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Acceptance: One of the seven goals essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted goal on the expressive axis. This goal includes wanting to find the good in others and in situations, as well as wanting to be approved of and received favorably by others.

Action Axis: Roles and overleaves that express themselves through movement, how one behaves in the world and what one does.

Agape /AH‑gah‑pay or ah‑GAH‑pay/: Unconditional or unqualified acceptance of self, others, and life in general. Accepting that others are on their appropriate paths and that they are all right for who they are. This acceptance can range from mild tolerance to overwhelming approval.

Assertion: One of the seven modes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted mode on the action axis. Acting in a dynamic or belligerent manner. Being the active force in one's own life. Also called Aggression.

Agreements: Plans made between essences to do something together during a specific lifetime. These plans are like non‑binding contracts: they can be abandoned with no karmic consequences.

Akashic Plane: See Akashic Record(s).

Akashic Record(s): One of the seven planes of existence. The storehouse for all experience in the universe. Entities do not live out a cycle on the akashic plane, but rather go there for information or reference. Entities must reach the causal plane before they can have direct access to the akashic record.

Arrogance: One of the seven chief negative features essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted feature on the inspirational axis. Fear of vulnerability. Trying to make a favorable impression.

Artisan: One of the seven roles essence can choose to use for an entire circle of experience. The ordinal role on the expressive axis. Artisans create all that is new and innovative.

Aspects of Soul Perception: Although a personality will live life mainly from one of the five levels of soul perception—infant, baby, young, mature, and old—it still retains the capability of using younger-soul perceptions. Using or acting from a younger aspect of soul perception can be appropriate given the situation.

Assimilation Axis: The hub of the wheel position. Can slide to either the ordinal or exalted positions of any overleaf.

Assimilative: Absorbing all action, knowledge, emotion. A historical, preservation, gathering‑of‑experience stance.

Astral Plane: One of the seven planes of existence. The plane where essence goes when it leaves the body, when the body is asleep, between lives, or after completing all lessons on the physical plane. On the astral plane, essence learns true sexuality, the complete combining of two or more essences in thought, feelings, and being. Entities recombine on the astral plane after all fragments have completed their physical plane lessons.

Astrology: The influence of the planets on human events. The time of birth and the resulting astrological chart is chosen by essence each life just as the overleaves are. Overleaves determine your basic personality while astrology is a map of karma, agreements, and imprinting.

Attitude: One of the overleaves essence chooses when it takes a physical-plane body. The perspective or way of viewing the world. The intellectual point of view. The seven attitudes are stoic, visionary, skeptic, idealist, cynic, realist, and pragmatist.

Axis: Overleaves are grouped into three pairs of one ordinal and one exalted each, along three axes—inspirational, expressive, and action—which correspond roughly to truth, love, and energy. The fourth axis, assimilative, has one neutral overleaf (able to be either ordinal or exalted) and encompasses the other three.

Baby Soul: The second of the five ages of soul perception experienced on the physical plane. Baby souls are concerned with the control of instinctive behavior through structure, civilization, hierarchy, and rules. This is the first level at which a fragment becomes oriented towards others.

 

Bardo: 1st level of the astral plane where souls stage themselves to first come to a planet in their energy ring of cadres and entities, also the transition level between the rest of the astral and the physical planes traversed through prior to birth and post-death. Ghosts are spirits that are temporarily stuck in the Bardo on their way to the astral plane and their past life review.

Belief System: Your way of viewing the world and reality as you perceive it to be. The stance from which you view life. The structure and context of your thinking that assumes some things to be true. There is an inherent inflexibility in a belief system. The Michael Teaching is not a belief system but rather a source of information that encourages students to continue to question all beliefs.

Bleed-through: Contact over years or lifetimes with another essence causes you to start using some of that other essence's characteristics. This phenomenon is observed most often between essence twins. You also occasionally experience bleed-through of your own past life memories and characteristics into the present.

Body Type: Essence chooses the balance of planetary influences on the physical body's glandular system each lifetime. This balance manifests as certain sets of physical characteristics, depending on which influences are dominant. There are seven primary planetary influences (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter) and three secondary influences (Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto). Since the body type is not part of the personality, it is not technically an overleaf; it can, however, have a similar if somewhat lesser effect on essence's experience on the physical plane. Only rarely does essence choose to use only one influence. Most bodies fall under the influence of two or three planets.

Buddha: A manifestation of the infinite soul who taught using buddhaic-plane energy, emphasizing lessons about merging with the totality of the universe on an energetic level.

Buddhaic Plane: One of the seven planes of existence. The last plane essence passes through before reuniting with the Tao. Lessons of the buddhaic plane concern merging with the totality of the universe on an energetic level.

cadre: A group of seven entities. Each entity belongs to a cadre. Most of an individual essence's lessons, karmas, and agreements will be done with the members of its cadre. There are 12 cadres in each energy ring of souls that comes to the planet.

Causal Plane: One of the seven planes of existence. The plane each essence goes to after completing astral-plane lessons. On this plane, essence—reunited with its entity—deals with intellectual lessons concerning the structure of the universe and has direct access to the Akashic Record. The entity, Michael, teaches from the causal plane.

Caution: One of the seven modes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal mode on the expressive axis. Dealing with the world through the foresight that minimizes risk. Acting with deliberation, somewhat wary of the consequences.

Centering: One of the overleaves essence chooses when it takes on a physical-plane body. The habitual manner in which an individual uses the three ordinal centers—Emotional, Intellectual, and Moving—and their parts. (See Parts of Centers.)

Centers: The seven chakras or energetic foci through which we experience the universe: intellectual, emotional, moving, instinctive, Higher intellectual, higher emotional, and higher moving.

Chakras: The seven centers of energy, emotion, intelligence, and instinctive behavior which operate in the human body.

Channel: A person who agrees to set herself aside (her lessons, karmas, agreements, and, to a greater or lesser degree, her opinions and prejudices) for long enough to let another essence or entity send information through her. This information is then translated in some way by the channel, often into a verbal message but sometimes through physical contact or emotional healing.

Channeling: opening oneself to influences, energies, or information from higher planes or higher plane entities. (See Channel.)

Chief (Negative) Feature, Another name for the Obstacle: One of the overleaves essence chooses when it is in a physical-plane body. The primary stumbling block or difficulty in the personality. The seven obstacles (chief negative features) are self‑deprecation, arrogance, self‑sabotage, greed, martyrdom, impatience, and stubbornness.

Cycle of Experience: When a fragment makes the decision to leave the Tao, it embarks on a cycle of experience—starting with the physical plane and continuing through the six other planes of existence—until it returns to the Tao, with all the knowledge and experience it has gained.

Cosmology: The study of how the universe works, the laws by which the universe operates.

Creative energy: One of two types of energy in the universe: creative and focused. Creative energy is intuitive, diffuse, explosive, creative, multi-tasking and in charge of the overview perspective. Also referred to as "female" energy since female bodies (with no essence) are composed of creative energy.

Cycle: Essence moves through many cycles. The word "cycle" refers primarily to the cycle of experience, but is also used to refer to each of the following in this book: seven year cycles, levels of soul perception, and a sojourn on an individual plane of existence. See the individual definitions of each of these terms for clarification.

Cycled Off: An essence (fragment) who has completed its physical-plane lessons and karmas, and has returned to the astral plane after completing its last life, has "cycled off."

Cynic: One of the seven attitudes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal attitude on the action axis. Having the point of view of expecting the worst to happen, being wary and apprehensive, and viewing life from what "probably isn't."

 

Devotion: One of the seven goals essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal goal on the action axis. Devoting oneself to the triumph of a cause or another person. Formerly known as submission because of a tendency to submit oneself to a higher cause than self-centered interests.

Discrimination: One of the seven goals essence can choose to use for a lifetime. It is the ordinal goal on the expressive axis, carefully picking and choosing among all that life has to offer. This can range from being highly refined in one's taste to being outright rejecting.

Dominance: One of the seven goals essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted goal on the action axis. It is a desire to “win” in the game of life and leading others to win with you.

Ego: Belief in your separateness from the universe and the Tao.

Emotional Center: The energy focus or chakra related to perception, feeling, and sentiment. Correct use of the emotional center gives one innate knowledge or perception of the truth. All emotions and feeling come the emotional center.

Energy: One of the three elements of the universe. All that exists whether it is in the form of matter (e.g., the physical body) or not in the form of matter (e.g., sound). Energy is all that exists in the universe, corresponding to the physical and buddhaic planes.

Energy Balance: Essence's percentage of creative and focused energy components.

 

Energy Ring: The group of about 100,000 souls consisting of 12 cadres (84 entities) that come to be born on a particular planet. Each planet is assigned a specific number of energy rings for each sentient race.

Enlightenment: Raising one's state of conscious awareness to a higher level. Using higher centers.

Entity: A group of approximately 1,000 essences or souls who come to the physical plane at approximately the same time and agree to share their consciousness on other planes. Members of the same entity (entity fragments) share a strong bond and usually recognize each other as old friends when they meet.

Essence: The soul or spirit, that part of each individual which is immortal.

Essence Twins: Two essences who come to the physical plane at the exact same moment and agree to be in each others' lives over and over again. Essence twins share experiences while on the astral plane and, after many lives, also begin to share essence and personality characteristics. (See Bleed-through.) Essence twins also act as mirrors for one another in which each other's flaws and good points appear. This is the most intimate of physical plane relationships and therefore the most challenging. Essence twins can be the same role but they usually are not from the same entity.

Exalted: Having a quality that puts one out in the world in a more noticeable fashion. Feeling comfortable dealing with larger groups.

Expressive Axis: Roles and overleaves noticeable because of their expressive quality. More emotional in nature. Flamboyant.

False Personality: Operating from the negative poles of your overleaves. False personality increases the illusion of separateness and prevents life from flowing smoothly. False personality is not always an inappropriate place to operate from, since it can facilitate karma.

Female Energy: (See Creative Energy.)

 

Flow: One of the seven goals Essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The assimilative goal. Learning to have life flow. Often chosen for a rest life, the trick is to be receptive, rather than pro-active.

Fluid: The quality of being flexible, quick‑moving, light, and airy. Connected to the outer edges of the cosmos.

Focused Energy: One of the two types of energy in the universe—creative and focused. Linear, directed, persevering, productive, and concentrated on one point. Also referred to as "male" energy since male bodies (with no essence) are composed of focused energy.

Fragment: An individual essence member of an entity. Each essence or soul on the physical plane is a fragment of an entity.

Frequency: A quality belonging to essence. Frequency is essence's “speed of vibration” measured on a scale from zero to 100.

Goal: One of the overleaves essence chooses when it takes a physical-plane body. The primary motivator or underlying aim for any life. The seven goals are re‑evaluation, growth, discrimination, acceptance, devotion, dominance, and flow.

Greed: One of the seven obstacles essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted feature on the expressive axis. The feature which gives one a greater desire and capacity for experiences of all sorts. The fear of not having enough.

Growth: One of the seven goals essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted goal on the inspirational axis. To choose a life of challenges and obstacles to be overcome for one's spiritual advancement.

Guides: Essences who have already completed their physical-plane cycle and are presently on the astral plane (or, more rarely, who are on the astral plane between lives)., Because of their past associations with you, these essences are willing to guide you along with their energy to do better than you would normally do, or send healing energy your way from higher planes. They usually do not give you information but rather lend energy and help you to feel better about your lessons and karmas. Often these are members of your entity or your cadre who have recently cycled off and who are thus not that far away from physical-plane experience.

Healing Masters: (See Guides.)

Higher Centers: The three energy foci where essence on the physical plane can experience its connection to the greater whole through the three elements of the universe—truth, love, or energy. Using higher centers is a rare experience since it literally “lifts” essence out of its illusion of the physical plane (sometimes referred to as the “game of life”). This experience is often identified as "enlightenment."

Higher Emotional Center: The energy focus where essence experiences its connection to love, i.e., all there is to feel about the universe, once you know all there is to know (truth).

Higher Intellectual Center: The energy focus where essence experiences its connection to truth, all there is to know about the universe.

Higher Moving Center: The energy focus where essence experiences its connection to energy, all that exists in the universe.

Idealist: One of the seven attitudes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted attitude on the expressive axis. Having expectations that need fulfilling. Viewing life from the point of view of what "should be."

Identification: Losing the perspective of the whole in the events or emotions of the moment. Believing in the reality of personality and the physical plane while losing sight of the greater reality of essence and the Tao.

Illusion: Belief in the reality of the "game of life." The game essence plays on the physical plane in order to have new experiences and gain knowledge through the illusion of separateness. This game is illusory, since we are all one as part of the Tao.

Impatience: One of the seven obstacles essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted feature on the action axis. The personality is ruled by time and fears missing something important.

Imprinting: The training a personality receives in the first 14 years of life from parents, caretakers, and society. The lessons learned range from how to act in society to how to use your overleaves and/or act like your parents. Imprinting helps set up life in order to do the intense karmas of ages 14 to 28.

Infant Soul: The first of the five ages of soul perception experienced on the physical plane. Infant souls learn how life works in a physical body and will often live out their lives in this cycle in primitive cultures and conditions to facilitate these lessons. Infant souls are self‑oriented, as opposed to group‑oriented.

Infinite Soul: The Tao. A manifestation of the Tao that takes on a body while retaining full consciousness of the interconnectedness of "all that is" is also referred to as the “infinite soul." The infinite soul comes to teach and assist the growth of a planet. Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Lao Tsu were manifestations of the infinite soul.

Inspiration Axis: Roles and overleaves that lead to more philosophical, spiritual, healing, or care-taking pursuits. Evolutionary, connected to other planes, expansive energy.

Instinctive Center: The energy focus in the body that governs automatic functions, past life memories, survival, instincts, instinctual fears, and reflexes. Karmas, agreements, and challenges for the life are also recorded in the instinctive center.

Intellectual Center: The energy focus in the body that governs thought, ideas, use of concepts, words, and language.

Jesus Christ: A manifestation of the infinite soul who taught using messianic-plane energy, emphasizing total agape and love towards other beings.

Jovian (Jupiter) Body Type: The body type which emphasizes the posterior pituitary gland. Characterized by being large‑bodied and surrounded by satellites. Classic type: Santa Claus, surrounded by his elves. The exalted body type on the expressive axis.

Karma: An emotionally intense experience which causes a sense of imbalance in the participants. When karma is "created" it must be "paid back," either in the same lifetime or during another, so that balance can be restored and lessons learned.

King: One of the seven roles essence can choose to use for an entire circle of experience. The exalted role on the action axis. Kings lead and master life.

Kundalini Energy: A surge of creative energy that connects the three centers for higher energy in the body—the second, sixth and seventh chakras.

Lao Tsu: A manifestation of the infinite soul who taught using mental-plane energy, emphasizing lessons about having intellectual contact with the Tao, an intellectual perception of the whole.

Lessons: The motivating force of the universe is the desire to know itself. Thus, each fragment or essence works on lessons or gaining knowledge on the physical and every other plane of existence in the circle of experience.

Levels of Soul Perception: (See Soul Levels.)

Life Plan: The general outline of karmas, agreements, monads, lessons, and life tasks essence plans to accomplish during a specific lifetime. The life plan of each personality is on file in the Akashic Record. This plan is only a general outline of intention and may be altered at any time. Thus, each individual has free will.

Life Task: A major lesson essence wants to complete during a lifetime. One of the main purposes of a lifetime.

Love: One of the three elements of the universe. Everything there is to feel about everything there is in the universe (energy) once you know everything there is to know (truth).

Lunar Body Type: The body type which emphasizes the pancreas and lymphatic system. Characterized by being moon‑faced and round. Classic type: Betty Boop. The ordinal body type on the inspirational axis.

Male Energy: (See Focused Energy.)

Manifest (i.e., soul level): To show up or act in the world as. For example, personality manifests a certain level of soul perception on the physical plane by acting from that perspective.

Marriage Agreement: A plan to possibly marry made between two essences prior to a lifetime. Since it is an agreement and not karma, it may or may not happen.

Martial Body Type: The body type which emphasizes the adrenal glands. Characterized by unusual coloring (e.g., red hair and ruddiness) and aggressive energy. Classic type: Popeye. The exalted body type on the action axis.

Martyrdom: One of the seven obstacles essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal feature on the action axis. Feeling victimized. Fear of being out of control of your life.

Mature Soul: The fourth of the five ages of soul perception experienced on the physical plane. Mature souls begin to see their connectedness to others as the illusion of the physical plane loosens its hold. They are concerned with opening to emotional issues and working with groups of people.

Maya: Operating under an illusion that you are operating correctly. Self‑deception. Each soul age has a particular maya associated with it. The maya of the old soul, for example, is that she has achieved enlightenment and is, therefore, detached from the karmas of the physical plane.

Medium: (See Channel.)

Mental Plane: One of the seven planes of existence. On the mental plane, essence has a direct intellectual contact with the Tao. Lessons concern intellectual perception of the whole.

Mercurial Body Type: The body type which emphasizes the thyroid gland. Characterized by being slender and quick‑moving. Classic type: the Greek god, Hermes. The ordinal body type on the expressive axis.

Messianic Plane: One of the seven planes of existence. On the messianic plane, essence has a direct emotional connection with the Tao. Lessons concern the experience of total agape towards other beings.

Mode: One of the overleaves essence chooses when it takes a physical-plane body. The primary way of acting. It is the means by which the essence accomplishes its goal. The seven modes are reserve, passion, caution, power, perseverance, assertion, and observation.

Monad: A relationship between two essences that is experienced fully in both directions around a specific issue. Monads are usually played out over several lifetimes before the lesson is complete.

Moving Center: The energy focus in the body which governs movement you learn after you are born.

Negative Pole: Each of the qualities of essence (role, frequency, and energy balance) and personality (overleaves) can be polarized in a positive or negative way. The negative pole is the use of these qualities which facilitates karma and furthers the illusion of separateness.

Neptune Body Type/Influence: One of the three secondary body influences. Governed by the hypothalamus. Dreamy and unworldly.

Neutral: Taking no stance. Holding the space, observing what is happening, making no judgment. Taking neither a positive nor a negative stance.

Observation: One of the seven modes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The assimilative mode. After seeing clearly, observation slides to one of the other modes in order to act. Looking before you leap.

 

Obstacle: One of the overleaves essence chooses when it is in a physical-plane body. The primary stumbling block or difficulty in the personality. The seven obstacles (chief negative features) are self‑deprecation, arrogance, self‑sabotage, greed, martyrdom, impatience, and stubbornness.

Old Soul: The fifth of the five ages of soul perception experienced on the physical plane. Old souls put their attention on spiritual growth and begin to gradually detach from the physical plane. Old souls are concerned with the perception of the greater whole of which we are all part, teaching what they know to others and learning the ultimate lesson of agape.

Ordinal: Dealing with life on a more one‑on‑one level. Quieter and more withdrawn.

Overleaves: The elements of personality which essence chooses each lifetime which overlay, mask, or modify its essential nature (i.e., the role, frequency, energy balance, and particular past experiences). These elements are goal, mode, attitude, obstacle, and centering. Although body type is not an overleaf, it has a similar, if somewhat lesser, effect on essence.

Parallel Universe: Universes which co‑exist in the same space but in different space/time continuum than this one and which are subject to the same laws. A new parallel universe spins off at each major decision point of each individual's life. (Each year of the average lifetime contains only about four or five of these decision points.) Thus all the possibilities of each personality may be played out. There are billions of parallel universes existing at the same time, but all are part of the Tao. Parallel universes not only diverge, but also occasionally merge back together into a unified parallel.

Parts of Centers: Each center breaks down into three different parts: intellectual, emotional, and moving—what you think, feel, and do about each center. This allows an individual to choose her centering—the part of the center to which she moves most easily.

Passion: One of the seven modes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted mode on the inspirational axis. Living life with energy and enthusiasm. Leaping before looking.

Past Lives: The personalities and experiences that essence has accumulated prior to the present life. The lessons and experiences of past lives are part of essence and are recorded in the instinctive center. Thus there is a certain thread of continuity from life to life, even though one personality does not have direct and easy access to the qualities and accomplishments of a former one.

Pentangle: A group of five. This grouping has an exciting and unusual energy but is also very unstable. The five positions in the group are love, knowledge, power, compassion, and eccentric.

Perception: Using the positive pole of the emotional center to reach the truth. This is often faster and more accurate than using the intellectual center, since the intellectual center contains the belief system, which tends to color your view of the truth.

Perseverance One of the seven modes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal mode on the action axis. Persisting and enduring to reach the goal. Working through life step by step.

Personality: The combination of overleaves and imprinting which essence uses to play the game of life. Essence's tool on the physical plane.

Pheromones: Smells perceived on a subconscious level which determine your instinctive reaction to others. Your pheromones broadcast your karmas, agreements, and challenges for the life.

Physical Plane: One of the seven planes of existence. On the physical plane, essence maintains the illusion of separateness and energy moves slowly enough to be solid. We are experiencing life presently on the physical plane.

Planes of Existence: Essence moves though lessons on seven planes of existence—the physical plane, the astral plane, the causal plane, the akashic record, the mental plane, the messianic plane, and the buddhaic plane—as it moves through a circle of experience and back to the Tao.

Pluto Body Type/Influence: One of the three secondary body influences. Governed by the pineal gland. A severe and cerebral quality.

Pole: Each of the qualities of essence and personality can be polarized in a positive or negative way. The ability to choose between these two poles makes the game of the physical plane worth playing since the outcome cannot be predetermined. (See Positive Pole, Negative Pole.)

Positive Pole: Each of the qualities of essence and personality can be polarized in a positive or negative way. The positive pole is the use of the qualities which help life flow most smoothly, feel the best (physically, mentally, and emotionally) and connect the personality to others and the greater whole.

Power: One of the seven modes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted mode on the expressive axis. Living life from being in authority and in control.

Pragmatist: One of the seven attitudes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The assimilative attitude. A practical, organized attitude which views life from how it "must be" and forms rules and structures around logical presumptions.

Priest: One of the seven roles essence can choose to use for an entire cycle of experience. The exalted role on the inspirational axis. Priests inspire, compassionately guide, and goad others to spiritual advancement.

Quadrant: A group of four. This group works the best for getting projects done. The four positions are love, knowledge, power and compassion.

Realist: One of the seven attitudes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted attitude on the action axis. Seeing life as it is either objectively or from one's partial (therefore subjective) point of view.

Reserve: One of the seven modes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal mode on the inspirational axis. Acting in a reserved, refined, restrained, or civilized manner.

Re‑evaluation: One of the seven goals essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal goal on the inspirational axis. Limits the scope of life to one or two major issues.

Role: Primary being-ness or basic characteristic of essence. In this universe, essence chooses one of the following seven roles from which to experience its lessons when it undertakes a cycle of experience: server, priest, artisan, sage, warrior, king, or scholar.

Sage: One of the seven roles essence can choose to use for an entire circle of experience. The exalted role on the expressive axis. Sages express, entertain and disseminate information.

Saturn Body Type: The body type which emphasizes the anterior pituitary gland. Characterized by prominent bone structure, patience, and reliability. Classic type: Uncle Sam, Abraham Lincoln. The exalted body type on the inspirational axis.

Scholar: One of the seven roles essence can choose to use for an entire circle of experience. The assimilative role. Scholars study and assimilate knowledge.

Self‑agape: Love, forgiveness, and tolerance for oneself. Learning self‑agape is the first step on the path to agape.

Self‑deprecation: One of the seven obstacles essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal feature on the inspirational axis. Fear of inadequacy. Not feeling worthy to have what one wants in life.

Self‑karma: An intense challenge essence provides for personality to work on during a lifetime, e.g., a weight problem, poor health, or an inability to have good relationships. Others can be included in the scenario of a self‑karma, but they will not be involved.

 

Self‑sabotage: One of the seven obstacles essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal feature on the expressive axis. Fear of worthlessness. Feeling too unworthy to exist and, therefore, taking action which could  lead to the end of one's existence.

Self‑validation: Verification of lessons or truths for one's own self. No lesson can be learned without self‑verification or validation.

Sentient Race: A species that has developed the capacity to use the intellectual part of the intellectual center, i.e., they can think about their ability to think.

Separateness: The illusion of the physical plane that each essence is individual and disconnected instead of a small part of the greater whole.

Septant: A group of seven. This group rarely forms, but when it does, it works on projects which benefit mankind on a large scale. The seven positions correspond roughly to the seven roles: love/sage; knowledge/scholar; power/warrior; compassion/server, eccentric/artisan; integrator/king; and goad/priest.

Server: One of the seven roles essence can choose to use for an entire circle of experience. The ordinal role on the inspirational axis. Servers nurture and care for others and inspire individual love and affection.

Seven Year Cycles: Essence reaches a new stage of lessons every seven years on the physical plane. These cycles correspond generally to changes in the physical body.

Sextant: A group of six. After quadrants, sextants are the next most stable working group. They work on large scale projects, e.g., as the board of directors of a large corporation. The six positions are love, knowledge, power, compassion, eccentric, and integrator.

Sexual Karma: The most obvious and intense type of karma. Two people are obsessively drawn into intense sexual desire for each other, irrespective of mutual interests or admiration. "Falling in love," in its most popularized form.

Skeptic: One of the seven attitudes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal attitude on the expressive axis. Seeing what "might not be" in life. Believing life should be doubted, questioned, and investigated.

Sliding: Using the overleaf on the opposite end of the axis or, in the case of an assimilative overleaf, using one of the other six overleaves.

Solar Body Type: The body type which emphasizes the thymus gland. Characterized by child‑like appearance and frailty. Classic type: Peter Pan. The assimilative body type.

Solid: The quality of being stable, organized, and what is considered to be average and normal. Forming a basis for things that need structure. Connected to the mainstream of the cosmos.

Soul: That part of each individual which continues from life to life; essence.

Soul Levels: Essence's position on the cycle of experience. There are five soul levels or levels of soul perception experienced on the physical plane (as well as two other levels beyond the physical cycle) and seven steps within each level. (See Soul Perception.)

Soul Perception: The amount of essence's experience which personality accesses. At each level of soul perception, essence gains a wider perspective of the whole. Generally we refer to soul perception or soul levels on the physical plane. The levels of soul perception experienced on the physical plane are infant, baby, young, mature, and old.

Stoic: One of the seven attitudes essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The ordinal attitude on the inspirational axis. The point of view that you can deal with whatever life hands you.

Stubbornness: One of the seven obstacles essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The assimilative feature. Fear of new situations. Putting on the brakes to slow down growth.

Support Circle: Essence tends to gather specific other essences for help or support during lifetimes on the physical plane in 12 basic positions: love, knowledge, compassion, mentor, beauty, child, humor, discipline, anchor, healer, enlightenment, and muse. Receiving support is an advanced lesson on the physical plane, so the support circle usually does not coalesce until the mature cycle. Eventually essence gathers a primary and several secondary support circles.

Tao /pronounced "dow"/: The infinite soul. The total consciousness of the universe. The whole of which we are a part. In Western philosophy, the Tao is thought of as "God."

Task Companion: A compatible, productive relationship with another essence with whom you perform tasks or work on lessons. Everyone has at least one task companion.

Transcendental Soul: A representative member of a recombined entity who takes on a physical body in order to teach. Transcendental souls are not always self‑aware, although they do stand out because of their teaching mission and their orientation towards group consciousness. Mahatma Gandhi, John the Baptist, and St. Francis of Assisi were all transcendental souls.

Trap: Using your centering inappropriately or becoming unable to move to the third center in order to resolve an issue or lesson. (See Centering, Parts of Centers.)

Triad: A group of three. This group is best for working on karma and lessons. The three positions of a triad are affirming, denying, and neutral. These positions can be held by three people, two people and an issue, or one person and two sides of an issue.

True Sexuality: Complete combining of two or more essences in thought, feeling, and being. True sexuality is a lesson of the astral plane and is not fully experienced on the physical plane.

Truth: One of the three elements of the universe. All there is to know about everything there is in the universe (energy). Corresponds to the causal and mental planes.

Universe: a highly structured living organism whose goal is the accumulation of new experiences that aim toward growth and self-knowledge. The physical and finite manifestation of the Tao. Hypothetically, other universes exist that obey different laws than those described by the Michael Teaching.

Uranus Body Type/Influence: One of the three secondary body influences. Governed by the gonads. Unusual and inventive.

 

Venusian Body Type: The body type which emphasizes the parathyroids. Characterized by being full‑bodied, voluptuous, warm, and loving. Classic type: Boticelli's Venus. The ordinal body type on the action axis.

 

Visionary: One of the seven attitudes Essence can choose to use for a lifetime. The exalted attitude on the inspirational axis. Seeing the higher possibilities in life. Looking at what "could be" in life.

Warrior: One of the seven roles essence can choose to use for an entire circle of experience. The ordinal role on the action axis. Warriors take action and organize life.

Young Soul: The third of the five ages of soul perception experienced on the physical plane. Young souls are oriented towards success and fame or reputation. They see themselves as the ultimate authority. This soul age is the most enmeshed in the illusion of the physical plane.