To begin is to take a step, not a great step, but a cautious, interested, open-m inded step.

Submit yourself to silence each day, and be persistent, through fait h alone. Do not judge any experience. Do not take your spiritual temperature. Do not attempt behavior that is holy, but learn who you are. Learn what brought yo u to this path, to this moment. It was right; there are no mistakes. We are here to serve, and in our serving do we learn. Consequently, we would poi nt out to each that there is no way to be unselfish to the point of being withou t reward. It is never expected. It is never that motive for which the actions of a spiritual person are performed, for spirituality is not behavior. There is no thing more hypocritical than behavior. Spirituality is being authentic, whoever you are, and finding that power within you, using whatever story, or thought, or inspiration may move you to move deeper and deeper and with more and more respe ct into that portion of you which contains infinite treasure, as though you were indeed an earthen vessel filled with gems. This is your true nature. Not the ve ssel, but the gems. There are other means of working upon knowledge of the self. One passive but ext remely helpful way is meditation. Now, meditation has been greatly misunderstood among your peoples. It is thought that one is to make one s intelligence a blank tablet, a tabula rasa. One is supposed to find silence within. Only then in that s ilence is the meditation considered successful. This is not our understanding of the helpful value of meditation. The intention of those who meditate is that th ey may be open to spiritual grace not knowledge, for there is no such absolute wit hin third density but grace. Thusly, whatever thoughts come into the mind, even if they pelter one, moment by moment by moment, it is the resistance to this liste ning to the voices within that cannot be stilled that creates a poor meditation. If one is simply mindful, and notes without emotion or condemnation each thought that moves through, allowing it to arise, allowing it to dissolve, then meditat ion has done that which it was intended for. It has allowed the entity to step b ack from the trees and see the forest. It has removed the tension of judgment an d consideration and allowed a time that is truly free, a time in which the obser ver may simply watch thoughts arise and dissolve. Not turning them away, not hol ding onto them. One may plan an entire menu, a shopping list or any other though t whatsoever during meditation if it is observed without that feeling of necessi ty to solidify the intelligence of the mind around the shopping list or the menu . How does one find lessons for the self in frustrations encountered during the se eking? I am Q uo, and I am aware of your query, my brother. The lessons that are before o ne, oftentimes as they are becoming apparent, are in large part hidden so that w hat is necessary is the continued application of attention and effort by the see ker upon that which is the source of frustration, for there is within each frust ration a trigger point or place of beginning which is the key to unraveling more of the nature of the experience that is before you. If you can look and again we suggest the meditative state for this looking at the experience which provides the frustration and look at that experience objectively so that it is but experienc e and see the frustration that comes to you as that which you have created and w hich is not inherently contained within the experience, then it is more likely t hat you will see the point at which frustration becomes the experience for you. This examination will provide you the means, once again, of following a trail. T he trail begins at the point at which frustration is noted. Look at the series o f events, the relationships, the entities involved at each of the portions of th e experience before you. Look at them not only in their practical and mundane se nses of everyday activities but look at them also as symbols of higher principle s that are at work within your incarnational pattern. The more carefully you hav e observed patterns of all kinds within your incarnation the more easily will yo u be able to connect the relationships of these patterns to the nature of the le

ssons that are yours to learn and the services that are yours to offer within yo ur incarnation. The point of frustration is as a sticking point, shall we say, at which time the re is more that is not understood than there is that which is understood. If you can explore what qualities within yourself have brought about the response of f rustration in relationship to the experience before you, you will have informed yourself of the basic relationship that can yield more understanding of not only the experience but of yourself as well. If you can, shall we say, cross-referen ce the various causes of this frustration you may begin to see themes repeating in your pattern of experience, and as these themes repeat you may discover that there is a certain quality within your character or personality that you are dev eloping and that the feeling of frustration is a kind of friction that wears awa y those lesser qualities, those which are no longer useful to you and which prov ides you a more polished surface so that you may see yourself more clearly. Thus , frustration can be an indicator that there is an opportunity to expand one s con cept of self, of service, and of learning within any particular experience. Questioner: I d like to ask how does one let go of one s self-control, to learn to c ontact personal guides like you are or just get in touch with your own feelings? I am Q uo, and am aware of your query, my sister. We would suggest that one possib le technique would be for the entity wishing to release that which it sees as co ntrol that it does not wish to retain within its behavior patterns to enter into the meditative state and to look at the patterns that the entity has developed throughout its life pattern, and to see these patterns of behavior as a web of r ituals or habits which have given comfort to the entity for a large portion of i ts experience. Look at this pattern and the barrier that it presents to further experience, in that there is the holding of the thought and action of the entity within the pattern. Imagine the experience that would ensue should the pattern be altered. Look to those areas where there is the desire for inspiration, for i nnovation, for the breaking of the patterns and the introducing of new experienc e. Feel how this breaking of old patterns and the introducing of new behavior wo uld affect the life, the feelings, the concept of self. Imagine this process men tally. Then, when you feel that you would like to experiment with such innovation, allo w yourself a period of time that is unstructured so that whatever feelings or in tuitive inclinations might wish to surface may do so. Move with these feelings a s you wish, as feels appropriate. Explore in this safe arena of unstructured act ivity and thought all the attendant feelings and activities that move into the m ind as you are experimenting. Repeat this process a number of times so that you begin to get the feel of releasing comfortable patterns and the feeling of accep ting that which is new and unknown within one s self. Become aware of the intensit y of feelings that result. Explore the feelings and their ramifications within y our life experience and within your being. Then, again, in the meditative state, look for other areas where there is the po ssibility of introducing new behavior or of releasing old behavior without knowi ng that which shall follow. As you become more familiar with the feeling of lett ing go of control, you will find that there is a kind of skill developing, much as you developed the ability to ride a bicycle as a young child. The ability to release that which is structured and safe and accept that which i s new and unstructured can be learned by any entity that has the sincere desire to release that which it has held onto for a great portion of its life experienc e. The meditative reflection before and after entering into this process prepare s the deeper self for this experience, and, once the experience has occurred, se ats the new learning at that deeper level of the self so that it can become a po rtion of the patterns of behavior that are your tools for processing catalysts, for learning, and for being of service to others by utilizing that which you hav e learned.