul that is eternal. That is your only source of assistance in the Physical plane or any other» — dónde sitúa el dictado la fuente correcta, que es donde el libro más se aparta de una figura divina externa: dentro de uno, en el alma eterna, y esa es la única asistencia en cualquier plano.

«From our perspective, no one makes mistakes, no matter how destructive or fear-driven an act—all fragments make choices and live with the ramifications of choice in the present and future lives. Essence seeks balance in order to evolve, and karma eventually produces that balance. (Priest’s transcript)» — el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade desde otra transcripción a la pregunta por los errores: desde esa perspectiva nadie se equivoca por destructivo o temeroso que sea el acto, porque todo fragmento elige y vive las ramificaciones, y el karma produce a la larga el equilibrio.

«is determined by this false personality. How often have you thought that in order to be with Aunt Minnie, you must not talk about the things that interest you most. This does not truly help Aunt Minnie, and it is damaging to your soul’s manifestation» — el ejemplo doméstico con que el dictado cierra esa exposición: callar lo que a uno le interesa para estar con una tía no la ayuda a ella y daña la manifestación del alma propia.

«We did not say that you should not be loving and compassionate, but why should that require you to change in order to please others» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción de que la compasión pide considerar los sentimientos ajenos, que es donde separa amar de acomodarse.

«We would propose an exercise in photography for all of you as follows: begin to photograph your selves’ reaction to suggestion of change with the statement, “I cannot.” Then realize that this is not true. Sometimes the truth will be that you do not possess at the present moment the required skills or knowledge, but more often than not, the truth will be, “I do not want to.” This is vital and a positive step on the path. You can help by photographing each other at crucial moments. All of you are guilty now of using the “I cannot” excuse several times a day. It allows you to shift blame and responsibility very neatly. Most of you are still terrified of responsibility and freedom of choice. It is much easier to be constrained than to choose. When you are constrained you present the picture of the helpless student at the mercy of the cosmos, which is, of course, absurd» — el ejercicio que el dictado propone al grupo, que es de los pocos pasajes prácticos del libro: fotografiarse la reacción de *I cannot* ante toda sugerencia de cambio, para descubrir que casi siempre lo verdadero es *I do not want to*; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It was worse than that,” Lucy corrects her. “I don’t like snakes, you know? I really don’t like snakes. I felt as if there were this huge snake somewhere in the room» — otra miembro objeta esa descripción con la suya, y el volumen imprime la discrepancia entre las dos sin armonizarla: una serpiente enorme en la habitación.

«Well, it’s true enough that the occult fields are full of weirdos and» — el arranque de lo que dice un miembro del grupo sobre el campo, cortado al fin de plana.

«kooks,” David Swan says with a laugh, “but we’ve really been lucky. Over the years there have been more than a hundred people attending sessions at one time or another, and no more than a dozen of them were real whackos. Those that were we spotted very quickly, and most of the time, we weren’t offering what they wanted. No Messiahs here» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la cifra que él pone: no más de una docena de chiflados entre más de cien asistentes a lo largo de los años, y lo que el grupo no ofrecía.

«The soul, sans body, tends to forget the intensity of the experience and the pain. Detached review is almost impossible on the Physical plane. The soul makes its choice between lives, selecting the locale, the socioeconomic status, the parents, all as part of programming the biocomputer. The closer the soul comes to its true essence in life, the less the fragment will have to change to meet the situation» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la elección entre vidas: el alma sin cuerpo olvida la intensidad y el dolor, la revisión desapegada es casi imposible en el plano físico, y el alma elige lugar, estatus socioeconómico y padres como programación de la biocomputadora.

«The artificial personality is a chameleon. The face that you present to the world» — la figura con que el dictado nombra a la personalidad falsa y le adjudica su función; el tramo se corta al fin de plana y sigue en la siguiente.

«of survival is through sexuality. Sexuality is made more difficult by culturally imposed barriers and artificial conditions and societally imposed expectations. There are other barriers. Denial of the pleasures of eating, sleeping, and just biding time on a pleasant day are more. The personality can come up with many such efforts to rationalize why these pleasures should not be experienced: they are not good for you, they cost too much, they waste too much time, they are not useful, they will upset and bewilder others, they distract you, they are not approved by God or the Army or the School or the Neighbors, they are Evil, et cetera» — la continuación de la exposición del dictado sobre las barreras de la personalidad, con la lista entera de razones con que se niega el placer —que no conviene, que cuesta, que hace perder tiempo, que Dios o el Ejército o la Escuela o los Vecinos no lo aprueban—; el tramo abre en la plana anterior.

«We did not say that you should not do so. However, we remind you that those requirements and obligations and responsibilities are often excuses to avoid dealing with more profound and disturbing factors in your life. Think of the husband who works late and diligently every night so that he will not have to face his wife’s very legitimate disappointment and anger. We realize that you have commitments that are quite legitimate, but often you allow your personal agendas to get in the way of your search. By personal agendas we refer in this instance to the irrelevant thoughts flitting through the mind that prevent a focus on insight and the teaching, the projections into the business world and the movie you saw three years ago, an unpaid bill. These and similar items are the sort to which we refer» — la respuesta del dictado a quien invoca las obligaciones: no niega que existan, sostiene que a menudo sirven de excusa para no encarar lo más hondo, y pone el ejemplo del marido que trabaja hasta tarde para no enfrentar el enojo de su mujer; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We would ask you to think about your lives for a moment. When you are gardening, you think about plants and earth and fertilizer and shade and root conditions as well as the weather and the plantness of plants. When you are making a meal you think about smell and taste and texture and hunger and appearance and time and resources. When you listen to music, you think about notes and rhythms and dynamics. This is an automatic concentration, a pattern of concentration that has been learned. Most of the time, if you allow other considerations to intrude, your planting or cooking or listening will not go as well, and you will be disappointed. You will be aware of it at the time. Something will not seem right and you will be easily irritated or frustrated. It is the same with this teaching. As you learn the most workable pattern of concentration, it will be easier to maintain that concentration. At the moment you are easily distracted and frustrated, and too much of what you might call the outside world intrudes. We urge you to be aware of this, and to strive to overcome the temptations of distractions [should you choose to do so, and should you choose to validate your choice. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la analogía con que el dictado explica la concentración —jardinear, cocinar, escuchar música— y la aplica a la enseñanza, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade desde otra transcripción para devolverlo todo a la elección; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We would like to point out to you at this time that many of you are dabblers. You dabble in this and that, tasting all of the fruits, but eating none, and in this same way, you dabble in spiritual growth as well. Now this is all right. There is nothing wrong in such dabbling. It incurs little karma, but on the other hand, it leads “nowhere.” The concept of agape requires the actions of a closely knit group of supportive students in order to be truly expressed. The support of other students is necessary to offset the negativism you often find around you. No one can feel agape in an ivory tower or a hermit’s cell» — el pasaje que, según la médium, hizo irse a cuatro personas del grupo: el dictado los llama *dabblers*, dice que eso no está mal y que incurre en poco karma, pero que no lleva a ninguna parte, y sostiene que el agape pide un grupo de estudiantes que se sostengan.

«When that message came through,” Jessica says reminiscently, “four people left the group in a huff» — la médium mide el efecto de ese pasaje sobre el grupo con la única cifra que da de una deserción: cuatro personas se fueron enojadas.

«Both Arnold and I were bitterly disappointed at the time. We thought we were being put down, when Michael said what he did about dabblers. I know that I’m not wholeheartedly committed to this teaching, but I want to follow it as long as it has answers» — una miembro del grupo declara a la vez el agravio y su propio límite, que el volumen no suaviza: no está entregada de lleno a la enseñanza y la sigue mientras tenga respuestas.

«You may think it odd for a banker to be interested in this kind of thing. I know that our professional image isn’t very metaphysical, but I know there’s more to life than balance sheets, though I suppose you can think of karma as a kind of balance of payments» — el marido de la anterior, banquero según el libro, sitúa su interés contra la imagen de su oficio y traduce el karma a su vocabulario, como una balanza de pagos.

«There are, of course, seven planes in all, each with seven levels. First» — el arranque de la cosmología de los planos que el dictado expone a petición del grupo; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«is the Physical plane. Beyond the upper and lower Astral planes are the Causal plane with seven levels, three low, one Mid-Causal upon which we exist, and three higher levels upon which reside the High Causal Bodies, the Transcendental Soul is contiguous with this plane. We remind you that our Cycles consist of seven levels, just as yours do. The Mental plane is the Akashic plane, which is a “photographic” record of all history. Some very high adepts have access to this plane. On the mental plane reside the Infinite Soul and the low- and mid-Mental bodies. Beyond this are the Buddhic planes, and upon that level are all those souls who have achieved physical communication with the Tao. Beyond this, of course, is the Tao itself» — la cosmología entera de los siete planos con sus siete niveles: el físico, los astrales, el causal donde el dictado sitúa su propia existencia, el mental que es el akásico con el registro fotográfico de toda la historia, los búdicos y el Tao; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Since the soul, between lives, is without a suitable physical vehicle, it must reside on the low Astral plane, since that is the lowest level where a body of the organic sort is not required. Occasionally such Astral souls manifest in various projections, but nothing of the sort have occurred here» — dónde sitúa el dictado al alma entre vidas —el plano astral bajo, por ser el más bajo que no pide cuerpo orgánico— y la salvedad que añade sobre las proyecciones de esas almas.

«Seven is the closest thing we know of to a “universal” number. It expresses not only the three aspects of duality, but the resolution of the dualities. It is thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. In the dualities, or polarities, there are those that are concerned with Expression, Action, and Inspiration, and the seventh is Assimilation. Consider expression, which makes things accessible, either through the act of creating things, building things, and shaping things with its higher polarity, which is the realization of the thing built, created, or shaped. In action, there is the action itself, the exploration, the extension, and the cohesion of the results of the exploration and extension. In inspiration there is the lifting up, and the pursuit of that beyond what has been lifted up. And then, there is the contemplation and understanding of the dualities in a single experience» — la doctrina del siete que el dictado da como lo más cercano a un número universal: los tres aspectos de la dualidad y su resolución, tesis, antítesis y síntesis, repartidos en Expression, Action e Inspiration con Assimilation como séptimo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It is the first step to understanding the search. The casting is not casting out, but rather casting into. The Tao is not a cosmic mother, as you have realized by now. Nor is it a cosmic father. The Tao is not subject to personification. The soul first cast from the Tao is at once closest and furthest from the Tao. The analogy with a human infant is apt but somewhat misleading. The soul that is newly cast from the Tao retains some of that essential alliance with the Tao not unlike the human Infant’s closeness to» — lo que el dictado sostiene del origen del alma: el Tao no echa fuera sino que echa dentro, no es madre ni padre cósmico ni admite personificación, y el alma recién echada está a la vez lo más cerca y lo más lejos; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«its mother, but the human infant is not aware that it is far from the goal and the newly cast soul is. The ladder must be climbed and the Infant Soul is aware of this. Its closeness to the Tao comes from this knowledge. Beyond this, the knowledge is not expanded» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el límite de la analogía dicho por el propio dictado: el niño humano no sabe que está lejos de la meta y el alma recién echada sí, y de ese saber le viene la cercanía.

«In the casting, the total awareness of the eternal play is lost, but not the feeling of loss. The Infant Soul then experiences the loss and the closeness simultaneously. The newly cast soul is again unique in this sense of loss and must start the sorting that later becomes the seeking of the Tao» — lo que se pierde y lo que queda en ese echar, según el dictado: se pierde la conciencia total del juego eterno pero no el sentimiento de pérdida, y de esa pérdida sale la búsqueda.

«If you were you would not be here. Only souls who have begun the search come to this teaching. You have all taken many steps on the path. We are here merely to point the way. How far you go, what you will do with your knowledge, how you will use it, whether you accept it or reject it, is up to you» — la respuesta del dictado a quien pregunta si todos son almas recién echadas, y que es donde vuelve a acotar su propio papel: solo llegan a esta enseñanza los que ya empezaron la búsqueda, y él solo señala el camino.

«Most of you have a great fear of invasion of your private, inner worlds. This is due in part to a low level of trust as well as culturally induced guilt. Many of you are not convinced that others are capable of accepting your» — lo que el dictado atribuye al miedo a que invadan el mundo interior: poca confianza y culpa de origen cultural; el tramo se corta al fin de plana, que además parte la palabra siguiente en dos.

«Many of you need to work on this for this is the false personality digging in for a last ditch stand against the real nature of the soul. All of you have a set of rigid specifications, set by personality, concerning your needs. None of these specifications have true validity; they are only more barriers. We do not insist that you discard these traits overnight. In fact, such drastic measures would probably result in even more difficulties. We only encourage you to be aware of these pressures in your lives and to recognize them for what they are» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el límite dentro: el dictado llama a eso el último atrincheramiento de la personalidad falsa, declara que no exige descartar esos rasgos de un día para otro porque sería peor, y solo pide reconocerlos.

«Michael did a full review of one of my lives; told me all about it. Now, the thing that made it difficult was that it sounded so familiar, like a childhood memory that had stayed just outside my attention and needed one little trigger to bring it into sharp relief. That was bad enough. But Michael told me about historical people who were involved, and mentioned documentation. So I thought I’d investigate. It took me about six months to get all the material, because some of it was in European libraries and could not be obtained over here. That was one time I was glad I work for a museum, let me tell you. Well, as the material came in, I found out that» — un miembro del grupo cuenta el cotejo documental que dice haber hecho de una vida anterior que el dictado le describió, con seis meses de búsqueda en bibliotecas europeas; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«it all fit. There really had been a person that Michael had described. He wasn’t famous, but he had known famous people» — la continuación de esa misma frase en el chunk siguiente, con el resultado que él declara y su límite: la persona existía y no era famosa, pero había conocido a gente famosa.

«If I had half the information on history that has come through the board, I would need three or four major degrees and be able to speak languages I don’t know, including Arabic, Chinese, and one or two major African languages, as well as Mayan, Aztec, and the languages of the American Indian. I can tell you right now that I don’t. I know English, German, some Dutch and Spanish, and a little, a very little, Russian. And that’s it. I don’t have access to the archives of foreign universities, and even if I had, and was inclined to take the time, trouble, and money to get the information, if I could get it, I probably wouldn’t be able to read» — la médium contesta a la sospecha de saber previo con el inventario de lo que declara no saber: las lenguas que harían falta, las que sabe, y la falta de acceso a archivos extranjeros; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Occam’s razor,” Sam remarks. ”It means that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one, among other things. Either Jessica is doing a tremendous job of research and preparation to keep all these things straight and consistent in her head for almost eight years, and is continuing to stay one step ahead of us while holding down a fulltime job, running this house, and being actively involved in three or four community projects, and has done it so secretly and successfully that no one, not even her husband, has found out about it, or there is something that calls itself Michael that speaks to her through the Ouija board» — un miembro del grupo plantea la alternativa entera invocando la navaja de Occam, y la deja sin arbitrar: o la médium sostiene en secreto un trabajo descomunal de investigación durante casi ocho años, o hay algo que se llama Michael y le habla por el tablero; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo; la extracción une *full-time* por el guion de fin de renglón y devuelve *fulltime*; la forma impresa lleva guion.

«I’ve seen her work the board a long time, and I’ve heard her in trance sessions, and I’ve come to accept that she is doing it through the board» — el límite con que ese mismo miembro cierra su alternativa, que es lo más lejos que llega: lo que acepta es que ella lo hace por el tablero, no lo que sea Michael.

«Those first couple of years, though,” Jessica says with some agitation, “they were something. When the sessions first caught on…” She rolls her eyes heavenward. “At first Walter and I would get together with Craig and Emily, oh, maybe once a month, and we’d ask a few questions, very timorously, and Michael would give answers, rather slowly, since I was still resisting it. Then Craig said that he had a couple of friends who might be interested in the sessions, and so they were invited, and we started getting together twice a month, usually on Saturday afternoon since that’s when Craig was able to be with us. Then some more people, like David and Sam and Leah and Arnold and Lucy, started coming to sessions, and the meetings had to be longer, and eventually were happening on both Saturday and Sunday every weekend. Thinking back on it now, it seems unreal. I think we were fortunate to have had so few real difficulties as we did have. With so many people involved, it was pretty chaotic» — la médium narra el crecimiento del grupo en cifras y cadencias: de una vez al mes con cuatro personas a los dos días del fin de semana, con sesiones más largas y caos creciente; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«I put my foot down after a while,” Walter adds. “I came home one Friday and found sixteen people camping out in the living room, and that was too much» — el marido pone el límite y lo mide con la escena que lo produjo: dieciséis personas acampadas en la sala un viernes.

«People seemed to come out of the woodwork at these sessions. I remember one afternoon when two astronomers from the university were here asking questions about space and time and astrophysics. They said they were very pleased with what they learned. We’ve had many physicians, mostly friends of Craig’s, wanting to know how to deal with certain patients. We’ve had a few psychologists and one dogmatic psychiatrist who were all looking for more information than they could find in their disciplines. In one case, Michael said that it was necessary for a certain patient to experience madness, which was why she had chosen this particular psychologist to treat her. That poor man» — la médium enumera quiénes llegaban a preguntar —dos astrónomos de la universidad, médicos, psicólogos y un psiquiatra dogmático— y el caso en que el dictado sostuvo que a una paciente le tocaba pasar por la locura y que por eso había elegido a ese psicólogo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Finally, I stopped using the board for six months. There was too much happening that distracted us. There were personality problems developing, which in so large a group isn’t surprising. Some of the members wanted to become overnight adepts. The trouble was that the people who really wanted to get information were the first to shut up and back out. It was good to stop for a while. And when we started again, there was a new feeling to the group» — la médium declara la pausa de seis meses y sus razones, que son de grupo y no de doctrina: problemas de personalidad, gente que quería volverse adepta de un día para otro, y los que de veras querían información callándose.

«We simply couldn’t handle it, or I couldn’t. I had to stop working the board with Jessica because it was too exhausting. Strangely enough, this was a good thing. The material comes faster when there is just one person working the board» — el marido declara el cambio de procedimiento y lo que salió de él: dejó de trabajar el tablero con la médium por agotamiento, y el material sale más rápido con una sola persona.

«We would speak to you of the wisdom which comes to us from the plane beyond and yet interpenetrating this one. In giving you some direction to your purpose, you have, during the interval between physical lives, chosen to live a life in service to the search. The manner in which you will do this is now becoming increasingly clear to many of you, and you are no longer sad to see the complexion of the group changing, though a few of you think that you “ought” to be sad. It should be clear to you all at this juncture that those who have dropped by the wayside were motivated by other factors than the search, many of them having karmic reasons to go on their ways. Some parted with sadness for they felt inexplicably bound to you, but could not contain a restless spirit. Now you find yourselves at this turning point together with others who are driven by the same chosen purpose. You will find it now easier to plan, for this is the planning octave, just as the one completed was the investigation octave, which is, of course, the completion of seven levels and attaining the eighth, which is the first stage in the next octave. Think of the strength in music as it moves up the scale, which is another sort of ladder. So you move up a scale. Those who have chosen to go on the search will add to your melody» — la respuesta del dictado al cambio del grupo, y el único pasaje del libro donde usa la palabra *octave*: llama a esta la octava de la planificación y a la anterior la de la investigación, siete niveles más el octavo que abre la siguiente, con el símil de la escala musical; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Jessica Lansing sits in her bentwood rocker tailor fashion, her specially designed Ouija board balanced on her knees and the arms of her chair. She holds the planchette negligently in her right hand; there is a cup of coffee in her left. There are two more people in the living room—Marjorie Randall, a professor of biology, and Kate O’Brien, who is working for her master’s degree in literature. Both are young women, intelligent, articulate, and practical. Lucy has gone to the kitchen to make tea for those who don’t like coffee» — la escena con que Yarbro abre el capítulo del tablero: la médium con el tablero de encargo sobre las rodillas, la plancheta en una mano y el café en la otra, y dos miembros del grupo presentados por su oficio.

«We went through I don’t know how many of the commercial boards before I had sense enough to get one of my own. A woman in the group made this for me. She’s living in Minneapolis now.” She pats he glass surface of the board. “Those commercial boards don’t hold up at all. I’d use one for a month, and then it would start to sag, or the letters would fade. We tried plastic coating them, mounting them on heavier backing, everything. They simply weren’t designed for this kind of use» — la razón material del tablero propio, dicha sin ceremonia: los comerciales se combaban al mes y las letras se borraban, y ni plastificarlos ni montarlos sobre respaldo más pesado lo resolvía.

«They better,” Jessica says with an admonishing glance around the room. “It’s too much to expect one person to get everything. When Michael gets going, he dictates very fast.” Jessica pats the board with a kind of absent-minded affection. “When I got this board, he started going even faster» — la regla de la sesión: todos anotan porque es demasiado esperar que una sola persona lo tome todo, y la médium declara que con este tablero el dictado va todavía más rápido.

«under it is the alphabet, A through M on the top row, N through Z on the bottom. Both rows curve slightly to accommodate the swing of the planchette when it is in motion. The backing is mustard yellow, the letters are black. There are a yin-yang symbol, three Arabic letters, and two heads of Roman soldiers on the board» — la descripción física del tablero por Yarbro: el alfabeto en dos filas curvadas para acompañar el giro de la plancheta, el fondo mostaza, las letras negras, un símbolo yin-yang, tres letras árabes y dos cabezas de soldados romanos. El troceo repite *under* al abrir la plana.

«Sure,” Jessica says, nodding emphatically. “Craig works his own board, at his own sessions, and Michael says the same things to him that he does to our group. The wording is the same, the attitude, the style, the feel… it’s all Michael. We’ve also got another woman in the group now who works the board occasionally, and her results are like mine» — lo que la médium ofrece como cotejo interno del arreglo: otro miembro trabaja su propio tablero en sus propias sesiones y recibe lo mismo, con la misma redacción, actitud y estilo, y una tercera persona obtiene resultados como los suyos.

«Because I’m too afraid that it would be easy for me to tap into my subconscious rather than to Michael» — la reserva de la médium sobre sus propias preguntas, que es la más fuerte que ella misma declara: teme que le resulte fácil conectar con su subconsciente en vez de con el ente.

«Most of the time, yes. There’s a sensation that goes with Michael. I find it hard to describe. It has something to do with that heat and tingling I mentioned, but there’s another dimension, a presence that is Michael. When I want to know things for myself, I might be able to fool myself into thinking I had that sensation, when, in fact, all that was happening was that I wanted to believe it» — y cómo dice distinguir una cosa de otra, con el límite dentro: calor y hormigueo más una presencia, y el reconocimiento de que podría engañarse a sí misma cuando quiere saber algo para ella.

«We are here with you tonight. We have several comments to make before we buckle down to business» — el arranque del primer dictado que la médium recibió sola al tablero, que Yarbro presenta como la respuesta del ente a la sospecha de distorsión.

«One concerns formatory speech and pertains to questions asked in earlier sessions. We hear more formatory speech in response to verbalized insights than at earlier sessions, especially those voiced by David Swan. We do not say that you should not comment» — la primera advertencia de ese dictado, dirigida a un miembro nombrado: el *formatory speech* con que el grupo responde a las intuiciones verbalizadas; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«on insights, but if you choose to give some thought to understanding before exclaiming “wow” or “far out.” Exercises imposed on teachings must be individualized. We are not here to give you a new dogma. Remember that when the medium through whom we are transmitting is fatigued, contradictions occur. It is more convenient for us to operate through one channel, but it is more demanding for the medium, and you all must be aware of that. This can be difficult, we understand. However, in order to make the best use of energy, we would suggest that you prepare your questions in advance. It is too easy for you to be lured by your expectations into making this a new faith, which is in complete opposition to our intention. Blind faith eliminates understanding, and without understanding there can be no growth or agape, which is the goal» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, y el pasaje donde el dictado describe la mecánica de su propia transmisión: cuando el medio por el que transmite está fatigado aparecen contradicciones, le conviene operar por un solo canal aunque exija más del medio, y la fe ciega elimina la comprensión, que es lo contrario de su intención; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Not just having Jessica at the board by herself, but Michael’s determination to keep us from making a gospel of his messages. He gets quite adamant about it, even now» — el marido nombra lo que el dictado insiste en impedir según ellos, y que es el hilo de todo el capítulo: que de sus mensajes se haga un evangelio.

«On the contrary, when the teacher dies, the teaching passes into literature and should be regarded as such. [Unless the teacher is able to answer questions face to face, without interpolation or interpretation from others, no matter how “well meaning,” the teaching is “frozen” and referential, hence literature. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la respuesta del dictado a quien sostenía que las enseñanzas de los maestros esotéricos son absolutas e inmutables, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade desde otra transcripción: muerto el maestro, la enseñanza pasa a literatura y como tal debe tratarse.

«In its most evolved form, yes. In words suitable for communication with the members of this enclave it becomes complex. Again, creatures of reason take the simplest activity and render it complex through symbols. The synthesis is not complex. The synthesis seeks integration, simplicity. Creatures of reason seek to justify their existence through expressions of individuality, isolation, alienation» — la respuesta del dictado a si la síntesis es más simple que los sistemas del hombre: en su forma más evolucionada sí, y son las criaturas de razón las que la vuelven compleja por símbolos para justificar su existencia.

«Creatures of reason seek to justify their existence by assigning themselves a role, even a negative one, if that be the case. Of subrogation, taking the responsibility from themselves and assigning that responsibility to a higher power, conveniently beyond the five physical senses, and therefore, unarguable, unprovable, unassailable, safe, comfortable, complex. Go away! This soul grows restive» — la segunda mitad de esa exposición, donde el dictado nombra la subrogación —pasar la responsabilidad a un poder superior, más allá de los cinco sentidos y por eso inargumentable— y corta la sesión de golpe.

«There are times Michael is absolutely kittenish» — la médium responde a la pregunta de si el dictado se volvió más reverente y niega el cambio con una sola palabra.

«He used to do all kinds of things to throw us off, particularly when we started taking this much too seriously. Oh,” he hastens to add, “it’s a serious matter, and learning from it can be a painful experience, but Michael doesn’t want anyone to approach this teaching on all fours. We’re supposed to use it, explore it» — el marido declara para qué sirve, según ellos, ese modo del dictado: impedir que nadie se acerque a la enseñanza de rodillas, porque se supone que hay que usarla y explorarla.

«One evening, Michael began the session with Come join us tonight. “Who are you?” Craig asked. We are here with you tonight. “And who are you?” He insisted. We are called by you, Michael. Why the concern? “I guess, because the greeting was different.” How rigid» — el intercambio con que el grupo verifica la identidad del dictado y la respuesta con que este lo desarma; Yarbro lo narra alternando su propia voz con las dos.

«You are relying too much on labels and forms. The name we are called is Michael. That is a convenience and not a truth. Only one small fragment of this entity had that name. We are integrated fragments of a larger entity and we come to you from the Causal body, not the Astral. Most of you are accustomed to dealing with Astral entities» — lo que el dictado sostiene del nombre por el que lo llaman: es conveniencia y no verdad, solo un fragmento pequeño de la entidad lo llevó, y vienen del cuerpo causal y no del astral, que es al que dice que el grupo está acostumbrado.

«We have communicated this way for approximately one hundred years. We communicate directly with all those students who have mastered the skill of Astral travel. We are willing to use hypnosis for induction of trances, but trance mediums who can go into trances spontaneously are easier to work with. There are different kinds of mediums» — la respuesta del dictado a cuánto lleva usándose el tablero y qué otras vías hay: cien años aproximadamente, comunicación directa con quien domine el viaje astral, disposición a usar la hipnosis y preferencia por los médiums que entran en trance por sí solos.

«You are imposing a complexity where none need exist. These moments are moments of utter simplicity. Of course, it is difficult to maintain in this state, in the false order, the complicated chaos that this and other cultures like it have created. As we have said before, to explain away the unexplainable, man must create for himself the answer to all those questions, those imponderables for which there is no proof. Man, in order to be satisfied, must define, within the limits of his belief system, all those phenomena which he observes. In moments when the essence breaks through the barriers, the true order—the natural order—becomes perceivable. Man takes the smallest activity and renders it complex by analyzing, examining, granting it priority, granting it precedence. We should not limit this simply» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la revelación cuando se lo desafía: son momentos de simplicidad extrema, y lo que complica es el hombre, que para explicar lo inexplicable tiene que definir todo fenómeno dentro de los límites de su sistema de creencias; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«to Man. This is common to creatures of reason throughout the Physical plane. This is not unique to what you call man. Man takes the simplest function and renders it complex in order to give an illusion of importance to his life» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la ampliación que el propio dictado se hace: eso no es propio del hombre sino de toda criatura de razón del plano físico, que vuelve compleja la función más simple para dar a su vida ilusión de importancia.

«Wishes, like everything, have positive and negative poles. There must be attraction and repulsion or nothing exists because no energy is being generated. The primordial force was energy, not mass. Think about that when you are hung up on cause and effect. The more primitive one is energy. Does it not seem that all seeking the least complex will return to the energy from whence they came» — la respuesta del dictado a una miembro que declara miedo a desarrollar el don de la médium, y que es donde el sistema pone la polaridad como condición de que algo exista: atracción y repulsión, con la fuerza primordial puesta en la energía y no en la masa.

«The desire is polar, too. Everything in the “universe” is, of course. Along with the desire is always the dread. The choice does not become» — el dictado aplica la polaridad al deseo mismo: junto al deseo va siempre el pavor. El troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«clear to you until you have experienced the desire from another dimension. You must stand and observe from the shadows of dread» — la continuación de esa misma frase en el chunk siguiente: la elección no se aclara hasta haber experimentado el deseo desde otra dimensión, y hay que mirarlo desde la sombra del pavor.

«You are merely given a set of plans and tools. The rest is up to you. The play goes on forever» — la respuesta más escueta del dictado a la pregunta por lo que empuja a alguien atascado: planos y herramientas, y el resto queda de cuenta de quien pregunta.

«Hardly victims, unless that is your choice. You, Craig, as a physician, must be aware of the frailty of the body as much as you are aware of its strength. It is the same with the soul. Exploration has always appealed to creatures of reason as soon as they have learned to conquer their native environment and subdue it sufficiently to insure long-range survival. Their thoughts turned automatically to the stars. As their technological might increased, their horizons broadened. We believe that the man Bertrand Russell hit upon a basic truth when he described the “utter terror of cosmic loneliness” that man feels when he contemplates the cosmos. Man is not alone in this. All creatures of reason experience it. It is part of the evolutionary process on the Physical plane and cannot be avoided. Our student feels that this, perhaps, will result in a cultural, as well as spiritual, exchange leading to much spiritual growth on both worlds. This remains to be seen» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción de que eso hace víctimas a los hombres, con la cita que él mismo atribuye a Bertrand Russell sobre el terror de la soledad cósmica, que declara inevitable en toda criatura de razón; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«You [and all human fragments may (Scholar’s transcript)] choose to continue to live with terror only because the instincts for survival in a terrifying environment are still so strong. You raise your own dragons. They are carefully nurtured in the bosom of your society and usually as carefully released when the need arises to fan the fires. If this ceases, then again the war is weakened and all those instincts begin to spin wheels and leak energy. Without a teaching you do not know that there is any alternative to this and you do not have a chance to break the patterns. This permeates all facets of your living; even your eating and sleeping rituals are stylized and smack of earlier times. Few break from these patterns and even those who do feel pain when they do» — lo que el dictado sostiene del miedo como hábito cultivado, con el corchete de la edición de 2005 dentro: los dragones se crían en el seno de la sociedad y se sueltan cuando hace falta atizar el fuego, y sin una enseñanza no se sabe que haya alternativa; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Food gathering is also instinctive: just witness the hoarding that takes place when a favorite foodstuff may be in short supply. Recently there was supposedly a copper shortage, and there immediately began a hoarding of copper coins just as though they were intrinsically valuable. They are» — el ejemplo con que el dictado sostiene que la recolección es instintiva: el acaparamiento de monedas de cobre ante una supuesta escasez, como si tuvieran valor intrínseco; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«not, of course, and this culture would certainly survive if not a single penny were ever minted again. This behavior reminds us much of squirrels storing up for winter use and there is no reason for it. Private stores of foodstuffs in this affluent culture are enormous and yet there is ample for everyone. No longer is it necessary to stock up on anything, especially in the urban areas, and yet the need for hoarding is perpetuated by manipulation of the economy. This is subtle indeed, but nevertheless necessary for the personality to retain control and to be allowed to perpetuate the old safe habits such as food gathering and maintaining one’s position in the pecking order» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con lo que el dictado deriva de ese ejemplo: el acaparamiento se perpetúa por manipulación de la economía, y eso permite a la personalidad conservar el control y sus viejos hábitos seguros.

«Fear of loss of control besets all of you. With you, it is a loss of emotional control. With another student, it is fear of being considered insane. With many of you it is fear of loss of reasoning. If the personality was not living in fear, it would not go to such elaborate means to avoid the painproducing situation» — lo que el dictado sostiene del miedo repartido por miembros del grupo: de perder el control emocional, de que a uno lo tengan por loco, de perder la razón; y la razón que da de los rodeos de la personalidad; la extracción une *pain-producing* por el guion de fin de renglón y devuelve *painproducing*; la forma impresa lleva guion.

«It is merely the same old fear of the unknown. For one thing, Arnold, you are not too sure that you even believe in Astral projection. You do not need this experience. It would be interesting, and also exhilarating, but we repeat, it is not imperative that you do this» — la respuesta del dictado a un miembro que pregunta si su reticencia al fenómeno fuera del cuerpo es miedo, y que es donde el dictado declara que esa experiencia no es imperativa.

«Do you think you have experienced perfect love, Emily? Loving the creative force itself requires separation from any personification» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción bíblica de que el amor perfecto echa fuera el miedo: devuelve la pregunta y condiciona amar a la fuerza creadora a separarse de toda personificación.

«The soul experiences all emotions at a different level than does the more temporal organism. The visceral pleasures are temporary. We do not suggest that you eschew them. Just do not expect them to sustain the essence» — el límite que el dictado pone a los placeres viscerales sin condenarlos: no pide renunciar a ellos, pide no esperar que sostengan la esencia.

«Eros [the Greek concept of sexually expressed love] is a product of false personality and is based on the signs and symbols of the Physical plane. There is nothing spiritual about this at all. It is based on physical attractiveness and depends upon stability to perpetuate itself» — lo que el dictado sostiene del eros, con el corchete donde el volumen glosa el término griego: producto de la personalidad falsa, basado en los signos del plano físico y sin nada espiritual.

«[Of course, erotic attraction and Body Type attraction are valid experiences and may be important aspects of the lives on the Physical plane, should you choose to validate such experiences. Physicality is the “core” of the Physical plane, and as such, it is intrinsic to the nature of “life” as you know it. (Priest’s transcript)» — el corchete que la edición de 2005 toma de otra transcripción y que matiza lo anterior: la atracción erótica y la de Body Type son experiencias válidas, y la fisicalidad es el núcleo del plano físico.

«A deep sense of spiritual satisfaction is the only reward that we know of. You may call it ecstasy or whatever you wish. Stop for a moment and ask yourself why it is that you search and for what» — la respuesta del dictado a quien pregunta hacia dónde dirigir el amor, que devuelve la pregunta en vez de contestarla.

«When you truly wish to be free of that influence, try making a mental tally of all positive experiences that have come about as a result of the relationship. In that relationship, you were able to give the gift of higher expression. It was not reciprocal because he was not in touch with higher centers, but he also has memories; this is often the case. You could not recapture that experience, but you could duplicate the Higher Emotional energy output, now especially. But first you must stop equating the experience you had with a specific partner. It was your experience. You were ready to have it» — el consejo que el dictado da a una miembro sobre una relación terminada, con la tesis del sistema dentro: la experiencia fue de ella y no del compañero, y lo que se puede repetir es la salida de energía Higher Emotional, no la relación; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«You must communicate your needs and wants to those around you. Unless you are telepathic, you must do it verbally. The» — lo que el dictado da como secreto de la comunicación eficaz: decir lo que se necesita, dejar una opción y hacerla saber; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«alternatives, with all the ramifications, must be understood, as well as the motivation of their acceptance or refusal. When there is complete understanding, there will be no disagreement. You have all heard this before, and we must emphasize it because it is the secret to effective communication, which will banish the specter of unfulfilled expectations» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: entendidas las alternativas y la motivación de aceptarlas o rechazarlas, dice el dictado que no habrá desacuerdo, y eso es lo que espanta las expectativas no cumplidas.

«Intelligence is not a determining factor, at least not in the terms of» — el arranque de lo que el dictado sostiene sobre qué decide la búsqueda; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«scholastic prowess. It is more a subtle discernment stemming from memory experience and the sheer power of age. The Young Soul is lost to the search just as a child of ten would be lost in the business world. The Mature Soul has all of the conflicts of the celestial adolescent or young adult; only the Old Soul has the experience to surrender to the desire. You must remember that man is a peculiar combination of the sacred and the profane: there is the alert, solitary animal hunting its prey and the immortal soul trapped in this hunter. This is another kind of polarity, and is one of the lessons of the Physical plane» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: el discernimiento que viene de la memoria y de la edad del alma, con el Young Soul perdido como un niño de diez años en los negocios y solo el Old Soul capaz de rendirse al deseo; y la polaridad entre el animal cazador y el alma inmortal atrapada en él; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Nurturing, not loving, is instinctive» — la distinción con que el dictado responde a si el amor es instintivo, y que separa criar de amar.

«Lucy did talk to the man—he was her ex-husband—but they couldn’t find a way to work things out between them. Lucy admits that it was a good thing, now, but at the time it was very difficult» — la médium cierra el caso con el desenlace y sin moraleja: la conversación ocurrió, no arreglaron nada entre ellos, y la interesada lo da por bueno después.

«You see, the instinctive drama is safe and easily learned, for the memories are still there. The dominant species from which you ascended lived in tribes and there was a dominant leader. This has continued, for it enables the personality to abdicate from self-responsibility. In other words, “the boss told me to do it,” “Hitler told me to do it,” “God told me» — lo que el dictado sostiene del drama instintivo: es seguro y fácil de aprender porque la memoria de la tribu con jefe sigue ahí, y permite a la personalidad abdicar de la responsabilidad propia; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«to do it”—whatever your particular persuasion happens to be. You can always manage to delegate the responsibility. Even in emotional battles, it is always someone else who is ultimately blamed or credited for the action. This is animal behavior and it is widespread in the culture. We see examples of this every day, even in this cadre, where the responsibility is given to someone else, while the choice and result were distinctly yours» — la continuación de esa exposición: la responsabilidad siempre se delega, incluso en las batallas emocionales, y el dictado dice ver ejemplos de eso en el propio grupo.

«students and adepts, and the instinctive patterns have been overridden. But it is not easy. Especially since so many of you have chosen to be top baboon and the pecking order is well delineated. This top space is just as hard to give up as the bottom rung. Even though the latter does afford much more magnificent suffering: to be bottom baboon in this culture is an enviable spot, as everyone can feel sorry for you and offer sympathy and comfort. Top baboon requires independence and is rather difficult in this culture, as you are told from the cradle that someone else or many someones are in charge of your lives: your parents, your teachers, your bosses, God, your clergy… Though no one is in charge but you. You even choose to live with terrifying organizations within the fabric of society, just to keep the conflict going. This is the only reason. If these organizations were eliminated, then the conflict would be weakened» — la figura del babuino de arriba y el de abajo con que el dictado describe el orden jerárquico: el de abajo goza de compasión y el de arriba exige independencia, y desde la cuna se enseña que alguien más manda; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«When souls are first cast into a dominant species, some, or rather many, of the instinctive drives of the creature of no reason still remain embedded with the biocomputer. The personality makes no attempt to override these instinctive behavior patterns and fights against the intrusion of any outside source» — lo que el dictado sostiene del residuo instintivo: al echar las almas a una especie dominante quedan incrustados en la biocomputadora impulsos de la criatura sin razón, y la personalidad no intenta anularlos.

«This suggests that they can be overridden. One who observes from this vantage point is struck by the commanding, overriding trait of this culture—that of loneliness. You are the loneliest people we know of. This in part relates to your not attempting in any way to override the embedded instincts left as vestiges of a more primitive self. Before souls were cast, the creatures of no reason from which you have ascended were largely governed by fear, and their lives were taken up in many ceaseless battles for survival. This is no longer necessary on this world, and yet it goes on ceaselessly in spite of this» — el rasgo que el dictado atribuye a esta cultura y que es de los juicios más duros del libro: la soledad, que liga a no haber anulado los instintos heredados de una batalla por la supervivencia que dice ya innecesaria; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There are few large carnivores roaming the city streets and yet most of you behave as though there were» — la frase con que el dictado cifra esa tesis en una imagen.

«The battle for survival is but another tape loop that plays on and on, even to the point of starving large portions of the culture, while others waste and hoard. This only provides for the realism in the drama, for this is no longer necessary at all. There are abundant resources on this planet even though it has been rather ruthlessly plundered. There is still much to spare. The loneliness is heartbreaking, literally, as it is so unnecessary and something that the personality effects as a method to keep the battle going. If the personality no longer felt threatened and alienated there would be no incentive to continue the instinctive drama» — lo que el dictado sostiene de esa batalla: un bucle de cinta que sigue sonando hasta hacer pasar hambre a partes enteras de la cultura mientras otras derrochan, con recursos que dice abundantes pese al saqueo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Michael has told us that in each life you choose one major task, and then work to accomplish it. The older a soul you are, the more… ‘demanding’ isn’t really the right word. I guess you’d say it becomes more compelling. There are things you simply have to do» — la médium resume la doctrina de la tarea de vida como el libro la usa: una tarea mayor por vida, y cuanto más vieja el alma, más apremiante.

«Well, it has to do with the nature of the soul» — la médium enumera los términos del sistema que quedan por explicar —edad del alma, deudas kármicas, Monads, secuencias acordadas— y nombra lo que el dictado intenta enseñar.

«Those seeking to achieve “rigid” correctness, except in the view of society or religion, are “doomed” to be unable to fulfill such strictures, for, as we have said before, you cannot make a “wrong” choice: whatever you choose will eventually lead to evolution, and all acts you have cumulatively accomplished will balance, not for any “requirement” of behavior or belief, but because over time, evolution creates balance as part of the nature of existence. Of course, many acts have social consequences including legal ramifications, and the experiences of societal strictures is a valid part of any life, and while felonious acts may or may not have an added burden of karma, “playing by the rules” of society is one of the many lessons for independently mobile ensouled species on the Physical plane, and your species is no exception. (Scholar’s transcript)» — el bloque *Chapter Two: Additional Information*, que la edición de 2005 toma de una transcripción: no se puede elegir mal porque toda elección lleva a la evolución y el tiempo equilibra, con el límite dicho, que los actos tienen consecuencias sociales y legales y que jugar según las reglas es una de las lecciones del plano físico; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«No. Most psychiatrists, where they speak of the subconscious, they merely speak of all those experiences which the brain records but you cannot immediately recall. The recall of this material is often blocked by very effective barriers. Some few psychiatrists, such as Jung, began to see more, but few have known of the myriad data actually at your command, much less the source» — la respuesta del dictado a si el alma es el subconsciente, con el único psiquiatra que nombra con elogio: el subconsciente de los psiquiatras es lo registrado y no recordable, y Jung empezó a ver más.

«All souls, or fragments, as we choose to call them for now, are of course a part of the universal creative force, which we call the Tao. However, when this fragmentation occurs and the physical cycle begins, this fragment is more remote from the Tao and from what we call the Infinite Soul. We think that we have a problem with the semantics» — el dictado introduce el término *fragment* y sitúa al alma respecto del Tao y del Infinite Soul, con la salvedad que él mismo pone sobre la semántica.

«Here. Let us use an analogy and perhaps this will become crystal clear. Imagine the Atlantic Ocean as the whole; imagine filling ten test tubes, then sealing them so that they are both airtight and watertight, then imagine dropping them back into the ocean. They are a part of the whole, yes, but unless some outside force liberates them, they are remote from the source and trapped in an effective prison. This same way the soul is trapped in the body. The body is very limited in what it can do. [The Physical plane is essential to evolution, and the soul seeks to evolve. Physicality is as much a part of evolution as what you call “spirituality,” and neither state is more “advanced” or “laudable” than the other. (Priest’s transcript)] The soul in its true spiritual state has no limitations or handicaps» — la analogía de los diez tubos de ensayo sellados y devueltos al Atlántico, con que el dictado explica el alma atrapada en el cuerpo, y el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade para negar que lo espiritual sea más avanzado que lo físico; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«When the spirit entity first becomes earthbound there can be as many as a thousand fragments [and up to fourteen hundred fragments. (Scholar’s transcript)] As the entity progresses, the fragments unite. As each lesson is learned, the Monads [essential and complete experiences and relationships] are formed. This is not to say that the soul is entirely limited by the Physical plane. You see, the soul is capable of existing in all dimensions. Travel implies physical space, physical speed. This soul now exists in dimensions beyond the three-dimensional limitations which mechanical man imposes upon himself. The freed essence has no such limitations, and is free to travel, or free to move, or free to exist, in a multidimensional universe» — el dictado da la cifra de fragmentos por entidad, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 la amplía, define los Monads como experiencias y relaciones esenciales y completas, y declara al alma capaz de existir en todas las dimensiones; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That is invalid. The whole is the sum of the parts. We have no dominant fragments. We are an entity integrated whole. There is no sense of loss, wistfulness, poignancy, or what have you. The loss is perceived only on the Physical plane. Now we are whole. Before we were split apart and therefore had less than total. There is still evolution in store for us. Although we apprehend this, we still do not see it as it will be when this occurs. Right now you feel that the loss of the individuality will be felt as pain. This is not true. The individuality is painful, but not the integration» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción de que reunirse con la entidad suprimiría la consciencia de sí: dice que no hay fragmentos dominantes ni sensación de pérdida, que la pérdida solo se percibe en el plano físico, y que lo doloroso es la individualidad y no la integración.

«In order to fully comprehend this concept of the soul’s growth, it is necessary to perceive the true nature that exists within the “human” soul or essence. It is a separate entity from the personality, which is for the most part a survival mechanism for the body. The soul’s goal is distinct from those of personality and therefore the elements are in eternal conflict. This is the lesson learned on the Physical plane. Only the soul can ask the question “Why am I here?” The personality does not require such information» — la distinción entre alma y personalidad que sostiene todo el sistema: la personalidad es sobre todo un mecanismo de supervivencia del cuerpo, sus metas son distintas de las del alma y por eso están en conflicto eterno, y solo el alma pregunta por qué está aquí.

«Entire entities are cast from the Tao. They fragment into physically trapped souls for as long as it is necessary for them to experience all of life through the Cycles. This means that when David’s entity first fragmented, other entities fragmented also. The entity which includes David fragment» — cómo se echan las entidades según el dictado, con los ejemplos nominales del propio grupo; el tramo se corta al fin de plana, que además parte la palabra en dos.

«There is growth on the higher planes as well, very like those of the Physical plane, and as the soul grows older on the Physical plane it becomes more aware of this higher evolution. The higher planes each have seven levels of evolution, not just the physical. The continuous creative force that is universal casts out entities into physical lifetimes. These entities fragment and become many different personalities. Their integration is the evolutionary pattern for all souls. You do not feel the desire to seek the remaining fragments of your entity until the last physical cycle. Then, at that time, there is almost a compulsion. You do not always know why you do, but you always seek» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la búsqueda de los fragmentos propios: no se siente el deseo hasta el último ciclo físico, y entonces es casi compulsión.

«To insure the continuous creative force is the only purpose we know. The entities, no longer earthbound, experience lengthy periods on the high planes and at the end, reunite with the primeval force that is creation. Thus, the created becomes the creator, and the cycle repeats itself ad infinitum. This is infinity» — la única finalidad que el dictado declara conocer, y con ella la figura circular del sistema: lo creado se vuelve creador y el ciclo se repite sin término.

«School is a deceptive term. There is much time for reflection and much guidance. Many souls remain suspended in a limbo of their own manifestation for many of your years. Old Souls welcome the interval. There is normally a very short transition from the physical body to the low Astral planes» — la objeción del dictado al término escuela para el intervalo entre vidas: reflexión y guía, con almas suspendidas en un limbo de su propia hechura durante años y las viejas dando la bienvenida al intervalo.

«This depends a great deal on the level of the soul and the belief system going on at the time of transition. For instance, those who make transition believing in a literal heaven and hell will have to experience this before they can experience anything else, as unfortunately, they create this out of Astral material with the thoughts of transition. Then those souls like Jean-Paul Sartre must experience a long period of nothing before they go on. Then the soul becomes a habitué of the low Astral plane. The alternative threads can be pursued, the alternative courses outlined, and the choices made» — lo que el dictado sostiene de dónde se está después de morir, y que hace depender la experiencia del sistema de creencias: quien creyó en un cielo y un infierno literales los fabrica con materia astral, y quien creyó como Jean-Paul Sartre pasa por un largo periodo de nada; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This is very much a planet of Young Souls, and it is not the nature of Young Souls to seek such solutions. This planet has evolved to the point where it could certainly have a stable economy and an effective global government based upon something besides whim. And yet even discussion of this produces delicious fear enough to keep it from ever getting past the conference table. Tribes are still necessary, you see, in order to keep the» — el diagnóstico que el dictado hace del planeta, que es la tesis política del libro: planeta de almas jóvenes que no buscan soluciones, con economía estable y gobierno global al alcance y un miedo delicioso que impide pasar de la mesa de conferencias; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«conflicts going. If the tribes were eliminated, then there would be no more territorial battles, and then where would all that “lovely” negative energy go? It would never occur to the personality to yearn for peace on earth, and yet it frequently parrots this in speeches and exhortations—but pin it down and peace on earth is the last thing it wants. It has now scared itself nigh unto death, though, with the nuclear weapons it has devised. This has effectively put a moratorium on war on any grand scale for a while. This is precisely why there is now a resurgence of effort on the part of Causal teachers to bring cadres such as yours together in this brief respite. If enough are brought together it could turn the tide, but only if the teaching is lived» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: las tribus como modo de mantener el conflicto, la paz en la tierra como lo último que la personalidad quiere pese a proclamarla, la moratoria que las armas nucleares habrían impuesto, y la razón que el dictado da de que se reúnan grupos como este; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Well, you see, there are approximately ten alternative courses open to this world at this time, eight of which we would consider fairly unattractive. The other two concern what we are terming psychic revolution. This would, of course, be in fact the overthrow of the prevalent belief systems that now control the governing forces of this world, and would return leadership to those best qualified to lead on the basis of intuitive knowledge, and what we call truth. [See additional information (1.) at end of chapter.] Whether you like this or not, it is what is happening now, and it is what the cadre has been asked to become a part of. This revolution, like all other revolutions, would result in widespread anxiety, and perhaps even an exchange of hostility. We can no way guarantee that this will not happen, but it is far less “bloody” than the eight alternatives. They will burn witches again, as they have in all ages past. We never told any of you that it would be a “rose garden.” The major Life-Tasks are seldom easily accomplished. The reason you have all come together, under fairly unusual circumstances, is, as we have previously informed you, because of the strong drive of the Old Soul to reunite with its fragments. False personality is unaware of this drive, of course, and occasionally rejects seemingly unsuitable relationships because of this lack of knowledge. Two of the entities of which this group is a part were first born at the same time. The drive there is stronger» — lo que el dictado llama revolución psíquica: dos de diez cursos posibles para el mundo, con el derrocamiento de los sistemas de creencia que gobiernan y el mando devuelto a quien tenga conocimiento intuitivo, dicho con su precio dentro —ansiedad y hostilidad, y volverán a quemar brujas— y sin garantía; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«As civilization ages with the soul age of this planet, so solutions to the human condition will emerge as the average soul level rises in age. Civilization will become primarily philosophical. Right now personality, which is a camouflage for the body, has the upper hand» — la única forma de esperanza que el dictado ofrece, y la pone en plazos de edad del alma y no de voluntad: la civilización se volverá filosófica cuando suba el nivel medio.

«Why do you ask that, when you already suffer from growing pains? The soul, like the body, must develop within certain set limits. There is no express lane to the human understanding. There is only growth, often difficult, mostly painful because so few of you are willing to learn through joy» — la respuesta del dictado a si el proceso se puede acelerar, con la frase que el libro repite después: no hay carril expreso a la comprensión humana, y el crecimiento duele porque pocos quieren aprender por la alegría.

«Within the Cycles there is a vast difference in perception. Each perceives to the limits imposed by the age of the soul. The Mature Souls often view others in error from one point of view: that being that others around him will perceive another soul in quite a different way. There is, of course, an ultimate perception that is the synthesis. This, of course, is “truth.” Older souls have a tendency to be less harsh in their perceptions, and as growth occurs, this gentleness grows too» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la percepción por edad del alma: cada una percibe hasta el límite que su edad impone, la síntesis de todas es lo que llama verdad, y las almas viejas tienden a percibir con menos dureza.

«The motto of the Infant Soul is “let’s not do it.” These Cycles, like physical infancy, have a very limited range of perceptions and activities. For that reason, many Infant Souls are born into very simple stations of life and will find any demand or complexity frightening. New experiences are more apt to terrify than excite the Infant Soul» — el lema y el rango del primer ciclo, tal como el dictado los enuncia: percepciones y actividades muy limitadas, nacimiento en estaciones simples de la vida y espanto ante toda exigencia o complejidad.

«The Infant or “firstborn” Soul perceives itself and the world around it simply as “me” and “not me.” In this Cycle there are no racial memories. If “not me” is perceived as hostile and unkind early in life, withdrawal occurs, and a condition known as autism often develops. If this perception occurs later, the Infant Soul may react with unchecked violence: sadism, murder without visible cause, acts of unbelievable cruelty. The Infant Soul truly does not know the difference between right and wrong action, but it can be taught the laws of common sense and decency» — la fórmula de percepción del primer ciclo y lo que el dictado deriva de ella, que es de lo más crudo del libro: *me* y *not me*, sin memorias raciales, con el autismo o la violencia sin causa visible según cuándo se perciba la hostilidad, y la declaración de que ese ciclo no distingue el bien del mal pero puede aprender sentido común y decencia; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Intellect is a product of culture, and even firstborns and Infant Souls can be taught to read and write and compute arithmetically. Infant Souls rarely seek higher education unless forced. They are bewildered and hostile in strange situations» — lo que el dictado sostiene del intelecto, y que separa el intelecto de la edad del alma: es producto de la cultura, y hasta los primogénitos pueden aprender a leer, escribir y calcular.

«Infant Souls do not, in general, seek employment as such. This is a characteristic they share with very Old Souls. Many Infant Souls are regarded by complex and technological cultures as mentally lacking and may, erroneously, be identified as mentally deficient» — el rasgo que el dictado atribuye al primer ciclo y comparte con los más viejos, y el error que dice que las culturas complejas cometen con ellos.

«Infant Souls are often bitten by dogs who have no previous history of biting, simply because of their inordinate fear. Most Infant Souls would not be caught dead on horseback. Allergies to animals are denials [in Infant Souls. (Scholar’s transcript)» — el nivel doméstico en que el dictado hace bajar la tipología, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 acota: perros que muerden por el miedo desmedido, y las alergias a los animales leídas como negaciones.

«The motto of the Baby Soul is “do it right or not at all.” These Cycles are more complex. The soul, so to speak, has learned to toddle and in these Cycles will learn to run and climb trees» — el lema del segundo ciclo y su figura: el alma que aprendió a dar pasos y ahora aprende a correr y a trepar.

«The Baby Soul perceives itself and the world around it as “me” and “many other mes.” The Baby Soul forms strong beliefs early in childhood, borrowed from those around it, and these are literally unshakable. The Baby Soul is normally agreeable—a pillar of the community—until an opposing viewpoint is expressed. Then, inwardly, the Baby Soul is bewildered and baffled by the difference. Outwardly, it will express anger, hostility, negative emotional energy, belligerence» — la fórmula de percepción del segundo ciclo y su consecuencia social: creencias fuertes tomadas prestadas en la infancia y literalmente inamovibles, agradable como pilar de la comunidad hasta que aparece un punto de vista opuesto.

«The Baby Soul tends to be fundamentalistic in its religious beliefs. Personification of the godhead is strongest in this Cycle. The Baby Soul believes in the forces of evil» — lo que el dictado atribuye al segundo ciclo en religión: fundamentalismo, la personificación más fuerte de la divinidad y la creencia en las fuerzas del mal.

«The Baby Soul views its own sexuality with a vague uneasiness, and if the culture fosters such, will think of it as somehow shameful. The Baby Soul will be embarrassed by overt displays of honest sexuality, and it will strive to keep the others around it bound down by its own reprehensible moral code. Behind closed doors, the Baby Soul is more often than not quite as prudish as it is in public, and seldom sustains any sort of sensual pleasure. Not having experienced such, it naturally does not “believe” in the existence of the experience» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la sexualidad del segundo ciclo, con el circuito cerrado dentro: como no ha experimentado el placer sensual, no cree en su existencia; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Most Baby Souls somatize. Any medical patient who fixates on a particular organ system can usually be categorized immediately. For instance, all elderly ladies with bowel fixations are [likely to be (Scholar’s transcript)] Baby Souls. Baby Souls are ashamed of their sexuality, whether it be homosexual or heterosexual. Baby Souls are prone to use the courts excessively when their sense of justice has been outrageously insulted» — los indicios clínicos y judiciales con que el dictado propone reconocer al segundo ciclo, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 suaviza la generalización.

«The motto of the Young Soul is “do it my way.” This is an adventuresome time, with the soul ranging into new territory. This is where the movers and shakers are found; Young Souls are eager to take on tasks in the Physical plane and often set themselves impossible goals in their lives. They are the architects of civilization» — el lema del tercer ciclo y el papel que el dictado le asigna: los que mueven y sacuden, que se ponen metas imposibles y son los arquitectos de la civilización.

«The Young Soul perceives itself and the world around it in quite a different manner than in the preceding Cycles. It perceives itself as “me” and it perceives you as “you,” but it perceives “you” as different from “me,” and experiences the need to change you—bring you around to its point of view. Young Souls rarely question their motivation as they are limited by their perceptions in a way the Mature Soul is not» — la fórmula de percepción del tercer ciclo, que es donde el sistema sitúa el proselitismo: percibe al otro como distinto y necesita cambiarlo, y rara vez cuestiona su propia motivación.

«The Young Soul, if religiously inclined, tends toward orthodoxy in the extreme. It will campaign tirelessly against all religious reform. If the Young Soul is atheistic, it will be equally tireless in its efforts to wipe out the orthodoxy of others» — lo que el dictado sostiene del tercer ciclo en religión, con las dos formas simétricas: ortodoxia extrema contra toda reforma, o ateísmo igual de infatigable contra la ortodoxia ajena.

«If the Young Soul’s own personal opinion of sex is rather low, it will do its best to convince others around it that sex is evil and should be eschewed. Renunciate monks and nuns are quite often Young Souls. They renounce loudly and take every opportunity to remind the world around them that they have renounced. On the other hand, the Young Soul can be an equally zealous proponent of total sexual freedom. The Young Soul perceives love as eros, solely predicated upon those expectations it has of the others around it. If the others fail to live up to those expectations, the Young Soul can hate with equal zest. Sexual conflicts can be agonizing in this Cycle—early training versus internal urge» — lo que el dictado atribuye al tercer ciclo en materia sexual, también en dos formas simétricas: renunciantes que proclaman su renuncia y proponentes igual de celosos de la libertad total, con el amor percibido como eros y fundado en expectativas; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The Young Soul is much attached to the physical body and lessons are often not learned, even in the astral interval. The Young Souls seek to return as soon as possible. Being out of the body is unpleasant for the Young Soul. It is terrifying for the Baby Soul, interesting to the Mature Soul, and welcomed by the older soul» — lo que el dictado sostiene del tercer ciclo fuera del cuerpo y la escala que da de ese estado por ciclos: terrorífico para el segundo, desagradable para el tercero, interesante para el cuarto y bienvenido para el más viejo.

«The motto of the Mature Soul» — el lema del cuarto ciclo y lo que el dictado declara de él: ciclos difíciles, de mucha introspección y poca paz aparente a cambio.

«This is the most difficult Cycle of all, for the Mature Soul perceives others as they perceive themselves. Because of these perceptions the Mature Soul will often seek to sever relationships, seemingly for no reason, or by the same token, seek to perpetuate outwardly inappropriate relationships. If you and I are both Mature Souls, within this framework are also your experiences of me. In other words, while I am experiencing you, you are experiencing me, and at the same time, you are aware of my experience, and upon this deeper awareness, you and I will base any future social intercourse. As you can imagine, sometimes this makes living difficult. The Mature Soul is not as open to the occult as the Old Soul» — la fórmula de percepción del cuarto ciclo, que el dictado declara la más difícil: percibe a los otros como ellos se perciben, y en un encuentro entre dos de ese ciclo cada uno es consciente de la experiencia del otro; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«At the end of the Cycle, the Mature Soul begins to perceive truth. This prepares the soul for the search. This is not to say that the Mature Soul is isolated from its fellows; quite the contrary. When the Mature Souls perceive the unhappy ones, they desire to shield themselves from the unpleasant vibrations. You have already experienced the backlash from this. But know this well: you cannot alter their play no matter how much you love them. It is the nature of the Mature Soul to seek and to question the motivation for all of life’s actions» — dónde sitúa el dictado el comienzo de la búsqueda, y el límite que pone al amor en ese ciclo: no se puede alterar el drama del otro por mucho que se lo quiera.

«When this occurs, there is a gradual opening up of the soul, and when this happens, we can make limited contact. More of the unused portion of the brain comes into play during this Cycle and psychic phenomena» — el punto donde el dictado sitúa la posibilidad de su propio contacto: una apertura gradual del alma en el cuarto ciclo, con más porción del cerebro en juego; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«occur with more frequency until they are finally acknowledged and the serious work begins. This is made more difficult because this Cycle is really fraught with maya [artificial behavior], more so than any other Cycle: the perception of the older soul begins to emerge, but the understanding does not. Mature Souls feel all of the hostile vibrations around them. They have a need to remove themselves from this, but are too caught up in the traditional mores to remove themselves entirely. They feel a certain sense of duty which does not dissipate until the transition is made. This is why a skilled therapist would be of help in this Cycle. By therapist we do not mean a Young Soul practicing psychiatry either» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el corchete que el volumen usa para glosar *maya* como conducta artificial, y la recomendación de terapeuta con su reserva puesta encima; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In the Mature Cycle there is acute perception of the veil that lies between the real and artificial space, and as never before, the longing to penetrate this veil and go beyond the senses to glimpse the pandimensional. To know that you are not alone in the void, you must walk out on the thin ice and that way test the physical universe and its response to your plea. Most Mature Souls feel this, and in some way translate it into dreams of incredible strength and strange beauty. Not many, unfortunately, retain the memory of these dreams or question their meaning. When a soul not in teaching encounters the true personality in essence for the first time, it is, of course, a devastating experience. This usually comes about in moments of extreme stress, grief, or sometimes even trauma. It can, however, come about if the soul is suddenly catapulted into a situation so unusual that none of the tapes [memories of experiences in previous lives] is applicable. It applies in this case to the dream, as well as all unusual situations. Of course, it is undeniably true that none of you has a permanent tape telling you how to react to the surface of the moon and it is conceivable that all of you would encounter your true personality were you to find yourselves at the controls of a large jet aircraft without any prior training to guide you» — lo que el dictado sostiene del velo entre el espacio real y el artificial, con el corchete que glosa las *tapes* como memorias de vidas anteriores y el ejemplo de la situación sin cinta aplicable; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«except perhaps a few flying lessons in a small propeller-driven plane. Mature Souls seek an almost unknown quality in their lives; in other words, they know they are seeking but are generally unclear what it is they seek. For this reason Mature Souls do not usually enjoy life unless they are surrounded by souls in bliss. This is a difficult Cycle. We must emphasize the difficulty. The Mature Soul is beset with many problems, all intrinsic. The only way to help is to make the environment non-stressful, so that it has sanctuary. The Mature Soul often seeks professional help on its own» — la continuación en el chunk siguiente, con lo que el dictado sostiene del cuarto ciclo: sabe que busca pero no qué busca, no disfruta la vida salvo rodeado de almas en dicha, y la única ayuda que el dictado propone es un entorno sin estrés.

«The Mature Soul always seeks higher education, although not always in an institutional setting. It is often too uncomfortable in a school setting. The Mature Soul makes a massive contribution to knowledge, both philosophical and scientific. Karl Marx, Alfred Adler, Fritz Perls, Sigmund Freud, Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, and Albert Einstein were all Mature Souls» — la lista de nombres propios con que el dictado ilustra el cuarto ciclo, que es de los pocos lugares del libro donde adjudica edad de alma a figuras históricas nombradas: Karl Marx, Alfred Adler, Fritz Perls, Sigmund Freud, Immanuel Kant, Aristotle y Albert Einstein.

«Religion becomes self-motivated in the Mature Soul Cycle. The Mature Soul seeks quiet faiths: Quakerism, Unitarianism, Buddhism» — las tres confesiones que el dictado nombra como las que busca el cuarto ciclo, y el único lugar del capítulo donde la religión se cita por nombre propio.

«With the right partner (another Mature Soul who has become centered, or an older soul) the Mature Soul can be an ardent lover. The love is deep and lasting, for agape is possible during this Cycle if the inner conflicts are resolved. With the wrong partner there is apathy, impotency, frigidity, infidelity. This soul has more of a tendency to “mate for life” than any of the other Cycles, providing a comfortable mating occurs» — lo que el dictado sostiene del amor en el cuarto ciclo, con las dos salidas puestas una al lado de otra: agape posible si se resuelven los conflictos internos, o apatía, impotencia, frigidez e infidelidad con la pareja equivocada.

«Mature Souls make fine chefs: they enjoy precision cooking and gourmet dining. Their hollandaise sauce does not curdle—it would not dare. Wine fetishes are at their height in this Cycle. A Mature Soul would never serve a zinfandel with lobster. An Old Soul would not hesitate a moment, if zinfandel happened to be its favorite wine» — el registro doméstico en que el dictado distingue el cuarto ciclo del quinto, y que es de los pasajes más ligeros del libro: la salsa holandesa que no se corta y el vino que uno no serviría y el otro sí.

«The motto of the Old Soul is “You do what you want to, and I’ll do what I want.” There is a change of pace here. In previous Cycles the soul was not drawn to the search with the same intensity that it is in the Old Cycles. There is a newer and more profound creativity which is part of the search» — el lema del quinto ciclo y el cambio de ritmo que el dictado le atribuye: una búsqueda más intensa y una creatividad más honda que forma parte de ella.

«The Old Soul perceives others as a part of something greater that includes itself. And with this comes the realization that there are no problems except those created by false personality as a defense. However, it is difficult for Old Souls to break these patterns because Old Souls more often than not seek the route of least resistance» — la fórmula de percepción del quinto ciclo y el límite que el dictado le pone en la misma frase: se da cuenta de que no hay más problemas que los que la personalidad falsa inventa como defensa, y aun así le cuesta romper esos patrones porque busca la vía de menor resistencia.

«The older soul usually enjoys hard manual labor, but seldom works as an artisan. It may or may not seek higher education. If pressure is exerted by the guru, it will, or if it senses that its task somehow involves the necessity for obtaining the proper credentials. For this reason, many Old Souls are gardeners. Young Souls with fabulous estates pay them well to exercise this inborn talent. The money thus gained is used by the Mid-Causal body to perpetuate its influence on the Physical plane. There is another aspect» — lo que el dictado sostiene del trabajo en el quinto ciclo, incluida la afirmación sobre el destino del dinero así ganado; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«The religion of the Old Souls is expansive and includes unorthodox rituals. Groves of trees become cathedrals and the presence of the realized masters is often felt by older souls. The synthesis is perceived in the final Cycle, and Old Souls seldom cling to dogma» — lo que el dictado atribuye al quinto ciclo en religión: rituales heterodoxos, arboledas vueltas catedrales y la síntesis percibida en el ciclo final, sin apego al dogma.

«The Old Soul is casual about sex in the earlier levels because erotic love begins to lose its charm. In the final level, the Old Soul often does not participate for lack of purpose. (Sex adds nothing to its life.) The Old Soul is intensely sensual, however, and does enjoy close physical contact. The Old Soul is usually an experienced and exciting partner for souls in an earlier Cycle, but can be a very disappointing lover because of its nonchalance» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la sexualidad del quinto ciclo, con la contradicción dentro y sin armonizar: intensamente sensual y a la vez decepcionante como amante por su despreocupación.

«Old Souls are casual cooks they use recipes as guidelines rather than as gospel. They tend to use spices and herbs freely, and will cut mold from cheese and rotten spots from fruit rather than throw the food away. Old Souls feel at home with living things. Winemaking is an ancient art; most vintners are older souls and may have been vintners before, returning to that art most gladly. They can indulge their penchant for gardening, make a living, and avoid the rat race at the same time» — el registro doméstico del quinto ciclo según el dictado, con la vinatería como arte antiguo al que se vuelve de buena gana.

«What Old Souls do not understand yet is that they are all caught up in a device that is the last gathering together. That is what the Old-Soul Cycle is all about. All Old Souls come at last to philosophy and the arts. Some come more obnoxiously than others, but they come nevertheless. All over the world, their entity fragments are searching for that feeling of home. Some do not know what it is they search for, but they experience the emptiness» — lo que el dictado declara que el quinto ciclo todavía no entiende, y con ello el sentido que da a todo el ciclo: un último juntarse, con los fragmentos buscando por el mundo la sensación de casa sin saber qué buscan.

«Being nonphysical except in times of manifestations, these high souls do not need a motto» — la salvedad con que el dictado introduce las dos almas superiores y las deja fuera de la serie de lemas.

«The Transcendental Soul experiences others as itself. Telepathic rapport and psychic union occur. These exalted souls seldom seek reincarnation in the physical body. If they do, it is usually because of the spiritual and/or philosophical ennui existing on the planet, and then they normally precede the descent of the realized masters by less than one hundred years. The Transcendental Soul can enter the physical body and displace an Old Soul at any time during the life cycle. It has happened that the presence of the Transcendental Soul alone was enough to provoke the needed spiritual, philosophical, or cultural revolution» — lo que el dictado sostiene del alma trascendental: experimenta a los otros como a sí misma, rara vez reencarna y cuando lo hace es por el hastío espiritual del planeta, precediendo por menos de cien años al descenso de los maestros realizados.

«The Infinite Soul perceives the Tao» — la fórmula más corta de la escala, con la que el dictado cierra la serie de percepciones por grado.

«The Transcendental Soul perceives the synthesis and teaches it as such. It will not espouse popular dogma and does not affiliate with organized religion. The religion of the Infinite Soul is the Logos» — lo que el dictado sostiene de las dos almas superiores en materia de religión: la trascendental percibe la síntesis y no se afilia a religión organizada, y la de la infinita es el Logos.

«Neither the Transcendental Soul nor the Infinite Soul pursues physical union. Quite often, however, the high Causal body or the High Mental Body displaces an older soul, and at the time of the manifestation, the sexual activity ceases. These souls are not challenged by maya. [In later sessions, Michael clarified that the Transcendental Souls displaces sixth and seventh level Old Priests and the Infinite Soul displaces seventh level Old Kings» — el corchete donde la edición de 2005 precisa a quién desplaza cada una de las dos almas superiores, que es el punto donde la escala se cierra sobre sí misma.

«We could do nothing. That is true of all, without the other forces holding the universe together. All of these combined are necessary to perpetuate the Cycles. Knowing how it happens does not give you carte blanche to go and do it. Many people were disappointed in Jesus because he did nothing physical about their woes. This will be the case again. The Infinite Soul does not come to lead the troops. The Infinite Soul comes to bring the Logos to bear. It is up to you to listen and take your own action» — la respuesta del dictado a si se puede provocar la manifestación de esas almas, y que es donde vuelve a negarse el papel de salvador: muchos quedaron decepcionados de Jesús porque no hizo nada físico por sus males, y el Infinite Soul no viene a encabezar las tropas.

«Examine the natures of the various stages of growth in the soul. The level of perception and the nature of the soul’s understanding within a Cycle is critical here. It now happens that on this planet the vast majority of souls are Young and Mature Souls. This has not always been so, but life on this planet is evolving to the point where there will be no more Infant Soul entities cast into this frame. At that point the majority will be either Mature or Old Souls. [In 1981, Michael said: No more entities are being cast onto this planet, into either your human specifies or cetaceans, although, of course, such casting continues on other planets and into other species.] There is an end point, of course, to all worlds, when the star exhausts itself. The evolution of life within a given solar system is always geared to not exceed the life of the star. In other words, all life on this planet will have evolved and completed long before this star expands to become a red giant and eventually shrinks into a remnant dwarf. [See additional information (2) at end of chapter» — el censo que el dictado hace del planeta por edad de alma, con el corchete fechado en 1981 que la edición de 2005 añade: ya no se echan más entidades a este planeta ni en la especie humana ni en los cetáceos, y toda vida aquí habrá terminado antes de que la estrella se vuelva gigante roja; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«nature of material achievements and therefore lacks the drive to accomplish this. They are all extremely competent, even in roles that are out of essence. The drive now is for spiritual evolution in [many forms and in a broad spectrum of contexts (Scholar’s transcript)] in all Old Souls. Therefore, they are inclined to let the rest slide. Any one of them could achieve anything they wish to, but more often than not Old Souls choose to have lives in which the usual working world and survival struggle will not touch them. In their work they tend to choose an occupation that is pleasant or not particularly demanding so that they will be free to pursue their real goals without hardship, unless the employment aids the search. [When the Life-Task “requires” devotion and self-discipline, Old Souls can take on seemingly insurmountable obstacles with “philosophical” comprehension and purpose. (Priest’s transcript)] For that reason, final-level Old Souls rarely seek remunerative employment for any period of time» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con los dos corchetes que la edición de 2005 añade desde otras transcripciones: la futilidad de los logros materiales, la elección de ocupaciones que dejen libre la búsqueda, y la salvedad de que cuando la tarea de vida lo pide el quinto ciclo asume obstáculos aparentemente insuperables. La plana abre partiendo en dos la palabra anterior; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Since that comment back in 1978, Michael has been asked to update their comments from time to time. The most recent response, provided in November, 2002, was» — la cabecera con que la edición de 2005 presenta la actualización del pasaje de los diez futuros posibles, y que declara la práctica del volumen tardío: al dictado se le pide poner al día sus propios comentarios.

«planet, and who will, of course, return to it for many lives to come. Let us remind you that the world you chose to create now is the world you will have to live in “over time.” While we do not predict, and nothing we remark upon in regard to the possible futures is in the nature of “hard” prediction, any competent physicist will agree that certain trends in human activities incline your species to certain “conditions” with which you may have to deal—for example: setting off nuclear weapons for any purpose, including “protective” testing releases radioactivity that may cause damage, just as a damaged nuclear power plant might do the same thing. The planet itself has its share of hazards, as does all of the Physical plane, and while volcanos, hurricanes, droughts, floods, epidemics, tornadoes, earthquakes, “space junk,” and such are not “judgments” on the planet, nor are they activities of “intent,” such as war is, the degree to which they can damage the environment for your species may be, in part, the result of decisions made by your species, and while all decisions are equally valid, may require more “drastic” solutions due to the actions of your species than many others might, We would also wish to point out that as time goes by, population and environmental conditions are likely to influence “political necessity” in regard to what you may call “quality of life” issues. How much of the future you chose imposes upon you in this life and in lives to come will, to a greater or lesser extent, be the result of your choice now and in the next few years to come, as is always the case» — la actualización de 2002 que la edición de 2005 pone en boca del dictado, con su propia reserva dentro: sigue habiendo unos diez futuros posibles, ninguno especialmente grato, y nada de lo dicho es predicción dura; los desastres naturales no son juicios ni actos de intención, pero el daño que causan depende en parte de las decisiones de la especie; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Let us remark that while there truly are many paths to the goal, you are not “judged” by any path you may chose to follow. Every fragment is accountable to itself for its own essence and no other. No other is needed. All choices are equally valid, even those that seem to run “contrary” to original intention, or those leading to creation of karmic ribbons. Just as evolution runs only one way, life is lived in one direction. You cannot devolve, although you may end up taking many lives in which to make small steps “forward” in evolution. There is no error in his, of course, only choice and the ramifications of choice. Evolution is not a race—you get no “points” for rapid transitions and no “demerits” for less rapid transition. You will evolve, and your individual evolution will proceed along whatever lines choice determines. Older is not “superior” nor is younger “inferior,” any more than dinosaurs are “better“ or “worse” than birds —every stage of evolution is appropriate; you will evolve at your own rate, receiving neither praise nor blame for your evolution, and having no “judgment” made beyond your own integral process of inculcation of lives, which we remind you, is done with full acceptance and love as well as with “absolute” comprehension» — el segundo bloque de información adicional del capítulo 4, que es donde el sistema niega toda jerarquía moral entre almas: ninguna vía se juzga, todas las elecciones valen igual, no se puede desandar la evolución, no es una carrera y lo viejo no es superior ni lo joven inferior, como los dinosaurios no son mejores ni peores que las aves; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Everyone wanted to know about themselves, of course, and Michael told us a little, but said that there was more information he’d have to give before he could get specific.” She adjusts the cuffs of her neat blue blouse. “There were a lot of people who started to get scared then, you know? They kept worrying that they might find out they’d done something awful in the past» — lo que el grupo quiso saber al recibir la tipología, según una miembro, y el miedo que declara que apareció entonces: que les tocara enterarse de algo atroz del pasado.

«If you live enough times, you’re bound to make mistakes. You can’t help it. And Michael keeps insisting that to have true understanding you’ve got to experience for yourself all aspects of life. That means that before you’ve finished, you’re going to do some pretty reprehensible things» — la médium saca la consecuencia que el sistema impone y no la suaviza: si la comprensión pide experimentar todos los aspectos de la vida, hay que haber hecho cosas reprensibles antes de terminar.

«Within each age there are seven levels. That does not mean that there are seven lives. Often it takes several lifetimes to complete a level. Level is a matter of perception and function» — la doctrina de los niveles dentro de cada edad del alma, con la salvedad que el dictado pone de entrada: siete niveles no son siete vidas, y a menudo hacen falta varias para completar un nivel.

«At the first level, there will be only the most basic aspect of the growth apparent and the fragment will act and respond without any real perspective on the nature of its actions. On the second level of the Cycle, the fragment begins to learn response, and there is now an area of comparison, albeit a small one. At the second level the soul is particularly prone to Emotional Centering» — los dos primeros niveles según el dictado: en el primero el fragmento actúa sin perspectiva de sus propios actos, y en el segundo aprende la respuesta y aparece un área de comparación.

«At the third level a degree of discernment and» — el arranque del tercer nivel; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«the fragment considers its actions within the Cycle with more awareness of the ramifications of its actions. In a Young Soul, this Cycle will spur it to still greater activity. In the Mature Soul, there will be a more intense introspection. At the fourth level the fragment gathers together its knowledge and establishes a foundation on which to build. In other words, it has legs under it. At the fifth level, integration begins and all that has gone before is understood within the context of the nature of the Cycles. At the sixth level, the integration becomes conscious awareness. For all souls at all levels, this can be one of the most difficult phases and take the longest to work through, for although there is perception and awareness, there is also the hazard of that final step. Most of the obligations of the Cycle must be dealt with at the sixth level so that at the seventh the whole pattern of the Cycle can be inculcated and the next Cycles prepared for» — los niveles tercero a séptimo según el dictado: discernimiento, fundamento sobre el que construir, integración, la conciencia de esa integración —que declara la fase más difícil para toda alma— y la inculcación del patrón entero; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Human spirits reincarnate in human form without exception. The only karma incurred of importance relates to other people [and with cetaceans. This does not mean that ill-treatment of “creatures” will not be balanced during the fragment’s evolution, or that fragments will not eventually make amends to the hive souls of “creatures” for mistreatment, for all contributes to balance. (Scholar’s transcript)] However, there are sometimes unresolved emotional conflicts in the entity. We have said that Astral matter can be used to materialize self and other objects. The entity then chooses to create the hunted and the experience of the hunt. From that dimension this experience is real, in the sense that it is needed to play out a scene» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por las vidas como animal, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre los cetáceos y el maltrato de las criaturas: los espíritus humanos reencarnan sin excepción en forma humana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We are sorry to distress you, but we must remind you that scripture has been in error before» — la respuesta del dictado a quien objeta que eso contradice la escritura oriental, que es de las pocas veces en que el libro pone al dictado en contra de una tradición escrita por su nombre.

«There are explanations for that. It is possible for the entity not earthbound to throw off fragments and create earthbound elemental forms. This does happen, but it is not a true evolution. This is possible only for an entity no longer earthbound. The earthbound entities cannot hold on to the fragments. By earthbound we speak of those with unburned karmic ribbons who must still return. The Causal entity has the ability to create earthbound elementary forms and throw a fragment of the entity to that form for its earthbound experiences. This only becomes necessary occasionally and is rare. There are some strong ties with certain earth elementals. The problem has arisen more often than not among those who hunt» — la explicación que el dictado ofrece al recuerdo de haber sido animal: una entidad ya no ligada a la tierra puede echar fragmentos y crear formas elementales, cosa que declara rara y no verdadera evolución; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.; tramo largo del dictado, releído entero en el crudo

«and eat the flesh of animals. That fragment sometimes becomes a “restless spirit” [before the final level Old life is completed. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 acota: de ahí saldría el *restless spirit*.

«You are right about the bell curve. The majority of all creatures of reason are Young and Mature Souls right now because of the closeness of the manifestation of the High Mental Body» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por la distribución de las edades del alma, que es donde da la forma estadística del censo: campana, con mayoría de almas jóvenes y maduras.

«Not between lives. Soul level is the function of the Physical plane» — la respuesta más breve del capítulo, que saca al nivel del alma del intervalo entre vidas y lo deja como función del plano físico.

«We have often reiterated that belief is not necessary. This is an example of one dogma being more palatable than another and, therefore, acceptable. He cannot envision himself in a physical body of a female. Paul could not imagine a messiah who sweated, either, but Jesus did» — la respuesta del dictado a un dogma ajeno que niega el cambio de sexo entre vidas, con el ejemplo que él mismo escoge para desarmarlo.

«The soul is not of the Physical plane. How could it possibly have gender and what good would it be? There is no gender to an entity, and the fragments of an entity have no gender. Male and female are factors of the Physical plane [on this planet—on other planets there are other forms of gender, which for those species are also considered “the norm.” (Priest’s transcript)» — lo que el dictado sostiene del género del alma, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre otras formas de género en otros planetas: ni la entidad ni sus fragmentos tienen género, que es factor del plano físico.

«Watch for the perceptions of others. If they differ greatly from those involved, you are probably dealing with a Mature Soul. You must discriminate between fear, unrest, and craziness» — la primera regla práctica que el dictado da para identificar edades del alma, y que es por la percepción de los otros y no por la conducta.

«Remembering that this is most superficial, and easily colored by other factors, we would say that Infant Souls manifest fear. This can be seen in their eyes. This fear is out of proportion to the situation. The whole business of living is fearful to them. Baby Souls are guileless and this shows in their eyes. Young Souls are in a state of unrest. This often shows in erratic eye movements, the inability to hold eye contact for long. But then, the Mature Soul finds it difficult to maintain eye contact because of discomfort. Old Souls have a direct, penetrating stare absent in earlier Cycles. Wisdom is reflected there» — la segunda regla práctica, que el dictado marca él mismo como lo más superficial y fácil de teñir por otros factores: el miedo desproporcionado del primer ciclo, la falta de doblez del segundo, la inquietud del tercero, la incomodidad del cuarto y la mirada directa y penetrante del quinto; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That is valid. The social behavior of Baby Souls is normally a dead giveaway. They have none of the smoothness of the older Cycles. New situations frighten them. Change of any type is threatening. The Young Soul is usually polished and poised socially. The Mature Soul is sometimes nervous in crowds if the vibrations are bad, but they are exacting in their social relationships. The Old Soul is casual about everything. Baby Souls tend to be immaculate about person and home, have strong feelings about hygiene. They live by standard clichés, and after all, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” The Young Soul often keeps external appearances: shove everything into the closet before the company comes. The Mature Soul goes in spurts: one day clean, the next day, not too clean. The Old Soul usually does not bother to shove anything into the closet. Who cares» — la tercera regla práctica, que el dictado da por la conducta social y doméstica de cada ciclo, del orden inmaculado del segundo a la despreocupación del quinto; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Let it be known that intellect is not a factor in any of these Cycles» — la salvedad con que el dictado corta la defensa que un miembro hace de su socio por sus títulos, y que es la que impide leer la tipología como escala de inteligencia.

«The Infinite Soul manifested through the physical forms of Lao-tzu, Sri Krishna, Siddhartha Guatama, and Jesus—no others [among your species (Scholar’s transcript)]. [Among your species (Scholar’s transcript)] the Transcendental Soul has manifested through Socrates, Zarathustra, Mohammed, and through Mohandas K. Gandhi» — la única lista nominal de manifestaciones que el dictado da, con los corchetes que la edición de 2005 acota a la especie humana: la Infinite Soul por Lao-tzu, Sri Krishna, Siddhartha Guatama y Jesus, y la Transcendental por Socrates, Zarathustra, Mohammed y Mohandas K. Gandhi. Las grafías van como el volumen las imprime.

«The descent of the High Mental Body supersedes all that has gone before. The High Mental Body does not live in the sense that you know life. When the avatar, its physical manifestation, descends, the Logos is brought to bear. This is not a teaching. When the avatar descends again, the Logos will again be brought to bear, but in the language of today. Teachings are interpretations of the Logos. They must be updated, not because the Logos changes, but because language does» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la relación entre el avatar y las enseñanzas: cuando el avatar desciende se trae a colación el Logos y eso no es una enseñanza, porque las enseñanzas son interpretaciones del Logos que hay que actualizar, no porque el Logos cambie sino porque cambia la lengua.

«Physical evolution started on an orderly basis on all worlds. This concept should be self-evident when one examines the remnants. Spiritual evolution occurs simultaneously. There is evolution on all planes except the Tao. That is the only perfection of which we are all cognizant. To the Greeks, the Logos was the controlling force of the universe. To Christian theologians, determined to bend all teachings to their preferred shape, it is the word of God. The Logos can be called the outward or Physical plane manifestation of the Tao. Remember that it has been said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God.” Substitute “being” for “beginning,” “Logos” for “word” and “Tao” for “God” and you may grasp part of it. In the being is the Logos and the Logos is the Tao» — la definición del Logos que el dictado da a quien se la exige, con las dos lecturas ajenas puestas antes: la de los griegos, fuerza que gobierna el universo, y la de los teólogos cristianos, palabra de Dios, de la que el dictado dice que doblan toda enseñanza a su forma preferida; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That is correct. Usually the next life is spent in a whirlwind of activity» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por las vidas contemplativas, que el sistema compensa con la vida siguiente.

«That depends on the activity. Sometimes the soul chooses a rather vain, purposeless role which leads to no particular growth. This is what a resting life is all about. This is why some souls spend much time in one Cycle. The figure seven is an average, but not an absolute. In general a level will require two hundred years of life on the Physical plane» — lo que el dictado llama vida de descanso, y la única cifra de duración que da de un nivel: unos doscientos años de vida en el plano físico, no continuos, con el siete como promedio y no como absoluto.

«There are quite a few. In your entity there are 287 now on the Physical plane. Some are in the eastern United States, a few on the West Coast, but most are in the Near East» — la cifra que el dictado da a un miembro del grupo de los fragmentos de su propia entidad encarnados ahora, con su reparto geográfico.

«You are all part of the same whole. You, David, are a second-level Old Soul. Many of your entity fragments have finished their Cycles on the Physical plane and are reunited. Strength comes from those fragments which have already integrated and are no longer subject to karma. You are a part of this entity, not separate from it, but there is now a partition between you and those fragments available, so to speak. It is up to you whether you can draw upon the conglomerate knowledge. You must first be able to perceive it. A large part of your time is now being spent off the Physical plane and this time grows longer as more and more of the original entity becomes integrated. The pull is almost irresistible now. More than half of the time allotted to sleep you now spend on the Astral plane where you can approach those fragments you are seeking» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los fragmentos ya integrados: de ellos viene la fuerza, hay una partición entre el encarnado y ellos, y más de la mitad del tiempo de sueño se pasa en el plano astral buscándolos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That is a convenience you create for yourself. All of those fragments experienced life as both male and female. Integrated fragments have no gender. There are no sexed souls» — la respuesta del dictado a quien ve en sueños figuras de uno y otro sexo, que remata la doctrina del alma sin género.

«This is done from the Emotional Center and it consists of a strong feeling of camaraderie or of brotherhood that has a special closeness and comfort that can transcend even cultural and racial barriers» — cómo se reconoce, según el dictado, a un fragmento de la propia entidad: por el Emotional Center, como camaradería o hermandad que atraviesa las barreras culturales y raciales.

«This male is both under lunar influence and has unrealized homosexual urges. Baby Souls are ashamed of their sexuality, whether it be homo or hetero. He cannot act out this inclination» — el dictado adjudica edad de alma y conflicto sexual a un tercero ausente al que solo conoce por la pregunta de una miembro del grupo; es uno de los usos más crudos del sistema como diagnóstico de ausentes.

«That is correct. The woman is a Mature Soul, which has contributed to her difficulties. She will improve only if those around her alleviate the conditions for her. Her reactions are your perceptions, not hers. She is also caught up much more in the enthrallment of maya than older souls. Problems do exist on her plane; they are very real to her. The older soul begins to realize that there are no problems except those created by false personality as a defense» — el mismo procedimiento aplicado a otra ausente, con la frase que el sistema repite: para el alma vieja no hay más problemas que los que la personalidad falsa crea como defensa.

«That is, of course, one definition. That is one aspect of maya. We will also call it false personality, or behavior that is the result of peer-group pressure and acculturation. [See additional information at end of chapter.] The false personality is that which is produced artificially by the society in which you live. It is the rules of maya» — cómo el dictado se apropia del término que una miembro del grupo había glosado como la diosa hindú de la ilusión: llama maya a la personalidad falsa, a la conducta producto de la presión del grupo y de la aculturación.

«The word does not matter so much as your understanding. However, “ego” to the psychiatrist normally means self, so be certain that you all understand each other. For the purpose of ease in transmission, we have been using terminology familiar to the majority, with some variation. For instance, we perceive no schism between self, soul, and essence. All are spiritual. False personality is attached to the organism» — la respuesta del dictado a si el ego entra en maya, con la declaración de vocabulario que gobierna todo el libro: no percibe cisma entre self, soul y essence, y la personalidad falsa va prendida al organismo.

«They are not talking down, as you call it. You are not being excluded. You can hear the knowledge. Most Young Souls are unwilling to devote themselves to the life of contemplation that is necessary to bring the words to fruition. This is an active Cycle, the one in which the most valuable lessons are learned and the most mistakes made. It is like any system of learning. The Infant Soul is in kindergarten, the Baby Soul is in life’s elementary school, the Young Soul is in the gymnasium or high school, the Mature Soul is in college, and the Old Soul is out in the world» — la respuesta del dictado a un miembro que se declara alma joven y se molesta con las viejas, con la escala escolar que usa para ordenar los ciclos: jardín de niños, primaria, preparatoria, universidad y el mundo.

«There is a great deal of difference. Baby Souls tend to congregate in mid-American towns. This to them represents “the good life.” Young Souls like the urban life or the country. The Mature Soul seeks tranquillity, and if this means isolation, then so be it. Old Souls live all over» — el arranque de la geografía de las edades del alma, que el dictado da primero por tipo de sitio antes que por país.

«It is the same with countries. There are no Infant-Soul nations. India is a country of mostly Baby Souls with a few pockets of late-level Mature and Old Souls who have gone there to look after the younger ones and help them grow. Ireland is late-level Baby and early Young. Japan is a nation of early Young Souls, though some urban areas are heavily late Baby. Argentina and Brazil are late Baby and early Young. Syria is early Young. Both the United States and Canada are Young-Soul nations. Typically, they are expansive, technological, and capitalistic countries. Israel is a mid-Cycle Young country. Yemen is late Young. Saudi Arabia is late Young and early Mature» — la primera mitad del censo de naciones por edad de alma, que es el catálogo más largo del libro y el que más lo data: declara que no hay naciones de primer ciclo y reparte países uno por uno, con corchetes de la edición de 2005 que fechan en 1978 las fronteras y los gobernantes; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Greece is early Mature. Egypt is early Mature with pockets of Old Souls. Yugoslavia is mid-Cycle Mature but with some very ardent Young Souls in the Power and Passion Modes. England is a Mature-Soul country with pockets of both Baby and Old Souls. Sweden is mid-Cycle Mature. Lebanon is predominantly Mature, but again with zealous early Young Souls attracting attention. Peru is mid-Cycle Mature. Italy is late Mature with much Emotional Centering. Poland, too, is late Mature. Finland is late Mature with a great deal of early Old. Cuba is late Mature with some Old. Belgium is late Mature and early Old. The Soviet Union, in spite of its Young leadership, is late Mature and early Old, particularly in the rural areas. There are also a fair number of early Old Souls in the cities of this far-flung nation. Norway is late Mature to early Old. Czechoslovakia is an early Old-Soul nation. Iceland is early to mid-Cycle Old. Switzerland and Holland are both Old-Soul nations» — la segunda mitad de ese censo, de Grecia a Suiza y Holanda; el tramo empieza donde la plana abre y se declara aquí que es continuación del anterior; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Since humor is a function of perception, it would be strange if it did not. By humor, we do not mean acts of hostility disguised with laughter. This is a particular specialty of Baby and Young Souls. For the most part, Baby Souls are too inhibited to have a real sense of humor; Young Souls have the capacity but are often too busy. Mature Souls display wry wit, and Old Souls can become quite bawdy. It is impossible to differentiate between real bawdiness and sexual hostility, which is another matter entirely» — lo que el dictado sostiene del humor por ciclos, con la distinción que pone delante: no llama humor a los actos de hostilidad disfrazados de risa.

«That is the next level of teaching. “You mean the Cycles and levels aren’t all of it?” Walter asked. They are, in fact, just the beginning» — las dos respuestas con que el dictado cierra el capítulo y anuncia el siguiente, y que declaran que los ciclos y los niveles son apenas el comienzo.

«We would wish to remind you that young minds as well as young brains in pre-Second-Internal-Monad fragments are particularly malleable, and first experience of anything “influences” the assessment of all similar experiences, which is why abuse of very young children can produce such detrimental results in later life. In addition, the Infant and Baby Souls are the most likely to be “damaged” by mistreatment; Young Souls are inclined to find secondary or symbolic ways of striking back at the perceived cause of the damage. And, of course, trauma itself, emotional or physical, or both, can have physiological impact on all very young children, no matter what the soul age may be, for if the mechanism is broken or its function impaired, the fragment in the body will find that the developmental processes are compromised in ways that impact the overleaves and the Life Plan. Karma-creating activities under such circumstances may be somewhat less “burdensome” than they would be when the choice is less distorted by perception and experience but they are not “eliminated” and those who choose to “fight fire with fire” may discover that there are many ways to restore balance for the benefit of all concerned. Just as many fragments are held legally responsible for acts committed while under the influence of many kinds of intoxicants, so fragments impaired by early childhood trauma are still not exempt from the consequences of their actions in later incarnations» — la continuación de ese bloque en el chunk siguiente, con lo que el dictado sostiene del daño temprano y su límite: el maltrato de los niños muy pequeños deja resultados duraderos y puede aligerar la carga kármica, pero no exime de las consecuencias en vidas posteriores; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We would agree with your allusion. The structure of false personality is a formidable one. The fixed, rigid personality is rather like a mountain of granite. Chipping away relentlessly is the sole solution. Depression is the external manifestation of the internal struggle. Depression, by the way, is one of the only neurotic manifestations left to the Old Soul. Even Jesus felt it. Each of you spent many years building this facade. Do you really feel that you should be able to discard this quite casually with hardly a whimper? We think not. Progress is being made in quite concrete ways» — lo que el dictado sostiene de cómo cede la personalidad falsa: montaña de granito que solo cede a golpes constantes, con la depresión como manifestación externa de esa lucha y como única neurosis que le queda al alma vieja; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In later sessions, Michael discussed Family Icon, the role a new child in a family is expected to play for the family’s sake: We would have to say Fam» — la cabecera con que la edición de 2005 introduce el Family Icon desde sesiones posteriores: el papel que se espera que un hijo nuevo cumpla para bien de la familia. El troceo reemite la marca de plana a media palabra, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«ily Icon is the basis of false personality, and the recognition of the Fourth Internal Monad. Although Family Icon is very rarely a defined decision on the part of the parents—they don’t actually say “our little baby is going to fulfill the role of “The Peacemaker”—nonetheless the Icon affects the child profoundly, beginning at firs breath and continuing through all of life» — la continuación de esa misma frase en el chunk siguiente, que arranca partida en dos por el corte: el dictado declara al Family Icon base de la personalidad falsa y lo liga al Cuarto Monad Interno, con el añadido de que los padres casi nunca lo deciden expresamente y aun así afecta al hijo desde el primer aliento.

«Expression Sage Artisan + – + – expression oration creation artifice Inspiration Priest Slave + – + – compassion zeal service bondage Action King Warrior + – + – mastery tyranny persuasion coercion Assimilation Scholar + – knowledge theory» — el cuadro con que el capítulo 6 abre y que reparte los siete Roles en los cuatro ejes del sistema, cada uno con su polo positivo y su polo negativo; el troceo conserva los signos y los espacios de la tabla, y así se cita.

«From the time an entity is cast from the Tao to the time it reunites, the essence or Role of the individual soul does not change. If you begin as a Sage, you will be a Sage from your first life to your last, and will be affected by your Sageness. The same is true for the other six Roles in essence» — la regla que fija el Role en esencia para toda la serie de vidas: no cambia desde que la entidad es echada del Tao hasta que se reúne.

«There are seven major Roles in essence. These are chosen at the time the entity is first born, or cast from the Tao, and are followed throughout. It is possible to experience all of life within the confines of these Roles. They are: Slave, Artisan, Warrior, Scholar, Sage, Priest, and King. Just as the level of the soul manifests inwardly, as perception, so the major Role in essence manifests outwardly in attitudes and behavior» — los siete Roles nombrados y el eje que los distingue del nivel del alma: el nivel se manifiesta hacia dentro como percepción y el Role hacia fuera en actitudes y conducta.

«It is important for you to realize that none of these designations have social, political, economic, or other “worldly” significance. We do not mean to imply that any of the political or social functions with the same names as the Roles in essence are in any way comparable» — la advertencia con que el dictado aparta los nombres de los Roles de sus homónimos sociales y políticos, y que es la que impide leer la tipología como escala de clase.

«There are three pairings of essence Roles and one neutral Role. The pairs are Slave and Priest, Artisan and Sage, Warrior and King. The neutral Role is Scholar» — la estructura de pares y neutro: Slave y Priest, Artisan y Sage, Warrior y King, con Scholar como el Role neutro.

«The Priest is the Slave exalted. These Roles express themselves in service to mankind: humanitarian ideals. In the Priest, there is a sense of God-consciousness, otherworldliness. A physician can be in essence for either Slaves or Priests, as can social workers, nurses, or the clergy. The Priest will always seek a higher ideal or being to serve and the Slave will seek for a person or institution to serve. The Priest sees the world as his congregation, the Slave sees the world as his honored guests» — el primer par explicado por su modo de ver el mundo: el Priest lo ve como su congregación y el Slave como sus huéspedes de honor, y el primero busca un ideal superior a quien servir y el segundo una persona o institución.

«The Sage is the Artisan exalted. These Roles manifest through selfexpression. Artisans bring to life freshness and originality; Sages, innate wisdom and sagacity. The Sage will always search for the unique thing. The Artisan will always try to create it. The Sage views the world as his audience, the Artisan as his model. The Sage accumulates knowledge like a sea sponge. The Sage is normally an excellent extemporaneous orator and wishes to share all knowledge acquired with all those within hailing distance. [In younger Cycles, the Sage may communicate “utter nonsense” but it will communicate at any cost. (Scholar’s transcript)» — el segundo par, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade: el Sage busca lo único y el Artisan intenta crearlo, uno ve el mundo como su público y el otro como su modelo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo; la extracción une *self-expression* por el guion de fin de renglón y devuelve *selfexpression*; la forma impresa lleva guion.

«The King is the Warrior exalted. These Roles express themselves through leadership and the ability to influence motivation. The King takes charge through knowledge and inherent power, the Warrior through an instinctive drive. The King will always seek to guide and rule, the Warrior to command and explore. The King sees the world as his realm, the Warrior as unconquered territory» — el tercer par: el King manda por saber y poder propio y el Warrior por impulso instintivo, y uno ve el mundo como su reino y el otro como territorio no conquistado.

«The Scholar is an intermediate Role. He is an observer rather than a participant. All of life is vicarious rather than experiential, regardless of the Cycle or gender chosen by the soul [within the framework of social and cultural training. (Scholar’s transcript)]. No Scholar will ever be gushy, no matter how young a soul. Enthusiasm can be genuine, but will be subdued. All reactions are low key: grief, joy, pain, pleasure. The Old Scholar is detached, aloof, and often arrogantly intellectual. The Scholar always seeks new knowledge and sees the world as an object of study» — el Role neutro descrito por su temple: observador más que participante, con toda reacción en tono bajo y el mundo por objeto de estudio, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 acota al marco social y cultural.

«There are more Slaves than any other Role in essence. Then Artisans, Warriors, Scholars, Sages, Priests, and last and fewest, Kings. [There are only fifty-nine Magnetic Kings—that is, cardinal-cast sixth-level Old—in the world today. (Michael has said subsequently that the number has shifted by about ten percent.)] As you can see, it is an orderly progression. There is more need for Slaves and Artisans than for Priests and Kings, both in the cosmic sense and in the material sense. More King souls have been Slaves in the world than Slave souls have been Kings. This is partly because there are more collars than thrones available» — el censo de frecuencia de los Roles, con el corchete de la edición de 2005 que da la cifra de Magnetic Kings y su corrección posterior, y la razón material que el dictado da del orden: hay más collares que tronos.

«Elizabeth I was a King. She was the greatest of all this world’s leaders. Julius Caesar was a Warrior, but a Mature Soul. Augustus Caesar was a Sage and Tiberius a Scholar. Alexander the Great was aYoung King. Marcus Aurelius was an Old Scholar—a great philosopher but a poor leader. John Kennedy was a Young King. Franklin Roosevelt was a Mature Sage; Theodore Roosevelt and Mao Tse-Tung Young Warriors, and Woodrow Wilson, a Mature Scholar. The Sage soul that was Augustus Caesar was later Dag Hammarskjöld» — la lista de figuras históricas con Role y ciclo que el dictado adjudica, y que es donde el sistema se aplica a nombres propios; las grafías van como el volumen las imprime; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Knowledge of all essence Roles is accessible to the unfragmented entity. This sometimes results in a hasty choice. But regardless of this haste, it is always possible to experience all of life in each of these Roles. The Warrior is a leadership role; the Warrior leads instinctively. The Warrior is purposeful in voice and action, often powerful physically even though small in stature. The King is the Warrior exalted. These souls lead through inner knowledge that they were meant to lead. They, like the Warriors, are regal in appearance regardless of size. The King commands your interest when he walks into a room. The manifested King is always the dominant partner in any relationship, whether sexual or professional, as is the manifested Warrior. This results in many divorces and other broken contracts in early middle age for both» — cómo se eligen los Roles según el dictado —con conocimiento de todos y a veces de prisa— y el retrato del Warrior y del King, con la consecuencia doméstica que él mismo saca: divorcios y contratos rotos en la primera madurez; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Napoleon Bonaparte was a Young Priest. So was Nero. Many military leaders are. Priests and Kings run the wars, Warriors and Scholars fight them» — la adjudicación que el dictado hace a la sugerencia de Napoleón, y el reparto de la guerra por Roles que saca de ahí.

«They certainly are inclined to work. However, next time you examine a downtrodden, middle-aged female with lifeless eyes, dull hair, soft voice, dumpy clothes, a tyrant for a husband: think Slave [ in all the negative poles (Priest’s transcript)]. This can be misleading at times. The English Queen Victoria was a Mature Slave, as is Queen Elizabeth II» — el retrato del Slave en polo negativo, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 acota, y las dos reinas inglesas que el dictado adjudica a ese Role.

«That is partially correct. There are other aspects to consider. However, when a fragment is acting out of essence rather than false personality, there are certain indications in what they do with their lives. This does not mean that a person living in a certain way is necessarily acting out of essence, and we must warn you to keep that in mind» — la advertencia con que el dictado limita el uso del sistema como diagnóstico: vivir de cierta manera no significa por fuerza estar actuando desde la esencia.

«Of course. The soul cannot exceed the limits of its growth» — la regla más corta del capítulo, que subordina el Role al nivel del alma.

«Baby Slaves constitute a majority of the downtrodden housewives and workers found throughout the world. “Housewife” is a perfect role for a Baby Slave. What other occupation reaps so few rewards and at the same time enforces the Role over and over again» — la muestra del catálogo por Role y ciclo que el capítulo despliega, aquí en su forma más dura: el papel de ama de casa como perfecto para un Baby Slave por lo poco que rinde y lo mucho que refuerza el Role.

«When Baby Souls seek wider fields for themselves, the results are often disastrous. Ethelred the Unready was a Baby Scholar, as was the American president Richard Nixon. Ethelred, like most Baby Souls, was terrible on horseback and was often unseated by his mount» — los dos nombres propios con que el dictado ilustra lo que llama resultados desastrosos, uno medieval y otro contemporáneo del libro.

«Mature Artisans generally constitute the avant-garde. The works they produce are visionary rather than stylistic. Rebellion against the norm is the hallmark of this Cycle. Almost without exception the great masterpieces and all of the most important engineering discoveries are the work of Mature Artisans whose genius is often not recognized during the Artisan’s lifetime» — lo que el dictado atribuye al Artisan maduro, y que es de las afirmaciones más amplias del catálogo: casi sin excepción las grandes obras maestras y los descubrimientos de ingeniería más importantes son suyos, con el genio a menudo no reconocido en vida.

«Mature Priests turn to dignified and quiet counseling, dream therapy, psychiatry, the Quaker and Buddhist faiths—anything that allows them to teach their spiritual path to others» — el Priest maduro, con las dos confesiones que el dictado nombra como suyas entre las ocupaciones que le atribuye.

«Old Artisans create sporadically. This is the Cycle of unfinished masterpieces. They will start off on a project with fire and enthusiasm, but never finish it, losing interest when they realize how much work is involved, or how much practice, or how much study. The Old Artisan’s home is littered with the corpses of yesterday’s fervor» — el Artisan viejo como ciclo de las obras maestras sin terminar, con la imagen con que el dictado cierra el retrato.

«Many late-Cycle Old Kings become cult leaders, gurus, and the like. This way they can have their subjects around them to aid in the manifestation of the essential nature of their souls, but without the wear and tear of the earlier Cycles. Old Kings are good bartenders. Last-Cycle Old Kings are vagabonds and hoboes. The Kings always search for their most loyal subjects during the Old-Soul Cycle. Most find them and bring them back» — lo que el dictado sostiene del King viejo, que es de los pocos lugares donde el sistema describe el oficio de gurú desde dentro: tener súbditos alrededor sin el desgaste de los ciclos anteriores.

«Two major orchestral conductors, one Austrian and one British, are sixth-level Old Magnetic Kings. [One of these, the Austrian, has died since this was channeled, but the British conductor is still going strong» — el corchete donde Yarbro usa el verbo del que sale el nombre de la raíz a la que la obra queda adscrita, para acotar en 2005 una adjudicación de 1978: uno de los dos directores nombrados sin nombre había muerto desde que aquello se dictó.

«One of the functions of some of the Old Kings is to aid in the drawing together of other Old Souls. These Magnetic Kings, as we will call them, do not necessarily call members of their own entity. Not every entity has Kings in its fragments. The Magnetic Kings pull their subjects to them so that the Life-Tasks may be completed» — la función que el dictado atribuye a los Magnetic Kings: atraer a otras almas viejas, no necesariamente de su propia entidad, para que las tareas de vida se cumplan.

«For your information, this entity was composed of two hundred Kings and eight hundred and fifty Warriors» — la única cifra que el dictado da de su propia composición, a la pregunta de si él mismo fue un Magnetic King: doscientos Kings y ochocientos cincuenta Warriors.

«They are not assigned. Nothing is. All is chosen. The Slave [in the most “elemental” form (Priest’s transcript)] is a service role in the menial sense. However, it is possible to experience all of life within this framework. The Slave will always look rather woebegone regardless of station in life and will appear poor regardless of material wealth. The manifested Slaves make good, but busy, hosts, as they worry about the comforts of those around. The Slave in essence identifies with the wrongs of humanity and tries to bring comfort in a material sense to many. The Priest is the Slave exalted. The Priest is born with a sense of God-consciousness or “otherworldliness.” The Priest in essence chooses a life role where it is possible to bring comfort to many in a spiritual sense. The Role in essence is not the life role. In other words, Priest Souls do not have to practice religion» — la corrección con que el dictado rechaza la palabra *asignar* y la distinción que sostiene todo el capítulo: el Role en esencia no es el papel en la vida, de modo que las almas Priest no tienen que practicar religión; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«sence is your soul, that part of you which is immortal and eternal. The Role you choose concerns only that interval you spend on the Physical plane, which is brief, to say the least» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, que define la esencia como el alma inmortal y acota el Role al intervalo del plano físico, que el dictado llama breve. La plana abre partiendo en dos la palabra anterior.

«For about a month,” Jessica remembers, “everyone wanted to be an Old King or a Priest. Absolutely everyone in the group. It took us months to get through all the questions that Michael’s discussion of Roles in essence caused. We still get questions about this, even now» — lo que la médium declara que produjo en el grupo la tipología de los Roles, y que el volumen no disimula: durante un mes todos querían ser King viejo o Priest.

«Not in essence. However, the life role often bears little relation to the essence Role and if false personality is firmly in command, it will almost be impossible to detect the essence Role. On a personal level, others can often detect the facade and the underlying Role before the student can» — la respuesta del dictado a si un alma puede tener Role doble, con el efecto práctico que saca: si la personalidad falsa manda, los demás detectan antes la fachada y el Role que el propio estudiante.

«There is, but it is noncompetitive. Plan is fantasy, or if you will, imagination. If the sexual act is surrounded by fantasy, it is both competitive and unreal. It is neither good nor bad. It is that which insures the continuity of the Tao. This universe has an awesome order» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la sexualidad en la esencia, con el juicio suspendido dentro: ni buena ni mala, y es lo que asegura la continuidad del Tao.

«In this society, the predominating Roles are Artisan and Warrior» — la respuesta del dictado al censo de Roles de la sociedad del libro, que no es el mismo que el censo mundial que había dado.

«That would depend. The philosopher Freud, the murderer Jack the Ripper, and the composers Wagner and Mussorgsky were all Mature Priests» — los cuatro nombres con que el dictado responde a si un país de Priests o Sages maduros estaría mejor, y que es donde el sistema pone juntos a un filósofo, un asesino y dos compositores en la misma casilla.

«All that we have been telling you about the nature of the soul we refer to as the overleaves» — la definición con que el dictado introduce el término mayor del sistema, y que recoge todo lo dicho hasta ahí.

«There are also Mode, Goal, Centering, Chief Feature, and Attitude. These are all part of what you may think of as your true self, as compared to false personality. In other words, the overleaves are the body, the essence is the bones, and the false personality is the clothing. Only the overleaves are truly part of you. In other words, true personality—or the overleaves—is a device that allows you to experience all that is necessary in order for you to accomplish a full evolution through the Physical plane. The overleaves change from life to life to give you a new viewpoint and range of reaction from which to experience the entire range of human life, so that real understanding may occur. Only the Role in essence does not change throughout the Cycle. All else is chosen between physical lives» — el inventario de los overleaves y la figura con que el dictado los sitúa: los overleaves son el cuerpo, la esencia los huesos y la personalidad falsa la ropa, con el cambio de vida en vida como modo de experimentar el rango entero de lo humano; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«If the man Alex will review what we have said about the nature of the fifth level, the Mature Soul, and the Scholar in essence, he will see that his drive for isolation and privacy must be very strong. Under such circumstances it would be unusual for him to form attachments easily» — cómo el dictado combina tres overleaves para diagnosticar a un miembro del grupo, que es el procedimiento que el libro usará de aquí en adelante.

«First you must wish this. Most Scholars have little regard for emotional entanglements unless they happen to be emotionally centered. Most Scholars would prefer not to be bothered with the responsibility that goes along with these intrigues. The way you can handle it is to become balanced and thus come in contact with the Emotional Center and learn to control the output. Right now there is sporadic high output with little insight. It resembles volcanic eruptions» — la respuesta del dictado a cómo salir de eso, con la condición puesta delante: primero hay que quererlo, y después equilibrarse para entrar en contacto con el Emotional Center.

«You, Alex, are acting out of the negative pole of your Role. The negative pole for the Scholar is theory. You have lots of ideas—that is, theories—but you gain none of the knowledge. Knowledge is the positive pole. If you are willing to change your perceptions, you may learn to act out of the positive pole» — cómo el dictado aplica la doctrina de los polos a un caso: teoría como polo negativo del Scholar y conocimiento como positivo, con el cambio de percepción como única vía.

«There are poles in all aspects of the overleaves. The Slave Role has service as its positive pole and bondage as its negative pole. The Artisan has creation for its positive pole and artifice for the negative pole. The Warrior has persuasion in the positive pole and coercion in the negative pole. The Sage has expression in the positive pole and oration in the negative pole» — los polos positivo y negativo de cada Role en esencia, enunciados uno por uno por el dictado.

«Speaking for the glory of hearing yourself talk is negative. There is no communication and no growth. The Priest has compassion in the positive pole and zeal in the negative pole. The King has mastery in the positive pole and tyranny in the negative pole. We will impart the polarities to you as we reveal the other overleaves» — la razón que el dictado da de que la oratoria sea polo negativo, y los dos últimos pares de polos, del Priest y del King.

«Again, there are seven Goals, three in pairs, and one neutral. [See page 81 for illustration of Goals.] There are three exalted Goals. They are Dominance, Acceptance, and Growth. There is an intermediate, neutral Goal, which for the time being we can call stagnation. There are three ordinal Goals which are the antithesis of the exalted Goals. They are Submission, Rejection, and Retardation. Most attorneys and politicians are those who have chosen the neutral Goal. Lawmaking is a Stagnation Goal. One of the better examples in history is Alexander the Great. He was in Dominance; he could not fail» — los siete Goals repartidos en tres exaltados, tres ordinales y uno neutro, con el ejemplo histórico que el dictado da del Goal de Dominance.

«We must remind you that nothing is assigned. All is chosen. We think that the one Goal for one Role controversy probably arose over the similarity of some of these Goals to the archetypes. For instance, when one thinks of a King, one thinks of Power and Dominance. When one thinks of a Priest, one thinks of Acceptance, and the Sage, with his expansive outlook and natural ebullience, makes one think of Growth. The introspective Scholar is often thought Stagnant. The dejected and rejected Slave presents a graphic illustration. Of course this is not true, for there are Kings now living with Rejection as their Goals, just as there are Dominant Slaves» — la respuesta del dictado a de dónde sale la idea de un Goal por Role, que es donde él mismo nombra a los arquetipos como causa de la confusión y la desarma con contraejemplos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The positive pole of Growth is comprehension, the negative, confusion. Growth can be a very demanding Goal. The positive pole of Retardation is atavism, a return to complete simplicity. The negative pole is withdrawal. The positive pole of Acceptance is agape, which is the Great Goal. The negative is ingratiation. The positive pole of Rejection is discrimina» — los polos de cada Goal enunciados por el dictado, con el agape como polo positivo de Acceptance y declarado la Gran Meta; el tramo se corta al fin de plana, que además parte la palabra en dos.

«tion. This can sharpen the critical sense more than any other Goal. The negative pole is prejudice. The positive pole of Dominance is leadership, the negative pole, dictatorship. The positive pole of Submission is devotion, the negative pole is subservience. In Stagnation, the positive pole is suspension, and the negative pole is inertia» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con los polos de Rejection, Dominance, Submission y Stagnation.

«It is only trying to survive. Survival is the goal for the organism. Ecstasy is the goal of the essence. Being burned at the stake was an ecstatic experience for the soul of Jeanne d’Arc. Liberation, whether by death by fire, or whatever method, is the goal. The body seeks to survive regardless» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la diferencia entre el fin del organismo y el de la esencia, con el ejemplo que escoge: la hoguera como experiencia extática para el alma de Jeanne d’Arc.

«If you are to survive on the Physical plane you must at least have a few survival goals, but beyond that it is not necessary to plan your life. Karma is here to do that for you» — la respuesta del dictado a si hacen falta metas prácticas, que es de las más escuetas del libro: unas pocas de supervivencia y nada más, porque el karma se encarga del resto.

«Again, there are seven of them, in the same pattern as you have seen before—three pairs and a neutral. The pairs are Power and Caution, Aggression and Perseverance, Passion and Repression. Approximately eighty-five percent of the souls incarnate are in the Caution or Observation Modes. [See page 82 for illustration of Modes» — los siete Modes con sus pares y su neutro, y la única proporción que el dictado da de su reparto: unos ochenta y cinco por ciento de las almas encarnadas están en Caution u Observation.

«The positive pole of Caution is deliberation, the negative pole is phobia. The positive pole of Power is authority, the negative pole is oppression. The positive pole of Perseverance is persistence, the negative pole is immutability. The positive pole of Aggression is dynamism, the negative pole is belligerence. The positive pole of Repression is restraint, the negative pole is inhibition. The positive pole of Passion is self-actualization, the negative pole is identification. The positive pole of Observation is clarity, the negative pole is surveillance» — los polos de cada Mode enunciados uno por uno por el dictado; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It defines the manner in which the Goal will be reached, if it is reached. Occasionally there is conflict between the Goal and the Mode. For example, if a Young Scholar is in the Repression Mode with a Goal of Growth, that Scholar will find it almost impossible to accomplish anything. Being Young, the perception does not encourage introspection. The Goal leads the Scholar to look outward and experience new things, while the Mode» — cómo se relaciona el Mode con el Goal según el dictado, con el primer ejemplo de conflicto entre los dos; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«the method selected for looking outward, claps a lid on every effort. Such a soul might take refuge in madness, or act out of the negative pole of Growth, which is confusion. A Young Sage with a Goal of Rejection in the Passion Mode would be an incredibly abrasive personality. The Sage soul longs for attention and an audience to which it can play, but the Goal says that Rejection must occur. Rejection of the Sage or does the Sage do the rejecting? Either, or both. And because the Young Sage is in the Passion Mode, whatever is done is done passionately. An Old King in the Power Mode with a Goal of Acceptance will be powerfully accepting and embrace almost anything that happens with fervor. A Mature Slave in the Perseverance Mode with a Goal of Dominance will be capable of handling almost anything but higher authority. A Baby Artisan in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Stagnation would be about as out of touch with the world as it is possible to be on the Physical plane. A Young Warrior in the Power Mode with a Goal of Dominance in a male body would be an impressive military leader, but in a female body would probably be miserable» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la serie de combinaciones que el dictado despliega para mostrar cómo Role, ciclo, Mode y Goal se condicionan, incluida la que hace depender el resultado del cuerpo en que se nace; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Yes, there are the Attitudes, the Centers, and the Chief Features» — la respuesta con que el dictado nombra los tres overleaves que faltan y que atenúan las combinaciones anteriores.

«stance from which you look at things. It is, of course, chosen, as are all the elements of your overleaves. Again, there are seven Attitudes, three pairs and a neutral. They are Skeptic and Idealist, Cynic and Realist, Stoic and Spiritualist, and the neutral Attitude is Pragmatist. The negative pole of Skeptic is suspicion. [See page 83 for illustration of Attitudes» — los siete Attitudes nombrados uno por uno, que es donde el sistema usa la palabra *Spiritualist* como término técnico propio y no como nombre de una tradición. La plana abre partiendo en dos la palabra anterior.

«Everything. The positive pole is investigation, and yes, it is an investigation of everything. The negative pole of Idealist is abstraction, the positive pole is coalescence. The negative pole is denigration for the Cynic, the positive is contradiction. The negative pole of Realist is supposition, that is, the person who sees all sides to every question and therefore is not able to act or develop any real understanding. The positive pole is perception. The negative pole of Stoic is resignation, the positive pole is tranquillity. The negative pole of Spiritualist is faith» — los polos de los cinco primeros Attitudes, con la definición del polo negativo del Realist que el propio dictado explica: quien ve todos los lados de cada cuestión y por eso no puede actuar.

«Faith is silly. It is very much part of the rule of maya. Why should anyone accept anything on the provision that the thing must never in any way be questioned or doubted? Two-year-old infants do not accept such tyranny from their parents, yet those parents often will insist on such blindness for themselves. The positive pole of Spiritualist is verification, that is, seeking the answers to the questions that grow from positive doubt. This is not part of maya, though the seeking may be limited and guided by false» — la razón que el dictado da de que la fe sea el polo negativo del Attitude llamado Spiritualist, y que es de las afirmaciones más frontales del libro sobre la religión: nadie debería aceptar nada con la condición de no cuestionarlo, y el polo positivo es la verificación que nace de la duda positiva; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«personality. The negative pole of Pragmatist is dogma, a thing not unlike faith, and the positive pole is practicality» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el polo negativo del Attitude neutro, que el dictado equipara a la fe.

«Consider a Mature Slave in the Caution Mode. That fragment might not accomplish a lot in the world. The Mature Soul’s introspection, coupled with the perceptions of the Slave essence, will find caution limiting. Assume that the Mature Slave has a Goal of Growth. A great deal of confusion may result. But let us say that this fragment is a Pragmatist as well. Then, unless the fragment is acting out of the negative pole, much of the force of the overleaves will be used for sensible purposes and there are likely to be some very real benefits from such a person. Of course, there will be vast pressure for the fragment to act out of the negative role, that is, dogma, and then the results would be different. The mind would clamp down on one set of rules and stay there no matter what. If the Attitude, however, was that of a Realist, there would be a difference in the personality, the fragment could avoid seeing all sides to every question, then with the Mature-Soul insight and the Slave dedication, great contributions might be made. Should this fragment, however, be a Cynic, there would be little that could be accomplished. Cynicism would be the force that would stop the fragment from being able to use insights effectively» — cómo el Attitude cambia el resultado de una misma combinación, desplegado por el dictado sobre un solo caso con cuatro Attitudes distintos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Everything affects karma and is affected by it. The Goals often have more to do with karma than with the Attitudes, but this is by no means an absolute rule» — la respuesta del dictado a si el Attitude afecta al karma, con su propio límite dentro.

«Of course. There are the Emotional and the Higher Emotional, the Intellectual and the Higher Intellectual, the Moving, the Sexual, and the Instinctive Centers. The poles of the Emotional Center are sentimentality in the negative and sensibility in the positive. In the Higher Emotional Center, there is intuition in the negative, and empathy in the positive, pole. The negative pole of the Intellectual Center is reason, the positive pole is thought. In the Higher Intellectual Center, the negative pole is telepathy, and the positive pole is integration. In the Sexual Center the negative pole is erotic and the positive pole is amoral. In the Moving Center, the negative pole is energetic and the positive pole is enduring. The Instinctive Center is not usually found in persons generally classified as sane. The negative pole of the Instinctive Center is anatomic and the positive pole is atomic» — los siete Centers con sus polos, enunciados uno por uno, con la salvedad que el dictado pone al Instinctive Center, que dice no hallarse en quienes se clasifican como cuerdos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Most of you will combine two Centers for your Centering; such as you will be in the Moving part of Intellectual Center, which means that your reaction to situations will be intellectual and you will be driven to do something about the thing you react to. The Moving and Sexual Centers are kinetic, the Emotional Centers are mute, having to do with feelings rather than words. The Intellectual Centers are the verbal centers. That does not mean that an emotionally centered person cannot speak, but it does mean that such a person will have a great deal of trouble expressing herself or himself with words. A person in the Moving part of Emotional Center, for example, will have to react with great expression of feeling, such as tremendous artistic outpourings or temper tantrums» — cómo se combinan dos Centers en el Centering y qué se sigue de cada clase: cinéticos, mudos y verbales, con el ejemplo del que reacciona con gran expresión de sentimiento; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There are no “good” Chief Features. In literature there is the concept of the fatal flaw, the one thing that destroys an otherwise indestructible man. In Oedipus we believe that the flaw was hubris, which we would call Arrogance. The Chief Feature rules you. Enlightenment is gained by the extinguishment of the Chief Feature in adult life. This does not happen often. More commonly, the Chief Feature is changed; for example, the fragment may trade Impatience for Martyrdom» — lo que el dictado sostiene del Chief Feature, con la figura literaria que toma prestada: el defecto fatal, que en Oedipus llama hubris y él llama Arrogance, y que gobierna a quien lo tiene.

«Yes, it can be changed. It is the only part of the overleaves that can be. The Chief Feature is generally not a part of the person until around twenty, or whenever the fragment becomes fairly independent of the parental environment. [This separation is usually associated with what we call the Third Internal Monad, and in your society usually occurs between age seventeen and twenty-two, as we have noted before. (Scholar’s transcript)» — lo que el dictado sostiene del único overleaf mudable dentro de una vida, y cuándo aparece, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 lo liga al Tercer Monad Interno y le pone edades.

«As you might expect, there are seven of them, three pairs and one neutral. The pairs are Greed and Self-destruction, Impatience and Martyrdom, Arrogance and Self-deprecation, with the neutral, Stubbornness. The negative pole of Greed is voracity, the positive pole is egotism. The negative pole of Self-destruction is immolation, the positive pole is sacrifice. The negative pole of Impatience is intolerance, the positive pole is audacity. The negative pole of Martyrdom is mortification, the positive pole is selflessness. The negative pole of Arrogance is vanity, the positive pole is pride. The negative pole of Self-deprecation is abasement, the positive pole is humility. The negative pole of Stubbornness is obstinacy, the positive pole is determination» — los siete Chief Features con sus pares, su neutro y sus polos, enunciados uno por uno; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Greed, Arrogance, and Impatience are all part of survival. Greed can never be satisfied. Arrogance is always the reaction to true shyness. Most people mistake Self-deprecation for shyness, but it is not. Only the Arrogant are truly shy. There are those who express their Martyrdom in self-effacement, but this, again, is not shyness. Stubbornness can cause people to remain in situations and acting-out relationships in several inappropriate ways, simply because they have determined on that course, no matter what. This is neither helpful nor wise. Given the expectations that people make for themselves, a Chief Feature of Stubbornness, can lead to a lack of perception and to willfulness of a catastrophic nature. Chief Features are often the core of false personality» — lo que el dictado sostiene de por qué algunos Chief Features no suenan tan mal, con la inversión que propone: la Arrogancia es siempre reacción a la timidez verdadera, y solo los arrogantes son de veras tímidos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Those are your choices to enable you to fulfill your Agreements, complete your sequences and Monads, and burn karma» — para qué sirven, según el dictado, todos los overleaves juntos: cumplir los Agreements, completar las secuencias y los Monads y quemar karma.

«There is no fixed figure for the Monads, Agreements, sequences, and karma. The number is up to you» — el único punto del sistema donde el dictado niega el número siete y devuelve la cifra a quien pregunta.

«GOALS Expression Acceptance Rejection agape ingratiation discrimination prejudice Inspiration Growth Retardation comprehension confusion atavism withdrawal Action Dominance Submission leadership dictatorship devotion subservience Assimilation Stagnation suspension inertia» — el cuadro de los siete Goals con sus polos repartidos en los cuatro ejes; el troceo conserva los espacios de la tabla y así se cita.

«MODES Expression Power Caution authority oppression deliberation phobia Inspiration Passion Repression self-actualization identification restraint inhibition Action Aggression Perseverance dynamism belligerence persistence immutability Assimilation Observation clarity surveillance» — el cuadro de los siete Modes con sus polos; el troceo conserva los espacios de la tabla y así se cita.

«ATTITUDES Expression Idealist Skeptic coalescence abstraction investigation suspicion Inspiration Spiritualist Stoic verification faith tranquillity resignation Action Realist Cynic perception supposition contradiction denigration Assimilation Pragmatist practicality dogma» — el cuadro de los siete Attitudes con sus polos, donde *Spiritualist* aparece como rótulo del sistema, apareado con *Stoic* dentro del eje de Inspiration.

«CENTERS Expression Higher Intellectual Intellectual integration telepathy thought reason Inspiration Higher Emotional Emotional empathy intuition sensibility sentimentality Action Moving Sexual enduring energetic amoral erotic Assimilation Instinctive atomic anatomic» — el cuadro de los siete Centers con sus polos.

«CHIEF FEATURES Expression Greed Self-destruction egotism voracity sacrifice immolation Inspiration Arrogance Self-deprecation pride vanity humility abasement Action Impatience Martyrdom audacity intolerance selflessness mortification Assimilation Stubbornness determination obstinacy» — el cuadro de los siete Chief Features con sus polos, que cierra la serie de cinco tablas del capítulo.

«All fragments have all Centers operative within themselves, but there is a strong tendency for the personality to become fixed in one Center. The Center has a great deal to do with responses. It indicates from what part of yourself you will act. [See page 84 for illustration of Centers» — la definición del Centering: todos los Centers operan en todo fragmento, pero la personalidad tiende a fijarse en uno, y de ahí salen las respuestas.

«In order for you to understand more clearly the functioning of the overleaves, we will give you a series of examples, all completely genuine, both current and historical, that will enable you to observe how they work. We prefer more to deal with the arts than with politics because the arts are less subject to historical reinterpretation than are politics. For the most part, the arts are there for you to experience, but politics are changed by whim, ambition, and what other politicians consider necessary. You have only to look around you to see the truth of this. Infant souls rarely rise to any public notice, but nonetheless, we will begin there» — el marco con que el dictado abre el catálogo de ejemplos y la razón que da de preferir las artes a la política: las artes están ahí para experimentarse y la política la cambian el capricho y la ambición; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«[At the time Messages from Michael was originally published, the group did not routinely get Secondary Chief Features with the overleaves, however Michael did say, in 1982: Primary Chief Feature primarily influences the fragment’s Goal and the Secondary Chief Feature influences the fragment’s Attitude» — el corchete con que la edición de 2005 declara lo que la primera no traía —el Chief Feature secundario— y la regla que el dictado dio en 1982 para repartir su efecto entre el Goal y el Attitude.

«The first is a fourth-level Infant Slave in the Caution Mode with a Goal of Rejection, a Stoic in the Moving part of Emotional Center with a Chief Feature of Self-deprecation» — la forma canónica de cada entrada del catálogo, que el capítulo repite más de cien veces: nivel, ciclo, Role, Mode, Goal, Attitude, Centering y Chief Feature.

«This fragment was a peasant soldier working as a guard on the Great Wall of China as it was being built. This fragment is now the medium known in this book as Jessica Lansing, and is a third-level Old Soul» — la única entrada del catálogo que se cierra sobre la propia médium del libro, a quien el dictado adjudica una vida como soldado campesino en la Gran Muralla y sitúa ahora como alma vieja de tercer nivel.

«This Infant Priest was one of those now identified as a Christian martyr, though any cause would have done. With such overleaves, this fragment could not possibly have avoided some sort of immolative sacrifice. During the conflict called the Thirty Years War, this fragment was incarnate as a seventh-level Young Priest and was a distinguished and foolhardy Protestant German general» — una entrada donde el dictado desliga la santidad del contenido de la causa: el mártir cristiano al que dice que cualquier causa le habría servido, y su vida posterior como general protestante alemán.

«This fragment was a Slave in the time of Amenhotep who died of typhus while working on the temple at Karnak. This is now an Old Warrior and part of the Michael group» — una de las entradas que cierran el catálogo sobre un miembro del propio grupo, con la vida anterior que el dictado le adjudica en el templo de Karnak.

«This third fragment is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. She led a very contemplative and fairly exemplary life in medieval Ireland, most of the time with a group of nuns. She was literate and was one of the first to record the various Irish legends with the intent of shaping them to Catholic teachings. She would have been shocked to learn that through her efforts the legends were preserved rather than absorbed into the teachings of her faith» — la entrada más larga que el dictado dedica a una santa, con la ironía dentro: por su esfuerzo las leyendas irlandesas se conservaron en vez de absorberse en la enseñanza de su fe; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This fragment was the Pharaoh Uazkhepera Kamase of the XVIIth Dynasty, who ruled for approximately ten years» — una de las adjudicaciones más precisas del catálogo, con el nombre del faraón y la dinastía tal como el volumen los imprime.

«This fragment was Czar Ivan the Terrible of Russia. His overleaves were not all that bad, but between his Chief Feature, which was very marked, and the stresses of false personality, he became incapable of admitting any error whatsoever, and that led eventually to what was perceived as insanity. He earned himself many karmic debts in that life» — la lectura que el dictado hace de una figura histórica por sus overleaves, con la salvedad que pone: los overleaves no eran malos, y lo que llevó a lo que se percibió como locura fue el Chief Feature junto con la personalidad falsa.

«This fragment was one of the first women physicians in Italy. She was truly superb in her work, far superior to most of her male colleagues. She put a great deal of emphasis in the actual healing of her patients, most of whom were devoted to her. This fragment is incarnate again on the Physical plane, and this time she is a highly respected psychiatrist dealing in particular with criminals with major personality disturbances. Though a Warrior, she has spent more than two-thirds of her lives as a woman» — la entrada donde el dictado encadena dos vidas de una misma alma en el mismo oficio y da la única proporción de sexos que ofrece de un fragmento.

«This fragment was the Roman Emperor Claudius. His physical disabilities were an extension of his Chief Feature» — la entrada más corta del catálogo sobre un emperador, donde el dictado hace de las discapacidades físicas una extensión del Chief Feature.

«This fragment was a Byzantine general who was given his post as a reward by the Emperor Justinian. His most famous battle took place in Gaul, when most of his forces were cut to pieces. For this he was awarded a governorship by his emperor, and died of heart failure at sixty-two. This fragment is now incarnate, a woman, and a member of the Michael group» — otra entrada que cierra sobre el propio grupo, y que es donde el catálogo muestra su procedimiento: una vida histórica adjudicada a alguien presente en las sesiones.

«This first fragment was the composer George Frederick Handel» — la adjudicación de un compositor, con la grafía del nombre tal cual el volumen la imprime.

«There are other Young Priests who made their mark on the world. John Calvin was a third-level Young Priest in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Growth, an Idealist in the Moving part of Emotional Center and with a marked Chief Feature of Arrogance. Jeanne d’Arc was a Young Priest, at the sixth level in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Dominance, a flagrant Idealist in the Moving part of Emotional Center and with an overwhelming Chief Feature of Martyrdom. Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order, was a fourth-level Young Priest, again in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Dominance, an Idealist in the Moving part of Emotional Center, with a Chief Feature of Self-deprecation. Another composer, Hector Berlioz, was a mid-Cycle Young Priest in the Passion Mode, but with a Goal of Acceptance, a Chief Feature of Impatience in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center, another flagrant Idealist» — el bloque de Young Priests nombrados uno tras otro con sus overleaves completos —John Calvin, Jeanne d’Arc, Saint Dominic y Hector Berlioz—, que es donde el catálogo junta reformador, santa, fundador de orden y compositor en el mismo Role y ciclo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This fragment is an Israeli theologian and historical scholar. Because of the limitations of the Young-Soul Cycles, he does not address himself to philosophy, though he very much wants to. In one of his earlier lives, he was burned as a witch in France» — una entrada contemporánea donde el dictado explica una frustración presente por el límite del ciclo y le adjudica una hoguera en una vida anterior.

«We remind you that in the Mature Cycle the attention turns inward and there is a new awareness. This is often the most difficult Cycle, since the emerging awareness of others demands new perceptions of them» — la cabecera con que el dictado presenta el cuarto ciclo dentro del catálogo, y que repite la razón de su dificultad.

«The first Infant Slave you would consider mentally retarded, for this fragment was constantly frightened. Recall that the Infant Soul perceives the world as me and not me, and that the Slave essence seeks to serve in a» — el arranque de la primera lectura completa de una entrada, donde el dictado vuelve sobre la percepción del primer ciclo y el servicio de la esencia Slave; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«worldly sense. The Caution Mode stops the fragment from searching and the Goal of Rejection is limiting. This fragment welcomed the sentence that sent it to prison. The crime it committed was murder, arising from fright» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, donde el dictado deriva de los overleaves una vida entera y un homicidio nacido del miedo, con la cárcel recibida como alivio.

«This fragment was the artistic genius, Michelangelo Buonarroti» — la adjudicación de un artista del Renacimiento a un ciclo maduro, con el epíteto que el propio dictado le pone.

«Another major artist who was a Mature Artisan was Vincent van Gogh, who was at mid-Cycle in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Growth, an Idealist in the Intellectual part of Emotional Center, with a Chief Feature of Self-deprecation. This fragment was deeply troubled in that lifetime, and for him, the forces of his restrictive childhood and the false personality that he never quite broke free of were allied with his Chief Feature against his essence» — la entrada donde el dictado explica una vida por el conflicto entre tres fuerzas y la esencia: la infancia restrictiva, la personalidad falsa nunca del todo rota y el Chief Feature aliados contra la esencia.

«This second fragment was King Richard III of England. We would say that history, on the whole, has been unkind to him» — la única entrada del catálogo donde el dictado emite un juicio sobre la historiografía de un personaje en vez de sobre el personaje.

«Away from composition but still in the arts, the French painter Jacques Louis David was a seventh-level Mature Scholar in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Growth, a Pragmatist in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center, with a Chief Feature of Stubbornness. To see more clearly how level, essence, and overleaves affect perception, examine two portraits of Napoleon, one by Ingres and one by David. The Ingres portrait is flattering, almost iconographic, making the very best of every one of the subject’s features. David, on the other hand, shows Napoleon in his study late at night, his hair mussed, his stockings sagging, his eyes tired. Napoleon said he preferred the latter portrait because it showed how he labored for his goal» — el único lugar del catálogo donde el dictado propone un cotejo a la vista de su propia tipología: dos retratos de Napoleón, el de Ingres halagador y casi icónico y el de David con el pelo revuelto y las medias caídas, y la preferencia que atribuye al retratado; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In the area of religion, George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, or the Quakers, was a seventh-level Mature Scholar in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Growth, an Idealist in the Moving part of Intellectual Center with a Chief Feature of Self-deprecation. This was a kindly soul» — la adjudicación del fundador de la Society of Friends, con la coletilla con que el dictado cierra varias entradas.

«This first fragment was Wolfgang Theophillius (later Amadeus) Mozart» — la adjudicación de un compositor con el nombre de bautismo y el adoptado dentro del paréntesis, tal como el volumen los imprime.

«We would also like to bring to your attention two mid-Cycle Mature Priests who were composers, Richard Wagner and Modeste Mussorgsky. Wagner was in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Dominance, a Skeptic in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center, with a Chief Feature of highly marked Arrogance. Mussorgsky was in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Growth, an Idealist in the Intellectual part of Emotional Center but with a Chief Feature of Martyrdom» — los dos compositores que el dictado pone en el mismo Role y ciclo con overleaves distintos, y que es el ejemplo con que el capítulo muestra cómo dos vidas muy diversas caben en la misma casilla; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Major religious figures who were priests include Saint Francis of Assisi, who was a fourth-level Mature Priest in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Acceptance, an Idealist in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center, with a Chief Feature of very advanced self-deprecation. We would like to point out that stigmatics such as this fragment are mostly Mature Souls, although there are a few hysterical Young and Baby Souls in their numbers» — la adjudicación de un santo y la regla general que el dictado saca de ella sobre los estigmatizados, con su excepción dicha.

«The late Pope Paul VI was a sixth-level Mature Priest in the Caution Mode with a Goal of Growth which was experienced in the negative pole, a Spiritualist in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center, with a Chief Feature of Arrogance» — la adjudicación de un papa contemporáneo del libro, con el Goal declarado experimentado en polo negativo.

«We remind you that the nature of the perceptions in the Old Soul is seeing the greater whole. Most Old Souls’ Monads have to do with being. We remind you that in terms of evolution of the essence, the Old-soul Cycle is the most demanding of all, since memory of all the past, its debts and payments, as well as the experience of the lives, is within the grasp of all those in this Cycle» — la cabecera con que el dictado presenta el quinto ciclo dentro del catálogo y la razón que da de su dificultad: la memoria entera del pasado, con sus deudas y sus pagos, queda al alcance.

«Another Mature King that is of interest was a formidable novelist of the last century. She caused something of a furor with her work when it appeared, and it is still being read, though her style is not one that is popular by current standards. She was in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Acceptance, a Skeptic in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center and with a Chief Feature of Impatience very strong in her» — la única entrada del catálogo que describe a una figura sin nombrarla, y que da sus overleaves completos junto con el rastro por el que se la reconocería.

«This fragment was the artist and engineer Leonardo da Vinci, a man who was very much out of his time» — la adjudicación de una figura del Renacimiento y la coletilla con que el dictado la sitúa.

«This fragment was a popular and humanitarian pope [John XXIII], noted for his progressiveness, his personal charm, and his wit as well as his deep and genuine concern for all the world, religious affiliation notwithstanding» — la entrada donde el corchete de la edición de 2005 nombra al papa que el dictado había descrito sin nombrar.

«This fragment lives in Alaska, where she raises dogs. Her most noted past life was in her Young Cycle, when she was at her most zealous. At that time she was Plato, the companion and record keeper for Socrates» — la entrada que encadena una vida contemporánea corriente con una de las figuras mayores de la filosofía antigua, y que es el uso más extremo del procedimiento en todo el catálogo.

«This fragment is a Magnetic Old King. Magnetic Old Kings are always at the sixth level and stay at the sixth level for as many lives as are necessary for those they draw to complete their tasks and Agreements. As a second-level Old King he ruled Florence as Lorenzo de’ Medici» — la única entrada que explica el mecanismo de los Magnetic Kings desde dentro de un caso: quedan en el sexto nivel tantas vidas como haga falta para que los que atraen cumplan sus tareas y Agreements.

«To demonstrate that not all Mature Priests are well-adjusted, the murderer called Jack the Ripper was a very troubled mid-Cycle Mature Priest in» — el arranque de la entrada más comprometida del catálogo, sobre un asesino victoriano; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«the Aggression Mode with a Goal of Dominance, a Cynic in the Intellectual part of Moving Center, with a Chief Feature of Greed. All of the crimes attributed to this Victorian murderer were not in fact committed by one person, but the bulk of them were perpetrated by the oldest legitimate heir of a noble English family. As the family is still living, we will continue our policy of privacy and not reveal their specific name. However, at least one policeman at the time was aware of the killer’s identity» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, donde el dictado reparte los crímenes atribuidos a ese asesino entre varias manos, adjudica el grueso al heredero legítimo mayor de una familia noble inglesa y declara que no dará el nombre por política de privacidad.

«We would wish to mention here the high occurrence of Perseverance, Power, and Passion Modes, and Idealist Attitudes among those overleaves “catalogued” in the previous examples: these combinations are more prevalent in those fragments undertaking very “demanding” Life-Tasks. Ordinarily less “stringent” overleaves are chosen for most lives, and this, in turn, opens the fragment to a much wider variety of “opportunities” and ways in which to “accomplish” the Life-Task. When the overleaves are by there nature more emphatic than most, the fragment feels the weight of them more consistently and more completely than when the overleaves are somewhat less energetic. Not that such overleaves “require” that the undertakings of the fragment be “demanding,” but that such Life Plans are more readily “addressed” with Modes and Attitudes “inclined” to keep the fragment focused and “committed” to a stipulated course of action as well as providing sufficient motive to bring about the completion of all the tasks at hand. We had said before, but we will reiterate: almost eighty-five percent of all fragments currently extant in your—and other ensouled—species have either Observation or Caution as their Mode, Acceptance as their Goal, and Pragmatist as their Attitude. (Scholar’s Transcript)» — el bloque de información adicional con que la edición de 2005 enmienda la impresión que deja el catálogo: los overleaves exigentes abundan ahí porque corresponden a tareas de vida exigentes, y en la población general casi el ochenta y cinco por ciento tiene Observation o Caution, Acceptance y Pragmatist; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«At first I didn’t think Michael was right about the Chief Feature,” Jessica says with a slow shake of her head. “But over the years since Michael first gave us this material, I’ve seen it work too often» — la médium declara su propia reserva inicial sobre un término del sistema y por qué la retiró, que es el único criterio de validación que ofrece: haberlo visto funcionar muchas veces.

«You know, after my marriage fell apart, it was very hard on me, but there’s been a lot of worthwhile learning, too. My ex-husband has mutually conflicting overleaves, and now that I understand that, I don’t make the mistakes with him that I used to» — una miembro del grupo declara el uso práctico que da al sistema: entender los overleaves de su exmarido para no repetir errores con él.

«This is a fourth-level Mature Scholar in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Growth but a Chief Feature of Self-destruction and several very difficult sequences to complete, including one involving dependency. You must remember that this is one of life’s lessons to be learned, as is independence. Some essence Roles, such as Warrior, Scholar, and King, must almost disable themselves before they can allow anyone to help them» — la lectura que el dictado hace de una tercera persona ausente, con la regla general que saca de ella: algunos Roles casi tienen que quedar inválidos antes de dejarse ayudar.

«Remember that man I met and simply couldn’t stand? I mean I couldn’t stand him the moment I laid eyes on him. I want to turn around and walk out of the office where I’m working. And to make matters worse, he decided he thought I was great. After three days I asked Michael about it, and he said that not only do our overleaves abrade, which was bad enough, but the man owed me a pretty big debt from a previous life which he wanted to pay, and since part of me, the essence, knows what he did before, it wants to avoid him. It’s a very weird relationship» — una miembro del grupo cuenta cómo el sistema explicó una antipatía instantánea, y el volumen imprime la explicación que ella atribuye al dictado: overleaves que rozan más una deuda de vida anterior que el otro quiere pagar; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Postpone it for another life,” Jessica explains. “According to Michael, you can refuse to be paid. Eventually you’ll have to be, but the choice is yours. You can refuse to fulfill your Agreements. It’s all a matter of choice. But you have to deal with these conditions sometime or there’s no growth. You stay stuck at the same level» — la regla del sistema sobre las deudas, dicha por la médium y con el límite dentro: se puede rechazar el pago y abdicar de los Agreements, pero entonces no hay crecimiento.

«Michael says that entity mates aren’t born into the same family very often, and when it does occur it’s usually for a specific reason. Otherwise the relationship becomes too overwhelming» — lo que el grupo atribuye al dictado sobre los compañeros de entidad y el parentesco: rara vez nacen en la misma familia, y cuando pasa es por una razón específica.

«Almost all phobias are traumas remembered from a former life. In your case, Marjorie, you died in a burning building and the recollection is still strong. You could transcend the fear, you would find that life has a great deal to teach you» — la doctrina de las fobias que el dictado enuncia y aplica en la misma frase a quien pregunta: recuerdos de trauma de una vida anterior, con la muerte en un edificio en llamas como causa del miedo al fuego.

«First of all, your sponsor and you were once in business together, trading in spices and natives. You were very successful in a material way in that venture. That was in the seventeenth century of the common era. There is a more recent association, however. You are correct that you have been in Germany before. You lived there in your last life. You were a physician» — la primera parte de la lectura que el dictado hace de un déjà vu, con dos asociaciones fechadas: un negocio del siglo XVII y una vida anterior como médico en Alemania.

«You died there in one thousand nine hundred forty-four, Common Era. “Was I part of the Resistance, or was I a Nazi?” Marjorie admitted that she was very nervous about the answer. You were neither a Nazi nor part of the resistance. You did nothing either way “In Frankfurt?” she asked. “That’s where my sponsor and his family live.” No. You died in Dresden. You were fifty-six years old. One of your five children is still alive. She followed in your footsteps and is a physician. We would say that you are aware of this» — el núcleo del caso que el volumen ofrece como el que más se presta al cotejo: fecha de muerte, ciudad, edad e hija sobreviviente que siguió el mismo oficio.

«My sponsor’s mother is a physician. Her family were all killed in the war» — la reacción de la interesada, que es lo que el volumen pone en lugar de un cotejo: la madre de su anfitrión es médica y toda su familia murió en la guerra.

«It is not unusual to return quickly when there is unfinished business» — la regla que el dictado da sobre el intervalo corto entre vidas, a la objeción de que cuatro años son pocos.

«She was also certain that she would not have the chance to get back to Germany for several years. She’s working on a research project that requires her presence at the university and she said that she has no intention of throwing that all away because of what a Ouija board told her. However, it turns out,” Jessica continues with a sly smile, “that similar work is being done in Germany and the university there has invited her to come back for a time and help them with their research project so that she and they can dovetail their work» — el desenlace que la médium ofrece del caso, y que el volumen presenta como indicio circunstancial: la universidad alemana invita a la interesada, que había dicho que no dejaría su proyecto por lo que le dijera un tablero; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The man Jonathan is a Mature Sage in the Caution Mode, second level. His Mode is Caution and his Goal is Acceptance. He is in the Intellectual part of Emotional Center and a Pragmatist, with a Chief Feature of Stubbornness. He has, indeed, many karmic ribbons to burn. Suggested retrogression is to us another example of mechanical man’s desire for complexity, but it also suggests to us mechanical man’s need to be punished for what he calls sin. There is no sin, only karma» — la lectura que el dictado hace de un miembro del grupo que traía culpa sin objeto, con la objeción a la terapia de regresión y la frase que el sistema repite: no hay pecado, solo karma.

«Nicknames are a part of false personality. Sometimes even the false personality of the parent and not of the soul itself. The parents often give the child a name with social significance, then promptly change it» — la razón que el dictado da de no usar apodos ni diminutivos, y que es una regla de trato que el libro observa de principio a fin.

«There is a fragment whom the man Jonathan has twice betrayed, once in China when the Ch’ing dynasty began. The man Jonathan was at that time a judge in the courts and used his power and influence to condemn an old friend who had opposed his rulings on philosophical grounds. The fragment he betrayed was then a Mature King in the Observation Mode who in that lifetime was an important musician and poet. The man Jonathan sought to improve his own political position at the cost of his friend. The first debt was paid in the next lifetime in Geneva, when the man Jonathan allowed himself to be condemned and broken on the wheel rather than reveal what he knew of that fragment’s activities that were contrary to the religious teachings of the time» — la primera mitad de la historia kármica que el dictado adjudica a un miembro del grupo: una traición en la corte china al empezar la dinastía Ch’ing y el pago en la vida siguiente en Ginebra, muerto en la rueda por no delatar; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«He was conducting certain experiments of an alchemical nature» — la única mención de la alquimia en el cuerpo del libro, y llega como la razón por la que un personaje de una vida anterior caía fuera de la doctrina de la Iglesia.

«You have been a woman in many lifetimes. We agree that the life of women has often been very difficult. It is part of the blindness of the Physical plane that causes many to perceive only the body, and not the nature of the soul. The man Jonathan must not permit himself to reject knowledge because it was gained in female form» — la respuesta del dictado a un miembro del grupo que se altera al saberse mujer en una vida anterior, que es donde el sistema saca la consecuencia de su propia doctrina del alma sin género.

«If you mean pleasant”—Jessica smiles—”the answer is probably ‘No.’ If you mean has it been helpful and useful, then the answer is certainly ‘Yes.’ I can give you an excellent example. At work we’ve recently got a new supervisor and he isn’t an easy man to deal with. He’s strong-willed, autocratic, and very private. We got his overleaves from Michael. The man’s a fifth-level Mature Warrior in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Dominance, a Skeptic, in the Moving part of Intellectual Center, with a Chief Feature of Impatience. Since I’m a Scholar, it’s a little easier for me to with him than a lot of the office. We have four Artisans working under this Mature Warrior, and of course, the harder he pushes, the more distant they become. And with that Chief Feature of Impatience, he wants things done right now. The overleaves aren’t bad—in fact, they’re pretty good—but the man is a powerhouse, and though he’s great for the business in one sense, he’s something of a stumbling block for some of the others in the office» — la médium aplica el sistema a su propia oficina, leyendo por Role y ciclo al supervisor nuevo y a los cuatro subordinados, y midiendo por ahí la fricción; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The real trouble is that our section boss is a Young Sage who quite often is something of a glory hog, and every time he pulls one of his self-aggrandizing moves, my Mature-Warrior supervisor goes after him for it. The Artisans are still scared of the Warrior, but they’re beginning to be glad he’s around, and I’ve almost got him convinced to give the Artisans a little more breathing room» — la segunda mitad de ese caso, donde el sistema sirve para explicar un conflicto de jerarquías y para justificar una intervención propia.

«You mean did I know that Marjorie had been in Germany? She’d» — la médium empieza a responder a la pregunta por el saber previo; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«mentioned it in passing, but there were no details. I didn’t know she’d lived there. In fact, I thought she’d probably gone there as a tourist» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el límite de lo que la médium declara haber sabido: una mención de paso, sin detalles, y la suposición de que había ido de turista.

«maya. You will repay your karmic debts. But not by retrogression, just by hard work. There is no one “up there” to punish you. You will have to find someone “down there” to do your flagellation, Jonathan» — la continuación de esa respuesta en la plana siguiente, con el remate que niega a un castigador de arriba y devuelve el asunto al trabajo.

«He wrote his confession and committed suicide shortly before you were killed. He did not know you were still alive, and thought that he had to do this» — lo que el dictado dice del otro personaje de esa historia, y que es donde el relato se vuelve trágico por desencuentro y no por castigo.

«Being even, as you call it, does not mean that you cannot create new debts, or add to old ones. Your second betrayal took place in Scotland in the latter part of the eighteenth century, Common Era. You were then the father of the Mature King, and although you knew that she loved and was beloved by a man of whom you did not approve, you forced her into a marriage for your political advantage» — la segunda traición que el dictado adjudica al mismo miembro del grupo, fechada y situada, con la regla que la precede: estar a mano no impide crear deudas nuevas.

«You do not have to do anything. It is your choice. We believe that you do not want to recognize the Mature King, who is now in her last Cycle before becoming an Old King. Yes, you know this person. You do not like her. You are resisting the debt you owe her» — la respuesta del dictado a cómo pagar una deuda a un desconocido, que devuelve la elección y a la vez declara que el interesado ya conoce a esa persona y no la quiere.

«How much you cling to your ribbons! The seventh-level Mature King is in the Perseverance Mode with a Goal of Acceptance, a Skeptic with a Chief Feature of Self-deprecation, in the Emotional part of Moving Center . She is very gifted and you regard her as neurotic. Though you do not wish to be, you are drawn to her. The attraction is the pull of your karmic ribbon» — la pista que el dictado da al fin, con los overleaves completos de la otra persona y la lectura que hace de la atracción que el interesado siente contra su voluntad.

«As I said, he is not in the group anymore,” Jessica says. “He stuck it out for a while, but he grew frightened. He’s doing therapy again. I hope that he finds a way to deal with that Mature King, whoever she is, because Michael was quite convinced that the longer Jack put off dealing with that debt, the harder his payment would be» — el desenlace que la médium da del caso, y que el volumen no resuelve: el interesado se asustó, dejó el grupo y volvió a terapia.

«I think they differ on two points only,” Jessica remarks. “Tracy is a third-level Old Warrior in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Growth, Moving part of Intellectual Center, an Idealist with a Chief Feature of Arrogance, and her colleague is a third-level Old Warrior in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Growth, Emotional part of Intellectual Center, a Skeptic with a Chief Feature of Arrogance. Remember, they’re in the same entity and Michael has said that they have been comrades-in-arms three times, and died in battle together twice. That means there are some pretty strong ties there» — la médium coteja los overleaves de dos compañeras de entidad casi idénticos y nombra lo que el dictado añade: camaradas de armas tres veces y muertas juntas en batalla dos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«My feelings were mixed,” she admits. “Part of me thought that it was as natural as ragweed and part of me didn’t trust it for a moment. But the attraction is definitely there; I didn’t make it up. It’s not a romantic relationship. We’re both married to different people and we see each other maybe once every two years. Still, I can’t think of anyone I feel more comfortable with, or whom I trust more. Aside from Michael’s explanation, I can’t think of any good way to account for this» — la miembro interesada declara su propia reserva sobre esa explicación y a la vez lo que no sabe explicar de otro modo, que es el registro que el libro más repite en boca del grupo.

«You have shared many lives and it is easier for this closed person to relate to you, whom he already knows and trusts from the past, than it is for him to seek those around him for this. You are the sum of all you have been, and of course, so is he. Therefore, since you have known this fragment many times before, you are subliminally aware of more of the parts of him than are most others he knows, even though they might be closer physically. Also you sense in him many of the same perceptions you yourself cope with and this represents to you a kindred spirit. You need from him the same type of instant understanding and acceptance that you sense he can give you, and the reverse is true; his need is the same» — la lectura que el dictado hace de esa amistad, y la fórmula que el sistema usa para explicar la familiaridad instantánea: uno es la suma de todo lo que ha sido, y de un fragmento conocido muchas veces se perciben más partes que de un cercano físico; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«You make all sequential Agreements during the Astral interval. This pertains to all of the physical lives. Most sequences have to do with the completion of Monads and are agreed upon to facilitate this completion in basically short periods of time. However, there are some sequences that involve the entire duration of the physical life and require that the sequential partners stay with each other or in contact throughout» — la doctrina de los Agreements astrales: se pactan en el intervalo entre vidas, casi todos para completar Monads en plazos cortos, y algunos duran la vida entera y exigen que los socios permanezcan juntos.

«Of course they do. Some in the Mature and Old Cycles reincarnate at times when those with whom they have karmic relationships are between lives so that all of their attention can be given to such Agreements» — lo que el dictado sostiene del momento de reencarnar: hay quien vuelve cuando aquellos con quienes tiene relación kármica están entre vidas, para dedicarse entero a los Agreements.

«Agreements are not karma. They can be honored or you can abdicate. Where there is much maya and the false personality has the upper hand, abdication occurs. Whether or not the Agreements carry over into subsequent lives is one of the things negotiated between lives» — la distinción que el sistema sostiene entre Agreement y karma: el primero se honra o se abdica, y si la personalidad falsa manda, se abdica.

«No. Agreements are Agreements, meaning they are contracts that can be modified, broken, or adapted to needs. There is no fate. Fate is an illusion. It exists no more than faith does. Karma is a weaving together of life cycles. Karma is not fate. Fate is a lie. Karma is a law. There is a great danger in becoming fatalistic about karma. [Fulfilling karmic ribbons is as much a matter of choice as the choices that caused the ribbon to be created. (Priest’s transcript)] You “must” learn this about karma: that lessons learned in this way are eternally yours» — la negación del destino que el dictado enuncia a propósito del karma, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade para devolver también el pago de las cintas kármicas a la elección; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Belief, as we have told you before, is not necessary. You can become aware of your karmic ribbons through conscious recall, if such is your desire. Jessica almost has it. She has found four threads already. Work on it and you will know what it is you must do this time. The memories are there. Some of you remember Latin from previous lives. That is why you learned the language so easily this time» — la respuesta del dictado a por qué tanta gente no cree en el karma, con el ejemplo al alcance de la mano que ofrece: la facilidad para el latín como recuerdo de vidas anteriores.

«You knew about your lover’s experiments and you knew they were contrary to Church doctrine. Your parents did not oppose your arrest» — lo que el dictado adjudica a los padres del interesado en aquella vida, que es lo que hace del caso una historia de abandono y no solo de deuda; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«were imprisoned for several months and would not reveal what you knew. Because you were weakened by imprisonment, death, when it came, was fairly quick, and your soul had begun its transition before your body died» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el desenlace de esa vida y el detalle que el dictado declara del morir: el alma había empezado la transición antes de que muriera el cuerpo. La plana abre partiendo la frase anterior.

«We will provide a rather simplistic example. If you knock Eugene to the ground this evening and he reciprocates, the debt is paid. Although you might both choose a more pacific approach to problem-solving next time around. If, on the other hand, you strike Eugene tonight and die tomorrow, or otherwise make yourself unavailable, then chances are excellent that you will have a later karmic encounter. We would like you all to look now at the difference between a truth and a law. There is a vast difference. The Physical plane, and all that is within it, is governed by a series of “laws” that are not necessarily truths. In fact, most of them are not. Karma is one of those laws governing the human condition» — el ejemplo con que el dictado explica cuándo una deuda se salda en el acto y cuándo no, y la distinción que sostiene todo el capítulo: el plano físico se rige por leyes que no son verdades, y el karma es una de esas leyes; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Now as to the responsibility, you have the responsibility for yourself and no other. If you take this responsibility seriously and respond appropriately from the proper center, you will not be negating any responsibility that you might feel for those around you. In fact, you will be giving them the space to take responsibility for themselves. This is important. Whenever you arbitrarily take on responsibilities for the actions of others, you rob them of growth» — la doctrina de la responsabilidad que el dictado enuncia, y que es la que gobierna todo lo que el libro dice sobre ayudar: se es responsable de uno y de nadie más, y tomar la responsabilidad ajena le roba al otro su crecimiento.

«You are free to choose. The rub comes in where false personality, which is karma-driven, makes most of the choices, in direct opposition to the desires of the essence» — la respuesta del dictado a quienes se sienten sin rumbo, con el nudo del sistema dentro: la elección es libre y a la vez la personalidad falsa, movida por el karma, toma casi todas las decisiones contra la esencia.

«Karma is subject to change, but only by those who know. Any attempt without knowledge will be wasted. You have chosen this Role. You have also chosen the course your life must take. Unless you know why, then you cannot make alterations. We could tell you why, but it would not change the Role. We cannot erase your tapes» — el límite que el dictado pone a su propia enseñanza, y que es de los más netos del libro: podría decir por qué, y eso no cambiaría el Role.

«Yes. Entrapment in the body and the Chief Feature are karma for essence. All others arise from actions born of the waking sleep. If you were awake, you would not do it» — lo que el dictado declara karma para la esencia y el origen que da a todo lo demás: la vigilia dormida.

«The ribbons are merely our way of expressing that which draws you irresistibly to persons, places, eras, and situations so that the play can go on. Some must wait for many years to pass before the opportunity arises again and presents the scene with the roles reversed» — la figura de las cintas kármicas explicada por el propio dictado como manera de hablar: lo que arrastra irresistiblemente a personas, lugares, épocas y situaciones para que la obra siga.

«Sometimes you are the debtor. Sometimes it is to you that the debt is owed. The ribbon is the thread that links you to the other fragments of a karmic play. You wish to complete the Monad, to have both components of the relationship in your experience. As soon as this is accomplished, the fragment has evolved. As soon as the major Monads are completed, the fragments are integrated» — lo que el dictado sostiene de quemar una cinta: no siempre se es el deudor, y lo que se busca es tener los dos lados de la relación en la propia experiencia.

«If you are to purposefully burn ribbons, you must first know with certainty what has been incurred. This takes study and recall. Otherwise, you will pay your karmic debts in their natural order. This is why the knowledge of reincarnation comes in some way to Old Souls. Prior to that, it is only a matter of chance, such as birth in a country like India, where this is the accepted theology. You will burn out all your karma. You must. The choices you make between physical bodies are part of the learning process also. [As lightning goes up as well as down, so karma has negative and positive “manifestations” depending upon the manner in which you choose to view it. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la condición que el dictado pone para quemar cintas a propósito, y la razón que da de que el saber de la reencarnación llegue a las almas viejas, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre las manifestaciones positivas y negativas del karma; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It is inevitable that you play out the Role you chose. It is not necessary that you always choose a difficult Role» — la respuesta del dictado a si se puede pasar una vida sin quemar el karma previsto, con la salvedad que añade sobre la dificultad del Role.

«Yes, there is a way. You must first be able to recall the threads. This is what takes practice. This is why concentration and meditation have been stressed. You have indicated that you wish this and we are showing you how. What you do with this information depends on your desires entirely, but the information will be given within this group. There will be an adept who will aid the others. There is one among you who could master the techniques» — la vía práctica que el dictado ofrece —recordar los hilos por concentración y meditación— y el anuncio que hace al grupo de que entre ellos hay quien podría dominar las técnicas.

«The choice is made on the Astral level between lives. Young Souls quite often have very literal concepts of heaven and hell. They must experience this as they create it out of Astral matter» — dónde sitúa el dictado la elección entre vidas, y la consecuencia que saca para las almas jóvenes con conceptos literales de cielo e infierno.

«The pain you inflicted on loved ones in the past is a part of karma for you. Also, you have always had a Scholarly interest in religion, but with a savage bent more than once. For instance, during the Crusades and the Inquisition. “What on earth did I do?” In both instances, you took an active part in proselytizing by force. During the Inquisition, you were an informer» — la lectura que el dictado hace de una discapacidad de un miembro del grupo presente en la sala, y que es de los pasajes más duros del libro: el dolor infligido a seres queridos y dos vidas de proselitismo por la fuerza, en las Cruzadas y en la Inquisición.

«This is the path for them. Usually they did not relate to this difficulty in a previous life» — la respuesta del dictado sobre los daños cerebrales congénitos, que los saca expresamente de la explicación kármica anterior.

«Genetically determined deficiencies do exist. They’re not particularly distributed. In other words, there is no bad gene, but this culture has never stressed intellectual pursuits and never will. There are no superior Oriental genes but this culture has always stressed knowledge and a certain amount of this is inculcated in the culture so deeply that it has become hereditary in a very obscure fashion. It is immeasurable, but pervasive. Some of you were black in previous lives and blacks have been white. In them there are racial memories that cause them to seek outside their culture» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la herencia y la raza, con la negación del gen malo y la idea de que el énfasis cultural se vuelve hereditario de un modo oscuro; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That does not mean that all illnesses and deficiencies are karmic, and it does not mean that anyone is justified in taking advantage of those who are so afflicted. Remember that those with a Chief Feature of Martyrdom often choose to express it through poor health. That way they can enjoy the attention they crave and at the same time act out the negative pole of the Chief Feature, which is mortification» — los dos límites que el dictado pone a su propia doctrina del karma en la enfermedad: no toda dolencia es kármica, y nadie queda justificado para aprovecharse de quien la padece.

«Yes. It has to do with the Goal of the person being helped. Karmic debts can be incurred through aid. This happens every time you hinder rather than help by taking the responsibility out of their hands. For those whose Goal is Acceptance, this only appears more difficult. It is equally difficult for those in Dominance, who like to be in charge; for those in Growth, who like to take responsibility for the level of growth within the group; for those in the ordinal goals, who feel much responsibility for the» — cómo se contrae una deuda kármica ayudando, según el dictado: cada vez que se estorba en vez de ayudar al quitarle la responsabilidad al otro, repartido por Goals; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«Of course, murder is the most obvious one: the deliberate taking of a life before it is ended. This does not include abortion as the soul does not enter the body until actual birth. Abandonment, if it results in death or catastrophe for the abandoned fragment. Betrayal, if the results of the betrayal are death, incarceration, or significant physical harm. Interfering with another fragment’s life for your gain and their harm, or in other words, what you currently identify as mind-fuck. In the same vein, following the branch of occult studies known as the “left-hand path.” This is not a theological question. There is no more a Devil than there is a God. However, there is malice of intent, and we remind you that there have been many times when the left-hand path surrounded itself with the odor of sanctity. Whether the fragment is Gilles de Retz sacrificing children and raping their bodies, or a devout priest gloating over a heretic on the rack as he orders more hideous tortures, the malicious intent is the same, and incurs the same karmic debt» — la lista de actos que generan deuda kármica según el dictado, con dos tomas de posición dentro: el alma no entra en el cuerpo hasta el nacimiento efectivo, y no hay más Diablo que Dios, de modo que el camino de la mano izquierda es cuestión de malicia de intención y no de teología; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Not necessarily, though it is sometimes the case. It is to be hoped that through growth and understanding as well as spiritual evolution the payment may be less drastic. In other words, rather than experience the betrayal and incarceration that you gave someone else, it may be possible instead to support them, in other words, rescue them from an economic prison rather than from a stone one» — cómo se paga una deuda según el dictado, con el ejemplo que ofrece de pago no equivalente: rescatar de una prisión económica en vez de una de piedra.

«As you reap, so you also sow, or as you sow, so shall you reap. However, this goes far deeper than mere action by those immersed in the waking» — la definición de karma que el dictado da, con la vuelta de tuerca que añade a la fórmula bíblica; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«sleep. For them, the energy loss is far greater, for most of their lives are wasted in fantasy, and fantasy costs much in karmic debts. You must fulfill all carnal desires before serious work is begun on the essence. This can take many lives, usually a minimum of forty-nine» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, que la plana abre partiendo la frase, con la única cifra que el dictado ofrece: hay que agotar los deseos carnales antes del trabajo serio sobre la esencia, y eso lleva un mínimo de cuarenta y nueve vidas.

«misery around them and feel it is their Life-Task to mitigate it. So the Goal of Acceptance is no different than the others in this, although those in acceptance are quite often more verbal about their feelings of responsibility than others in this. Those in Growth tend to act theirs out, and those in Dominance even more blatantly act out the need to take responsibility» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el reparto de la responsabilidad por Goals y la salvedad de que el de Acceptance no se distingue de los otros en esto.

«The way karma operates serves to enliven the action of the life drama. Were it not for karma, the script would be unbelievably dull. It is doubtful that any of you would rationally choose a violent action as a solution to a minor life crisis, and yet it is done every day by those caught up in the clutches of karma. Karmic debts, you see, depart from the script and introduce that element of intrigue that makes the drama worth playing out» — la función dramática que el dictado atribuye al karma: sin él el guion sería insoportablemente aburrido, y las deudas son lo que introduce la intriga.

«We do not mean that all those who feel guilty and pay conscience money are paying karmic debts, because this is not the case. In fact, many who pay conscience money enjoy the feeling of guilt and the not-so-subtle sense of superiority that they get from distributing their largesse» — el último límite del capítulo: el dinero de conciencia no paga karma, y el dictado atribuye a muchos de los que lo pagan el disfrute de la culpa y la superioridad de repartir.

«Of course they do, for the person responsible. The executioner does not often bear the karmic burden, and, in fact, is usually a Baby or very early-Cycle Young Soul acting out of difficult overleaves. The person responsible for the death will bear the karmic ribbon. The same is true of those in battle. The one ordering the battle will bear the burden except when a soldier steps outside of his function and engages in private slaughter, such as those occurrences in Vietnam. If you take the initiative in killing, you also take the responsibility. The executioner who undertakes to make a death more painful and lingering might also create a debt for himself. There are occasional Agreements here, either to be comrades-at-arms or adversaries, which is not as uncommon as you might think. Death in battle or by execution, as such, is not necessarily karmic. Quite often such deaths are chosen by the essence as part of life experience» — cómo reparte el dictado la responsabilidad kármica de las muertes en batalla y en ejecución: al que ordena, no al ejecutor, salvo cuando el soldado sale de su función o el verdugo alarga el morir; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There is philanthropic karma, but this does not often occur before the Mature and Old Cycles. When a fragment performs a genuinely philanthropic act, one that is motivated by true agape, then the fragment receiving this gift of love will return it in some later life. By a philanthropic act, we do not mean giving money to charity, but an act that is both loving and disinterested, that is performed without intent to instill guilt or gratitude in the receiver as well as being free from manipulative considerations by the donor. An example might be someone who provides an artist with a home and food so that he can work at whatever he wishes to, including nothing. A philanthropic gift should be unconditional. There is none of this “if you do this, then I will do that.” The gift is not a bargain» — el karma filantrópico definido por el dictado con su condición dentro: acto amoroso y desinteresado, sin intención de instilar culpa ni gratitud y sin cálculo del donante, y por eso el regalo no es un trato; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We remind you that between lives the soul is capable of total review. But if there is no God, only the Tao, who keeps the record? You do, of course. You, as you are now, are a script that you yourself have written for your earthbound soul to play. It is perpetual» — la respuesta con que el dictado cierra el capítulo a la pregunta por quién lleva el registro si no hay Dios: cada quien es un guion que se ha escrito a sí mismo para que lo represente su alma ligada a la tierra.

«[Any action that is significant enough that is interferes with the Life Plan and life choices of another fragment not specifically agreed to between lives can bring about karma, just as those actions that provide another fragment with Life Plan options that did not exist when the life began can bring about philanthropic karma. Karma does not result from minor inconveniences, but in major intrusions: murder, unjust imprisonment, abandonment of those unable to care for themselves, scape-goating on a major scale, destruction of the understanding of “self» — el largo corchete que la edición de 2005 añade desde otra transcripción para acotar qué produce karma: las intrusiones mayores en el plan de vida de otro fragmento, enumeradas una por una; el tramo se corta al fin de plana, que además parte la frase; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Paying debts is not disinterested. It is usually very difficult for both the owed and the owing to burn ribbons. With philanthropic karma, there is none of the compelling force that most karma has. We remind you that the important word here is “disinterested.” Let us emphasize that this sort of debt and payment is rare and that it does not often arise until the Mature» — la respuesta del dictado a cómo distinguir un acto filantrópico del pago de una deuda, que apoya la distinción en el desinterés; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«and Old Cycles. You have only to look at the nature of the soul levels to see that the perceptions of the Young Cycles make true disinterest almost impossible» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la razón que el dictado da de que ese karma sea raro antes de los ciclos maduro y viejo: las percepciones de los ciclos jóvenes hacen casi imposible el desinterés verdadero.

«which we sometimes call mind-fuck are all activities that can and may bring about karmic ribbons. Social disappointments or outrages, irritating be» — la continuación de ese corchete en la plana siguiente, que arranca partida por el corte de plana; el troceo reemite la marca a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«havior, personality clashes, and general obnoxiousness may be extremely annoying but very rarely lead to karma. (Priest’s transcript)» — el remate de ese corchete en el chunk siguiente, con el límite que cierra la doctrina del karma: los desaires sociales, la conducta irritante, los choques de carácter y la impertinencia general rara vez producen karma, por molestos que sean.

«Not necessarily. A ghost may be an etheric vehicle. If so, it will decompose as the body decomposes. Then you will be alone again. This sometimes happens when one dies suddenly or violently. The etheric vehicle is the innermost aura. It decomposes rapidly. It cannot harm you at all. It is like the aura sans the brain. The Astral body leaves immediately, the etheric vehicle cannot leave. It has no power by itself. It is only a shadow and has no intrinsic energy» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los fantasmas, y que los desarma sin negarlos: el vehículo etérico es el aura más interna, se descompone con el cuerpo, no tiene poder propio y no puede hacer daño.

«Only the Causal entity has this ability. No other entity would have a reason. The animals thus created from Astral matter are only as real as anything else created from Astral matter, but they give the fragment from the Causal body a suitable vehicle for working out an unresolved conflict. Notice we do not say karmic. These are short-lived experiences» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la materialización de materia astral, con la precisión que él mismo añade: esas experiencias no son kármicas.

«The Causal body is on the plane above the Astral plane. It is an upward step in the spiritual evolution. Heaven is created out of Astral materials for those between bodies who need that experience before they review. Some also need the experience of hell, and they too create from Astral matter. It is very pliable [in that it is often unnecessary. (Scholar’s transcript)] It can take any shape you wish. This is the stuff used to conjure up demons. They can cause only the amount of damage you allow them to, in your mind. There have been many instances of fragments being literally frightened to death by products of their minds, manufactured by Astral matter» — lo que el dictado sostiene del cielo y del infierno: se fabrican con materia astral por quienes necesitan esa experiencia antes de revisar su vida, y de esa misma materia salen los demonios, que solo dañan lo que se les permita; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This is essentially correct. There is growth and evolution necessary on the Causal plane as well as the astral. There is a difference, though. This entity perceives self and something apart from self, although still a part of self, so this entity cannot be said to be all of everything there is. The high Causal body does not perceive even this minute separation evidently, and this is where the difference lies. Beyond the Physical plane, the evolution concerns perception of the Tao» — lo que el dictado sostiene de su propio plano: percibe algo aparte de sí que sigue siendo sí, y ahí está la diferencia con el cuerpo causal alto, que no percibe esa separación mínima.

«We’ve had some very disruptive people in the group, as I’ve told you before. In one case we almost gave it up because it seemed that the teaching was being used for all the wrong reasons. We had three people who insisted on turning everything Michael said into dogma, and wanting to make up religious rituals. For a while I felt quite bitter about this. It seemed that everything we did was dragging us down. I was very discouraged then, wondering if it was worth it and whether or not I was a nut case» — la médium declara la crisis más honda del grupo, y la dice sin adorno: tres personas que querían volver dogma lo dictado y armar rituales religiosos, y su propia duda sobre si estaba loca.

«You must first believe that there is nothing that you can do to alter their reaction and that their reaction has nothing to do with anything in your frame of reference. Their perception of a situation and its ramifications is something that only they can deal with and there is nothing that you can do. Keep repeating that to yourself each time it comes up should you chose to do so» — la fórmula práctica que el dictado ofrece contra la negatividad ajena, y que devuelve la reacción del otro a su propio marco de referencia.

«Remember that evil per se only exists in the minds of those perceiving an action. If you happen to be a Young Soul, your desire will be to change the evil to good, to right the unrightable wrong. You will not hesitate to wipe out the lives that are in your way. After all, are they not evil? Mature Souls often perceive evil in themselves and seek to exorcise this. Young Souls perceive the differences in people often as evil. The Old Soul ordinarily does not perceive evil as such. They perceive the cause and do not seek to eradicate the agent. This is what is meant loosely by acceptance. On a higher level, this acceptance becomes agape. Your negativity can be dissolved as soon as you realize how futile it is. Souls enthralled in the glamour of the Physical plane do senseless things, granted, but realize this: the soul is eternal, these acts are temporal» — lo que el dictado sostiene del mal, repartido por edades del alma: el alma joven quiere enderezar lo torcido y no vacila en barrer vidas, la madura lo percibe en sí misma y quiere exorcizarlo, y la vieja percibe la causa y no busca eliminar al agente; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«You would probably benefit much more from that activity than from reading fifty philosophical texts. These are nothing more than other souls expounding on half-acquired enlightenment. Enlightenment is not ponderous. As we said before, as growth progresses, the soul seeks simplicity. This is one good way to discern whether a particular piece of literature will be of any help to you. If it is merely an exercise in vocabulary and rhetoric, then abandon it. Some very wordy material comes from Young Souls. Be wary of this in selecting reading material» — la respuesta del dictado a una miembro del grupo harta de los tratados filosóficos, y que es el criterio de lectura que el libro propone: la iluminación no es ponderosa, y lo que es ejercicio de vocabulario y retórica se abandona.

«His followers were only unrighteous in the eyes of certain beholders. The rituals derived from the religions are good work. They produce a group high, which is the only way that Baby Souls ever experience a high—that is—vicariously» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por las religiones convencionales, y la función que atribuye a sus ritos: producir un subidón de grupo, que es la única manera en que las almas del segundo ciclo lo experimentan.

«He also said, “seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.” You have asked» — la única vez en el libro que el dictado cita el evangelio a su favor, y lo aplica al propio grupo.

«It does not make sense to us, either. In the literal sense, it is meaningless. He did not say that. That was perpetuated by zealots» — la respuesta del dictado a la doctrina de que Cristo murió por los pecados: la declara sin sentido en sentido literal y la atribuye a celosos, no al propio Jesús.

«One must keep in mind the audience to which the man Jesus spoke, and the scribes who wrote the account, before passing judgment on the words. These people believed in a very literal, very personal God who monitored every move they made and was for the most part stern and disapproving. Greek thought had much influence on the man Jesus, particularly Epicurus, but it would have been impossible for him to espouse the words of this» — lo que el dictado sostiene del contexto de Jesús: un público que creía en un Dios literal y desaprobador, y una influencia griega, en particular de Epicuro, que no podía proclamar desde los pórticos del Templo; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«nite Soul manifested, the Logos was brought to bear in the language of the times, transcribed by a Roman tax collector (Matthew), and an emotionally centered Greek physician (Luke). Epicurus had a most profound influence on all of the philosophy of the time, surpassing that of the stoic Zeno. This philosophy was made to order for the Sadducees, who also appealed to this young man’s sensitive nature. The Epicurean thought pattern is what all of us are striving to accomplish» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con los dos evangelistas nombrados por su oficio y el pensamiento epicúreo puesto por encima del estoico como lo que, según el dictado, todos buscan. La plana abre partiendo la palabra anterior.

«Truth is the greatest “good” and love is the highest truth. “Good” is its own reward, as is truth. The love of the Logos or agape permeated the being of Jesus, even prior to the manifestation. He lived for the Word. The quest for spiritual liberation took precedence over all things, sometimes to his despair. Prior to manifestation this was an Emotionally Centered fragment who was passionate and sensual. When others rejected his opinions, he was astonished» — lo que el dictado da por esencia de la enseñanza de Jesús y el retrato que hace del hombre antes de la manifestación: centrado en lo emocional, apasionado y sensual, y asombrado cuando rechazaban sus opiniones.

«He was describing precisely what they would encounter on the Astral interval. He did not judge. He knew. There is a difference. Judgment implies an alternative. There was none. When a master speaks, there is no room for» — la distinción con que el dictado responde a por qué Jesús juzgaba a los fariseos: no juzgaba, sabía, y el juicio implicaría una alternativa que no había; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«discussion [in the sense of denial (Scholar)» — el remate de esa frase en el chunk siguiente, con el corchete más breve que la edición de 2005 añade en todo el libro.

«The demons are produced by the sick mind and do not exist. They can be cast out only by one skilled in this. The exorcist must be able to give the patient a visible substitute; thus he must be capable of producing psychic phenomena at will. Jesus was an occult master. He could produce the necessary phenomena to make the patient see his demon leave and occupy some other organism. Then, of course, you must still treat the sickness which caused the soul to produce the demon. Usually this is masochism in its extreme manifestation» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los exorcismos, y que es donde llama a Jesús maestro ocultista: los demonios no existen y solo los echa quien sepa dar al paciente un sustituto visible, después de lo cual hay que tratar la enfermedad.

«Jesus was not against sex. He was for moderation. Prostitution is not moderate, even temple prostitution» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción de que Jesús estaba contra el sexo, que lo pone del lado de la moderación.

«Stop thinking of the Astral plane as “up there.” It is “down here.” Reach out and touch it. The first level of the Astral plane is populated by living fragments adept at Astral travel, and those souls who penetrate this plane accidentally through drugs. The second level of the Astral plane is inhabited by all those between bodies. The third level attracts Old souls who are trying to burn final karma without being reborn. The mid-Astral bodies are partially reunited entities. You have manifested a mid-Astral entity previously. The three higher levels are progressively integrated; access to the high planes is through these levels. Even very high adepts have fantasies concerning the high planes» — la corrección espacial con que el dictado abre el capítulo y el censo de los seis niveles astrales, con los adeptos del viaje astral y los que entran por accidente con drogas en el primero; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The words never fall on completely deaf ears. You must, however, be prepared for overt rejection in the verbal form. You must learn not to allow this to throw you from the path. There are bound to be repercus» — la respuesta del dictado a esa crisis: la palabra nunca cae del todo en saco roto, hay que contar con el rechazo verbal abierto y no dejar que eso saque del camino; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«sions [both from those who uncompromisingly reject as well as those who overwhelmingly accept. (Scholar’s transcript)] You people are decidedly abnormal, if you want the truth, and you must get used to this» — la continuación en la plana, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade para igualar el rechazo y la aceptación desmedida como repercusión, y la frase con que el dictado califica al grupo.

«Substitute for the word “blessed” the word “fortunate.” The emphasis here is on simplicity. By “meek,” we do not speak of cowardice, but rather of an inwardness of purpose. The “poor in spirit” refers to those who recognize within themselves the lack of spiritual guidance and seek this. This passage is warning against the complacency that heralds the downfall and degradation of humanity. The barbarians can be used symbolically here as the materialistic existentialists who deny other dimensions beyond the Physical plane and devote their lives to the pursuit of maya. They are indeed unfortunate in that they incur much adverse karma» — la lectura que el dictado hace del Sermón de la Montaña, palabra por palabra: *fortunate* por *blessed*, la mansedumbre como interioridad de propósito y no cobardía, y los pobres de espíritu como quienes reconocen que les falta guía y la buscan; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Although it may come as quite a surprise to all those present, this piece of fabric is not a hoax, pious or otherwise, but is precisely what it is purported to be—the winding-sheet of the man you call Jesus. What is not understood here is that the body wrapped in this shroud of linen was not dead when put into the tomb, and therefore sweated and urinated and bled, leaving the imprint that has been so clearly revealed by laser techniques. Body salts are very persistent, as those who have tried to clean blood or urine off garments know» — lo que el dictado sostiene del Shroud of Turin, que es la afirmación más arriesgada del libro y la que más se presta al cotejo: no es un fraude, es lo que se dice que es, y el cuerpo envuelto no estaba muerto al entrar en la tumba; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We have told you before that the man you call Jesus did not die on the cross but died later. The body was taken from the cross in a state of deep trance caused by massive physical shock. Remember that there was still a task to perform and it could not have been completed if the body had been allowed to die on the cross. Of course, the soul had abandoned the body some time before for the manifestation of the Infinite Soul. The Infinite Soul is capable of taking any form it wishes, and in this case, this was the body chosen. We must remind you, also, that catalepsy, though not unknown in those times, was very hard to diagnose. It is also important to remember that those seeking to bury the man Jesus had to do it quickly» — la tesis que sostiene lo anterior: el hombre no murió en la cruz sino después, y bajó en trance profundo por choque físico masivo, con el alma ya abandonada para la manifestación; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We would think that no matter what the examination of the shroud reveals, it will have little effect on the attitudes of most religious groups, though a little controversy might lead to reexamination and growth for those willing to explore the possibilities» — el límite que el dictado pone a su propia afirmación sobre el sudario: no espera que el examen cambie las actitudes de la mayoría de los grupos religiosos.

«This was promulgated by a man named John, who had a series of nightmares. It was not pleasant to watch someone you love die in a particularly horrible manner. There was an earthquake and a partial eclipse that day—completely natural phenomena, believe it or not. This gave rise to many bad dreams in already susceptible superstitious people» — la explicación que el dictado da del Apocalipsis, que lo reduce a pesadillas de un hombre y a un terremoto y un eclipse parcial que declara fenómenos naturales.

«The fragment that was Saul has not been reborn yet, but will be soon. He will be a fifth-level Old Soul this time and maybe he will listen» — la única predicción del libro sobre un personaje del Nuevo Testamento, dicha con un *maybe* dentro.

«He made many errors. This is how you learn» — la respuesta con que el dictado despacha la objeción a las contradicciones de Pablo, y que es la forma más corta de su doctrina del error.

«That should be self-evident. Honesty without guile, simplicity without poverty of the soul, love without material expectations, emptying the life of all nonessential consideration, the endless Cycles of evolution with the Physical plane being the cruelest and roughest: these are the things emphasized in the true teachings of Christ» — lo que el dictado da por enseñanzas verdaderas de Cristo, a quien le pide una vía práctica: honestidad sin doblez, simplicidad sin pobreza de alma, amor sin expectativas materiales y vaciar la vida de lo accesorio.

«I spent some time in a convent before I realized that I simply wasn’t cut out to be a nun. One of the things that convinced me was the emptiness behind the ritual, although the ritual itself attracts me. I still find religion a fascinating study» — una miembro del grupo declara su propio recorrido religioso y lo que la sacó de él: el vacío detrás del rito, que a la vez sigue atrayéndola.

«Organized religion is a social structure and has no place in the “cosmic scheme.” Only the practice of the manifold path brings a soul to the end of the line on the Physical plane» — la afirmación más frontal del libro sobre la religión organizada, que la deja como estructura social sin lugar en el esquema cósmico.

«Ritual is an enjoyable game which fragments play on the Physical plane and we see no harm in that, as such. It is as good a way as any to promote a group high, but it is not good for much else. Please believe us when we tell you that there is no one “out there” when you finally exit who will ask you if you were an Episcopalian» — lo que el dictado concede al rito y lo que le niega, con la frase con que cierra el asunto.

«I don’t care what Michael says about religion,” Emily declares. “I still believe and I still think it’s possible to lead a Christian life» — la única miembro del grupo que declara en el libro no acatar lo dictado en materia de religión, y que el volumen imprime sin resolver el desacuerdo.

«I feel that much of what Michael says is a challenge. I’ve read a great deal more about religion, all kinds of Christianity as well as Judaic and Eastern literature. Michael insists that there are common roots to most of this, and I’d like to find them. That may just be my Chief Feature of Stubbornness, but I can’t help hoping that it’s really my Goal of Growth» — otra miembro del grupo declara el uso que da al desafío: leer más sobre religión —cristianismos, literatura judaica y oriental— para buscar las raíces comunes que el dictado afirma.

«It’s a question I ask myself, too. I’m not a Christian, but I’ve been doing some reading on the history of the Church, from the Roman empire to the present, and it’s an amazing study. I’m particularly interested in the way various branches of the early Church amalgamated local religious practices into their rituals to speed conversion. No wonder there’s so little left of what was actually taught. I’ve also been comparing that history to the history of India. I haven’t found as much material as I’d like to on the subject, but there’s enough there to give me some idea of how much distortion there has been» — un miembro del grupo declara su propio estudio histórico y lo que busca en él: cómo las ramas de la Iglesia primitiva amalgamaron prácticas religiosas locales en sus ritos para acelerar la conversión; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We do, occasionally,” Walter admits, “but it isn’t a good idea to have him tell us everything. There’s no real learning in that, and Michael does want us to learn. There’s all kinds of new information that crops up during study. . “There sure is,” Kate interjects. “…And if Michael simply answered questions, we’d lose all that» — la razón que el grupo da de no preguntarle todo al dictado, y que es de los pocos lugares donde el libro declara un límite de uso de su propia fuente: las respuestas servidas en cuchara no enseñan.

«Quality is the answer. It is what you think, not how often. In Jesus’ time on earth, most of the thoughts were bound up in fertility rites and superstition. They were negative energy vortices» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por la frecuencia del pensamiento sexual, con el juicio que hace de los ritos de fertilidad de aquel tiempo: los llama vórtices de energía negativa.

«He was a threat to Joseph Caiphas, who was getting rich on the Temple funds and there was a suitable pawn available in the person of the Judean governor, who was a coward and who already was in trouble with Tiberius over other things. The Infinite Soul cares nothing about the physical body and when it was realized how the deck was stacked, it was seen as a convenient way to speedily fulfill the prophesy» — la explicación política que el dictado da de la crucifixión: una amenaza para quien se enriquecía con los fondos del Templo y un peón adecuado en el gobernador de Judea, con el cuerpo físico tenido por indiferente.

«For those who wonder about the height and size, this was a robust and healthy man, not exactly the wispy ascetic type. He enjoyed a rough life for most of his years, and although he did practice some austerities, they» — el arranque del retrato físico que el dictado hace del mismo hombre; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«were not marked and did not include the eschewing of good food. He was married, and though he did not have any living children at the time of the manifestation of the Infinite Soul, he did have six siblings» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la afirmación sobre su matrimonio y sus seis hermanos.

«Prayers, of course, are nothing more than the personality’s petition» — el arranque de lo que el dictado sostiene de la oración; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«to the essence to come to the rescue. Some do come from the Emotional Center, but organized prayer, such as that promulgated by Rome, is purely intellectual, and rather boring at that» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la oración organizada declarada puramente intelectual y aburrida.

«When I first started working the board,” Jessica picks up the thread again, “I was afraid to tackle anything religious. I shied away from questions having to do with Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism or Hinduism or even Zoroastrianism. The only religion, strangely enough, that I didn’t have much trouble with was Islam because I found myself very comfortable with some of the concepts and expressions. Michael told me, when Tracy was working the board, that I had a very important life in that faith and that many aspects of that teaching are still with me» — la médium enumera las religiones que no se atrevía a tocar al principio y la única con la que dice haber estado cómoda, con la explicación que atribuye al dictado: una vida importante en esa fe; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The essential teaching of Christianity had its roots, of course, in a manifestation of the Infinite Soul, but like most bureaucracies it was perpetuated by Young Priests in the Passion Mode, at their most zealous, who were willing to interject their own biases into the material. Today’s Christianity bears little resemblance to the teachings of the man Jesus or to the Logos brought to bear by the Infinite Soul. You must remember that the Old King who was the man Jesus relinquished his physical body to the Infinite Soul only during the last thirty days of his life. Prior to that, the teaching was that of a seventh-level Old King, transcendent, an enlightened being. We would also like to remind you that much of the chronology of the events in this man’s life is confused, distorted, and in some instances, wholly fictionalized. We would suggest that you bear this in mind when making a study of his teachings. [For those who chose to view religion as an adaptation of teaching and philosophy to culture there is much of worth to be “discovered” and many insights to be gained. (Priest’s transcript)» — lo que el dictado sostiene del cristianismo, con la cifra que le pone al episodio: el Old King que fue Jesús cedió su cuerpo al Infinite Soul solo los últimos treinta días de su vida, y la cronología de esa vida está confundida y en parte novelada; el corchete de la edición de 2005 abre la puerta a leer la religión como adaptación cultural; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It depends on which prophets you mean. Many were sociopolitical critics who chose the theocratic power structure to promulgate their doctrines. You must realize that much of what has come down to you is not accurate, either in recording the true words of the prophet, or in revealing just what it was that the prophet was talking about. Nehemiah, for example, was criticizing certain hypocritical priests who were using their position to enrich themselves and their families through their association with the seat of government, which was also the major religious structure. Jeremiah was a Young Sage in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Rejection and a Chief Feature of Stubbornness, and once he hit upon a theme, he held to it, hammer and tongs. Solomon was an intelligent and thoughtful Mature Soul who had a Goal of Growth, and was willing to take more onto himself than many previous men had been. The Psalms, which come from many sources, were mainly popular songs to help the uneducated masses understand the nature of the teaching in the temple. Just as there was a tradition of singing the religious words to make them special, so this was carried over into the everyday life. The Proverbs are simply a collection of sayings cobbled together into sections. To appreciate the entire range of thought in Judaic teaching, we would say that it is necessary to read all the literature, including the books, preachings, and testaments that are most often excluded from the texts, just as a Christian should read the apocryphal books, gospels, and epistles generally deleted from the Bible. We would say the most valuable studies for growth in Judaic teaching are the book of Job and Ecclesiastes. These books are more closely allied with the true teaching than many of the others. We wish to point out that a few of the prophets—Isaiah, for example—had certain psychic abilities, and though the predictions that these men made were altered to the convenience of the theocracy and adjusted to fit later events, still the gifts of the men were real, and they were very much upon the path» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los profetas: críticos sociopolíticos que usaron la estructura teocrática, con overleaves adjudicados a Jeremías y a Salomón, los Salmos como canciones populares y los Proverbios como dichos ensartados, y la recomendación de leer también lo excluido de los textos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Because each reveals something of the nature of the search. Job is a case of spiritual growth and the manifestation of the essence through stress that results in acceleration. The repentance at the end is not valid. It is not God who speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, but his essence, which is aware of everything. The recognition of himself as being part of something greater is the recognition that is made, one way or another, by every Old Soul. Ecclesiastes is largely about false personality versus essence, expressed in terms that could be accepted by a rigidly religious people» — la lectura que el dictado hace de Job y de Ecclesiastes, con la afirmación más fuerte: quien habla a Job desde el torbellino no es Dios sino su propia esencia, y el arrepentimiento final no vale.

«Only that it is beneficial for the society if its members gather together to discuss its workings so that progress may be maintained. We remind you that Mohammed had such gatherings, though at that time there were not too many people involved» — la lectura que el dictado hace de la peregrinación a la Meca, que la reduce a la utilidad de que los miembros de una sociedad se reúnan a discutir su funcionamiento.

«Most Young-soul religious movements are repressive of someone. Women have long been a target for this repression. The Islamic structures are based on previous social codes as well as the provision that Mohammed tried to make for widows so that they would not be left to prostitution or starvation. Unfortunately, this was seized upon as permission to abuse and isolate women for male convenience. You can see the same evolution in early Greece. There was also an existing preoccupation with large families because of a staggeringly high Infant mortality. [In making females valuable only for their ability to give birth to more males, the society in question reveals a terror of intimacy that continues in “male” paradigms to this day. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por la condición de la mujer en el islam, con el paralelo griego y el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre el terror a la intimidad; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The sect of Hinduism began at the time of the manifestation of the Infinite Soul through Sri Krishna. It is an ancient sect that retained much of its original wisdom until foreign intrusion, at which time it became diluted and corrupted by doubt and embellishment. One thing we do say in defense of Hinduism is that it does retain the Logos concerning the life cycles of the soul, however distorted and embellished they may be at present. The restrictive and destructive caste system had its beginning in the nature of the essence Roles, but rather than encouraging actual essence manifestation, there were arbitrary codes, determined by inheritance lines, that trapped all society into a rigid and negative structure. The major distortion here is the misconception that children have the same essence as their parents, which is obviously absurd. Look at the overleaves and you will see that this is rarely the case» — lo que el dictado sostiene del hinduismo: conserva el Logos sobre los ciclos de vida del alma aunque distorsionado, y el sistema de castas nació de los Roles en esencia pero se volvió herencia, con el error de suponer que los hijos tienen la esencia de los padres; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That is a distortion, invented for the convenience of the Brahmin class in order to bolster their power. We have told you before that animals have hive souls and that sentient beings have fragment souls capable of evolution and change. If you will remember that, you will understand» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la creencia en almas animales, que atribuye a la conveniencia de una clase sacerdotal y contrapone a su propia doctrina: los animales tienen almas de colmena.

«We are not conducting a popularity contest» — la respuesta con que el dictado despacha la advertencia de que lo dicho no gustará.

«These are personifications of natural forces, for the most part, though some of them are expressions of the essence and overleaves. It is almost impossible to identify that function now, except the expression of polarities in Shiva and Kali, though even in those two the nature of the overleaves and polarities has got mixed up with natural forces» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los dioses y diosas del hinduismo: personificaciones de fuerzas naturales, salvo la expresión de polaridades en Shiva y Kali, y aun ahí revueltas.

«We do not like or dislike. We are quite incapable of such emotions. We offer the teaching. You may or may not hear the words. We will leave judgments to you» — la fórmula con que el dictado se declara incapaz de gustos y aversiones cuando un miembro del grupo le atribuye preferencia por una religión.

«The beginning of Taoism occurred at the time of the manifestation of the Infinite Soul through Lao-tzu, which you may regard as a title rather than a name. Taoism in its present form is the most undiluted example of the Logos extant. Because of its simplicity, it is often difficult to understand, as most students prefer complexity and complications to this simplicity» — lo que el dictado sostiene del daoísmo, y que es la única religión a la que da el primer lugar: el ejemplo menos diluido del Logos que existe, difícil justamente por simple.

«Primarily because of a lack of foreign intrusion. Also, we would say that since most students find the simplicity baffling, there has been little embellishment. You must remember that Taoism is for the most part free from personification and therefore offers the student an uncluttered view of the Logos» — la razón que el dictado da de esa pureza: falta de intrusión extranjera, poca ornamentación por lo desconcertante de la simplicidad, y ausencia casi total de personificación.

«It is certainly a worthwhile source» — la única recomendación bibliográfica que el dictado da en todo el libro, a la pregunta por un texto concreto.

«Confucius manifested during a period when social change was inevitable. The writings of K’ung Fu-Tzu have a correct message that speaks through analogy and has very practical advice of an ethical and social nature for Scholars and Warriors, but little validity for others. What remains of the teaching today is in a very diluted form. Again, it was convenient for the powers within the society to seize upon the doctrine of responsibility to one’s ancestors as a way to hold power over the descendants and to» — lo que el dictado sostiene de Confucio: mensaje correcto por analogía y consejo ético y social práctico para dos Roles, con lo que queda hoy declarado muy diluido; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«establish a rigid social structure. [Of course Confucius’ “teaching” is not actually a religion but a philosophical code of social conduct and a codification of “proper” and “wise” behavior. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la continuación de ese pasaje en el chunk siguiente, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade para negar que aquello sea una religión y llamarlo código filosófico de conducta social. El troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk.

«It is another prop, like the tarot cards, the crystal ball, or, for that matter, Ouija boards. It is a method by which your false personality is set aside so that there may be inner dialogue with the essence. It is, in fact, not a dialogue but a monologue. We do not disdain these props, although we wish to point out that much of what is in the I Ching is not particularly appropriate to twentieth-century Western culture» — lo que el dictado sostiene del I Ching, y que es el único lugar donde pone su propio tablero en la misma lista: junto a las cartas del tarot y la bola de cristal, un apoyo para apartar la personalidad falsa y tener diálogo interno con la esencia, que en realidad llama monólogo.

«Buddhism began at the time of the manifestation of the Infinite Soul through Siddhartha Gautama and, next to the teaching of Lao-tzu, is the least diluted and distorted access to the Logos. Some of the Buddhist monks are exactly what they say they are—they have clear recall of their entire past lives, recognize all the threads, acknowledge their Agreements and associations, and recognize their entity mates. Others profess to having this knowledge and do not. There is no easy way to tell one from the other except to remember that those who are truly enlightened rarely advertise the fact» — lo que el dictado sostiene del budismo, con su propio criterio de discernimiento dentro: algunos monjes son exactamente lo que dicen ser y otros lo profesan sin serlo, y los de veras iluminados rara vez lo anuncian.

«Zoroastrianism had its first manifestation with the Transcendental Soul, but the teaching has largely been lost, we might almost say in battle, for this manifestation occurred to an aggressive Warrior nation and was perpetuated by soldiers. Keeping this in mind, if one reads the earliest accounts, one can discern the similarity here between the words of Zarathustra and Lao-tzu, Siddhartha Gautama, and all those others whose souls were displaced by the Transcendental or Infinite Souls» — lo que el dictado sostiene del zoroastrismo: manifestación del Transcendental Soul cuya enseñanza dice perdida casi en la batalla, por haber caído en una nación guerrera, y la semejanza que afirma entre las palabras de Zarathustra y las de los demás desplazados; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We mean that the souls exchange residences and the displaced soul returns to the Astral plane for review and to make decisions if there are lives, Monads, and sequences left incomplete by this change. There is no harm done to the displaced soul if that is what worries you; in fact, there is considerably less shock than when the soul returns to the Astral plane because of an early or violent death. Quite often the displaced soul incarnates quickly so that the Monads and sequences begun may be completed without the necessity of all those involved in the Monads and sequences having to return for another go at completion» — lo que el dictado entiende por *displaced*, con el límite dicho: el alma desplazada no sufre daño y el choque es menor que en una muerte temprana o violenta; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Judaism had its roots in practicality and had, as history teaches, men who were evolutionary leaps ahead of their neighbors in terms of knowledge, particularly of hygiene, nutrition, and mental health. This was originally a cult of physician-healers who realized that a superstitious society could be forced to change only by the introduction of the “fear of God.” This fear was so deeply instilled that the populace was afraid even to mention the name of this angry God, associated with cleansing rain and rivers, who raged about their atrocious personal habits. There was a devastating plague just before the enlightened healers appeared, and their very commonsensical advice was accepted as revelation when it became obvious» — lo que el dictado sostiene del judaísmo, y que es de sus lecturas más materialistas: un culto de médicos sanadores que introdujo el temor de Dios para forzar el cambio de una sociedad supersticiosa después de una peste devastadora; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«that lives were being saved by the teachings» — el remate de esa frase en la plana siguiente, donde el dictado pone la aceptación del consejo en la evidencia de las vidas salvadas.

«Islam, of course, has its roots in a manifestation of the Transcendental» — el arranque de lo que el dictado sostiene del islam; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«Soul, which has a specific purpose to effect massive social upheaval just as the Infinite Soul effects a spiritual change. The man Mohammed definitely did accomplish a great deal toward the development of a code of ethics, one of the best since the Code of Hammurabi. Because of the societal structure, what was a social code became a religious dogma, which it was never intended to be. If you will examine the teachings of the Koran in this light, you will see that much of it is worthwhile and valid. The distortion of the teaching to accommodate the religious demands of the populace has resulted not in misunderstanding as much as misuse of the teaching» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: el cometido que el dictado atribuye al Transcendental Soul es el trastorno social y no el espiritual, con el código de ética de Mohammed vuelto dogma religioso por la estructura social; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«A Monad is an essential unit, a necessary experience. They often take more than one life to accomplish. Both chemistry and philosophy teach that a Monad is elemental and indivisible. There are a very large number of Monads, some of them interpersonal, some of them intrapersonal» — la definición del Monad, con la etimología que el dictado invoca: unidad esencial e indivisible, como en la química y en la filosofía.

«The most common Monad is parent/child and student/teacher. The parent/child Monad is usually accomplished in the Young-Soul Cycle, the student/ teacher Monad in the Mature- and Old-Soul Cycles. This does not mean that all such relationships are Monadal. The Monad is done only» — los dos Monads más comunes según el dictado y la regla que los gobierna, con el límite dicho: no toda relación de esa clase es monádica; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«once. In other words, there is only one time that you will experience the child side of the parent/child Monad, and only once that you will experience the parent side. You will experience these Monads with the same soul. The teacher who teaches you in the student/teacher Monad will be the same soul that will be your student. Let us give you an example: when you find a person whose childhood and relationship with one, and only one, of his or her parents has dominated his or her life, then it is possible that he or she is experiencing the child part of the parent/child Monad, just as the dominant parent is experiencing the parent side of the Monad. The teacher/student Monad need not occur in academic surroundings; in fact, it most often does not as the nature of education requires that a teacher divide his or her attention among several pupils, and that is not the nature of the teacher/student Monad. Each fragment must experience being the attacker and the victim, the healer and the healed, the passionate and repressive, the dependent and the independent, the rescuer and the rescued, the hopelessly loving and the hopelessly loved, to give a few obvious examples. Most of the transactions that have recently been identified as common times of crisis in adult life are often linked with an intrapersonal» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la regla entera: cada lado del Monad se experimenta una sola vez y con la misma alma, y la lista de pares que todo fragmento debe experimentar —atacante y víctima, sanador y sanado, dependiente e independiente, rescatador y rescatado—; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«A sequence is usually just that: a sequence of events leading the fragment to the culmination of an agreed-upon experience or task. Agreements and sequences go hand in hand. You Agree to do a sequence. Often a fragment will become a facilitator and come into your life only long enough to introduce you to another fragment, or take you to a specific location, or deliver a message so that your task will be easier to complete. Again, parents often have sequences with their children which will involve environmental controls through which the child fragment must work in order to complete the Life-Task. These familial sequences often involve repression neuroses or what seems to be unusual harshness, specifically religious restrictions and the like. Fragments often also have sequences with each other as pupils and favorite teachers for the specific purpose of passing on needed information leading to the completion of the task. Sequences are quite often interrupted by natural occurrences such as illness, death, and relocation, for the drive to complete Agreements is not nearly as strong as the drive to burn karmic ribbons. However, when the sequence is set up to complete a Monad, then the drive is as strong or stronger than the karmic pull» — la definición de *sequence* y de *Agreement*, con la figura del facilitador que entra en una vida solo lo bastante para presentar a alguien o entregar un mensaje, y la jerarquía de fuerzas: el impulso de cumplir Agreements es menor que el de quemar cintas kármicas; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We do not mean to imply that there is a set structure for this and that everyone, upon reaching mid-Cycle Young, will automatically do the parent side of the parent/child Monad. The fragment chooses, between lives, which of the interpersonal Monads it will accomplish. The intrapersonal ones, of course, are part of life» — el límite que el dictado pone a su propio esquema: no hay estructura fija ni automatismo por ciclo, el fragmento elige entre vidas cuáles Monads interpersonales cumple.

«That is your choice. You will do it in some other life» — la respuesta más escueta del capítulo a qué pasa si un Monad queda sin completar.

«Not as such, no, though it is likely your choice of profession will influence how and when you do your Monads. The closer you are to working in essence, the more easily you will accomplish your Monads» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la relación entre profesión y Monads, con la regla que saca: cuanto más se trabaje desde la esencia, más fácil será cumplirlos.

«Not essentially, although there may be karmic debts and payments associated with major Monads. However, that is comparatively rare. In general, Monads are strong enough by themselves, and so is karma, not to need the function of the other. Occasionally if a fragment decides to abdicate a Monadal relationship it might result in karmic debts, as in the case of a dependent/independent Monad when the independent partner abdicates and as a result the dependent partner dies. That would leave the Monad incomplete and add a karmic debt» — cómo separa el dictado los Monads del karma, con el caso en que sí se tocan: abdicar de una relación monádica de dependencia y que el dependiente muera por eso.

«Occasionally. They can also be the result of previous associations, such as former comrades-at-arms, or entity mates, or, in the strongest of those relationships, essence twins» — lo que el dictado sostiene de las relaciones de apoyo, y donde introduce por primera vez el término que ocupa el resto del capítulo.

«Nothing is wrong. However, the moment you start thinking about sex, you bring the emotional or the Intellectual Center into play. Then there is loss of energy from the Sexual Center» — lo que el dictado sostiene de pensar en el sexo: nada malo, pero entra en juego el Centro Emocional o el Intelectual y hay pérdida de energía del Sexual.

«With a sexual high as you call it, you are using the Sexual Center as access to the higher Centers. The physical act itself can be performed with little loss of energy. The problem with most is that they are heavily identified with other aspects when they are performing the sex act. This is what we mean» — lo que el dictado sostiene del *sexual high*: el Sexual Center como acceso a los Centros superiores, con el acto en sí capaz de hacerse con poca pérdida de energía y el problema puesto en la identificación con otros aspectos.

«There is no pat formula, if that is what you are asking. With the truly telepathic, the experience can be most profound. Many people shy away from such relationships for just that reason. They find it threatening to open themselves to such an intense intimacy. Entity mates in the older Cycles can occasionally experience that mutual revelation, particularly when there are many past associations to draw on. The other condition, admittedly rare, is when those involved in the sexual act are twin souls. Do you mean entity mates that are the same essence Role and with the same overleaves? No. Essence Twins, though almost always the same essence Role, are not often part of the same entity, but are part of different entities that were cast at the same time» — la respuesta del dictado sobre los Essence Twins, con la definición que los separa de los compañeros de entidad: casi siempre el mismo Role, rara vez de la misma entidad, y echados al mismo tiempo desde entidades distintas; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It is too frightening. There is complete psychic union between such twin souls. There are no longer any individual perceptions. There is a total loss of identity. Most people are too ambivalent and hostile to deal with such a relationship. The uniting of twin souls is a devastating experience. Souls so united are truly one flesh» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la unión de esos gemelos y por qué dice que casi nadie la consuma: pérdida total de identidad, sin percepciones individuales, y una experiencia que llama devastadora.

«We said that you find such relationships frightening. Yes, it is true that you stay in your own bodies, but the intensity of the union, particularly when it is expressed sexually, can be ecstatic beyond any other such expe» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción de que *una sola carne* es metáfora, que concede los cuerpos separados y sostiene la intensidad; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«rience on the Physical plane. Essence Twins, if they can accept each other, would literally do anything to remain together» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con lo que el dictado declara que harían dos Essence Twins que se aceptaran. La plana abre partiendo la palabra anterior.

«Since a Monad is a complete life experience and consists of a block of knowledge, the interruption of it requires that you start it again in another life and finish it. Completion of specific Monads is part of the evolution of the soul, and it is necessary to complete the Monads in order to advance through the levels of the Cycles. It is not entirely inapt to say that Monads» — por qué los Monads gobiernan el avance por los niveles según el dictado: un Monad interrumpido hay que empezarlo de nuevo en otra vida; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«have some of the effect on the evolution of the soul that education does on the personality. A child must learn to draw in order to develop the eyeand-hand coordination necessary in reading and writing, and in a similar sense, there are Monads that must be experienced before the fragment is ready for the next step» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el símil escolar que el dictado propone: como el niño aprende a dibujar para la coordinación que exigen la lectura y la escritura; la extracción une *eye-and-hand* por el guion de fin de renglón y devuelve *eyeand-hand*; la forma impresa lleva los dos guiones.

«It depends on what you wish to communicate. Only those expressions that are visible or tangible can be taken as true expressions unless you are» — el arranque de la respuesta del dictado a si el Sexual Center sirve para comunicar; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«telepathic. You must receive the expression through one of your five primitive senses and convey it to the others. If you can do it with sex, then you are telepathic» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, que impone el paso por los cinco sentidos y remata con una condición. La plana abre partiendo la palabra anterior.

«We do not mean to imply that all romantic suicide pacts are the work of twin souls refusing to be separated. More likely, youthful romantic suicides are indulging in high-flown theatrics. Depressed Sages achieve the most flamboyant suicides, though most of them do not generally intend to kill themselves, only to reap the benefits and attentions of the attempt. Of course, each fragment must experience suicide, as it must experience plague and death in battle and execution and starvation and all other forms of death. It is part of the eternal play» — lo que el dictado sostiene del suicidio dentro del sistema, con la afirmación que lo vuelve obligatorio: cada fragmento tiene que experimentarlo, como la peste, la muerte en batalla, la ejecución y el hambre.

«No. Sooner or later the soul learns that suicide is unprofitable. For instance, if a person with terminal cancer suicides and there remained five or six months of life with its attendant lessons, then that soul will experience infant death at a later time. [That is not to say that the “unnatural” prolongation of life is “required,” for that is not the case as such prolongation can interfere with choice, and if such extension constitutes actions specifically contrary to the choices of the dying fragment, it can lead to a karmic debt for those imposing living upon the unwilling fragment. (Scholar’s transcript)» — la razón que el dictado da de que el suicidio no rinda —los meses de vida no vividos se cobran en una muerte infantil posterior— con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade en sentido contrario: prolongar la vida contra la elección del moribundo puede producir deuda kármica a quien se la impone; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There is no one answer, of course. Death is a ghastly experience if you are depressed. You bring all your depression with you. That is why so many suicides must go back and finish that which they abdicated, or no progress can be made» — lo que el dictado sostiene de morir deprimido: la depresión se lleva consigo, y por eso muchos suicidas tienen que volver a terminar lo que abdicaron.

«These are facilitated by what we have chosen to call overleaves. Certain composites of overleaves are conducive to certain types of activities—for instance, the extraction of an old debt. Remember, the moment you step on the path this is no longer the case. You may depart from the script just as soon as you realize it exists. You can depart from it completely, and if you wish, without regrets, but this is hard work. Just the realization is difficult enough. You see, that which you call essence, that which has access to higher expression, operates always in real space. The false personality fears real space as the agoraphobic fears the open field» — cómo se elige el guion según el dictado y qué se puede hacer con él: apartarse en cuanto se sabe que existe, cosa que declara trabajo duro, con la personalidad falsa temiendo el espacio real como el agorafóbico el campo abierto; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Unfulfilled expectations are the sole cause of anger. We know of none other. When you stop expecting, there will be no anger. We remind you that your expectations need not be pleasant. Anxiety and anticipation of disaster are also expectations» — la única causa que el dictado admite para el enojo, con la ampliación que él mismo añade: la ansiedad y la anticipación del desastre también son expectativas.

«This does not mean that you should deny the impulses within you, but that you should learn not to deny them. There is no understanding where there is denial. You are somewhat handicapped in that aspect. Essentially this culture is hypocritical toward aggression. The culture pretends to decry aggression, yet teaches it to the young. Confusion results and many grow up believing that all aggressive tendencies are somehow not nice. Others grow up in an atmosphere of aggressive abandon. Most are confused about their own internal passive/aggressive ratio» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la agresión en esta cultura, que llama hipócrita: la decora y a la vez la enseña a los jóvenes, y de ahí la confusión.

«The high bodies impose nothing. The Cycles impose their own karma. The reasons for wars become crystal clear when one studies the perceptions of the world and self through the Cycles. Many nations are now heavily populated with early-Cycle Young Souls. Your own is the prime example. Other nations are heavily populated by Mature Souls. These are the nations that chose neutrality in World War II. Old-soul nations are actively pacific and submit to domination rather than fight» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la guerra por edades del alma, con el ejemplo histórico que escoge: las naciones que eligieron la neutralidad en la Segunda Guerra Mundial como naciones de almas maduras.

«You cannot do it. There would be minimum cooperation and you would just become a needless martyr» — la respuesta del dictado a si se pueden detener todas las guerras, que es de las más desalentadoras del libro.

«No. That is usually a definite ribbon and a life role they chose. The only exception would be the victims of the nuclear devastation in Japan. Most of these were reborn. Also, those who died in the concentration camps were not all by choice or, rather, unwise choices were made» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los muertos en guerra, con las dos excepciones que nombra: las víctimas de la devastación nuclear en Japón, casi todas renacidas, y los muertos en los campos de concentración, de los que dice que no todos fue por elección.

«It is not in the plan to destroy this planet yet. That does not mean that you have a license to plunder, though many of you seem to think that this is the case. [Plunder by neglect is as devastating as plunder by violence and the result is just as damaging. (Scholar’s transcript)] Remember that in your next life, you will have to live in the effluvium that is being created now. If you cannot be altruistic, then be selfish. Would you like to live in a garbage dump» — lo que el dictado sostiene del saqueo del planeta, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre el saqueo por negligencia y el argumento que ofrece al fin: si no se puede ser altruista, que se sea egoísta.

«When we speak of troubled souls, we speak of a clouding of reason leading to disintegration of the functioning psyche» — la definición que el dictado da de las almas atribuladas, y la respuesta lapidaria que da a si se recuperan.

«There is a general bombardment of unfamiliar stimuli during the Mature Cycle. This is difficult to cope with at best. If a soul has chosen a passive Role and body, the pressure can become intolerable, especially if poor environmental choices are made. You see, the ultimate choice is always up to you. We only offer guidance. Never do we impose the choice» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la presión del cuarto ciclo, con la fórmula con que cierra el pasaje y que repite en todo el libro: solo ofrece guía y nunca impone la elección.

«We have said this before, but we will repeat: the Agreements, as differentiated from karma, are made so that the personality can experience all of life one way or another. Essence does not care how many lives it takes; essence is immortal and has no sense of time as you know it. What makes the Agreements is your Astral self, which between lives is mostly the Role, which is mostly in essence, and the vestiges of personalities. Agreements are not made by the essence. The Role stands both in essence and in personality. It has a sense of essence but it is attracted to the Physical plane» — quién hace los Agreements según el dictado, y que es donde el sistema separa al yo astral de la esencia: los Agreements no los hace la esencia, que es inmortal y no tiene sentido del tiempo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Acceleration does occasionally happen to Old Souls in touch with their higher centers. The Mature Soul can also accelerate within the Cycle. Young Souls can burn karmic ribbons rapidly sometimes and accelerate. Elizabeth Blackwell and Florence Nightingale are examples; Louis Pasteur, Walter Reed, Marie Curie, and Frank Lloyd Wright accelerated, by which we mean, transcended a level during a lifetime» — los seis nombres propios con que el dictado ilustra lo que llama aceleración, y la definición que da del término: trascender un nivel dentro de una misma vida.

«The average soul glimpses the higher only in moments of extreme stress or agony» — la respuesta con que el dictado cierra el capítulo a la pregunta por cómo llegar a los centros superiores; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y la plana 166 no existe en el troceo.

«Certainly. But you are assuming limits that are not entirely accurate. Look, for a moment, at the physical universe as an enormous stage, and all» — el arranque de la figura mayor del libro: el universo físico como escenario enorme; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«of the physical things within it as the sets and actors. Then look a moment at the possibility of karma, or the system of karma, which may in fact be looked upon as the director of the play of life. Souls experiencing all of life on the Physical plane never have to seek spiritual growth. They can, and most do, go through the whole Cycle in the waking sleep. The moment that you elect to commit yourself to the path, you remove yourself from the list of available actors equity. Were it not for karmic ribbons, souls would not experience much at all. They certainly would not experience all of life. Now this play is, of course, a lie. There is no truth to be found within it. The only truth lies within the real space beyond; then the essence is free to select the best script available» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el karma como director de la obra, el compromiso con el camino como salida de la lista de actores disponibles, y la obra entera declarada mentira sin verdad dentro; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Until Michael said that higher centers are usually sensed through extreme stress or agony, everyone was very excited about experiencing those centers. After he said that, enthusiasm kind of fizzled» — la médium mide el efecto de esa última respuesta sobre el grupo, y es de los pocos lugares donde el libro registra un desinflamiento colectivo.

«Michael told us that a lot of the flagellant orders of monks in the Middle Ages were trying to achieve higher centers by self-inflicted pain,” Walter adds. “A few of them half-understood that there was an incredible experience spiritually if only you could transcend the pain. Unfortunately, for most of the flagellants, there was only a sadomasochistic orgasm and not the transcendent experience. It was one of the reasons the early and Middle Ages Church developed such kinky attitudes about sex» — lo que el grupo atribuye al dictado sobre las órdenes flagelantes medievales, con el juicio que le adjudica: para la mayoría hubo orgasmo sadomasoquista y no experiencia trascendente.

«The man is a sixth-level Young Artisan in the Repression Mode with a Goal of Acceptance, a Realist in the Intellectual part of Emotional Center, with a Chief Feature of Stubbornness. The woman is a second-level Mature Priest in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Submission, a Pragmatist in the Moving part of Intellectual Center, with a Chief Feature of Impatience. As you can see, the overleaves abrade. This would be a difficult relationship to maintain under any circumstances, but in this instance, there is a debt. The lady Caroline owes the man Harold. Three lifetimes ago the fragment abandoned his aged and blind parent when a foreign army invaded the small village in which they lived. The lady Caroline was the abandoning son, the man Harold was the blind father. The lady is eager to pay the debt, but the man is not willing to have it paid. This is not unusual. It may be that the payment will not be made in this lifetime» — la lectura completa de un matrimonio por overleaves y deuda, con la vuelta de tuerca del caso: quien debe está dispuesta a pagar y el acreedor no está dispuesto a cobrar; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The lady Caroline has acknowledged her debt and the man Harold has refused to let her discharge the debt. In this instance it is wise that they dissolve their relationship, as further debts could be incurred if it continued under such circumstances» — el consejo que el dictado da en ese caso, que es de los pocos del libro donde recomienda disolver una relación, y la razón que da: seguir podría producir deudas nuevas.

«Of course. It is also possible to be mutually obligated. In the latter case, if the mutual debt can be acknowledged by the fragments during their physical lifetime, and the Agreement made to cancel the mutual debt, then the debt is truly erased. We must stress, however, that both parties must be genuinely willing, the debts must be honestly acknowledged, and the Agreement to cancel the debts must be truly understood. In other words, both must be completely aware of what they are doing» — la doctrina de la deuda mutua y su única vía de cancelación, con las tres condiciones que el dictado exige: voluntad genuina de ambos, reconocimiento honesto y entendimiento verdadero del acuerdo.

«They are not. They are contracts of the Physical plane, and largely a part of expectations and false personality. In your culture, the desire to seek out a permanent relationship on a one-to-one basis is still largely predicated upon the loneliness and isolation that the technical society breeds. It is a terrible price to pay for civilization, for in the long run, especially where there are far-reaching legal ramifications, it breeds discontent and much needless negativity, and thus much wasted energy which could be used for growth. Above all, tranquillity, or at least a measure of it, is needed for growth. This tranquillity must come from within, never from externals, for the latter is a false tranquillity and any third force can destroy it, utterly shatter it, in the twinkling of an eye» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los votos matrimoniales, y la razón que da de la busca de pareja permanente: la soledad y el aislamiento que atribuye a la sociedad técnica; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Now we do not speak entirely against the custom of marriage. It is that we do “disapprove” of it being a legislative imperative. Rather, we would speak of personal contractual commitments, this of course as an alternative to the more open approach, which we have often recommended for advanced students. This latter works only in the presence of a high level of balance on the part of all concerned. In this culture, unfortunately, once a firm commitment is made in relationships, the partners often undergo a startling change in their interpersonal relating to the point that living becomes so strained that they begin looking for the escape route. Of course, this stems from imprinting and the lesson learned insofar as may be expected in an ideal mate. Some of you are perhaps more aware of this than most, and seek to avoid the “tender trap.” With a committed student, an interpersonal relationship “should” be free from this danger. Ideally it would be» — el límite que el dictado pone a lo anterior: no habla contra la costumbre del matrimonio sino contra su imperativo legislativo, y propone compromisos contractuales personales o el enfoque abierto que recomienda a los estudiantes avanzados; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Most of all, we do not recommend rigid structured male-female relationships where there is no room for blooming or growing, if you will. But we do recommend that if you accept the more open approach, then you select for yourself those partners who understand this approach and seek it themselves. This type of an approach can come from a quite enlightened and balanced space, but in you there is still much fear of repeating old patterns and finding yourself again cut off from the path» — la única recomendación práctica que el dictado da en materia de pareja, con la reserva que añade sobre quien pregunta.

«Yes, but that is not the same thing as having sexual energy. Sexual energy is separate and apart from all other energy sources and can be effectively used to reach higher emotions» — la distinción que el dictado sostiene entre estar centrado en lo sexual y tener energía sexual, que declara fuente aparte de todas las demás.

«Cerebral orgasm. The whole soul experiences ecstasy. The body cannot experience ecstasy of that sort, only satiation. Only the essence is capable of that experience. We would like to point out that sexual behavior in this culture is largely instinctive to the point where any gesture of friendliness is interpreted as a sexual overture. If it comes from one of the opposite gender, the fantasies and expectations begin» — lo que el dictado llama sexo en un nivel superior, con la distinción que sostiene: el cuerpo no puede experimentar éxtasis sino saciedad, y solo la esencia es capaz de aquello.

«When you rid yourself of all negative thoughts about sex, then it is possible for you to have a variety of higher level sexual encounters. These do not always have to be physical. Some of your most rewarding sexual encounters occur when you think you are asleep. These are encounters on the Astral plane and also essence encounters with actually known beings. Turning on, as you call it, need not be sexually directed at all. That does not mean to say that we recommend that you give up sex, sublimate the drive and desire, and tell yourself that you have achieved agape. Sexual expression of love is as valid and beneficial as any other, but because of cultural pressures and expectations it is more subject to maya than almost any other aspect of human life. It is also one of the most compelling factors of the Physical plane, and as such, cannot and should not be sacrificed to cultural compulsions» — lo que el dictado sostiene del sexo sin negatividad, con el límite puesto dos veces: no recomienda sublimar el impulso ni llamar agape a eso, y el amor personal —cuyas primeras expresiones son físicas— precede al agape; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It can be. All of you will have homosexual lives. However, you do not specifically choose to be either homosexual or heterosexual before rebirth but you do to some extent set up the circumstances that lead to this choice. The choice to be homosexual or heterosexual is made very early in life as part of the Second Internal Monad, usually before the third year» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la homosexualidad dentro del sistema: todos tendrán vidas homosexuales, la orientación no se elige antes de nacer sino muy temprano en la vida, como parte del Segundo Monad Interno; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«your psychoanalysts are right about that. This choice is usually final and irrevocable and later attempts to alter it either way are very rarely successful. In your culture there are other factors influencing these choices, which are made so early in childhood that the personality is ill-equipped to make them. On the fringe of this are the true bisexual or ambisexual people who are without exception older souls who have lost their strong sense of gender identity and have freed themselves up to love whoever comes along in whatever way seems most appropriate at the present moment. Remember that even Jesus said you should love one another» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, donde el dictado concede la razón a los psicoanalistas, declara esa elección casi irrevocable y sitúa a los bisexuales o ambisexuales entre las almas viejas que perdieron el sentido fuerte de identidad de género; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Mature Souls often torch-burn for their entire lives. This is not unusual for Intellectually Centered individuals when they are first in touch with higher emotions. Rejection, or the sense of rejection, produces this in souls who still cling to the concept of eros, and the concept of choosing whom to love» — lo que el dictado sostiene del amor no correspondido sostenido por años, que liga al rechazo y al apego al eros.

«You can only duplicate the energy output. You cannot duplicate the circumstances. Many relationships suffer from this problem» — la regla con que el dictado explica el fracaso de las relaciones retomadas: se puede repetir la salida de energía, no las circunstancias.

«There is a weird sort of estrus operating in all humans that makes them seek out a sexual partner. The societal mores demand that they cement this into a more binding contract. Sometimes this can be combined with financial gain or social status. There is usually little thought in the lasting emotional consequences, let alone the spiritual» — lo que el dictado sostiene de cómo se elige pareja: un estro raro que empuja a buscar compañero sexual y una costumbre social que lo cementa en contrato, con poco pensamiento en las consecuencias emocionales y ninguno en las espirituales; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«is not true, since neither presents the true picture to the other. Each tries to outguess the other and fit in the mold in order to qualify for the prize which can be sex, money, glamour, or prestige, all of which are features of false personality» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, y que es de los pasajes más desencantados del libro: cada quien intenta adivinar al otro y encajar en el molde para calificar al premio, que el dictado llama sexo, dinero, glamur o prestigio, todos rasgos de la personalidad falsa.

«Some of it is anger and disappointment, especially when there is a great deal of false personality and social expectation. But there is more to it than that. It is true that where there are good working relationships that end, a period of mourning must take place. The emotion experienced is grief. This is difficult to overcome until duplication is accomplished. You must allow yourself to love. Young Souls who lose a child through trauma or illness often seek to replace that child and in so doing, make life miserable for the second child who does not, of course, replace the lost one» — lo que el dictado sostiene del duelo al terminar una relación, con el ejemplo que escoge y que es de los más duros: el alma joven que pierde un hijo y busca reemplazarlo, haciéndole la vida miserable al segundo.

«In some Old Souls, dreams are memories. Others reexperience this to a lesser degree. It is important to remember that dreams are vehicles for many things, including Astral meetings, and it would be a great mistake to believe that every dream of the past is necessarily a memory of a past life. You cannot even remember your dreams accurately and what you had for dinner last Thursday» — el límite que el dictado pone a la lectura de los sueños como memoria de vidas anteriores, y que es de las advertencias más secas del libro contra su propia doctrina.

«Self-remembering can be defined as follows: you are sitting in a field. You see the sunlight. You see it and feel its effect on you. You see it and feel its effects also on the trees. You can see and feel its effects on your entire physical environment at once—the sunlight filtering through the trees, the sunlight calling the bees to action, the sunlight on your back, the sunlight as radiant energy, the sun as a source of light and heat. You can hold all these impressions separately and recognize them as an integrated whole. To do this requires separation from maya» — la definición que el dictado da del *self-remembering*, desplegada entera sobre la escena del sol en un campo: sostener a la vez todas las impresiones separadas y reconocerlas como un todo integrado; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«No, but it is an excellent form of concentration, the highest form, to be exact. Meditation requires an empty head» — la distinción que el dictado sostiene entre eso y la meditación, en una línea.

«The essence is always available to you though most of you choose to shut it out. You find it too difficult to let go of the familiar prison of false personality» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la disponibilidad de la esencia y de por qué no se la oye: la personalidad falsa como prisión familiar que cuesta soltar.

«Openness would be the best approach. Many are quite open, but there are still some closed corridors. Some of you are conscious of the futility of anger, but are not quite sure how to handle what you interpret as anger, so you tend to avoid situations which might give rise to this. Also, you have a tendency not to trust your own verifications. You have verified your own status and are still unwilling to admit this. This is wrong work. Don’t accept the words or evaluations of others until you have verified their status. This ability is within your grasp. You know instinctively whom to seek and have, so far, sought with discrimination on an instinctual level. Now many of you can learn to do it on a higher level. The knowledge is there» — el consejo que el dictado da al grupo sobre su propia verificación, y que es donde el libro pone el criterio de autoridad al revés: no aceptar las palabras ni las evaluaciones de otros hasta haber verificado su estatus; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Recorded history holds the greatest lesson that can be learned, except for that learned at the feet of the realized master» — el lugar que el dictado da a la historia registrada dentro de su propia enseñanza, con la única excepción que admite.

«We will let you know, should you chose to ask. In the reading of history, you must always ask yourself what the historian has to gain. Does he have a political point of view he is anxious to support? Does he believe that all history has an underlying theme, such as religious search, economic imbalance, class struggle, social decline? Then what this historian has to tell, what he selects, will reflect his own bias. You must remember that history is a journey every one of you is making. It is not there for the convenience of the historian» — la crítica de fuentes que el dictado propone, que es de los pasajes más metodológicos del libro: preguntarse qué gana el historiador y qué tema subyacente cree, porque eso decide lo que selecciona; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There is no conflict. Religion is from the Emotional Center, science must be approached through intellect. If there is balance, there is no conflict. Understanding scientific principles is a way to Higher Intellectual energy, just as feeling religion is the way to the Higher Emotional Center. It is both religious and scientific dogma that come from false personality and has no place in this discussion» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la relación entre ciencia y religión, y que las reparte por Centros: no hay conflicto si hay equilibrio, y lo que viene de la personalidad falsa es el dogma de ambas.

«Time, or all time, does exist, though not in your frame of reference. The sensation of “time passing” is very real on your plane. You believe this at a deeper level, but are confused. You may need to duplicate the type of life that Abraham Lincoln lived, and when a parallel time frame evolves, you will. These time frames are two-thousand-year Cycles, for the most part. The axiom “history repeats itself” is tragically true. You are now on a parallel time frame with the reign of Caesar Augustus» — la doctrina de los marcos temporales paralelos de dos mil años que el dictado enuncia, con la aplicación que hace al presente del libro.

«We are referring to the philosophical climate existing then which has not existed since, until very recently. This philosophical climate made the conditions right for the manifestations of the Infinite Soul. If you wish some parallels between then and now, we will gladly expound. The Infinite Soul manifests at times such as this, when there are many philosophical stagnations, racial and religious strife, and the imminent destruction of that which binds society together. In Rome, as now, lip service was paid to religious tolerance, but there were periodic purges and reinstatement of the state gods. The parallel to this occurred in Nazi Germany, they (Rome) had political parties where the lines of demarcation had become so blurred that no one quite knew where he stood. Luxury was viable and widespread and could be obtained through little effort. The welfare state came into existence. Then cities were crowded and the city dwellers were alienated from each other. There was a deterioration of the family and the ratio of disturbed children was compatible with the figure now. The women’s liberation movement was causing fear in the men and they were so worried about their virility that they had little interest in anything else. This brought about many small wars that were fought on the battlegrounds rather than in the bedrooms. Does that sound familiar? Walking into a latrine during the first century of this era would not be an unfamiliar experience for any of you. You would be right at home with the graffiti exhorting various solitary sexual pursuits» — el paralelo histórico que el dictado despliega entre la Roma de Augusto y el presente del libro: tolerancia religiosa de boquilla con purgas periódicas, partidos con líneas borrosas, lujo asequible, estado de bienestar, ciudades hacinadas, deterioro de la familia y miedo masculino ante el movimiento de liberación de las mujeres; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«What was occurring about two thousand years ago in Syria-Palestine? We have told you that you are on a parallel time frame. These very ancient enemies have better instruments of war now than then. Book burning, real and figurative, is real. The role has not been chosen, but it was in the past» — la aplicación que el dictado hace de esa doctrina al conflicto árabe-israelí del presente del libro, con la frase sobre la quema de libros.

«You are saying the correct words without complete understanding. There is a time axis about which parallel universes of physical reality revolve. The play is eternal. [In recent years here have been many abrupt shifts from relative tranquility to relative ferocity and back again, all of which serves to “underscore” the ‘reality” of fear many fragments face. Not that there is nothing to fear, fear has been “cultivated” and “encouraged” to permeate all “thinking,” which serves little but the purposes of Chief Features and those who benefit from high levels of dread as a means of securing and maintaining power within social groups. (Priest’s transcript)» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por un absoluto fuera del tiempo, con el largo corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre el miedo cultivado y quienes se benefician de él para asegurar y mantener poder dentro de los grupos sociales; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Many fragments confronted with a “steady diet” of fear can become habituated to it, and believe that the fear is “exciting,” which we assure you is not the case» — el bloque de información adicional del capítulo 11, que la edición de 2005 toma de una transcripción: el miedo habitual se vuelve excitante y esencial para quien tuvo que acomodarlo antes del Segundo Monad Interno, y los Chief Features lo entrenan a tener por válido solo el miedo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We assure you that the “thrill” and “excitement” of fear serves little more than to vitiate the possibility of validated intimacy, either with others or with oneself. Fear is so very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very seductive that it can present itself in a number of “fearless” guises, but that does not change its basic “conduct,” which is to deny the validity of love, which denial, of course, also denies the validity of self. The earlier a fragment enters its grip the more totally its influence is present in the life, and the more it is understood as the only “real” force in life, which we assure you is not the case, no matter what blandishments fear may offer in that, or any, regard» — el remate de ese bloque, donde el impreso repite la palabra *very* cuarenta y tres veces seguidas antes de *seductive*: el miedo se disfraza de intrepidez y niega la validez del amor y con ella la del yo. El troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There is no general answer. Most nightmare experiences, however, are not real. Most have to do with symbols you are unwilling to deal with in reality. When dreams are memories, no matter how terrifying the circum» — cómo distingue el dictado una pesadilla de un recuerdo de vida anterior: casi ninguna pesadilla es real y casi todas tratan de símbolos que uno no quiere encarar despierto; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«In the first place, time as you experience it does not exist in the pandimensional universe. Time in the Physical plane is seen as the stationary plane through which, around which, beneath which, the physical universe evolves. Space is a concept limited to the three-dimensional physical universe. The present moment contains all of the past. The present moment can be expanded to encompass all that has gone before. The pandimensional universe embraces both the concepts of infinity and eternity, limit» — lo que el dictado sostiene del tiempo y del espacio, con el momento presente declarado capaz de contener todo el pasado; el tramo se corta al fin de plana, que además parte la palabra en dos.

«lessness and expansion outward, as well as contraction inward. The limitations that you place upon yourselves, which prevent you from experiencing the pandimensional universe, we would describe as perhaps a five-point program beginning with affection, acceptance, assimilation, absorption, and adaptation» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el programa de cinco puntos con que el dictado nombra los límites que impiden experimentar el universo pandimensional.

«There would be no need for you to do that. This was a Young Soul. You cannot transcend the time frames in the physical body. Nor can you» — la respuesta del dictado a si alguien podría ser una figura antigua en otro marco de referencia, que es donde niega que se puedan trascender los marcos en el cuerpo físico; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«reincarnate in another physical reality. Besides, we have already told you that the soul of Augustus Caesar has finished its life in this Cycle as Dag Hammarskjöld» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, que niega también reencarnar en otra realidad física y remite a una adjudicación que el dictado había dado capítulos antes.

«Every time I think about the time axis and parallel universes of physical reality, I get to feeling very, very small and a little dizzy,” Jessica confides. “The immensity of it scares me. I feel like a tiny doll hanging in the dark with nothing around me for more miles than I have numbers for. When Michael first started talking about the nature of time, I’d wake up screaming at night. It was too vast for me» — la médium declara el efecto físico que le producía la doctrina del tiempo, y es de los pocos lugares donde el libro registra terror y no entusiasmo: despertaba gritando de noche.

«On some levels, yes it is. But I’ve become familiar with the concepts and it isn’t as difficult to deal with, not on the board. I don’t like to think about what it really means. I’m probably being cowardly, but I can’t handle it, really I can’t. If I had to be fully aware of the scope of space and time when I’m in touch with Michael, I don’t think I could manage it. Luckily, Michael doesn’t insist that I work on that level» — el límite que la médium declara de su propia práctica: no podría sostener la sesión si tuviera que estar plenamente consciente del alcance del espacio y del tiempo.

«A lot of people who started in our group, and were really serious, got a little way into it and then gave it up. They didn’t want to deal with insignificance. They found it easier to deal with terrible abuses and disaster and their own debts than to face the eternal hugeness» — la razón que la médium da de las deserciones más serias del grupo, y que no es doctrinal sino de escala: les resultaba más fácil lidiar con abusos, desastres y deudas propias que con la insignificancia.

«Nervous breakdown is a very general term used for a great many disorders, but it often refers to a retreat. In Young and Baby Souls, the retreat is from many of the pressures of false personality against the essence. In Mature Souls, such retreats are from their perceptions or from those around them with “bad” overleaves. Compulsive behavior and neurotic adjustments are often the product of “bad” overleaves» — lo que el dictado sostiene del colapso nervioso, que reparte por ciclos como retirada ante la personalidad falsa o ante las percepciones.

«Schizophrenia is a chemical imbalance of the body and can be corrected with lithium and similar drugs. Those who have been schizophrenic require patience while they adjust, since the body, once it has the chemical habit of schizophrenia, will cling to its learned patterns even though the imbalance is no longer present» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la esquizofrenia, y que es donde el sistema cede el terreno a la medicina: desequilibrio químico corregible con litio y fármacos semejantes.

«Autism most often is found in Infant and early-level Baby Souls who are in retreat from things and persons that frighten them. [For those fragments in the Instinctive Center, autism is a fairly common manifestation of such centering in this culture, and although seen in the context of an “illness,” is not any more an illness than left-handedness or sexual orientation. There are, of course, degrees of autism, and many cultures are more accommodating to this condition than your present-day technological society with its emphasis on Intellectual Centering as being more “reliable” than any other centers are. (Scholar’s transcript)» — lo que el dictado sostiene del autismo, con el largo corchete que la edición de 2005 añade para negar que sea enfermedad, compararlo con la zurdera y la orientación sexual y acusar a la cultura técnica de fiarse solo del Centering intelectual; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Alcoholics drink to achieve anesthesia, to blot out things that they cannot deal with. Most alcoholics are Mature Souls, often with Baby or Young-soul parents whose expectations for their child are unrealistic. The Mature Soul senses those expectations, knows that he cannot and does not want to fulfill them, but because of the nature of his perceptions, is unable to resolve the conflict he perceives. Young Souls become heavy drinkers for more social reasons, and if they drink heavily, will encourage those around them to do likewise. Remember that the motto of the Young Soul is “do it my way.” That applies to all things. Young Souls also drink when frustrated. Old Souls are likely to drink from boredom or as a part of depression. Although all the Cycles can become depressed, depression is the only serious disorder of the Old Soul. Depression can arrest growth for a lifetime» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la bebida repartida por ciclos, y el juicio con que cierra: aunque todos los ciclos se deprimen, la depresión es el único trastorno serio del alma vieja y puede detener el crecimiento una vida entera; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Most of the founders of psychoanalysis were Mature Souls. We have already told you that Freud was a Mature Priest. The concepts of psychoanalysis are the products of Mature Souls and are most effective with Mature Souls, for the treatment reflects most heavily the nature of their perceptions. Young Souls can benefit from psychoanalysis but are not apt to change their ways; they just acquire labels for their behavior, which is often sufficient to handle them. Old Souls are often in need of guidance, but they are more likely to seek it through more unorthodox means, such as occult studies, meditation, and the arts» — lo que el dictado sostiene del psicoanálisis: producto de almas maduras y más eficaz con ellas, con las almas jóvenes adquiriendo rótulos para su conducta y las viejas buscando guía por vías menos ortodoxas.

«The man Carl Gustav Jung was a fifth-level Old Sage. If you read his writings, you will notice the difference in his perceptions and expression. Does this refer to his theories of the collective unconscious? We “dislike” the term “unconscious.” It is meaningless. The soul is eternally vigilant. The false personality does not have the capacity for becoming conscious. When Carl Jung described the collective conscious he was describing his own apprehension of the collective fragments of his entity, particularly those not presently incarnate. He was describing a direct confrontation with his own soul. This has become known popularly as the subconscious, simply through misunderstanding. Through the ages there have been Old Souls making this confrontation and attempting to describe it. He came closer than most Westerners. Mysticism has never been a compelling force in Western philosophy» — la relectura que el dictado hace del inconsciente colectivo: no un inconsciente, sino la aprehensión que ese autor tuvo de los fragmentos colectivos de su propia entidad, con el rechazo del término *unconscious* por carecer de sentido; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Depression is normally the passive personality’s only channel through which it can express hostility. The anger can be self-directed, but it does not have to be» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la depresión frente a la tesis que se le atribuye a Freud, y que la deja como único canal de hostilidad de la personalidad pasiva.

«They are, obviously, in retreat. Often the soul retreats completely from the body, abandoning it before death. Then people can live without souls? The body can function without one, of course» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la catalepsia y de los cuerpos sin alma, y que es de las afirmaciones más frías del libro.

«Unfortunately, what the essence wishes often conflicts with what society has told the personality it is “nice” to wish. For instance, it is certainly not nice that a burdensome relative should die, and thereby free the essence for its work. It is merely sad that communication on the Physical plane is so bad—particularly between those bound together by legal ties rather than essence ties that the need for freedom cannot be expressed. Of course, it is not possible for a person to hasten something like this without overt action on their part, so the amount of guilt is inappropriate, to say the least. It is not an unusual wish for one who is involved in the work of the essence. It is, again, merely a sad commentary on the Physical plane that communication is so poor. It is hoped that with this cadre, for instance, a trust level will be developed where these conflicts will fade away. When the trust level is such that one student could say to another, “I wish you would die and leave me alone,” that statement will be totally unnecessary as the other student will already know to give the necessary space. This can only be gained by the highest of trust levels, and comes through hard work. This is pertinent to you all» — lo que el dictado sostiene del deseo socialmente inconfesable, con el ejemplo que escoge —desear la muerte de un pariente gravoso— y el nivel de confianza que propone al grupo como salida; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Very definitely in each life there are plateaus to be reached and new cliffs to climb. [There are, of course, seven Internal Monads which are present in almost all lives except those “interrupted” or so weighted with karmic ribbons that evolution is devoted entirely to restoring balance. Besides the Internal Monads, the Life Plan often includes “bridges to cross” and “mountains to climb” as separate and distinct from the Monad transits. (Scholar’s transcript)] The climb to achieve new experience is chosen for the particular lifetime and is marked by resting places where it appears that not much is happening, then all of a sudden the soul is galvanized into action. This always heralds the approach of a major Monad in the soul’s life and is many times marked by a change that can be seen by friends, often negatively as the fragment enters into a new phase of life and readies itself for the next experience» — lo que el dictado sostiene de las crisis de vida, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre los siete Monads Internos y los puentes y montañas que el Life Plan incluye aparte; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«formidable pressures to stamp it out. Mature-Soul women are most vulnerable to this and may become neurotic because of the nature of the perceptions of the Cycle. Baby-Soul women rarely venture beyond the bounds set for them by their culture. Old Souls will accept just so much and then throw the whole thing over. Depression often results» — la continuación en el chunk siguiente, con el reparto por ciclos de la vulnerabilidad de las mujeres a esa presión.

«It depends on what the manifestation is. A perfectly serious academic may turn around and become a priest, which, though puzzling, is quite acceptable, because both the academic and the priest are respectable members of the society. A stockbroker may decide to take up anthropology, which is peculiar, but still acceptable. A lawyer deciding to become a potter is less acceptable, and a dentist who gives it all up to do sculpture in stone is going to find that most of those around him will think that he has gone crazy. We know of one Mature Soul who has changed professions three times, each time requiring extensive and costly education, in search for the expression of his manifestation» — la escala de aceptabilidad social que el dictado propone para el mismo cambio en los hombres, del académico que se hace sacerdote al dentista que se pone a esculpir piedra; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«No, not before. The behavior in utero is a function of body type» — la afirmación del dictado sobre cuándo el cuerpo recibe el alma, que es la que sostiene lo que el libro dice del aborto.

«The Second Monad—or, if you would prefer to identify it in another way, we will call it a milestone—occurs when the fragment realizes that it is surrounded by others who are distinct and different from itself and that those others can influence it emotionally and intellectually as well as instinctively. This milestone usually takes place at about age two or three. Obviously, in very Young Souls this recognition is less realized than in older souls. The Third milestone occurs at the onset of young adulthood when the fragment is out of “the nest.” All of childhood occurs between the second and the third milestone. The Fourth milestone is the so-called mid-life crisis that occurs around age thirty-five at the manifestation of the essence, at least in this culture. The Fifth milestone occurs in life when the fragment is a “senior citizen,” and has to do in part with the reconciliation of the aspirations with the accomplishments of the particular life. The Sixth occurs at the time of the onset of the final physical deterioration and is concerned with the dynamics of the dying process. The Seventh, of course, is the exit itself» — la lista entera de los siete Monads Internos con sus edades y su contenido, del nacimiento a la salida, que es el esquema biográfico del sistema; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It should be noted here that if this process is interrupted during a lifetime, for instance by violent or early death from illness. The fragment, [having unplanned interruptions in the Life Plan (Scholar’s transcript)], rarely advances a level. A fragment can usually advance through a level of experience only by going through the entire process» — la regla que liga esos Monads al avance de nivel, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade: un proceso interrumpido por muerte violenta o temprana rara vez deja avanzar de nivel.

«No. There are times when the Agreements require other experiences. We remind you that you must experience all of life, so there will be times that you will choose to die young, to die violently, to die of illness, to interrupt a level so that further learning may occur. There are also the karmic ribbons to be burned and they occasionally entail the early termination of a life. Because of this a fragment will sometimes require two lives of a very similar nature to complete the Internal Monads. There is one member of this cadre whose previous two lives were actually the completion of one life. In both lives, the fragment opposed the political system, which was in upheaval, for humanitarian and philosophical reasons, and in both lives died as a result, at age twenty-seven. The latter life was a completion of the» — la salvedad inmediata: hay que experimentar toda la vida, de modo que a veces se elige morir joven, con violencia o de enfermedad, y eso puede exigir dos vidas parecidas para completar los Monads; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.; tramo largo del dictado, releído entero en el crudo

«If you consider the number of women receiving therapy compared to the number of men, you will know the answer to that. What is considered maturing in men is often thought to be neurotic in women and there are» — lo que el dictado sostiene del doble rasero con que se lee esa crisis según el sexo: lo que en los hombres se llama madurar, en las mujeres se llama neurosis; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«Having just gone through that Fourth Monad, I know how difficult it can be. I was lucky though, since my work is appropriate for my soul type—Scholar—and age—Old» — la médium aplica el esquema a su propia biografía y declara a la vez la casilla que el sistema le adjudica.

«She was going through the Third Monad, the out-of-the-nest Monad, while Emily was going through the Fourth, or mid-life Monad,” Craig explains. “I’d gone through the same thing Emily went through about two years before, and I could see what was happening. That doesn’t mean that it was any easier, but at least I realized that this was a perfectly normal transition, so I didn’t panic. Well, not too much» — un miembro del grupo usa el esquema para leer un conflicto doméstico entre dos generaciones a la vez, y declara lo que le dio: no menos dificultad, pero sí no entrar en pánico.

«If you do not operate on this Baby Soul, someone else will. She is addicted to poly surgery as a means of venting her anger» — la respuesta más breve y más dura que el dictado da sobre una paciente, y que es donde el sistema se mete de lleno en la clínica.

«Whether or not she has a stone is immaterial to this discussion. However, some of these unfortunate Baby Souls are stone formers par excellence if this woman has a stone removed from one duct, she will form one elsewhere. We know of several such souls in your immediate area, and all of them have the same pattern. It is as if they are willing for their bodies to turn to stone so that they will not have to deal with the things that disturb them and will at the same time garner a great deal of attention. Most of those who have a need for repetitions of such surgical procedures have a Chief Feature of Martyrdom» — lo que el dictado sostiene de las cirugías repetidas, con la figura que propone y el Chief Feature que adjudica: como si estuvieran dispuestos a que su cuerpo se volviera piedra; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«You can help her to find the source of her resentments. Most, but not all, cancer victims have a pervasive sense of shame over inconsequential happenings. This is truly one of the most self-destructive processes we know of. More of these unfortunate people have a sense of no accomplishment or a sense of being directed by others; their lives are out of their control. The cancer is often the only escape. Many of these people give an outward appearance of success, some even tranquillity. The target organ is often the seat of the conflict. This is especially true with the reproductive organs. [This is particularly true in fragments under the age of twenty-five years. There are environmental and genetic factors that increasingly contribute to disease as the fragment advances through any specific life, and the concomitant hazards of the Physical plane. (Scholar’s transcript)» — lo que el dictado sostiene del cáncer, que es de las afirmaciones más comprometidas del libro y la que la edición de 2005 más acota: un sentido de vergüenza por sucesos inconsecuentes y de vida fuera del propio control, con el corchete que devuelve el peso a los factores ambientales y genéticos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«If she chooses to give up the resentment. It is her choice, as you know» — el límite que el dictado pone a esa lectura, y que la devuelve a la elección de la enferma.

«The trust between healer and patient must be extremely high. In other words, she must have a belief in her physician’s ability to heal her. With her current state of mind, it is unlikely that she will feel such trust in anyone» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la relación entre quien sana y quien se sana, con la consecuencia que saca para ese caso.

«Most persons who have been fortunate enough not to have had much pain are terribly afraid of it. It is more of the same old fear of the unknown, complicated by the body’s desire to avoid pain. All of your literature is resplendent with gruesome accounts of agonies associated with this disease» — lo que el dictado sostiene del miedo al dolor, que liga al miedo a lo desconocido y a la literatura del asunto; el tramo cruza de plana.

«Those who assume that this is permission to kill their rich grandmother» — el arranque del límite que el dictado pone a lo anterior, y que es la única vez que se anticipa a un mal uso de lo que acaba de decir; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«so that they can indulge their greed will find the karma very heavy. Murder is a very major karmic ribbon» — el remate de esa advertencia en la plana siguiente, que declara el homicidio cinta kármica muy mayor.

«When we first began the sessions, I was certain that Michael would tell us things that would fit everything into pigeonholes. You can say that the overleaves are pigeonholes, but they aren’t. They’re indications of a basic perspective. I’ve found that my own work with the board has been very helpful in my practice. I like to think that more of my patients have recovered and become truly well because of what Michael has told me, through the board» — lo que un miembro del grupo enmienda de su propia expectativa inicial: los overleaves no son casilleros sino indicaciones de una perspectiva básica, y él declara aplicarlos en su ejercicio médico.

«You have been a faith healer before. There have been patients in this life that you literally snatched from the jaws of death before. This could not have been repeated. It was not in their karma to survive. Nothing you could have done would have made much difference. We remind you that this knowledge is not always conscious. The essence, however, recognizes the choices and karma of others if it is allowed to» — lo que el dictado responde al médico del grupo que desearía curar por imposición de manos, con el límite dentro: hay pacientes a los que arrancó de la muerte y otros a los que no le tocaba salvar.

«Hysteria is the production of an abnormal state, with no discernible structural defect manifest. Hysterics are capable of producing all manner of organic phenomena with no appreciable damage to the body. Easter bleedings are an excellent example. They are rarely anemic and yet they sometimes hemorrhage copiously. The hysteric always gains by producing these phenomena. Discover the gain and you can usually help these most unfortunate souls. Sometimes an inattentive spouse must be pressed into service in this fashion. Usually, however, the hysteric is a weak, “underdeveloped” soul and the phenomenon is the only way for this soul to compete with the “stronger” souls around it. In these cases, it is difficult to cure the hysteria. You cannot help the soul to gain in strength» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la histeria, con la regla práctica que ofrece y el veredicto con que cierra: descubre la ganancia y podrás ayudar, pero no se puede dar fuerza a un alma; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We will remind you that these prejudices of the body are often expressed through the body. The essence, as such, being not of the Physical plane, is not subject to ill health, except by association and experience. It cannot, itself, become diseased. Only false personality is susceptible to illness. Many things such as diet and lifestyle mitigate against good health. Excesses of any sort mitigate against good health and, since thoughts are things, excess “wrong thinking” mitigates against good health. Jesus said that, we did not. You are bombarding physically sick organisms with organic compounds in shotgun fashion. One thing within the grasp of terran medicine right now is the substitution of acoustical holographs for x-ray. This should be done soon. It is available now. Cost is what is holding it back. This is a clear-cut case of scrambled priorities» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la salud: la esencia no enferma y solo la personalidad falsa es susceptible, con la cita que atribuye a Jesús y la recomendación técnica de sustituir el rayo X por el holograma acústico; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Holograms are multidimensional representations of solid objects. This is made possible by passing through the objects with a high-energy source light. Light-activated, simulated electron response is one Method of using light without diffraction. Sound waves can also be used if the distortion can be eliminated through proper shielding of the source. Modulation is the more correct term. There has been research on this in your own country in the recent past» — la explicación técnica que el dictado da del holograma, y que es el pasaje más cercano a una afirmación científica de todo el libro; el troceo imprime un renglón con mayúscula a media frase.

«Medicine has been an art in the past. This is an artistic source for your friend. His personal relationships are less meaningful because they are not artistic. Artisans are usually competent at skills. Look at the Artisans in this group. It is not necessary to be a King or a Priest to be competent or accomplished in anything. This varies from fragment to fragment. Personal relationships require communication and it is difficult for the fragment to express himself to others. He cannot communicate well with lovers, people not physicians, and thus the expression, Baby Soul. He expresses his artistic qualities in the operating room, behind closed doors, not from open doors or from his heart in emotional situations» — cómo el dictado explica que un alma de ciclo temprano sea experta: la medicina como fuente artística, con la competencia separada del rango del Role; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It may appear self-limiting; nevertheless, it is possible to experience all life in all Roles. A King in essence will not always have a throne. In fact, most King essences never have a throne. They, like all of you, will be cowherds and hermits and lawyers and mothers-in-law and ministers and bandits. In short, King or not, the essence will still do everything» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción de que los Roles limitan, y que es donde separa el Role del oficio: la mayoría de las esencias King nunca tiene trono.

«This is essentially valid. It is possible to experience all of life from one body type, but the experience is richer if the change is made. Most souls do choose different dates of birth. That gives the necessary change in planetary influence. It is necessary that life be experienced both as male and female in different settings. This is the most important factor and the one that brings the Monads together. Centering is important also, and most Old Souls in the later Cycles choose Emotionally Centered bodies, as this is the center easiest to work with» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la variación entre vidas: se puede experimentar todo desde un solo tipo de cuerpo, pero la experiencia es más rica cambiando, y es necesario vivir como hombre y como mujer; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Once a skill is learned, it is never forgotten, and if that expertise can be of use, the soul will seek the same occupation again and again so that other matters may be dealt with. It is not necessary to change the particular vocation as much as the location. For instance, being a physician on mainland China does in no way resemble being in practice in Vallejo, California. Craig would be able to relate to the practice of medicine in Ancient Egypt more easily than to the rice paddies of today» — la regla con que el dictado explica que un alma repita oficio entre vidas, y el ejemplo que escoge del propio grupo: lo que cambia no es tanto la vocación como el lugar.

«What you call the common cold is a very complex condition, usually arising out of the fragment’s need for rest and nurturing. Fatigue, frustration, anxiety, despair, even anger can make the body susceptible to the various disease agents that are always in your environments. This does not mean the disease is not genuine. It is. The body has perfectly genuine symptoms and the infections are real. The roots of the cold, however, are not to be found in virology, but in the nature of the overleaves of the patient. For example, it is easier for Sages to succumb to a cold than it is for Kings or Warriors. Some diseases are avoidances, particularly of a threatening situation. The cold is caused by fear» — lo que el dictado sostiene del resfriado común, con la salvedad expresa de que la enfermedad es genuina y las infecciones reales, y la raíz puesta en los overleaves y no en la virología; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«More serious diseases are often part of Monads and sequences, or, occasionally, a way to avoid a sequence. In such cases, the disease is the abdication. The fragment is saying, “I can’t do what I’ve agreed to do because I’m too sick.” Headaches are repressed emotions. Many things can be said through the painful head. Most frequently a weariness of the body coupled with a bored, trapped essence will produce the worst headaches. Young Souls frequently have migraine headaches. They do not attempt to understand the treadmill they are on. Mature Souls frequently have tension headaches from being surrounded by uncomfortable souls all day. Mature Souls in close contact with Baby and many Young Souls tend to have the most frequent and severe headaches. You can treat their headaches by helping them see the source. With Young Souls, you can only treat the pain» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la enfermedad como abdicación y de los dolores de cabeza por ciclos, con la regla práctica que saca: al alma madura se le puede mostrar la fuente y a la joven solo tratarle el dolor; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Of course there are. Examine the nature of the Cycles and the overleaves, and you can see that such lives must be experienced. That does not mean that such people may be wholly neglected with impunity. One of the acts that creates a karmic ribbon is abandonment that results in the death of the abandoned one. If a fragment is determined to live a life of misery—and we remind you that each one of you will have at least one such» — lo que el dictado sostiene de quienes rechazan toda ayuda, con el límite puesto en la misma frase: eso no autoriza a abandonarlos, porque el abandono que causa muerte crea cinta kármica; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«life—there is little you can do about it. However, those living such lives do not in general seek the kind of assistance that you, Samuel, are trained to give. Those who reach out to you do not truly desire the misery they live in. They are most often the victims of “bad” overleaves or major karmic debts. One of the women you are currently counseling, a woman with three retarded children for whom she must care, since her husband has deserted her, is not, as you might expect, a Baby Slave, but a Young Priest who in her last life was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Waffen-SS. She is now trying to pay off some serious debts. In her last life she died in a railway accident near the French border. You cannot take her debts upon you, but you can help her to discharge them» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el caso concreto que el dictado adjudica a una asistida del trabajador social del grupo: un alma que en su vida anterior habría pertenecido a la Waffen-SS y ahora paga deudas; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This is, of course, possible only if the experience itself comes from essence. This will require that you examine your motivations from essence. Try to determine why you wish to do this. In other words, what is in it for you? If it comes from a space that is guilty, then false personality has the upper hand. Don’t try to go back in this life and unwind ribbons. This is not the way it is done. The work you did was not wholly in false personality, but there was a great deal of gain for the personality there. You can be certain that all of those desires attached to physical or material gain emanate from false personality. This includes accolades and laurel leaves» — el criterio que el dictado da para distinguir lo que sale de la esencia de lo que sale de la personalidad falsa: preguntarse qué se gana con ello, con los deseos de ganancia física o material y hasta los elogios puestos del lado de la personalidad falsa; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Children, before they are thoroughly programmed for their societal role usually operate from essence and know their Roles. [All that ends with the Second Internal Monad, when the fragment’s centering and “sense of identity” are established. (Priest’s transcript)] The Role the child first voices as a desire usually comes from essence—after that, from false personality based on expectations of those around the child. To return to this state, of course, is a major part of the goal. Until you do, you cannot shake the enthrallment of the physical, material plane. The child, especially the very young child, often sees beyond the veil. This is quickly squashed. The happy childhood is mostly myth. In your case, it was a bona fide experience and your desire to return there is Good Work» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la infancia, con el corchete de la edición de 2005 que la cierra en el Segundo Monad Interno: el Role que el niño nombra primero sale de la esencia, el niño muy pequeño ve más allá del velo y eso se aplasta pronto, y la infancia feliz es sobre todo mito; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«What we have said is that the soul manifests at approximately this age. Yes, some break through much earlier, particularly if they go their own way early in life. Loners break through far more easily than those attached to large “close” families. These take much longer. Yes, if you do not manifest at this stage, it is unlikely that you will later. However, we know of a few souls who have. Having your soul manifest and searching for enlightenment are quite different. Baby Warriors do not search, but they do manifest. There is no magic age for beginning to search. You must not assume that the task is now no longer possible to you» — el límite que el dictado pone a su propia regla de la edad: los solitarios rompen antes, quien no manifiesta a esa edad rara vez lo hace después, pero manifestar y buscar iluminación son cosas distintas y no hay edad mágica para empezar a buscar; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Remember that the positive pole of the King essence is mastery. Mastery need not be of others. It can be of yourself. Rather than resent the sex you have chosen you might consider using it to learn more about why being female is so difficult, and that way develop compassion. “That sounds very much like a veiled threat,” Lucy remarked as she paused in her transcribing. Compassion is one of the lessons of understanding. If you do not learn it the easy way, you will learn it the hard way. Introspection, no matter how painful, is the easy way. Remember, Melanie, that you chose to be born female. Your sex, whether you like it or not, is not an accident» — lo que el dictado responde a una miembro del grupo que declara no gustarle ser mujer, con el giro que le propone: usar eso para aprender por qué es difícil y desarrollar compasión, y el recordatorio de que ella eligió nacer así.

«About a year later,” she says slowly, “Melanie decided that this was all hogwash and left the group. I’ve only heard from her once or twice since then. She makes disparaging remarks about the board, but she always asks what we’re getting from it. I told her last time that the group is much smaller and the questions are moving into some fascinating new territory. She asked if she could come to a session, just out of curiosity, and I said sure. I gave her the dates of the next two meetings, but she never showed up» — el desenlace que la médium da de ese caso, y que el libro no adorna: la interesada declaró que todo era paparrucha, dejó el grupo y no volvió a una sesión aunque preguntó por ella.

«That happens, sometimes. People come to sessions wanting to hear that they were Cleopatra or Charlemagne or Saint Francis Xavier and find out instead that they’re a Mature Scholar whose most distinguished life was as a highwaymanturned-preacher in the seventeenth century» — lo que el marido de la médium señala como causa frecuente de deserción, y que es de los pasajes donde el libro se ríe de sus propios visitantes; la extracción une *highwayman-turned* por el guion de fin de renglón y devuelve *highwaymanturned*; la forma impresa lleva guion.

«We must remind you that the soul is without gender. There is no “cosmic significance of women” because being female is purely a function of the Physical plane. Those who insist that gender differences have any validity beyond the body do not understand the nature of the higher planes. Such essentially meaningless distinctions as gender and race are seized» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la significación cósmica de las mujeres, que niega de plano por ser el género función del plano físico; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«upon by Baby and Young Souls searching for the obvious differentiation between “me” and those who are “not me,” whom the Young Soul desires either to make like itself, through conversion, or to reject for not coming up to the mark. A few Mature Souls use these differences to cloud various issues within themselves. Discrimination for reasons of race and gender are the most prevalent and destructive examples of the rule of maya. Not surprisingly, race and gender are also most often used for the enforcement of false personality» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: la discriminación por raza y género como los ejemplos más extendidos y destructivos de la regla de maya, y los medios más usados para imponer la personalidad falsa.

«We have given you a start. You must begin to approach your patients as souls who are Centered in different places. You have verified for yourself the truth of Centers, now you must verify the truth of the Cycles. This is practical knowledge for the older soul, not just idle chatter. It supersedes all previous information. This is the lesson you must learn» — el encargo que el dictado da al médico del grupo, que es donde el sistema se propone como saber práctico y no como charla; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«must be governed by what you sense intuitively, given this special skill. Most illnesses arise from an emotional cause, but from these, one must exclude inborn genetic defects, trauma, including the bites of venomous creatures, and drug-induced illnesses that are iatrogenic in origin» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la tesis médica del dictado y sus cuatro excepciones dichas: defectos genéticos de nacimiento, trauma, mordeduras venenosas y enfermedades causadas por fármacos.

«Scholars and Warriors are often a very workable combination. They both like to explore, but for different reasons. The Scholar, being the neu» — el arranque del mapa de compatibilidades entre Roles; el tramo se corta al fin de plana, que además parte la palabra en dos.

«tral Role in essence, is something like “O” type blood; Scholars can deal pretty well with most of the Roles, providing overleaves do not abrade. The pairings, obviously, get along well. Artisans and Sages, Priests and Slaves, Warriors and Kings. There is often difficulty between Warriors and Priests, and Sages and Slaves have been known to have trouble with Scholars and Kings. But the overleaves are the critical factors in these relationships» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el Scholar comparado al tipo sanguíneo O, los pares que se llevan bien, los que chocan y la advertencia final de que lo decisivo son los overleaves.

«It should be eerie, listening to these three people discuss past lives and the strange messages given to them through the Ouija board, but it isn’t. One of the most striking things about Jessica Lansing and her husband and their friend Lucy is that they themselves are at home with what they say. They don’t treat the information as a great revelation or tremendous secret to be guarded» — el juicio que Yarbro emite como narradora sobre la escena entera, y que es la clave de tono de todo el libro: debería ser inquietante y no lo es, porque los interesados están a gusto con lo que dicen.

«Of course not,” Jessica says emphatically. “I wish we were comfortable enough to allow you to use the real names of all of us associated with Michael, but I guess that’s not possible yet.” There is a wistful tone in her voice now. “My boss wouldn’t understand» — la médium declara por qué los nombres van cambiados, y lo dice con pesar: el jefe de cada uno no lo entendería.

«At first we were very jealous of every single word Michael imparted to us. Then, gradually, we began to realize that this wouldn’t do us any good at all» — cómo cambió el grupo respecto de guardar el material, dicho por la médium sin edulcorar el punto de partida.

«This concept is valid, and of course, we have not said that it is “bad” work to gain from the teaching. The only “bad” work is when you use the gains to feed inadequate parts of false personality. This, of course, builds up a tremendous deficit and you slide backwards. If you can make this not matter so much emotionally, you can turn it into positive spiritual material gain and still have the pleasant feeling, without the guilt» — la respuesta del dictado a si está mal sacar provecho de la enseñanza, con el límite que pone: lo único mal hecho es usar la ganancia para alimentar partes inadecuadas de la personalidad falsa.

«Haven’t you discovered yet that all things which are ego gratifying have an element of delicious guilt attached? The ego seeks intrigue and “adventure.” The essence does not. This is why the man Gregory could “play it straight.” He had permission to have a female following and there was no guilt. There was also no ego satisfaction. This is why he could not be seduced. Seduction was not a suitable reward to him. We feel that this culture is remiss in not giving permission. Sometimes you must go and ask for it. The permission is symbolic, but sometimes in this culture, it must almost be literal. If marijuana was on sale at all corner stores, few would smoke it. At any rate, no more than smoke it now, and a few would quit» — lo que el dictado sostiene del permiso y la culpa, con el ejemplo que escoge y que data el libro: si la mariguana se vendiera en cualquier tienda de la esquina, pocos la fumarían; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«First of all, the Oedipal myth is culturally induced and does not have that much influence at that level. Secondly, the grief stems from not being able to recapture what was for him an extremely important milestone» — la respuesta del dictado a un caso que se planteaba en términos psicoanalíticos, que declara el mito edípico inducido culturalmente y traslada la pena a otro sitio.

«Michael said that this patient was burning a very major karmic ribbon. It was a bitch of a situation. I really wanted out of the case, but Michael reminded me that where karma is concerned, it is unpleasant to pay karmic debts and even more unpleasant to be paid. I was told I could refuse to be paid now, but would face the same obligation in a later life. I figured that once was bad enough. Twice would be dreadful. So I stuck with the case» — el caso que el médico del grupo cuenta contra su propia voluntad, y que es donde el sistema le impone una conducta: negarse a cobrar aplazaría la obligación a otra vida; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«according to Michael, he maimed me in quite a hideous way. The funny thing was, when I finally operated on him, I felt all that tension between us lift. I’ve never experienced anything like that before or since. And I hope I never do again.” Craig hesitates. “The operation didn’t leave him maimed, I’m glad to say. Apparently, cutting his body was enough. In this case, it even had a benefit. Michael said that this patient had developed his disease so that. The debt could be paid. The disease was not really important, but the treatment was» — el desenlace de ese caso según el interesado, que el libro imprime con su propia extrañeza dentro: al operarlo sintió que la tensión entre los dos se levantaba.

«It bothers me. I think it bothers me because I have a terrible hunch that Michael may be right» — la reserva con que ese mismo miembro del grupo cierra el caso, y que el volumen deja sin resolver.

«The personality strives to maintain the separateness by perpetuating the myth of uniqueness. The essence, of course, is aware that it is only a fragment of a greater whole. The personality fights all interference that might be categorized or neatly slotted. This explains perhaps some of the hostility met with in explaining this teaching. In giving you the overleaves, we give you only a tool to enable you to better understand the differences in others. So that you might accept them at the place where they are now rather than spin wheels and waste energy in attempting to change them. The overleaves are given in much the same spirit, but perhaps couched in very different semantics by other causal teachers. We spoke before of instinctive behavior in man, and we will continue with that information. Only the personality that is enculturated retains this animal like instinctive behavior. The essence behaves in quite a different manner if it is allowed to bloom. When the manifested essence wishes to make a decision it merely does so, without the endless debate and fear that accompanies life decisions. Based on the overleaves. Only the personality is governed by the overleaves, and these are non-reasoning and incapable of manifesting the higher emotion. Our use of the simile of the top baboon is not far from right in describing the behavior for many aggressive “young exalteds” in this culture, driven by primitive instincts to remain at the top of “the pecking order. All of the mating behavior and rituals are borrowed or brought forward from more primal times, and can be observed in the animal Kingdom extensively if one takes the time» — lo que el dictado responde a la objeción de contradicción sobre la personalidad falsa, y que es donde declara para qué sirven los overleaves: una herramienta para aceptar a los otros donde están en vez de gastar energía en cambiarlos, y no un sistema exclusivo, porque otros maestros causales dan lo mismo con otra semántica; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The true personality perceives the oneness and does not feel apartness. Thus it is expansive in its expression. The true personality does not need the pain, for it has access to the joy, and again, can express this in the world. The true personality knows truth, and therefore has no further use for lies. Above all, the true personality is appropriate in its response to each and every situation. Of course, this is manifested in the world as joyousness, as warmth, as a very special radiance, as a high energy course of a positive nature. However, false personality is uncomfortable around this true personality, and the farther removed from a teaching one is, the more uncomfortable one will be when faced with an encounter with balanced man. Balanced man has the confidence that only knowledge of truth» — el retrato de la personalidad verdadera que el dictado traza, con el rasgo que declara decisivo: es apropiada en su respuesta a cada situación, y la personalidad falsa se siente incómoda a su lado; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.; tramo largo del dictado, releído entero en el crudo

«That is the function of the other overleaves» — la respuesta con que el dictado cierra el capítulo, que devuelve el asunto al resto del sistema.

«Just as Centering occurs at the second Internal Monad, the fragment is also “aligned” with the Family Icon, acquire sexual orientation if it was not chosen before ensoulment began, and the understanding that others are different from the fragment. No choices made at the Second Internal Monad have anything to do with “morality” or “rationality,” both of which concepts are not present in the thought processes until roughly age seven, as the nature of brain development as well as acculturation “should” reveal. At the Second Internal Monad nexus, the fragment has not yet completely grasped experiential differentiation, and will not fully validate it until the Third Internal Monad, and so the ideas of “what is true” remain somewhat incomprehensible, although the first aspect of truth—what is actual—begins at the validation of the Second Internal Monad and continues to develop between the Second and Third Internal Monads. So many of the lessons between the Second and Third Internal Monad are an intermix of factuality, cultural mores, behavior adaptation, language, social context, and all the rest of the experiences of your species that we would have to say that for a technological society such as this one, a public standard of high quality is often the only way to prepare a fragment for “adult life,” for there are so many very complex factors involved that few families are prepared or able to transcend he Family Icon sufficiently to view the child with sufficient perspective to provide the insights that make recognition and validation possible. In the sense of experiential differentiation, the notion of truth remains an “illusive” concept until the Third Internal Monad, although some younger fragments persist all their life long in believing that “those who do not endorse my experience as being the primary validity are lying,” a perception that is demonstrably inaccurate and potentially damaging for the fragment involved» — el bloque de información adicional del capítulo 12, que la edición de 2005 toma de una transcripción: qué se fija en el Segundo Monad Interno, la ausencia de moralidad y racionalidad en el pensamiento hasta los siete años, y la noción de verdad como concepto esquivo hasta el Tercero; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Contempt for the body is foolish. So is complete preoccupation with» — el arranque de lo que el dictado sostiene del cuerpo; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«it. Bodies are conditions of the Physical plane and there are lessons that can only be learned in the flesh. Those who attempt to escape the body or deny it are missing the point. Those who refuse to look beyond it are merely choosing the reverse side of the coin. Either attitude is a product of maya, that is, false personality» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con las dos actitudes opuestas puestas del mismo lado: querer escapar del cuerpo y negarse a mirar más allá de él son las dos caras de la misma moneda.

«can possibly bring. Balanced man brings this confidence to bear in all of his endeavors. Balance implies obsolescence of the overleaves. Balanced man is no longer stuck. He is free to move in real space where there are no limitations. The limitations within the artificial space of the Physical plane bring comfort for those trapped there. The concept of eternity and infinity, for instance, is very uncomfortable for personalities, even those trapped in» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el término mayor del pasaje: el hombre equilibrado, para quien el equilibrio implica la obsolescencia de los overleaves; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«the Intellectual part of Intellectual Center, even though from our perspective it is truth that is incontrovertible. The continuity is as immutable as the polarity» — el remate de ese pasaje en el chunk siguiente, con la continuidad declarada tan inmutable como la polaridad.

«All the choices we have discussed have bearing on the Life-Task, that one Goal which you set for yourself between lives. These Goals, of course, are influenced by the overleaves, karmic ribbons, soul level, Monads, and agreed-upon sequences. However, there are special Configurations that also aid you in completing your task. These Configurations are, for the most part, Quadrates and Sextants, partnerships of four or six souls whose Goals are interrelated. Quadrates are most often formed between Scholars and Warriors, Sextants between Artisans, Sages, and Priests. Kings and Slaves do not often become part of such Configurations because of the inherent nature of their Roles. Many of you are part of Quadrates and Sextants, though only two of you have made contact with all the members of your Configuration. Craig is part of a Sextant, and has worked with the other five in the Configuration. We would say that it is likely for these fragments to be drawn together more frequently in the future. Leah has met her Quadrate members, and they are involved in accomplishing their goal. There are Configurations of three (Triads), seven, and nine as well» — la doctrina de las Configurations con que abre el capítulo: Quadrates de cuatro almas y Sextants de seis con metas entrelazadas, repartidos por Roles, con miembros del propio grupo nombrados dentro; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Within the Quadrate, there are, of course, four positions. Those occupying the first and third positions are the strongest members and are more capable of independent action than those in the second and fourth positions. A fragment does not always occupy the same position in the Quadrate. [Because tasks and overleaves change.] In this life the lady Tracy occupies the third position. In her last life, she occupied the second position in the Quadrate, but because of her early death at age twenty-six, the Quadrate was not able to function together. That Quadrate is composed entirely of Warriors, members of three entities. The lady Jessica’s Quadrate is composed of three Scholars and one Warrior, and the lady Jessica at this moment occupies the second position. One of the Quadrate members is in her entity, the other two belong to a different entity. The man Walter, who is an Old Artisan, belongs to a Sextant. Within a Sextant, positions one and four are the strongest ones, the other four positions being less dominant. The man Walter is in the fifth position. He is in contact with three members of the Sextant which does not include the woman in the primary position. This woman is a Mature Priest living in Boston, where she is a sculptor and teacher. She has met only one member of the Sextant, and is not prepared to deal with five other people in her life just now. We would think that it will be at least five years before she will be ready to feel the pull and respond to it. It might be possible for Walter to enlist the aid of the person at the fourth position, who is known to him. This man is a first-level Old Sage, a professor of art history, whom Walter knows through the man David Swan. We would like to point out that one of the Agreements that Walter and David have in this life is that David will introduce Walter to the various members of his Sextant» — cómo funcionan las posiciones dentro de una Configuration, desplegado por el dictado sobre tres miembros del grupo con nombre, posición, entidad y hasta el oficio y la ciudad de una desconocida; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«My Sextant is very active,” Craig says. “It’s strange—before I was into these sessions, I liked working with these five, because everything seemed to go better when we were doing things together. Three of us are physicians, one is a physical therapist, two are engaged in genetic research. We really inspire each other, and ideas just pour out of us when we get together. It seemed uncanny at first, but now that Michael has explained the relationship, it not only makes sense, but I can see how it functions» — un miembro del grupo describe lo que la doctrina le explicó de un hecho anterior a las sesiones: que el trabajo con esos cinco le salía mejor que con otros.

«There are larger Configurations as well. We often refer to this group as a cadre, but we do not limit the definition to this group alone. All those who share a common teacher are part of the same cadre. We come to others as well as to you, and all of you are Walking the same or similar paths. If you care to seek each other out, it is possible that you will be able to learn from each other. Some of you will find the completion of your Quadrates and Sextants in the cadre, some of you will find entity mates, some of you will renew old acquaintances. Most of the souls in this cadre are Mature and Old, because it is rare for any but Priests to be on the path during the Young Cycles. [Not that Configurations are necessary to accomplish the Life-Task—Configurations provide “support” and definition to such fragments as those who chose to recognize and validate the tasks at hand (Priest’s transcript)» — la definición de *cadre* que el dictado da, y que es donde declara que viene a otros además de a este grupo, con el corchete de la edición de 2005 que niega que las Configurations sean necesarias; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«That woman got furious,” Craig says. “She’s a very outspoken and crusading pacifist, and simply would not believe that her resistance to war came from anything more than her own passionate conviction that war is ethically wrong. I don’t disagree with that, but I pointed out to her that such a lifetime, and so recently, would give her even stronger convictions. She could not accept that. She refused to come to sessions, and though she was attracted to the information, she decided that it was all bunk» — el desenlace de ese caso, dicho sin suavizarlo: la interesada no aceptó que su pacifismo viniera de otra parte que de su convicción, dejó de ir y declaró que todo era paparrucha.

«That’s because if she admitted that any part of it was valid, she might have to accept that the parts she didn’t like were valid,” Emily remarks. “I was at that session, and you know, you could tell that there was something going on inside of her. I really believe that though she’s denying it, she knows that there is a resonance to what Michael told her» — la lectura que otra miembro del grupo hace de ese rechazo, y que el libro imprime como interpretación suya y no como hecho.

«If you come to this information looking for glamour and strokes, you’re probably in for a disappointment. There’s a great deal that’s intriguing, and after nine years, I’d say that I’m pretty much committed to exploring everything that Michael has to offer. It’s jarring, though. I know that. There have been times that the information, particularly about past lives, is distressing» — lo que la médium declara de la experiencia acumulada, con el límite dentro: nueve años de compromiso y a la vez el reconocimiento de que la información angustia.

«Just because we’re cautious doesn’t mean that we don’t think this information is important,” Lucy says, scowling. “Honestly, David, there are times you really piss me off. We all know that it’s a hassle getting through life, but what Michael keeps telling us is that there’s more worthwhile in it than we know, and that it’s OK to choose to be what we are. We don’t have to deny our choices. And I’ll tell you something else—being part of an entity feels good. It’s a lot better than family, most of the time, because you don’t have to explain anything. You can be living as grubby a life as possible, but there’s always someone on your side, a lot of someones. I think that’s great» — la respuesta con que otra miembro del grupo defiende la cautela y declara lo que le da la doctrina: que ser parte de una entidad se siente bien, mejor que la familia, porque no hay que explicar nada; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We would prefer to identify lives. That is where the growth comes from—the recognition of the tapestry» — la regla con que el dictado acota su disposición a identificar objetos, y que es donde declara dónde está el crecimiento.

«We remind you, David, that you would have got to Iran if it had meant hitchhiking. It is beneficial that your trip is facilitated, but that was the nature of your Agreement with the man Gerard (the senior curator). Gerard, being a second-level Young Scholar, is not yet aware of the pull on him, but he fulfilled the terms of the agreement, at the same time advancing himself, as he sees it, in the world» — la lectura que el dictado hace de ese viaje, que le quita todo mérito a la circunstancia y la atribuye a un Agreement con un tercero nombrado que no sabe que lo cumple.

«Michael doesn’t tell you that,” Lucy says. “He’ll give you some in» — la regla que el grupo atribuye al dictado sobre la tarea de vida: no la identifica; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«I get a similar feeling from my Quadrate members,” Leah says. “We aren’t doing business together as such, though one of the members of the Quadrate is an architect and I deal in real estate. One is a historian at the university, and the fourth is a local reporter. We’ve been trying to identify and preserve historic buildings and sites. We started out simply checking around the Bay Area, but we’ve developed a following, and we’re expanding our working area. We’re also in contact with a couple of the local Indian groups who are anxious to identify and preserve various sites» — otra miembro del grupo describe su Quadrate por los oficios de los cuatro y por lo que hacen juntos: identificar y preservar edificios y sitios históricos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There’s a builder who wants to put up tract housing on what was very obviously an Indian settlement, and it would not only destroy an archaeological site, it would destroy an authentic adobe, which the builder’s study describes as a shack. That building went up about 1760, and apparently was a way station for travel up and down El Camino Real. I think we’ve got a chance to save it, but you can’t imagine how difficult it is. But the four of us are pretty hard to beat» — el caso concreto de ese Quadrate: un adobe auténtico de hacia 1760, estación de paso del Camino Real, que el estudio del constructor llamaba choza.

«The Quadrates and Sextants are powerful forces when the entire Configuration is working. The essence does not care if it takes several lifetimes to accomplish the various tasks undertaken by a Quadrate or Sextant. We do not mean to imply that Quadrates and Sextants always act upon their» — el poder que el dictado atribuye a las Configurations y la indiferencia de la esencia al número de vidas que lleve; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«members in this way. It is your choice. You may decide that you cannot undertake the tasks of the Configuration. It is your option to do so. The others may find this difficult to deal with; however, you may be certain that each one of you at some time has abdicated the relationships in the Quadrates and Sextants just as each one of you has abdicated on other Agreements during the various Cycles of your lives. There is nothing wrong in this. It is, in fact, one way to learn. Oftentimes physical distances, which seem minor between lives, become real barriers on the Physical plane. It is also more likely that as you grow older, you will be more willing to yield to the pull of these associations, if the overleaves permit. A fragment with a Goal of Rejection or Stagnation would not be much inclined to search out the other members of such Configurations. Quadrates and Sextants often occur between those who have burnt karmic ribbons but feel the strength of the relationship that continues after the debt is paid» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el límite que el dictado pone a su propia doctrina: se puede abdicar de una Configuration como de cualquier Agreement, y no hay nada malo en eso porque también así se aprende; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This fragment has many debts to pay. In her former life, which ended in nineteen hundred and thirty-three, she was a French official who prolonged conflict in her area in 1916 and 1917, in order to gain a degree of political» — el arranque de la lectura más cruda que el dictado hace de un visitante presente; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«power which she had not been able to amass any other way. Because of this self-serving decision, many men, women, and children died, most of them from either starvation or poison gas. This fragment is seeking to make up for some of the suffering she has caused. It turned out, by the way, that she did, in that life, get the advantage she hoped for and was given recognition for her bravery in fighting in the conflict she had helped to prolong. It was not a complete triumph, because during that war, the fragment lost most of his family» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: muchos muertos de hambre y de gas por una decisión interesada, y la ironía que el dictado añade, que quien la tomó sí obtuvo la ventaja y el reconocimiento por su valor; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Look, let’s face it,” David Swan interjects, “most people, the vast majority of people, live pretty tragic lives. How many people do you» — el arranque del discurso con que un miembro del grupo pone en duda la relevancia de todo el asunto; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«know who are really and truly happy, who have accomplished the things they set out to accomplish in their lives, have had no major or minor disasters in their lives, have never been deeply disappointed, have been surrounded by trustworthy friends and understanding family, and who never knew a day’s want, either material or psychological? When you think about it, such a life would be pretty damn bland, but it’s a far cry from what most people have to put up with in their lives. For every famous, beautiful, extraordinary person, there are hundreds, if not thousands, who lead what some people call undistinguished lives. But that’s most of us, baby. Most of us have to live through growing up as if it were some kind of disease. I don’t know more than half a dozen people who had a happy childhood. I know even fewer who had real pleasure during adolescence. I don’t know what high school was like for you, but for me it was miserable. Sometimes I think that I spend my life going between boredom and panic» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, y que es el pasaje más escéptico del libro en boca de alguien que sigue en el grupo: la mayoría vive vidas trágicas y sin distinción, y él mismo dice pasar la vida entre el aburrimiento y el pánico; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«No,” David responds emphatically. “I’m saying that it’s easy to understand why it is this way. That doesn’t mean I don’t think we shouldn’t be aware of the path, or that we shouldn’t explore our past, grubby lives. But if you’re so certain that this is the answer to what being human is all about, and is more important than the rent and the IRS, why haven’t you—and me too, me, too—put your real names in this book? Why don’t any of us walk into the boss’ office on Monday and say, ‘Hey, twice a month I get together with about fifteen other folks and we talk to a Ouija board, and last time it told me that in one of my lives I was a galley slave from Salonika and died when the boat» — la objeción que ese mismo miembro dirige al grupo entero y a sí mismo: si esto importa más que la renta y el fisco, por qué ninguno puso su nombre verdadero en este libro; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«went down with all hands fighting Cypriot pirates? Wouldn’t the boss love to hear that» — el remate de esa objeción en la plana siguiente, con la escena de contarle al jefe una vida anterior como galeote de Salónica.

«The work in question is indeed an authentic Goya. If you will examine the work with the new techniques of x-ray and laser, you will find that the artist’s signature is in the lower left-hand corner of the painting, in the shadow of a small spotted dog. The painting was hung in a room where that side of the painting suffered heat damage, so that cleaning, in this instance, will not be of much help. There is a letter from the grandfather of the man offering the work for sale that tells how his father came to buy it. That letter is in the library of the seller’s estate, in the bound volumes of the papers of the family; it was written in February of 1845, Common Era» — la afirmación más detallada y más expuesta al cotejo de todo el libro: la firma oculta en un cuadro, su posición exacta bajo la sombra de un perro moteado, el daño por calor que hace inútil la limpieza y la carta fechada que documenta la compra; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«credited to Veronese that you are also considering is mostly the work of assistants, and only the figure of Saint John is the artist’s painting» — el juicio que el dictado añade sobre el segundo cuadro que el museo consideraba, y que atribuye casi entero a ayudantes.

«That bit about the Magnetic Old King is interesting,” David adds. “When Michael first told me about him, he said he lived in Iran. Iran! That’s ridiculous. When the hell was I ever going to get to Iran? Well, as it turns out, I’ll be going to Iran in January [1978]. The museum is negotiating for an exhibition of Iranian artifacts—things like pottery, jewelry, books, leatherwork, rugs, that sort of thing. Originally, the senior curator was going to make the trip, but he’s leaving the museum at the end of the year and will be taking a curatorship on the east» — el caso que el miembro más escéptico del grupo ofrece como el que más lo impresionó, con la incredulidad inicial dicha; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«coast, and that means I go. When I got the news, I asked Michael more about my Magnetic Old King» — el remate de ese caso en la plana siguiente, con el cambio de circunstancias que acabó llevándolo al país nombrado.

«we had the work x-rayed and gone over with laser projections, and sure enough, in the lower left-hand corner of the painting, in the shadow of a dog that looked black because of discoloration, but was actually spotted, there was the signature. Some of the people around the museum were absolutely amazed at my ‘lucky guess,’ as I kept calling it. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them how I was able to make such a guess. We bought the painting, by the way» — lo que el interesado declara que pasó al cotejarlo, con el detalle que él mismo subraya: el perro parecía negro por la decoloración y era moteado.

«archaeologists, though he himself is not an academic. This sixth-level Old King is a man in his late twenties, an Iranian merchant, quite successful, and a great patron of the arts, both present and past. He is the fourth-generation leader of a large commercial enterprise and has recently taken over for his ailing father. It is not unusual to find Old Kings of any level assuming responsibilities at an early age. We realize that you may experience certain difficulties in Iran because you are a Jew, but this man will welcome you sincerely. The pull of the Magnetic Old King and the bonds of your past lives are much stronger than social prejudice. You may also have opportunity to meet with the King in Spain, should contact fail this time» — el retrato que el dictado hace del Magnetic Old King de un miembro del grupo, con el dato social que él mismo anticipa: podrá haber dificultades porque el interesado es judío, y el tirón pesa más que el prejuicio; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Just what it sounds like,” Jessica says. “It’s a short biography of a past life. When possible, dates and places are given, so that verification can occur» — la definición que la médium da del *overview*, con la razón que da de las fechas y los lugares: para que pueda haber verificación.

«One of the group had a major past life in Africa in a tribe that has a very complete oral history and some of it is available now. We were able to pinpoint the time of this life, and a few of the events, but as to the actual single identity, not yet. There are more difficulties when dealing with various American Indian tribes because so much of their history has been destroyed. We’ve had some success in the matter, but not a lot» — el límite que el mismo declara del cotejo: se pudo fijar la época y algunos sucesos de una vida en África, pero no la identidad única, y con las tribus indígenas americanas el resultado fue menor.

«One of the advantages of teaching at the university is that I have access to the libraries all over the campus, and it’s been possible to use these to chase down some of the facts Michael has given us. I’ve found that this has been one of the most persuasive aspects of Michael’s teaching—that you can research what he says and will find that it is consistent» — lo que una miembro del grupo declara como el aspecto más persuasivo de la enseñanza, y que es el criterio de verdad que el libro más propone: que lo dicho se puede investigar y sale consistente.

«The subject was born in what was then the Venetian Empire in early November 1567, the second son of a carpenter-and-cabinet maker. The subject showed an early aptitude for learning and was therefore handed over to the local priests of the Augustinian Order for his education and preparation for the priesthood. The subject was quick to learn, very skillful, but dissatisfied with life in the order. By the time he was ten, he was aware that he had little aptitude for the Church, and was already thinking of escape» — el arranque de un *overview* entero, que es la forma canónica del género en este libro: fecha y lugar de nacimiento, oficio del padre y el destino eclesiástico del que el sujeto quiso escapar.

«At age eleven, the subject fled the monastery and for two years worked his way north, surviving by doing occasional bits of carpentry, acting as a scribe, and careful theft. Finally, in 1579, he arrived in Poland, where he worked building army barracks. He was a hard worker, and his literacy made him popular with the soldiers, most of whom could neither read nor write. In 1581, when Stephen Bathory, the King of Poland, invaded Russia against Ivan the Terrible, the subject went with him as a junior aide-de-camp. The subject was wounded and captured the following year, and for two years worked as a prisoner/slave near Smolensk. His skill at carpentry once again proved useful and he was given better lodging and food in exchange for building a small fortification for the local boyar, who was apprehensive of the Poles. The subject, who had a knack for languages, at once set about learning Russian and by 1585 he was something less of a prisoner/slave» — la parte central de ese overview, con fechas, campañas y nombres históricos: la huida, los cuarteles en Polonia, la invasión de Rusia con Stephen Bathory en 1581 y los años de prisionero cerca de Smolensk; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In 1588, when the subject was twenty years old, he was sent by his boyar master to Moscow to present the czar with documents and plans for the fortification of the Polish border. On learning that the designer was not Russian, had been a Polish prisoner, and had been a Catholic monk, the regent Boris Godunov ordered the subject imprisoned as a spy. The subject was kept in prison in terrible conditions for more than four years, at the end of which time he was blinded and released. The subject was able to survive for a year by begging and by occasional storytelling. Finally he was taken into a monastery to the west of Moscow where he was able to teach some of the monks to translate Latin to Russian. He died of typhus in the summer of 1595, not yet twenty-eight years old» — el desenlace de ese overview, que es donde el género se vuelve atroz y a la vez expuesto al cotejo: la acusación de espionaje, más de cuatro años de prisión, la ceguera, la mendicidad y la muerte de tifus en 1595; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The subject was strong-willed and opportunistic, but also filled with the torment of the sixth-level Mature Soul. He was not subject to many religious feelings, but he was attracted to the insight of the religious life as much as he was disgusted by the usual abuses he saw around him. By the time of his death, he was a truly compassionate soul, having learned such compassion by painful experience» — el retrato moral con que el dictado cierra un overview, y que es lo que distingue al género de una ficha biográfica: qué aprendió esa vida y a qué precio.

«Because of his early death; the subject did not fulfill many of the agreements he had made between lives, although one of the reasons for his travel into Russia was to be closer to his entity mates and those with whom he had sequences to complete. He completed the Slave part of the master/slave Monad with the boyar who had him design and build fortifications» — cómo el dictado liga un overview al sistema: Agreements no cumplidos por muerte temprana y un Monad completado por el lado del esclavo con quien lo tuvo por amo.

«We would say that the subject was deeply committed to the search but had not yet learned which path he needed to follow. He realized when he went to Moscow that no good would come of it, but the nature of the Monad he was completing kept him from resisting the orders. As is often the case with Warrior Souls, this fragment’s inherent drive sustained him through dreadful ordeals, but also drove him to seek out those ordeals. In spite of the life he led, the subject had a clever sense of humor and was popular with the soldiers around him and with some of the monks both in the Venetian and Russian monasteries. He had pleasant features, and though neither tall nor large, had an air of authority that is often seen in Mature and Old Warriors. He had a fondness for music and stories and was finicky about food when he could afford to be. In order to complete what he had begun in that life, the subject reincarnated in eastern Europe in 1613 and spent part of his life as a soldier. He had better luck that time, living into his mid-forties and accomplishing much of what he had to do in the previous life. The monk who had arranged for him to be taken into the Russian monastery, by the way, was another Warrior Soul, an entity mate of the subject, and one who had often been the subject’s comrade-at-arms» — la parte final de ese overview, que el dictado extiende hasta la vida siguiente y hasta el monje que lo acogió, declarado compañero de entidad y camarada de armas de otras vidas; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The subject was born in Muslim Spain in what you would reckon as May 1043, the eldest daughter of a family of instrument makers. She was clubfooted, and therefore was not expected to marry. As a result, she was trained in the family business from a fairly early age, so that by the time she was fourteen, she was sufficiently qualified to assist her father and brothers in their work. Of her two younger sisters, one died in infancy and the other married well and took up residence in Barcelona. There were four brothers in the family, two of whom were active in the business and two of whom became armorers. In 1059 two apprentices were taken into the business, one of whom was a part of the subject’s Sextant. The apprentice was encouraged by the subject to experiment with new instruments, testing new woods, metals, and other aspects of the instrument maker’s art. Within two years, they had improved the basic design of the rabab and the jiq’rn and had changed the design for an instrument that was similar to the medieval bowed lyre» — el arranque del segundo overview, el de una constructora de instrumentos en la España musulmana, con la fecha, el pie zambo que la apartó del matrimonio y las mejoras de diseño que el dictado le adjudica; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The rabab, by the way,” Walter explains, “was an ancestor of the violin, sort of a spoon-shaped instrument with three strings or two. They were bowed instruments, the bow being quite similar to an archer’s bow rather than the design we associate with stringed instruments now. I think that the instrument that Michael called the jiq’rn is probably an ancestor of the Renaissance instrument called the chitarrone, which is not just another version of a guitar» — la glosa organológica que el propio interesado añade a lo dictado, y que es la única vez en el libro en que un miembro del grupo amplía un término técnico del dictado con conocimiento propio.

«Within three years the subject was running the most respected firm of instrument makers in Moorish Spain. Having heard of this remarkable business, a merchant from Tunis asked if he could aid them in a business venture—he wanted the subject and her Artisans to teach their new techniques to a family of instrument makers from Gaza. This other group of instrument makers were famous for their design of the tamur, or long-necked oud, and this merchant felt that it would be worthwhile for both groups to exchange designs and techniques. The subject agreed, and two years later there were three of the family brought over, two of whom were part of the Sextant. It was indeed a beneficial association, and the instruments made by these people were very much in demand for their superiority» — la parte central de ese overview: el intercambio de técnicas con una familia de Gaza, propiciado por un mercader de Túnez, con dos miembros más del Sextant llegando por esa vía; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«When the Almoravid dynasty reasserted Muslim rule in Spain, beginning in 1090, it seemed that the instrument makers would have to give up their Christian slave, but the merchant who had funded their business bargained with the caliph and was able to remove the whole group to Gaza. At Gaza, the last member of the Sextant joined them. He was of Greek descent, an actual musician with a real interest in tone qualities of wood and inlays. The Sextant worked together in relative peace for ten years until Crusading fever spread through Europe. They were able to work together for four years more, then two of the Sextant died of cholera and the others were forced to leave Gaza and move to a safer location. Their merchant associate had had offices in Damascus, but as he was now dead, his family was not interested in having a group of instrument-makers taking up room in time of war. The political situation in Spain made return out of the question, and, in desperation, the remaining four set out for Alexandria. The subject and the man who had been the Christian slave made it, but there was nothing they had to offer now. They made their livings repairing instruments and other wooden furnishings, such as screens. They lived as lovers, as they had for the last twelve years, and finally were thought disgraceful by the community, and were forced either to separate or to move away. They chose to remain together, and finally ended up in Aleppo, after nine years of wandering. There they worked for a school that taught dancing girls. The subject died near Aleppo early in the year 1116, aged seventytwo years. Her long-time Christian lover had died the year before, aged seventy. The immediate cause of death was pneumonia, but it was merely a function of old age. The subject, during her life, had three children, none of whom survived childhood» — el desenlace del segundo overview: la dinastía almorávide, el traslado a Gaza, la fiebre de cruzada, el cólera, la huida a Alejandría, los dos que quedaron viviendo como amantes y la muerte cerca de Alepo en 1116; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo; la extracción une *seventy-two* por el guion de fin de renglón y devuelve *seventytwo*; la forma impresa lleva guion.

«Verification means you can find it in history,” Walter says. “That sounds trivial, but it isn’t. For most of the peasantry, there isn’t a lot of difference in time for many hundreds of years. Dates that can be fixed are quite useful. With illiterate peoples or people not using the Christian, Jewish, or other standard calendars, such as American Indians, Chinese and Indian country folk, Australian aborigines, and the like, it’s hard to get much of a fix on time, but there are other ways. Occasionally there are travelers, battles, eclipses, comets, bad weather» — lo que el marido de la médium entiende por verificación y los recursos que enumera para fechar vidas de gente sin calendario cristiano ni judío; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In the year 1069, when the subject was twenty-six, a Christian slave who had been caught during a skirmish with the forces of King Sancho II» — el arranque del pasaje donde el dictado encaja el Sextant dentro del relato histórico; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«of Castile, was given to the subject because he was a gifted musician. This fragment was also part of the Sextant, and occupied the fourth position as the subject occupied the first position. The work of these Artisans, who were of Artisan, Sage, and Priest essences, contributed to the creation of the prototype instrument that became in time the theorbo, a lute-like» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con las posiciones numeradas del Sextant, las esencias nombradas y el instrumento prototipo que el dictado atribuye a ese trabajo. El troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk.

«I believe that money should be a tool, not an end in itself, which is not the common attitude among bankers. I see that I put myself in a position where I could be of real world service to others. Also, Leah and I have three children, and two of them are rambunctious Young Souls. Having this information has made it easier to live with them, most particularly during the teens» — un miembro del grupo declara el uso que da a la doctrina en su oficio y en su casa, con la lectura de sus propios hijos por edad de alma.

«Yes, indeed,” Leah agrees. “I won’t say that all our problems were solved, because they weren’t. However, I hope we were able to minimize our mistakes, and that’s something. Compared to what some of our friends went through, we have had an easy time of it. Michael has given me insight in dealing with others in business as well as in the family. It’s helpful to know if you’re dealing with a Baby Priest or a Mature Sage when you’re trying to get something done. I know that I often have difficulty with Baby Souls, and Priests and I, for some reason, rarely hit it off. It’s good to be free from that need to make everyone like me. It’s perfectly all right if I don’t get along with everyone. At the same time, I’m more tolerant because I realize that just as there are people I can’t deal with, there are people who can’t deal with me, and one is as important as the other» — la mujer del anterior declara lo que la doctrina le dio y lo que no: no resolvió sus problemas, y la libera de necesitar caer bien a todos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«It’s also OK to get out of stalemated situations,” Jessica adds quickly. “I was taught that I should hang in there at any cost for as long as it took. Now I see that there’s no shame in refusing to prolong such a relationship» — lo que la médium declara haber desaprendido, y que es de las aplicaciones más prácticas que el libro registra.

«With a job like mine, anything that gives some insight has got to help. I’ve developed a great many defenses over the years, partly because of the polio, partly because I’m homosexual. It’s comfortable being in a group like this, where I don’t feel I have to justify myself, or defend myself against real and imagined slights. It’s true that I’m not very happy with my life, which is typical of Mature Souls. I think now that I made some poor choices I know that I abdicated two agreements to do sequences, one of them an agreement I’d abdicated before. I’m trying to get the courage up to tackle that agreement again in this life. The trouble is that I hate being rejected—that damn Chief Feature of Arrogance. What Michael has said has been instrumental in forcing me to make certain decisions I had been vacillating about. He’s also made me see that most of my disappointments have arisen out of my expectations, not the actual situations, and that is extremely helpful» — un miembro del grupo declara qué le dio la doctrina y qué declara de sí mismo al hacerlo, que es de los testimonios más desnudos del libro: la polio, su homosexualidad, los acuerdos abdicados y las decisiones que dice haber tomado por lo dictado; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Also, working the board has opened a lot of channels in me. Jessica has been tremendously helpful there, and I’ve developed faster than I thought I would» — el segundo lugar del libro donde una persona del grupo usa la palabra de la que sale el nombre de la raíz a la que la obra queda adscrita, y la usa de sí misma.

«I’ve studied several occult techniques, and this has been one of the most practical and consistent. I’m extremely wary of anything that has overtones of religion, despite seven lives dedicated to some religion or another, and many occult practices are really religious in form» — una miembro del grupo sitúa esta enseñanza entre las técnicas ocultistas que dice haber estudiado y declara lo que la distingue de ellas: que esta no tiene forma religiosa.

«If the only thing Michael told me was about the Dresden life and my past association with my sponsor family, it would have been more than enough to satisfy me. But there have been other sorts of information as well, and my curiosity is enormous. I’m very eager to pursue the questions that Michael has raised in my mind. There are new questions arising all the time, and I want the answers to them» — la miembro del caso de Dresde declara qué le bastaría de todo el asunto, y por qué sigue.

«I’ve found that mathematics and Michael are in basic agreement, and what Michael has said is more thoroughly consistent than any other esoteric material I’ve read. It pleases me to know that I’m responsible for myself, and I find the statement that we each, essentially, keep the records on ourselves more mathematically than most of the other theories about the questions of morality, judgment, and such things as the Akashic record» — la matemática del grupo declara su propio criterio de asentimiento, y es el más frío del libro: le complace que cada quien lleve el registro de sí mismo porque le parece más matemático que las teorías al uso.

«We would wish to point out that the evolution of paternalism as social “necessity” is not generally applicable to the constraints of “modern” societies, and, in fact, is not truly adapted to urban cultures, although certain fairly agrarian societies in marginal environments function more effectively when gender-specific roles are available for most fragments. In early cultural units, pregnancy and child-care made fairly constant demands on females past the onset of puberty, and, due to the emerging “justification” in male-centered religions, turned the care of children into a “secondary” occupation. In the sense of providing food and shelter, it is true that a pregnant woman with two or three little children to care for is not a capable of providing the sustenance and protection required for her survival and the survival of her children, but in obviating the importance of child-rearing, an imbalance in human society emerged that is still with your species to this day. Incidentally, although early human societies often worshiped fertility, they did not worship femaleness as is evinced by the lack of priestesses in those societies, Male priests worshiping fertility is a form of symbolic self-congratulation, not elevation of female, and led to all manner of restrictions being imposed upon females for the “trick” of pregnancy. Once trade and cities emerge in human culture, gender specific occupational impositions are no longer as appropriate for most fragments as they are in limited agrarian societies; by clinging to these outmoded social forms, the cultural distortion can be significantly contorted for all fragments endorsing its limitations, Not that such experience is invalid, for that is not the case, but it does impose additional burdens to the life which may result in the inability to recognize and validate much of what the fragment is seeking to address in any given life. While we would agree that there are gender factors in a very few occupations, for the most part, such definitions are the result of social distortion, not “biological imperative» — el bloque de información adicional del capítulo 13, que la edición de 2005 toma de una transcripción: el paternalismo como adaptación agraria que las ciudades vuelven inapropiada, con la afirmación de que las sociedades primitivas adoraban la fertilidad y no lo femenino, evidenciado por la falta de sacerdotisas; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Let us also point out that where cultural forms, such as but not limited to traditional-but-unfunctional clothing must be artificially upheld by “tradition” and “religion” these forms have become inappropriate to inculcated experience, and while such “traditions” may have certain uses in terms of societal rituals, they more often serve to vitiate the comprehension of culture as well as interfering with circumstances for choice, Of course, the more limited social “opportunities” available to fragments, the more “traditions” are presented to “explain” the social restrictions, and while such limitation may be consistent with Baby and Young Soul understanding, it is nonetheless apt to be more “intrusive” than the social expectations of Mature Souls and Old ones» — el remate de ese bloque, con lo que el dictado sostiene de la tradición: cuanto más limitadas son las oportunidades sociales, más tradiciones se presentan para explicar las restricciones; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«[Relationships need not become endurance contests, and refusing to become part of such a “deadlocked” condition—while as valid a choice as any—can promise more recognition and validation for all concerned. Unfortunately social expectations tend to need to hold someone “to blame” when relationships end, and that often obscures the very real growth such transitions can bring, should the fragment choose to accept them. That does not mean that abandonment is a “good thing” or that all separations are based on the desire for growth: we did not say that nor did we mean to imply it. Where children are an issue, it is important for the parental fragments to recognize the children’s individual needs and perceptions in order to avoid the often-seen manipulation of the separated parents through the influenced behavior of the children. This, we assure you, is inappropriate to familial function and potentially detrimental to children in individualistic» — el largo corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre las separaciones: la expectativa social de culpar a alguien oscurece el crecimiento, con la salvedad expresa de que no toda separación es por crecimiento ni el abandono es bueno; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«also wish to point out that the brutalization by physical force or emotional bludgeoning of any family members can lead to karmic ribbons as well as legal consequences. This is your choice, but such choices are most often borne of fear and tend to incapacitate others from achieving intimacy with self or with others. (Scholar’s transcript)» — el remate de ese corchete en la plana siguiente, con la advertencia sobre la brutalización física o emocional dentro de la familia y sus dos consecuencias, kármicas y legales.

«[Michael says: It is not the “schedule” that matters far more than the material, though some here would like to think so. The time, the day, the routine, all are conveniences. The information is not “tied “ to a schedule, but it is available in all places at all hours. That does not mean, however, that there is anything amiss with a schedule or convenience: we only wish to point out that fragments would do well not to confuse one with the other» — el corchete con que la edición de 2005 enmienda el apego del grupo a su propia rutina: la hora, el día y la costumbre son conveniencias, y la información no está atada a un horario.

«What is your conception of a séance? Dark rooms? Scented candles, incense, and peculiar symbols on the wall? Hushed voices? The materialization of trumpets and tambourines? The lady in the turban moaning about Princess Ti-Ling» — la pregunta retórica con que Yarbro abre el capítulo y enumera el atrezo que el lector espera, para negarlo en la frase siguiente.

«The Michael group meets for sessions (they prefer not to call them séances) in Jessica’s and Walter’s living room on Saturday afternoons. The room is a sunny one, and the picture windows open onto wooded slopes. There are comfortable chairs and a long sofa for those attending. Three cats and a dog wander in and out, though one of the cats will curl up on the baby grand piano. On the coffee table there is a coffee pot, a tea pot, cream and sugar for those who use them, and beer» — la escena real que Yarbro pone en lugar de ese atrezo, con el paréntesis donde declara que el grupo prefiere no llamar *séance* a lo suyo: sala soleada, ventanales al bosque, tres gatos, un perro y cerveza en la mesa.

«This particular session took place in late September 1978. It was a warm afternoon. Jessica’s daughter and her boyfriend were out on the hillside cutting back the shrubs» — la datación de la sesión que el capítulo transcribe, con los detalles domésticos que Yarbro deja alrededor.

«There were five women at that session, and six men: Lucy North, Emily Wright, Tracy Rowland, Kate O’Brien, Marjorie Randall, David Swan, Matthew Harrison, James Vernett, Hector (called Terry) MacMillan, and Laurence Silva. Craig Wright was at the session for about an hour but was called on an emergency and had to leave early. Matthew Harrison and James Vernett are biologists, colleagues of Marjorie’s. Hector MacMillan is an artist friend of Walter’s and Laurence Silva is a psychologist who came to that session on Craig’s invitation» — la lista nominal de los asistentes a esa sesión y los oficios de los cuatro nuevos, que es el único censo completo de una sesión en todo el libro; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«What would you say his overleaves are, Marjorie? “Michael does that sometimes,” Marjorie explained to her guests. “He wants us to get used to thinking of the material in a useful way» — el procedimiento pedagógico que el dictado usa con el grupo, devolviendo la pregunta antes de contestarla, y la explicación que una miembro da de él.

«I think he’s a forty-fourth level Baby Turkey in the Obnoxious Mode with a Goal of Consternation and a Chief Feature of Irresponsibility» — la parodia que una miembro del grupo hace del vocabulario del sistema, que el volumen imprime entera y con la risa del grupo alrededor.

«We can understand how you might say this. This is a second-level Young Scholar in the Passion Mode with a Goal of Repression, a Cynic in the Emotional part of Moving Center, with a strong Chief Feature of Arrogance. His overleaves abrade internally, and abrade with yours, Marjorie» — la respuesta del dictado a esa parodia, que empieza concediéndole razón y sigue con los overleaves de veras.

«You are seventh-level Mature, we remind you, and have much more experience under your belt than he has. He senses something of this, by the way, and resents it. We would think that there is little you can do to change him» — lo que el dictado dice a una miembro sobre por qué no se lleva con un colega del mismo Role, con la consecuencia práctica dicha: poco puede hacer por cambiarlo.

«That is your choice, of course, but it would add unnecessarily to your karmic debts» — la respuesta con que el dictado despacha una broma sobre asesinar a un colega, y que es de los pocos lugares del libro donde el registro queda en duda.

«The man Thomas is trying to avoid the completion of a Monad. His false personality is very strong, and the completion of the Monad would force him to recognize this. We remind you that it is his choice, and that if he chooses to abdicate, it is his right to do so. He will not respond well to your efforts to change his mind. We give this warning in particular to the man Matthew, who is a Mature Warrior in the Power Mode, and therefore is predisposed to bring pressure to bear on others» — lo que el dictado sostiene de ese mismo ausente y el límite que impone al grupo: es su derecho abdicar, y la advertencia va dirigida por nombre a quien más tendería a presionarlo.

«I think it would be a good idea to tell him what you feel you are. Michael gives better responses if we meet him halfway» — la regla de trato que la médium enuncia para las sesiones: el dictado responde mejor si se le sale al encuentro con una hipótesis propia.

«The man James is a seventh-level Young Sage in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Dominance, a Skeptic in the Moving part of Intellectual Center, with a Chief Feature of Arrogance. We would say that if the man James had a more Emotional Center, he would have ideal overleaves for an actor. As it is, he does not trust his emotions and therefore avoids that occupation. However, given the nature of the essence and soul level, it is inevitable that this fragment will experience a need to be in the limelight and have those personality traits that are mislabeled “charismatic.” He would also be a fairly successful politician, should he find himself so inclined» — la lectura que el dictado hace de un asistente nuevo delante de él, con los oficios que le atribuye por sus overleaves y la razón que da de que no los siga; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«There are two such species on this planet. Human beings and cetaceans. That is, whales and dolphins. However, we think that you should know that there are over ten million ensouled species in this galaxy alone» — la afirmación más inesperada del libro, dicha sin preámbulo: dos especies con alma en este planeta, los humanos y los cetáceos, y más de diez millones de especies con alma en esta galaxia.

«We have told you often that belief is not required. There are two ensouled species on your planet. That is a fact» — la respuesta del dictado a quien declara no creerlo, que repite la divisa del libro y a la vez se planta en el término *fact*.

«All ensouled species or conscious creatures of the Physical plane have the same Roles in essence: Slave, Artisan, Warrior, Scholar, Sage, Priest, and King. All have the same Modes: Caution, Repression, Perseverance, Observation, Aggression, Passion, and Power. All have the same Goals: Rejection, Retardation, Submission, Stagnation, Dominance, Growth, and Acceptance. All have the same Attitudes: Skeptic, Stoic, Cynic, Pragmatist, Realist, Spiritualist, and Idealist. All have the same Centers from which to act: Intellectual, Emotional, Sexual, Instinctive, Moving, Higher Emotional, and Higher Intellectual. All have the same Chief Features: Self-destruction, Self-deprecation, Martyrdom, Stubbornness, Impatience, Arrogance, and Greed. There are different emphases put on these overleaves from planet to planet, from species to species» — la universalización del sistema entero: todas las especies con alma tienen los mismos Roles, Modes, Goals, Attitudes, Centers y Chief Features, con distinto énfasis de planeta a planeta; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«[That does not mean that the initial choice is for positive or negative applications, only that the base of the overleaves, which is the neutral synthesis of the polarities of each overleaf, provides the potential for positive and negative manifestations within the experiential context, and in “accord” with the nature of the chosen overleaves themselves. (Priest’s transcript)] As the fragment evolves, it becomes more adept at selecting overleaves. Monads and karmic ribbons may influence the choice of overleaves as well» — el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade para impedir leer la elección de overleaves como elección de lo positivo o lo negativo, y la afirmación de que el fragmento se vuelve más diestro en elegirlos conforme evoluciona.

«Young Souls need to exert themselves on their environment, which includes other fragments. The man is attempting to convince himself of his» — la lectura que el dictado hace del colega ausente; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«own inflated importance by making you appear incompetent. Your protests will only serve to convince him that you are not able to do the tasks he has assigned to you. We realize that this is not the case, but that does not convince the man. You will have to refuse his coercion if you wish to continue working with him» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la única salida que el dictado ofrece: negarse a la coerción, porque protestar solo lo convencerá de la incompetencia ajena.

«The lady Marjorie is correct about the Attitude. This is indeed a Pragmatist, but with a Goal of Acceptance, in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center with a Chief Feature of Stubbornness» — cómo el dictado enmienda a medias la hipótesis de una miembro sobre un tercero presente, que es donde el libro muestra el sistema funcionando en vivo y no como doctrina.

«Animals are superb mimics, and will pick up the behavior of the conscious beings around them. When they are with “older” souls, they will often exhibit a greater tendency to communicate and interact with their human owners because the older Cycles are inherently open to this con» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los animales bajo la doctrina de las almas de colmena: imitadores soberbios que recogen la conducta de los seres conscientes a su alrededor; el tramo se corta al fin de plana, que además parte la palabra en dos.

«tact. We have known of pets who understand more than fifty words and phrases and have well-established rituals with their owners that verge on the uncanny. Dogs are more apt to take on the outward characteristics of their owners than cats are. That is because dogs are descended from social animals, who hunt in packs. Cats, on the other hand, are descended from solitary hunters, and will have more quirks and independence. Cats are likely to pick up on the nonsocial signals just as dogs are likely to respond to the social ones. You need only examine the behavior of their wild counterparts to see how this evolved» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con perros y gatos separados por su ascendencia social o solitaria y las mascotas que dice que entienden más de cincuenta palabras y frases.

«We ask you to remember that even the vastness of intergalactic space is part of the Physical plane, not» — el límite cosmológico que el dictado pone a esa universalización: hasta la inmensidad del espacio intergaláctico es plano físico; el troceo reemite la marca de plana a media frase, en el límite de chunk, y el tramo se corta ahí.

«of the higher planes. Within all the sentient species, meaning those with individual souls that are capable of evolution, there is always the existence of expression, inspiration, action, and assimilation. These Roles and overleaves are the only way that we know of that such existence can be realized» — el remate de ese pasaje en el chunk siguiente, donde el dictado declara que expresión, inspiración, acción y asimilación son la única manera que conoce de que tal existencia se realice.

«You cannot communicate with your fellow humans. Why should you extend the confusion beyond your species? However, we will say this: the cetaceans have evolved so that they have hearing as their dominant sense, as you have sight. You relate to the world visually and they relate to it aurally. If you wish them to understand you, we would suggest that music, the more melodious and complex the better, would be much appreciated by these fragments» — la respuesta del dictado a la objeción de que con los cetáceos se podría hablar si tuvieran alma, con la propuesta práctica que ofrece: música, cuanto más melodiosa y compleja mejor.

«We have told you that humans invariably reincarnate in human form, and this is a fact. As long as a species is planet-bound, as you are, then their experience will be limited to the species into which all of the entity members are cast. When a species gets out into the larger realms of the galaxy, then it is often useful to experience life in different species as well as in different bodies. Since the Roles, Modes, Goals, Centers, Attitudes, and Chief Features are all universal, there is much to be gained in this experience. When humankind evolves and enters the ranks of the space-going species, then human souls will also experience trans-species reincarnation. That is still very much in the future, and we suggest that you attend to the tasks you have set for yourself in this world» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la reencarnación entre especies: mientras una especie esté atada a su planeta se reencarna solo en ella, y la reencarnación transespecie llega cuando se sale al espacio; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«[Most are misperceptions of known phenomena. (Scholar) The rest] are simply what their name implies—unidentified flying objects. A few are robot monitors, a few are those making studies. A few are lost. A few are what you would probably call tourists although most tour remotely— through “media.”. They do not all represent one species. They are from many places and cultures» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los objetos volantes no identificados, con el corchete que la edición de 2005 antepone para que la mayoría sean percepciones erradas de fenómenos conocidos: monitores robot, estudios, algunos perdidos y algunos turistas que casi siempre visitan a distancia.

«We did not say there were little green men, though there are two species not unlike your own. Others are so vastly unlike you that it is probable that you would not recognize them as living, let alone sentient» — la respuesta del dictado a quien reduce lo anterior a hombrecitos verdes, que concede dos especies no muy distintas y declara otras irreconocibles hasta como vivas.

«There have been extraterrestrials on the moon in the past. Most of their activity was confined to what you call the dark side. There are a few robot machines still there, more of them devoted to mining than anything else, though there are two monitor stations recording activity in this solar system. As “earthly” human lunar activity increases, these stations are likely to be withdrawn» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la Luna, que es de las afirmaciones más concretas del libro y de las menos expuestas al cotejo: máquinas robot dedicadas sobre todo a la minería y dos estaciones de vigilancia del sistema solar.

«You mean that you are frightened, and your Chief Feature will not allow you to admit that you might be wrong. We impart information without bias. It is yours to accept or reject as you choose. Your acceptance or rejection, however, does not in any way alter these facts» — la respuesta del dictado a un asistente que llama tonterías a lo anterior, y que es donde el libro pone frente a frente la divisa de la no creencia y la palabra *facts*.

«Nothing was asked. Our purpose is to answer your questions. If you wish to know more of the other ensouled species in the physical universe, you have only to ask. Most of these species that go into space are late Young and early Mature, only slightly more advanced than your world is now. There are other species, however, that due to their physical nature enter at a much earlier stage in their evolution. Some enter later, some not at all. Those species that you might recognize as being akin to plants rather than animals do not often go into space, though some of them are active in» — la regla que el dictado repite cuando el grupo le reclama coherencia: solo responde lo que se le pregunta, y de ahí sale el censo de especies que van al espacio por etapa evolutiva; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«For the most part, we would relegate such material to wishful thinking. There were some early observers of this planet, but a great many of the ancient civilizations that you regard as primitive were more advanced than you realize. For example, the Incan civilization used lookout kites large enough to carry a man. These were kept on long tethers so that the man could watch on mountain roads and passes. Such kites are more easily kept aloft in mountains than on plains, and serve a more useful purpose. You underrate your own species if you assume that any and all advances had to be given to you by extraterrestrial visitors» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la teoría de los antiguos astronautas, que descarta casi entera y sustituye por un ejemplo propio: las cometas de vigilancia incaicas capaces de llevar a un hombre; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Most of these kites were made of hide and wood, both of which decay rapidly. Though the Incas did not invent the wheel, they were very good with other kinds of engineering, as examinations of the ruins of their cities reveal» — la respuesta del dictado a por qué esas cometas no sobrevivieron, con el juicio que emite sobre la ingeniería de esa civilización pese a no tener rueda.

«As a Spaniard, in fact. You were one of Pizarro’s company who came to Peru. You were a farrier, then, and the strange culture both intrigued and repelled you, since you were, at that time, a deeply committed Catholic, and superstitious to an extreme» — cómo el dictado corta la reflexión de un miembro del grupo sobre unas ruinas adjudicándole una vida anterior en el bando opuesto.

«That was what you learned after that life. You could review the truth of that life and see where your perceptions had been distorted. In that life you died of gangrene after a minor wound had become infected. You had a fair amount of time to think about what you had done before the actual moment of death. That was an interrupted life, and it took you three more lives to complete the level begun then» — el remate de esa adjudicación, que es donde el sistema convierte un juicio moral presente en el aprendizaje de una vida anterior, con el detalle de la gangrena y el tiempo de pensar antes de morir.

«We would think that the time could be “better spent” in getting the complete and accurate translation of all the engravings and writings on the walls and various objects in the tomb than in being lured farther afield by the glitter of undiscovered treasure. We would say that this could apply to all Egyptian antiquities discovered to date» — el consejo arqueológico que el dictado da, que es de los pocos concretos del libro: traducir entero y con exactitud lo que ya está en las paredes antes de buscar más tesoro.

«Previously, Michael had said that in Egypt the field of architecture was considered religious study, and that many of the temples and other large buildings are oriented to specific sorts of astronomical locations. All the information concerning this is written down already and waiting to be translated. In the large temple at Karnak, the pillars are placed in such a way that they are lit up during the solstices and equinoxes. It is these specific pillars that contain the pertinent information. Although some of the writing has faded, could be brought, back with modern techniques such as lasers. There are also ruins in China that have similar functions to the pyramids; some have not been discovered as yet, some have not yet been fully explored, and some are ignored by an ignorant populace (a religious temple is mistakenly thought to be a palace, etc.). One of the problems is that most academics make the mistake of thinking that aesthetics and the sciences are necessarily dissimilar» — la afirmación que Yarbro recoge de sesiones anteriores sobre los pilares del templo de Karnak iluminados en solsticios y equinoccios, con las ruinas chinas de función semejante a las pirámides; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«First we would want to remind you that what you call solid ground is part of a crust floating on the outside of the molten inner core of earth, and this crust is not particularly stable. Second, though gravity is a very real factor on this and every other planet, it is not a completely uniform force. When there is an interaction of gravity and various of the geophysical stresses created by “continental drag,” as well as “continental drift,” certain anomalies occur. Some of these are minor disturbances of areas of land or sea where compasses behave oddly, where plants grow out of “plumb,” and where other unexpected and irregular conditions prevail» — la explicación geofísica que el dictado ofrece de las anomalías: corteza flotante sobre el núcleo fundido y gravedad no uniforme, con brújulas locas y plantas fuera de plomo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In speaking of the pyramids—which sometimes are connected with the myths of Atlantis—Michael said that Atlantis is located off the coast of Portugal. [Actually, we said off the coast of Portuguese territory. (Scholar’s transcript)] He also said that the influence of Atlantean civilization spread further than anyone is aware» — el pasaje sobre la Atlántida, y el único del libro donde la edición de 2005 enmienda por corchete una cita de la propia voz: no la costa de Portugal sino la de territorio portugués.

«Many animals can sense this hazard and refuse to enter the danger zone. We know of one such area in the region of what is now called the Gobi Desert, where no animal will enter. The potential to sense such areas is within every one of you, but few of you are willing to accept the validity of such perception. Obviously, these are the ones who often do not survive contact with those anomalous areas» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la percepción animal de esas zonas y del Gobi, con la extensión que hace a los humanos y su consecuencia.

«Mr. Vernett,” Jessica said when she had studied him a moment, “I can understand why this might shock you. It shocked me for quite a while. But most of the people in this room have serious questions to ask. If you don’t like what you’re hearing, you can leave. No one is forcing you to listen to these answers. No one is forcing you to ask questions. No one is saying that you have to agree with what’s said. But I’m telling you that if you’re disruptive, I’d prefer that you leave» — la médium pone límite a un asistente hostil, y es el pasaje donde el libro define la regla de la casa: nadie obliga a escuchar, a preguntar ni a estar de acuerdo, pero la disrupción no se tolera; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«You seem to think I’m doing this. I’m not. Whatever answers I get come from someplace else. When I’ve done trance sessions, the voice Michael speaks with doesn’t sound at all like mine. Now, can we get on with the session» — la única respuesta de la médium a la acusación de estar produciendo ella lo dictado, con el dato que ofrece en su defensa: en sesiones de trance la voz no suena como la suya.

«She is sleeping because she is bored. Boredom is a vicious cycle. It causes sleep, which causes more ennui, which in turn causes a greater need for sleep. Watching television is a form of sleep. She is just more overt in her actions. She must consciously break the habit and the cycle, if she chooses to» — la lectura que el dictado hace de una dormilona ausente, con la afirmación colateral que el libro deja caer: ver televisión es una forma de dormir.

«Other than give her approval, no, not much. We remind you that few Artisans are pillars of strength, and that such fragments often desire to be of help, as you do, Walter, but do not want to be leaned on. This is not said as criticism, merely to remind you that it is not easy for Artisans to lend that help, and if you intend to do so, you will have to use more energy than you may be aware of at this time. By the way, Sages share this difficulty, as their need for attention often makes it hard for them to give the necessary amount of attention to others» — lo que el dictado sostiene de los límites de un Role para ayudar, dicho a la cara de quien tiene ese Role y sin que sea reproche; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Debts from another time are also at the forefront now, which puts even more strain on the moment. Debts owed her are in the majority and she must exercise much caution in dealing with those to whom she feels negative ties. She can listen to this information and gain from the warning. Old debts often give rise to sharp feelings of negativity when they first reappear. When caught up in the web of repayment, there is a strong compulsion to get the debt over with, as well as a strong desire to avoid the one who owes entirely» — lo que el dictado añade sobre las deudas que reaparecen en esa transición, con la doble compulsión que describe: acabar con la deuda y a la vez evitar al deudor.

«The lady is a fifth-level Mature Scholar in the Observation Mode with a Goal of Dominance in the Emotional part of Intellectual Center, a Skeptic, and with a Chief Feature of Stubbornness. You must not confuse the Role of Scholar with scholarship, of course. This lady was not a brilliant student, but after incarnating thirty-seven times, she no longer cares about good grades. We have said that Mature Souls do not always pursue education in the institutional sense. The lady in question has obtained her greatest education away from schools, on her own initiative. In Mature and Old Souls a concern for grades is only a product of false personality. Where intellectual accomplishments are scorned, the deliberate rejection of learning is also a product of false personality» — la advertencia con que el dictado separa el Role de Scholar de la erudición, y la simetría que propone: tanto el afán de calificaciones como el rechazo deliberado del saber salen de la personalidad falsa; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The Etruscans were originally a tribe of “Georgian” nomads who made the long trek to the Carpathian region of eastern Europe, where they settled for a while. At that time they were illiterate as their lifestyle in the north was barbaric and not conducive to study and learning. There were in that region at that time tribes related to the indigenous tribes of northern Italy, and slowly this more aggressive group began to expand into the western region. Finally when there was a sufficiently large number, these proto-Etruscans once more headed west, beginning a series of territorial wars that resulted in the killing off of most of the males in the indigenous population, and the sexual capture of most of the females. This admixture settled throughout northern Italy, although the more favorable conditions in what is now Tuscany dictated that the most successful settlements would be there, and it was there that the center of government and culture finally emerged» — la reconstrucción histórica que el dictado ofrece del origen etrusco, y que es de las afirmaciones más concretas del libro sobre la historia antigua; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The Etruscan language is mostly descriptive rather than philosophical and consists of letter phrases resembling an ideograph. For instance, a character denoting movement toward the west appeared consistently where descriptions of skirmishing occur, a mark not unlike a chicken foot with three prongs facing to the right of the tablet. When this particular symbol was enlarged, it meant a victory. When it showed some prongs broken, it meant defeat» — lo que el dictado sostiene de la lengua etrusca, con el signo concreto que describe: una marca como pata de gallina de tres púas hacia la derecha de la tablilla.

«Several times in history there have been tribes where the warriors were females, but if you mean was there one specific tribe or group that were the true Amazons, then the answer is no» — la respuesta del dictado a la pregunta por las amazonas, que concede lo general y niega lo particular.

«We will be able to tell you when recorded history is in error. You have only to ask» — el ofrecimiento con que el dictado se declara árbitro de los errores de la historia registrada, siempre bajo su regla de responder solo lo que se pregunta.

«[All contact is valid, whether at Essence Twin level or the occasional “encounter of strangers.” You, Lucy, have put the strictures on your relationships, wanting only those of what you see as “cosmic” importance and rejecting all other as being “unacceptable.” We assure you that such restrictions are the artifacts of Chief Features, no matter what they may “represent” themselves to be. Should you chose to open yourself, many insights may be possible, should you choose to perceive them without the limitations of “high standards.” That does not mean they you “must” accept “all comers,” for that would deny choice. We only wish to point out that to turn away from a contact because you anticipate a “lack” of “spiritual” content may lead to other kinds of “disappointments,” including an inclination to permit those with a good “spiritual” line to take advantage of your exaggerated dependence on “spiritual” validity, We believe you have had such experience before. You may choose to do so again, but we would think you may wish to reexamine your patterns before repeating ones you have already validated as unsatisfactory. (Scholar’s transcript)» — el largo corchete con que la edición de 2005 responde a una miembro del grupo decepcionada por los overleaves de un pretendiente: las restricciones que se pone son artefactos del Chief Feature, y rechazar un contacto por falta anticipada de contenido espiritual expone a quien tenga buena labia espiritual; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Because you choose to do so. “Will any of us understand it in this lifetime?” If you work very hard. “Is it even necessary that we understand it?” Emily asked. It is not necessary. Eventually, in other lives, it may be. “Then why should we bother?” Matt asked. To learn. To know. To satisfy your curiosity. To be free. “Is that enough?” Walter asked. It is all there is» — el intercambio final de la sesión, de cinco preguntas y cinco respuestas de una línea, donde el dictado reduce el porqué de todo el asunto a aprender, saber, satisfacer la curiosidad y ser libre.

«The lady is, of course, now in the transition at the point of life when the Role in essence manifests. This is a time of real upheaval for all who are achievers and who, at this point, must pause to reassess their lives in terms of goals that have and have not been reached. It is no different for this» — el arranque de la lectura que el dictado hace de la inquietud de una tercera ausente, que atribuye a la transición de la mitad de la vida; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«fragment. In her searching she comes back again and again to her present state because of her doubts, which are more a part of the period she has entered than the product of any tangible or outward condition. Changes of a massive nature would only give rise to an ever wider search and eventually to more frustration as she discovers that she was not on the path after all. Interpersonal relationships are now more difficult, not because of frustrations that are easily talked about, but again, because of the reassessment period. Even though the lady may not realize the staggering impact of this transition, she will recognize her passage through it when she comes out the other side, as she must do» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con el diagnóstico entero: las dudas son parte del periodo y no producto de ninguna condición tangible, y un cambio masivo solo ensancharía la búsqueda y la frustración; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This does happen, but it is extremely rare. In this case, there are many past associations with the fragment. You have been part of a religious group that was persecuted. You have explored the Rocky Mountains at» — el arranque de la respuesta del dictado a si una hija está en la entidad del padre, con las vidas anteriores que le adjudica; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«the end of the eighteenth century, common reckoning. There was a debt incurred in that life that was paid in the life before this, and now there is only the strong tie of shared experiences. There is still a little discomfort from the karmic relationship, but as the child grows older, that tension should disappear» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la deuda ya pagada en la vida anterior y el resto de tensión kármica que el dictado declara en vías de disolverse.

«Neither biology nor overleaves are “destiny.” At most, each provides a framework, as culture and education provide context for experiencing any life, and while social organization exists among many species of creatures of non-reason, those tend to reflect immediate demands of environment in juxtaposition to the “hard-wiring” of the individual member of a species, not the myriad possibilities of choice. You, as ensouled fragments, have many options at all times. That does not mean that you must always find at least one choice “attractive,” for that is demonstrably not the case— consider those having to leave a home in the path of a hurricane, flood, earthquake, or war, or take the chance of being injured or killed in attempting to preserve the home—but choice is always present, and your choices cannot be avoided, for, as we have said before: to decide to do nothing is as much a choice as any other. Acculturation provides an environment for ease of regular choices, such as propriety of clothing, what is appropriate for a meal, or how to perform an introduction, but inevitably, even these “habitual” choices have decision-points in them that you can always approach in a number of ways, and with a wide range of possible results. Exactly what those things are is up to you» — el bloque de información adicional del capítulo 14, que la edición de 2005 toma de una transcripción y que acota todo el sistema: ni la biología ni los overleaves son destino, la elección está siempre presente y decidir no hacer nada es tanta elección como cualquier otra; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This teaching is offered to you freely and without conditions. However, we would above all prefer that this publication not induce widespread belief or faith in this system, for that would defeat our purpose in transmitting the system to you; for, after all, this system teaches primarily that truth on the Physical plane is a many-splendored thing indeed, and what is true for a Baby Slave is the Power Mode is almost never true for an old Priest in the Observation Mode. As we have said many times, belief or faith in anything is destructive rather than constructive for it denotes blindness of the sort that drives the lemmings into the sea» — el arranque del Epilogue dictado, donde el sistema declara su propio relativismo: lo verdadero para un alma de un ciclo casi nunca lo es para otra, y la fe denota una ceguera como la que lleva a los lemmings al mar; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Skepticism is the attitude that has produced the most startling and innovative thought in the history of humankind, and all of alienkind also, we might add. The Observation Mode, of course, produces the supply to meet the demand, because it is the nature of that Mode to notice things» — el único elogio sin reservas que el dictado hace de un Attitude, extendido además a los alienígenas.

«We give this system only as a tool that you may use in your Life-Tasks to aid you in the understanding of the life cycle. This we offer as the purpose of the life cycles: Man begins as a solitary hunter, an animal on the prowl. During the life cycle, humans must learn to merge with their fellowmen as this is the ultimate step that all fragments must take before they can pass onto the next level of evolution, that of the mid-astral body. It takes all of the many lives that Man must live to learn this simple lesson and all of the pain—and yes, the agony of the Physical plane relates to the terrible isolation that Man experiences as he climbs the ladder of evolution from the solitary predator to the exalted plateau of enlightenment» — el propósito que el Epilogue declara para el ciclo entero de vidas: el hombre empieza como cazador solitario y debe aprender a fundirse con sus semejantes, y la agonía del plano físico es el aislamiento de ese camino; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Although it should not be necessary, we will state here again that souls are without gender or sex, and that we use the word “Man” purely for convenience, not to imply any inferiority or superiority by sexual or gender definition. Your experiences as male and female are equally valid, and there is no reason to assume that either gender has an inside track to spiritual growth» — la aclaración con que el Epilogue justifica el uso de la palabra *Man* y niega ventaja espiritual a ninguno de los dos sexos.

«Essence alone is capable of living to the extent necessary for this integration to occur. This world, as well as many other worlds, employs symbolism to explain this longing for true integration. For instance, the marriage ceremony with its brave nonsense about being one flesh, which is, of course, not possible, as the true integration is available only to the essence, and not to the body. You need not even be both on the same side of the world to establish essence contact» — lo que el Epilogue sostiene del matrimonio como símbolo, que llama disparate valiente sobre ser una sola carne, y la afirmación de que el contacto de esencia no pide proximidad física.

«We are not the way. We offer you our own experience of the entire life cycle and what it taught us collectively. We were, we remind you, Warriors and Kings. We experienced all of life in these Roles. We lived as you live now, in exalted and ordinal Roles, in exalted and ordinal positions. We, as you now do, brawled, fought, loved, mourned, and died many thousands of times. We learned eventually to love in the sense of unconditional acceptance that we call agape, and came to a new plane of existence. The learning went on, only now we had an integrated sense of our greater task. Now, thousands of years later, we pass onto another plane of existence, and before we can pass from this one, there appear to be additional lessons to be learned» — la declaración de estatuto con que el dictado se describe a sí mismo en el Epilogue: no es el camino, fue Warriors y Kings, vivió como viven los oyentes, y le quedan lecciones por aprender antes de pasar de plano; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«We will not have failed in any human sense if our words fall on deaf ears, for our task is not to require or convert, but to impart. We have only to answer those questions to which you seek answers, nothing more. We do not promise a paradise, or, that matter, a hell, either. Only progressive evolution, the ultimate state of which is bliss, and which you will achieve with or without our help» — el límite que el Epilogue pone a su propia empresa: la tarea no es convertir ni exigir sino impartir, y no promete paraíso ni infierno sino evolución progresiva.

«Many of you will find the blend of Eastern and Western thought unpalatable and that is to be expected. It is when this thought becomes one that we will see progress being made. There is some truth in most teachings, but to our knowledge there is no teaching now extant on the Physical plane that has access to the universal truths that many of you credit them with. We do not have the Logos in its entirety. If we did, you would now be experiencing the manifestation of the High Mental Body, and we are certainly not that» — la reserva más fuerte que el dictado enuncia sobre sí mismo y sobre toda enseñanza: ninguna enseñanza vigente en el plano físico tiene las verdades universales que se le atribuyen, y él mismo no tiene el Logos entero; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In many ways, we are as unprepared for what lies ahead of us as you are for what lies ahead of you. The primary difference is that we have already experienced all that you will eventually experience, both on the physical and the Astral planes» — la única diferencia que el dictado declara entre él y quien lo lee, y que es lo más cerca que el libro pone al ente del lector.

«In summation, then—this system is offered with love. Belief or faith is definitely not required, or even desired, for evolution will happen to you whether or not you believe. Michael October 16, 1978» — el cierre firmado y fechado del Epilogue, que repite la divisa del libro: la evolución ocurrirá se crea o no.

«Our little group has remained generally “untrammeled” for more than a quarter of a century, all the while eschewing the lures of “guru” dogma or the trappings of “inner-knowledge” coteriedom, which in our experience, is fairly rare among ensouled Young-soul species, for although most of the members of our little group are Mature and Old souls, they live in a Young-soul country on a Young-soul planet, both of which serves to “shape” the manner of societies and philosophy for those fragments currently extant on your world. Under these circumstances, it is unusual for the enticement of establishing cults and heresies to be avoided so conscientiously while maintaining good-fellowship. The members have, for the most part, remained students, not acolytes, content to ask questions as their curiosity moves them instead of trying to gain “status” by demonstrating “wisdom” or seizing on minutiae and “growing inward,” all of which we have seen occur among various of our students in your and other species» — el arranque de los New Final Comments de 2004, donde el dictado juzga a su propio grupo por lo que no hizo: ni dogma de gurú ni cofradía de saber interior, con miembros que siguieron siendo estudiantes y no acólitos; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«While we do not experience time as you do—to do so we would need a body that aged, and we assure you that phase of our evolution is long behind us—we are keenly aware of the conditions of physicality that define so much of life on the Physical plane, some of which are highly pleasant, some of which are appallingly painful, and all of which contribute to the evolution of essence, and becomes increasingly “layered” as lives continue through the levels and Cycles of ensouled “lives.” Over time you will discover many means to draw upon past experiences to contribute them to present-day experiences, not because it is “required” but because it is the nature of evolution for ensouled species» — lo que el dictado declara de su propia relación con el tiempo —haría falta un cuerpo que envejeciera— y de la fisicalidad, que declara parte de la evolución con todo y lo doloroso; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Neither the Tao nor any non-physical teacher, nor your essence has any “need” of or “desire” for worship, no matter how tempting such worship may be. We are not gods in any sense of the word» — la negativa más frontal del libro a todo culto: ni el Tao ni ningún maestro no físico ni la propia esencia necesitan adoración, y la voz declara que no son dioses en ningún sentido.

«There is, of course, no “correct” or “incorrect” way to do this, for that would mean there was an external “authority” whose choice superseded your own, which is not the case. There is no score-keeper or bi-polar external parent waiting to laud or lambast you. Essence is the only authority in this or any life you live, and» — lo que el dictado niega de la manera más rotunda en todo el libro: no hay anotador ni padre externo bipolar que aplauda o reprenda, y la esencia es la única autoridad; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«it does not gauge your actions and choices against an arbitrary “code,” but integrates your experience into your totality. Essence is not judgmental, nor does it maintain a “standard” by which your lives are “measured.” When we say karma is law, we do not mean in the judicial sense, we mean it in the gravitational sense» — la continuación en la plana siguiente, con la distinción que precisa en qué sentido el dictado llama ley al karma: no en el judicial sino en el gravitacional.

«We are not “guides” or “professors.” We offer you answers to your questions without approval or disapproval. You cannot ask a “better” or “worse” question. Nothing is required of you—not belief, not concessions, not endorsement. Nothing is promised you beyond the “truth” of evolution. Evolution accepts no “bribes” and it metes out no “punishments”; it occurs by its very nature, and it does not need “special” conditions to operate. Any teaching that imposes standards or terms or approbation is not valid Mid-Causal teach» — lo que el dictado declara no ser y el criterio con que descalifica a otras enseñanzas: nada se exige, nada se promete más allá de la verdad de la evolución, y la que impone normas, términos o aprobación no es enseñanza Mid-Causal válida; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

«Recognition and validation are not belief, and belief is not “expected” nor is it “required” from any of you, regarding this or any other life. Every life, every experience for every fragment in existence is equally valid, for you and for everyone else» — la fórmula con que el dictado separa el reconocimiento de la creencia, y la declaración de que toda vida y toda experiencia de todo fragmento valen igual.

«Once that is recognized and validated, true self-intimacy becomes possible for something more than an instant, and beyond that, extended intimacy loses its terrors as well. This, we assure you, is the essence of Good Work, and the work of essence, although it is not “required” in any form, by us or by “anyone” else» — el cierre de los New Final Comments, con lo que el dictado llama Good Work y el trabajo de la esencia, declarado a la vez no exigido por nadie.

«by us or by “anyone” else. Michael July, 2004» — la firma y la data del último bloque que la edición de 2005 añade al libro, pegadas a la última frase del dictado.

«We do not convey “privilege” to “gurus,” we offer information to fragments with unconditional love, which does not mean “gushy” sentimental manipulative intrusion, but true “benign” disinterest. Nothing you do or do not do will alter the information we provide or make such information unavailable so long as you have access to a “legitimate” channel, by which we mean an Old Soul whose Life Plan includes Mid-Causal channeling, and whose overleaves make channeling possible» — el pasaje donde el dictado usa por sí mismo el verbo del que sale el nombre de la raíz a la que la obra queda adscrita: un canal legítimo es un alma vieja cuyo plan de vida incluye la canalización Mid-Causal y cuyos overleaves la hacen posible; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«When we got that overview, I was simply floored. I’ve had dreams about making instruments. I remember when I was a kid, I took band at school so that I could see some of the instruments I dreamed about. I didn’t find them, which isn’t surprising since most of those instruments don’t exist now. Two years ago while I was in Europe, I went to three museums with extensive ancient instrument collections, and it was a revelation. I kept wanting to touch the wood. When I saw scratches and cracks, I felt sick. It was an uncanny experience» — el testimonio con que un miembro del grupo declara haber reconocido su propio overview antes de recibirlo: sueños de infancia con instrumentos que ya no existen y el malestar físico ante las grietas de los conservados en museo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«I’ve never had anything quite that dramatic happen,” Leah comments, “but there is a very strange energy going when my Quadrate is working together. I know that sensation that Walter is talking about, too, when he says that he saw those instruments and they awakened all those feelings in him. I’ve had that happen only once, and I’ll never forget it. I was in Africa, in Tunisia, and I visited a friend who worked in the textile industry. He had a collection of very old textiles, and a couple of them were amazing to me. I felt whole areas of myself open up. Michael said that in the sixteenth century, I had been a weaver and dyer in Tunisia. I believe it» — otra miembro cuenta el mismo tipo de reconocimiento ante unos textiles antiguos en Túnez, y lo cierra con las tres palabras que el libro más repite en boca del grupo.

«That was a very disturbing experience. Leah was very profoundly affected by that experience. I kept asking her if she wanted to go home, and she kept insisting that she was having a wonderful time. She tried to tell me how she felt, but I didn’t have the concepts to deal with it. I still don’t, but it’s good to know that she isn’t the only one feeling that way» — el marido de la anterior consigna lo mismo desde fuera y declara su propio límite: no tenía los conceptos para lidiar con aquello y sigue sin tenerlos.

«[In many lives fragments approach their lives wholly in the context of the culture into which they were born, seeing only its parameters as valid—hardly surprising when so much of acculturation occurs when learning is not “intellectual” but almost completely experiential. “Correct” behavior, “known” truths, social status and conduct, concepts of “right” and “wrong,” along with familial expectations are taken in without the “advantage” of critical thinking. Where there is more than one cultural paradigm in place, a fragment may discover “early” that understanding is as much a matter of experiential context as factual information, which, depending upon the fragment, the overleaves, the Life Plan, and other factors, may be stimulating or distressing. No matter what essence intends, human culture requires that certain codes be adopted and maintained, and this, of course, influences the manner in which the life is expressed and comprehended. Older souls are somewhat more flexible, if the overleaves support flexibility, and the experiences of early childhood are not too stringently constrained. (Scholar’s transcript)» — el corchete que la edición de 2005 añade sobre la aculturación: lo que se aprende antes del pensamiento crítico —conducta correcta, verdades sabidas, estatus, bien y mal, expectativas familiares— se toma entero y sin ventaja de crítica; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«The almost eight years that we’ve been a working group have altered how I feel about my life and the choices I make. It’s not simply because I’ve had the experience of doing the board and dealing directly with Michael’s energy, though that’s been a major part of my desire to continue. I’m fascinated by the tapestry that Michael talks about, the weaving together of lives. Also, what Michael has said is practical. One of our most difficult clients is a Young Slave in the Power Mode with a Goal of Dominance. He has a pattern: he derides your work, makes you feel incompetent, then does something nice for you. I’ve learned that I must be very assertive if I’m going to avoid that little ritual. He’s very eager to be what he thinks of as supportive. On a larger scale, I wouldn’t say that I have more answers than when I started out, but I think that the answers do exist and that eventually, perhaps only between lives, I’ll be able to know what they are» — el balance que la médium hace de ocho años, con el límite dentro: no dice tener más respuestas que al empezar, dice creer que las respuestas existen; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«Much of what Michael says is disturbing. He goes against religious and philosophical thought, and I know from the experiences we’ve had here that there will be many people who will reject what he’s communicated. I realize that part of myself would like to scurry back to that safe niche where right and wrong are clearly defined and all the old familiar rules apply» — el balance del marido de la médium, y que es el más incómodo del libro: parte de él querría volver al nicho seguro donde el bien y el mal están claros.

«of the responsibilities of the Physical plane staggers me. On the other hand, I feel that there is a reason for what I do, which is greatly comforting» — el remate de ese balance en la plana siguiente, con lo que él declara que le queda a cambio.

«I think Michael is neat,” she says, full of enthusiasm. “Sometimes I get angry and discouraged about what we learn in sessions, but I haven’t given up on them yet. I know that my life, whatever it is, is really mine, and that means a lot to me, you know? Also, I realize now that I’ve done some really dumb things because I thought they were expected of me. Sometimes I wish Michael would unbend a little and say something like ‘good girl,’ or ‘you’re coming along, Lucy,’ but he doesn’t. The only person who can say that is me. I’m learning how to» — el balance de otra miembro, con la queja que el libro no le quita: quisiera que el dictado se ablandara y dijera algo como *buena chica*, y no lo hace.

«I feel that what I’ve learned in these sessions, and what I’m continuing to learn, has helped me accept the difficulties I’ve encountered in my life, though my Goal isn’t Acceptance, but Growth. I was terrified for the first twenty-five years of my life, and that made me hostile and defensive, which is a little unusual for Old Scholars. Now I recognize the pressure of false personality and the expectations that I accepted for myself. It’s also good to know that this isn’t it, that there won’t be this one chance to do what you want to do. Since I realized that, the funny thing is that I’ve got more done instead of less» — el balance de otro miembro, con la paradoja que él mismo señala: saber que esta no es la única oportunidad le hizo hacer más y no menos.

«Michael’s been a great challenge to me, in many ways. The religious aspects are obvious, but there’s much more to it. I understand that a great many sincerely religious people will have trouble with what Michael says, but I think that it may help them to examine and clarify their faith. Perhaps it’s because I’ve learned how vulnerable I am that I hope that others will take the time to study Michael’s material so that there will be fewer knee-jerk Christians around and more people professing the teachings of Christ, which is another thing entirely. I see my religion differently than when these sessions began, but I feel that the alteration has been beneficial» — el balance de la miembro más religiosa del grupo, que declara ver su religión de otro modo y llama beneficioso el cambio, y donde el libro distingue entre cristianos de reflejo y quienes profesan las enseñanzas de Cristo; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«This Infant King lived only nine years and spent most of that time in a French orphanage run by a very strict order of nuns. She died as the result of a beating given her when she could not learn Latin prayers» — una de las entradas más breves y más duras del catálogo del capítulo 8, con la muerte a los nueve años a resultas de una paliza en un orfanato.

«This fragment is an undersecretary in a position of power in the Chilean government. He is repressive and cruel and has earned himself much karma in this life. Between the rigid perceptions of the Baby-soul Cycle, his Chief Feature, and his Mode, there is no way this fragment could be what you call a “nice guy.” However, he has taken some “bad” overleaves and made them “worse» — la única entrada del catálogo que juzga a un contemporáneo en el poder, con el matiz que el dictado añade: tomó overleaves malos y los empeoró.

«This fairly gifted fragment was an important functionary in the court of the Russian Czar Peter the Great. He pandered to the czar’s whims and accompanied him on his travels. He was an attractive man, superficially charming and very manipulative. In other words, he used his toadying to gain power. He died of venereal disease» — una entrada del catálogo que recorre entera una vida cortesana, con el oficio, el método y la muerte.

«This fragment runs the publicity department of a motion picture studio. She is very good at her job and has twice won recognition for her publicity campaigns. She is a persuasive woman who runs her department according to very strict rules. In her last lifetime, she tried to help miners in Germany organize into a guild for their own protection, and for this she was condemned and hanged. This lifetime, she has refused to let her debtor burn his karma with her, and so that tie will continue into her next lifetime» — una entrada que encadena una vida anterior ahorcada por organizar a unos mineros con la negativa presente a dejar que su deudor queme el karma, de modo que el lazo sigue a la vida siguiente.

«This fragment is a horse breeder, more interested in the animals than in the competitions and ribbons. He often rides for pleasure. He lives in Egypt» — una de las entradas más escuetas del catálogo, que retrata a un fragmento por sus aficiones y su domicilio.

«Most people are taught to deny these feelings within themselves, or if they can’t deny them, they think that there’s something wrong, and that they should see a shrink. I’m the first one to admit that there are people who should get professional help for psychological problems, but there are some influences in life that can be as compelling and uncomfortable as hell that have no relation to psychological disturbances, or not in the usual sense. In such cases, I think it’s very important for people to realize that the problems— karma, soul level, overleaves, agreements, whatever they are—can be understood and worked through. There are a great many people hoping for psychiatry to ‘cure’ them of problems that cannot be ‘cured,’ but rather entail the payment or acceptance of a karmic debt. Abrasive overleaves don’t mean that anyone is wrong, but that they simply haven’t the same relationship to the world, and aren’t likely to be able to work well together. That doesn’t mean that all problems can’t respond to psychological and psychiatric help, but there are times when going to a psychiatrist for working out karma is like using a bandage» — lo que una miembro del grupo sostiene sobre el límite de la psiquiatría ante lo que el sistema llama karma, con la salvedad expresa de que hay quien sí debe buscar ayuda profesional; el tramo se corta al fin de plana; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«For all those who have had messages from Michael» — la dedicatoria, que reparte el mensaje a todo el que lo haya recibido y no solo al grupo del libro.

«Messages from Michael Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Cælum Press an imprint of Writers.com Books» — la portada entera: el título, la autora y el pie con que la casa se presenta, como sello de Writers.com Books.

«Copyright ©1979, 2005 by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission from the author, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. http://www.caelumpress.com publisher@writers.com Manufactured in the United States of America Trade Paperback Edition: ISBN 0-9742907-4-2 Hardcover Edition: ISBN 0-9742907-2-6» — la primera mitad de la página de derechos: el doble copyright de 1979 y 2005 a nombre de Yarbro, la reserva de derechos, las dos direcciones de la casa y los dos ISBN.

«Published by Cælum Press, a division of Writers.com Books Akron, Ohio Library of Congress Control Number: Trade Paperback: 2004114875 Hardcover: 2004113359 Original version first published in 1979 by Playboy Press, Chicago, Illinois» — la segunda mitad de la misma plana, donde la casa se dice *a division of* Writers.com Books y no *an imprint of* como en la portada, con los dos números de control de la Library of Congress y la edición original de 1979 por Playboy Press. Las dos menciones se consignan sin armonizar.

«Contents [Original 1978] Preface 11 A Quarter-Century Later: A New Introduction to Messages from Michael by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro 15 CHAPTER 1. The first session: Introduction to Michael 19 CHAPTER 2. The forming of the Michael group; introduction to some of the current group members; the rule of seven: thesis, antithesis, synthesis; and expression, inspiration, action, assimilation 29 CHAPTER 3. Jessica Lansing’s Ouija board; the use of the messages; Michael’s name; various means of communication with reunited entities; Eros and agape; animal behavior and human society» — la primera mitad del índice, que da la estructura declarada del volumen y el temario de los tres primeros capítulos; sus cifras son a la vez folio impreso y plana.

«Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Albany, California October 1978» — la firma y la data del Preface original, que es donde el volumen fecha esa primera capa de texto; la plana 14 no existe en el troceo.

«CHAPTER 6. The Role in essence; soul Cycle and essence Role 83 CHAPTER 7. Overleaves: Goals, Modes, Attitudes, Centers, Chief Features 91 CHAPTER 8. Examples of overleaves: three for each Role and each Cycle 105 CHAPTER 9. Understanding and overleaves; overleaves and entities; phobias and past lives; karmic relationships; entity relationships; the nature of karma» — el índice de los capítulos 6 a 9: el Role en esencia, los Overleaves con sus cinco clases, los ejemplos por Role y por Cycle, y el karma.

«CHAPTER 10. The higher planes; evil and good; religion; Monads, Agreements, and sequences; intimacy, sexuality, and Essence Twins; expectations; war; troubled souls, finding the path, acceleration, and evolution 145 CHAPTER 11. Burning karmic ribbons; marriage, agreements, and love; remembering the past; history; the nature and perception of time 167 CHAPTER 12. Mental health; Monads; manifestation of the Role in essence; physical health; true personality 177 CHAPTER 13. Quadrates and sextants; overviews of past lives; comments and reactions 201 CHAPTER 14. A Michael session; various information 221 EpiIogue, dictated by Michael 237 New Final Comments from Michael» — el resto del índice, de los planos superiores al capítulo 14, con el Epilogue dictado por Michael y los New Final Comments, que son las dos piezas que la edición de 2005 añade al final.

«Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Berkeley, California 2 July, 2004» — la firma y la data de la nueva introducción de 2005; la plana 18 no existe en el troceo.

«Give the Gift of Messages From Michael to Your Friends and Loved Ones Check Your Local Bookstore [Booksellers: Order direct from the publisher (below) or order through Ingram or Baker & Taylor. These titles may show up in your distributor’s database as backorder or special order titles. Order them anyway (place the order as a backorder) and you should receive them within two weeks.] or Order Online with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or PayPal www.caelumpress.com or Order Here ® Yes, I want____Hardcover copies of Messages From Michael (ISBN: 0-9742907-2-6) for $29.95 each ® Yes, I want____Trade Paperback copies of Messages From Michael (ISBN: 0-9742907-2-6) for $15.95 each Please include $5.00 shipping & handling for one book and $2.00 for each additional book. Canadian orders must include payment in U.S. funds, with 7% GST added. Payment must accompany order. Allow 3 weeks for delivery. ® My check or money order for $________is enclosed. ® Please charge my credit card. (Credit card orders may also be faxed.) Name_____________________________________________________________ Address___________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip_____________________________________________________ Phone ____________________________________________________________ E-mail____________________________________________________________ Card #_________________________________Expiration Date___________ Signature_________________________________________________________ Writers.com Books 87 South Meadowcroft Drive Akron OH 44313 (330) 864-3852 Fax: (330) 864-1770 publisher@writers.com» — la plana final, que es el cupón de pedido del editor: los dos ISBN con sus precios, los gastos de envío, la dirección de Writers.com Books en Akron y el correo del editor. Es aparato comercial y no voz del libro; tramo largo releído entero en el crudo.

«In 1970, the alleged entity “Michael” first made its presence known to a thirty-three-year-old San Francisco Bay Area woman. The channel is called Jessica Lansing (a fictitious name) in the best-selling books by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Messages from Michael and More Messages from Michael. These books have made “Michael” one of the best known of the channeling cases that have come to prominence in the last few years» — la recepción, por Jon Klimo, que data el caso en 1970, da la edad de la médium, declara ficticio el nombre que el libro usa y sitúa al ente entre los casos de canalización más conocidos. Klimo cuenta también un segundo volumen, More Messages from Michael, que no está en este corpus.

«Key sources on the Michael Teachings include Yarbro, Messages from Michael, and Stevens and Warwick-Smith, The Michael Hand» — la recepción, por Michael F. Brown, que nombra la enseñanza por su nombre propio, *the Michael Teachings*, y pone a este volumen entre sus fuentes principales; el tramo se corta al fin de plana.

Ocultismo (occultisme) — Catorce apariciones, medidas por programa sobre las 229 planas con capa de texto, y todas desde fuera o con reserva: Yarbro declara veinte años de interés activo en los estudios ocultos y a la vez que evita a los demás ocultistas por el escaparate y el dogmatismo de sus grupos; la médium declara que su trato con Yarbro no tuvo nada que ver con lo oculto; el dictado sostiene que el alma madura no está tan abierta a lo oculto como la vieja y pone el camino de la mano izquierda entre los actos que producen karma; y dos miembros del grupo sitúan esta enseñanza entre las técnicas ocultistas que estudiaron, una de ellas declarando que la distingue de ellas el no tener forma religiosa. El volumen no se llama a sí mismo ocultista en ninguna parte.

Mónada (el glifo que condensa el esquema entero) — El término existe en el libro con sentido propio y el dictado lo deriva expresamente de la química y de la filosofía: unidad esencial e indivisible, experiencia necesaria que a menudo lleva más de una vida, repartida en interpersonales —padre e hijo, maestro y estudiante, atacante y víctima, sanador y sanado— e intrapersonales. Aparece 98 veces y, en la edición de 2005, se duplica en los siete Monads Internos que ordenan la biografía, del nacimiento a la salida. No es el monada de la tradición filosófica y aquí se consigna como término del propio sistema.