Thursday, July 22, 2010

Truth within the system

I recently had a fascinating reading from a medium named Kurt Leland. He channels a spirit named "Charles" who mainly focuses on people's greater purpose in life. During the reading, I could feel a tremendous amount of power, which is one of my litmus tests. The focus of this post is not on what he said, but how he said it.

The reading was presented in the format of a very advanced version of the Michael Teachings. The basic idea is that the soul develops over lifetimes and goes through seven soul "ages" each with seven levels. Each soul has a primary archetype which remains constant throughout lifetimes. Each incarnation has various overlays which define the personality of that incarnation, and a "chief feature" which is either the greatest blockage or the source of the greatest power in that particular lifetime.

During the course of the reading, he also lead me through a powerful visualization/journey based on the fours worlds as interpreted in the lens of theosophy (of which I will write about in another post).

What he told me was accurate and true, which, according to the Ba'al Shem Tov, is the test of any medium or seer. The format he used was the method in which he conveyed the truth. It's important not to mix up the two.

There are two steps to receiving information from the spirit world. One is receiving it and the other is being able to convey it to the person receiving the healing. Kurt/Charles was exceptional at using the format to convey the reading in terms the I could easily understand and make sense of. My wife also received a reading a few months ago, and I was struck by the differences in wording between the two readings.

Is his system true? Are there seven soul ages and seven levels in each? I can't really say.

Chaim Vital writes about ten soul levels with ten stages in each. They are based on the ten sephirot. Each lifetime we can move up or down levels, but the general progression is upward. He writes about soul roots. That each of our souls grows out of similar roots. So that some people can have a soul root of Cain or Hevel, and others could be King David. The soul roots don't change over lifetimes even as we climb up the sephirot.

What is clear across systems is that souls contain certain elements which remain the same throughout lifetimes, and there is growth across lifetimes. In both Vital's system and the Michael Teachings, the end goal is union with the divine.

It's important to understand the lens of the system to clearly understand the message that's being presented. It's also important that the system is just that: a way of conveying a message so it can be clearly understood. One of the reasons I spend so much time studying Judaism is that it's the system that makes the most sense to me, and most fully explains my experiences. So the better I understand Judaism, the better I understand my relationship with God.

It's also important to realize that the power is in the message, not in the system. The system is worth studying and thinking about so you understand the message, but the power lies in the truth hidden within.

As a fellow healer, I also wanted to give a recommendation to Kurt/Charles. He does readings via Skype, so is available to anyone.  If it sounds like something that might be helpful to you, drop him a line.

7 comments:

Troy Tolley said...

This was very interesting to stumble-upon! As a professional Michael Channel of over 20 years, I am intrigued as to what the "advanced" interpretation might be. There are a lot of variations on basic concepts, such as soul evolution, and I'm always interested in cross-referencing. Thanks for sharing!

Aaron said...

I used the term advanced as what Kurt/Charles talked about was much more complicated than what I came across in my brief search of the web. This is my first interaction with the Michael teachings, so I actually have no idea how the reading related to the teachings in a general sense. But I think you should get in touch with Kurt directly to compare notes.

Thanks so much for reading the blog! If you are interested in the Jewish system of soul development, let me know and I can send you some citations.

Sandy said...

I am very interested in hearing more about the Jewish system of soul development. I am a long time Michael Student who recently discovered I have a Jewish heritage. Learning more about that is of great interest to me.

CocteauBoy said...

@Aaron, I am definitely interested! Send it on... CocteauBoy [at] gmail.com Thanks! And if you are further interested in The Michael Teachings, you can find out more here! Nice to meet you, by the way. -Troy

Aaron said...

It's a pleasure to meet you too.

The main text is Shaarei Gilgulim, The Gates of Reincarnation, by Hayyim Vital. It's been a long time since I studied it, but it feels like it's time to go back to it again. There is an English translation but I can't put my finger on it right now. I'll see if I can find it after shabbat.

Aaron said...

I just found the English translation. It's published by http://thirtysevenbooks.com/. It's currently out of print, but they tell me they are publishing a new version in a couple of months. I took a quick look at it this weekend and there is a lot there about soul development within one's lifetime as well as across lifetimes. I'd be really curious as to your take on it as you don't come from a kabbalistic background.

Aaron said...

I've begun my study of Hayyim Vital's book on reincarnation, Shaarei Gilgulim. Check out my first post on the topic here.