Julie: So, I ask that I be guided in this session that we create together, even though I’m doing the channeling, the actual channeling. The deeper nature of it is created by all of us being together. I ask that I be clear, receive the information and transmit it with clarity and love. And I ask that the work be blessed.

   Micciah: So, we greet you dear friends and we are most pleased to be with you; to be invited to share your “time.” And just as you, we hope, learn from us; there are many entities who gather who have not ever had earth incarnations, who learn from you. The flow goes both ways. And you know, as they say in Tibetan Buddhism, “What you think of as empty space is filled with beings of all kinds existing…” (Now we run into language trouble) “on different plains, on different vibratory sequences.” Always, always. And always the nature spirits are with you, and the love of the animals.
    In some ways, in your culture, you have deprived yourselves of these great loves, the adoration of nature, which is reciprocal. Just as trees nurture each other, they nurture you as well. Not only literally, that is that the planet can’t exist without trees, but with all of the love of nature, of the animals, the wisdom. With the exception of those of you who have made a point of studying of it and those cultures where it is part of the culture. But western culture has impoverished itself in these areas. So, you are celebrating it and taking it back. The grace, the love, the appreciation. All of the heritages that have not been included in western thought.
    War. War. In the Hindu teachings, in the Veda… In the Gita, they say you can engage in righteous war, in righteous war. What is a righteous war? It is a war that is fought to protect the innocent. Not for greed, money, land, individual and group ego, but to protect the innocent. And there is a conversation: Arjuna goes into battle; is really not wanting to go into battle; is told, “It is better to die than to neglect what must be done.” At the same time the Hindu teachings and the Buddhist teachings treasure non-violence and peace.
    We would not say that this a war, the purpose, the launching of which was not to protect the innocent. It is a war initiated from greed, hatred. But then, Polly, as you were saying, there are the innocent. There are the innocent in the Ukraine. And the innocence of the soldiers who are fighting the war, the Russians, the Russians, many of whom, we assure you, did not want to be in this war.
    We have quoted the Dali Lama many times who says, “War does not create peace.” And in his most recent statements said, (Marilyn is the one who quoted this to me) that war is obsolete. And yet, what to do? How to protect the innocent ones? [shrugs]
    If everyone (you know as Joy said, we think last week, a quote, which we believe is from the 1970s.) “What would happen if someone gave a war and nobody came?” But the soldiers fighting under Putin’s regime did not have that option. The people in the Ukraine need to protect themselves, and many people have come to protect them. We don’t have a good answer.
    Until… So, we actually have a suggestion, which is the same suggestion we have made before. Where can you begin? You can begin with yourself. Since there really is no inner and no outer, so, smoke and mirrors. You begin with yourself and as you were doing, you have already been doing in class, you begin with the war within you. The warring factions that are internal. The parts of the self that hate other parts of the self. That is a war, and you suffer with it. You begin with where you are at war with other people. If not war, conflict.
    How to heal that? You begin so that you carry the presence of peace, authentically. Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Breathe in peace, breathe out peace, breathe in peace, breathe out peace.” The more people who do that, in other words, the more conscious people become, the more the level of greed and hatred begins to melt, is seen as something disabling. It is disabling. But it begins with each person. And then, goes on with groups of people like you and thousands of other people who meet in groups to support each other in this journey. “You will have peace in the world when you have peace in your hearts and not one minute sooner.”
    But to answer your real question, Polly, is, we think, how to resolve this very current issue. Keep working on yourself. Do whatever you can to contribute. Hold it in the light. Move into prayer. Ask guidance from nature, from the trees, from the animals. So then altogether it can have an effect like a wave that precipitates peace. We don’t know that it will in this particular case, but can, so that peace manifests. Not a very satisfactory immediate solution since that’s not going to happen tomorrow.
    So, what are we saying? You do everything you can to create peace within yourself, and with other beings, the people around you, friends, family, people you meet in the street. Every time you offer a greeting, say, “thank you,” are appreciative, it contributes. It contributes to the ultimate creation of peace.
    And you can ask for help, from the nature spirits, from grandmother and grandfather, from the animals’ wisdom. How do I go about this? Caught, now, in this dilemma, how do I proceed? And you don’t know what effect it has as more and more… Or, can have as more and more attend to that within themselves. It isn’t that it disappears and goes nowhere, it absolutely has an effect. Is it going to stop this war tomorrow? No.
    So, we will leave you with that with some suggestions and no immediate solution except to hold it in the light and work with the wars within, and bless the people you know, and thank the body, and everything, everything, everything you can enact that is about peace and connection.
    Might also… Here’s one no one will like. Look at your own greed. “No. We are not greedy. We are spiritual people. But the Buddha pointed out that all human beings are greedy. That would be a hot topic to pursue. Lovingly, look at it. “Oop, there it is. Whoop, there it is again.” [pats her own cheek] Lovingly.
    So, please, let us proceed with the questions.

   Jon: There’s one from Alaina: How to be in alignment with the highest purpose with all folks and how to give help with those who’ve lost their lives?

   Micciah: Well, we’re going to answer the second part first.
    So, you can in your own life, in your own meditations, specifically, take some “time” and focus on those people who are passing. They are not passing in the natural of things. Many of them passing in pain with fear. This is people who died and are still dying from disease, and of course, the people at war.
    So, holding them in the light, saying in your own meditations for all of those beings making this transition this way, “You go in safety. You go with your guardians, your teachers, your loved ones.” Attend to them, attend to them. They will feel it and know it. And we think you can add since there are so many people in the cultures involved who do not consciously believe that when you leave your body your consciousness goes on. Although perhaps, if you believe in heaven does your consciousness go on?

   Jon: They go on in heaven?

   Micciah: Hmm. They need to know that their consciousness goes on so that they are not frightened or are less frightened (Again, we are caught in the language, but...) of where they are. You are loved. You are cared for, you are embraced, you are met with love. As we have said before, people have very different experiences of passing depending on what they expect, what the believe. Ultimately, however, all the paths lead to the same door. Ultimately. But do, include them in your meditations.
    Sorry, repeat the first part of that question, would you?

   Jon: How to be in alignment with the highest purpose.

   Micciah: Ah! Yes. This is what we are talking about. And praise. Praising life itself in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of finding no good solution for the war right now except violence. Praising life in the face of it. Praising the goodness of life.
    And again, looking within yourself. So, in great part, many wars have been based on greed, religion. But the kind of religion that separates people, that makes people ‘other.’ We have talked about the inflexibility, the rigidity that appears in all orthodoxies. Orthodox religion, orthodox Freudian thought, orthodox organic eating. Orthodoxies create, or foster rigidity. So, wars that are fought in the name of religion, in the name of Spirit, but that separate people and punish people who are not in your religion, in your thinking; and this goes right down through history. And we look at it and it is terrible; it is terrible to observe. The primitive fear and hatred of the ‘other.’ Because the ‘other’ is different. So, this is the polar opposite of, “There is no ‘other.’” “There is no ‘other.’”
    So, focusing on unity; there is no ‘other.’ Addressing whatever pieces in you that perceive certain people as ‘other.’ It exists in so many religions and so many ways. When the earth… So, you are in alignment with people, the more you dissolve the judgment that makes you here and those people ‘other.’
    Jon and Julie were talking the other day about this and about the way it appears in various religions, particularly in orthodoxies. In the orthodox Judaism, if you marry outside your faith your family will sit shiva for you. That means you’re dead! That’s a ritual that is followed when someone dies. The Catholics talk about the one true church. We believe it is the Jehovah Witnesses who say there are only so many places in heaven. It’s hard to find a religion that doesn’t… That has piece of separateness. “You are separate from me.” “You are ‘other.’ You are not my tribe. You are dangerous.” “Maybe you will take something from me.”
    Yes, greed would be a wonderful thing to work with. Experiment with yourselves. To not only look at your greed, but as Arnold Mindell says, “Make it bigger! Make it bigger so you can dance with it.” We don’t mean act it out. We mean make it bigger within an exploration of yourself.
    And as we have said before, but we will say it again. Connection, in this time, connection. Stay connected to yourself, to your friends, to your family. Reach out when you hesitate to reach out. See if you can gently move past the hesitation and do it anyway. Connection.

   Jon: I’m going to jump to what I see as Lila’s question which is: Are we really in separate realities?

   Micciah: No.

   Jon: And there is only one of us.

   Micciah: No. You aren’t really in separate realities. You aren’t really… Even if we go out to (out, so to speak) to look at different realms, the veils between them are very thin. Just, most of you are not accustomed to having the veil penetrate, to penetrate it consciously. Ram Dass talks about his teacher, Baba, which is that he could see many, many realms simultaneously. Or, was aware of many, many realms simultaneously. No. Are you really in separate… Are you really separated ultimately? No.
    But, in this particular time, here in this culture, particularly? No, all over. The experience of separation has been very powerful. But no, it is an illusion.
    And remember to move. Bodies are made to move. So many people, especially during this time of the pandemic (although it is opening, opening out a bit) just sat in front of the computer. Couldn’t go to the gym. Maybe you had no place to walk. It was cold. You were worried about the virus. [dancing in her chair] Dance, move. Your body needs to move. And breathe as you move.
    And Gail, you had a question about what happens to you? What happens to someone when so many things fall away and it’s all very woo…? [rocking back and forth]
    So, you make your life (and this would apply in general) a living prayer to take you, to reshape you in the best possible ways, in the ways most in alignment with the deep core of love, which is Spirit, which is the essence of life.
    So, we have something else to say. It wasn’t in any of the questions. We want to go back to the idea of celebrating life, because it is difficult in the time of tragedy and such stress not to — this is the image [grabs her clothing and pulls forward and her other hand swoops forward] — slide into it. And have it overwhelm you. And probably you go in and out. But when you do, to kindly remind yourself to come back, come back, come back. Don’t be caught.
    It’s hard to explain. All of this is happening; and at the same time, I am praising life. Praise is such an important, such a powerful component. Praise. Blessing. Gratitude. It’s holding the paradox. So, here’s the war and the horror of it, and the pandemic, which is not over, and the various political miseries which are not over either. So, you know that. Slide into it, for some people, that becomes the reality. That’s the way the world is. That’s what’s happening and that’s the only thing that’s happening.
    But you are not in that group. So, you slide into it and then, you remember to praise because you know about that, and you can. There are many people who do not consciously know about that or know how to do it. And that contributes to peace and keeps you in alignment.
    So, again, who is ‘other’ to you? And remember, as Stephen Levine said, “If everyone did just this much…” [holding thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.] Because another place to fall into, [motions down.] “I’m just on small person. What difference does it make?” It makes a difference. It makes the difference.
    So, we share with you much love in this time. Hold, or keep giving vitality to the understanding and the experience that this is a healing time and that that will be known.
    And do whatever you can in the practical world. The woman that Julie is doing these radio spots (very interesting woman, the woman whose program is very interesting) and she was in contact with someone who said that animal carriers were needed for cats. The ones you can put on your shoulder like handbags, like tote bags. And this woman, Mariette, organized – she called the local animal shelter. She found out who to contact and she many of these carriers to be sent safely to the people in Ukraine who wanted to take their animals with them. You do what you can.
    We share with you so much love, so much love, so much love. And we bid you all a very good evening. (No. For Lila it is not evening.)