Credit: Ashley Berges
In order to share another sage piece of advice from Archangel Michael, I have to say that not all aspects of living where I did have been pleasant.
I was ready to say goodbye. And it became the subject of discussion between Michael and I in my reading of Jan. 3, 2017.
In the course of his response, the standard he set for my behavior almost knocked me over. The response as a whole went deep into knowledge of my own ways that was hidden even to me. He began:
“When you wish to extricate yourself from a situation, whether it is a love relationship or a lease or a legal or banking situation, it is important – nay, it is critical – to not introduce behaviours or situations that are either confrontational or aberrant.
“That is never the choice of a Nova Being. So while there have been abrasive, shall we say, situations in your current situation, that is not the way in which you will proceed.” (1)
Notice the degree of partnership that an archangel can speak so directly to his servant, never mind the Law of Freewill. I feel deeply privileged to be guided in this way. I take his words very seriously.
I couldn’t get them out of my mind.
I was being asked to let go of all the manipulative strategies – the “aberrant behavior” that we all have and use to get what we want – the numbers, acts, routines, rackets, and ploys – the games people play.
I was also being asked to turn the other cheek. I never turn the other cheek. People used to tell me that my glare was enough to scare them off.
Just the other day a man threatened me on the bus and I was delighted at the prospect of a physical fight. And I told him so – enthusiastically.
I fairly leapt off the bus, turned to prepare for him, and was hugely let down to see that he chose not to get off the bus. Darn!
Michael knows how deeply this side of me goes, along with the monk. (2) He continued:
“Having said that, there are times when your warrior self – which you are only too familiar with – is necessary. You see, confrontation is not always obviously a negative.
“There are times and places when one must stand strong in position to defend or protect, as the case may be and that is not where we guide you to not be.”
I only fight to defend or protect anyways. All karate exercises only begin with a defensive move. Karate students are not taught to attack.
So this part of me is already in place. But my confrontive style goes well beyond how I am in a physical fight and Michael is gently steering me away from it – along with the rest of humanity who may be in the same boat.
“But there are other situations – and this is applicable to the entire human race, and particularly to light workers – where confrontation achieves absolutely nothing in terms of raising the quotient of love or cooperation upon the planet.
“There are beings, and you know many of them, who choose confrontation as a modus operandi for their life. That is never the go-to behaviour.
“Confrontation is to be saved for when it can be fruitful and bring about just and fair and equitable results.”
His words were an itch I could not scratch.
“Just and fair and equitable.” “Not confrontational or aberrant.”
And then, in an “Aha!” moment, I saw what a golden opportunity he’d presented me with to break through my Complainer (Gadfly/Devil’s Advocate/Human-Rights Decision-maker) script!
He may as well have said “Put that script aside” because that’d be the impact of accepting his invitation. The confrontational impulse goes right down into the spiritual DNA, so to speak, and only a regimen as thorough-going as he proposes would dislodge it.
The height of the bar he set gave me pause for thought. I was being asked to drink in the love from my own source rather than seeking it from others.
I was being asked to look away from what others thought of me. I was being asked to act like a saint, or so it sounded to me. I think that last assumed request was the most confronting.
But something inside me said, “Do it.” Who knows who that was? Who cares? It was a good point.
Just do it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Michael may never issue the challenge again.
Let the dead bury their dead. Stop ploughing the same infertile rut over and over again. It isn’t producing any more. And more of the same won’t produce either. But what Michael has offered, which by the Law of Freewill I have to accept or the offer lapses, does promise to produce.
We have choicepoints in our lives, brief moments during which we clearly see – even if we can’t hold on to the knowledge for very long – that the way we respond to something right here and now, right in front of us will make a vast difference in our lives or it’ll make none. It’s our choice.
There are costs and benefits to both choices and we know them, instantly and intuitively. And we make the choice with little time given to reflection.
Not this time. I reflected on Michael’s words for nearly a day. And I’ll probably reflect on them a lot more.
In the end, the choice to accept his challenge or not becomes a question of whether I feel up to it. I’m up to it. And I’m up for it.
No confrontational or aberrant behavior in any interpersonal transaction. Just and fair and equitable. Quite a challenge.
I accept.
Footnotes
(1) Archangel Michael in a personal reading with Steve Beckow through Linda Dilln, Jan. 3, 2017. Thanks to Dana for our transcript. All quotes that follow, unless otherwise noted, are from this same reading.