Glossary - Michael teachings

Michael Teachings Glossary
Topics: A to Z

BY SHEPHERD HOODWIN & Site Editors

Here's a collection of all the Michael teachings terms, listed from A - Z.
Scroll down the page to find the topic you're interested in, then click on
the corresponding link for more information.

Abrading overleaves: Overleaves that tend to clash, especially in their negative poles, either internally or with other people.

Acceptance: One of the seven goals. Its positive pole is agape, or unconditional love, which is also the highest goal in general for all sentient consciousness; its negative pole is ingratiation. It is used for lifetimes emphasizing love and tolerance. It is one of the most frequently used goals. Read more about acceptance.

Action axis: One of the four axes, or universal qualities, upon which the roles and overleaves lie. The action axis relates to doing in the outer world.

Agape: A state of unconditional love for everything. This is considered the ultimate goal of all sentient evolution. (Usually pronounced ah-guh-pay.)

Aggression: One of the seven modes. Its positive pole is dynamism; its negative pole is belligerence. In aggression mode, one releases one's energy vigorously.

Agreement: A plan made between two souls, usually before incarnating, to work together on the physical plane in a particular way. There are many kinds of agreements, including to help one another in a variety of ways or to have a particular kind of relationship, such as that of mate or parent/child.

Akashic plane: The central, neutral plane of creation that interconnects the other six. The distilled knowledge of the universe is recorded there.

Akashic records: The records generated of everything that happens in the universe as it occurs. The appearance is that all matter and energy have a sort of built-in digital recording device, storing its entire history in a photographic code, but the records are actually windows into the past. The records show events exactly as they were experienced, so the information in them begins raw-it is not clarified, understood, and assimilated until a consciousness takes responsibility for doing so. Once it is fully assimilated, it is stored on the akashic plane.

Arrogance: One of the seven chief features, or stumbling blocks. Its positive pole is pride; its negative pole is vanity. It is a fear of being judged. Read more about arrogance.

Artisan: One of the seven essence roles. Its positive pole is creation; its negative pole is artifice or self-deception. Artisans seek originality.

Assimilation axis: One of the four axes, or universal qualities, upon which the roles and overleaves lie. The assimilation axis is neutral; it provides objectivity and a resource for the other axes.

Astral plane: The second plane of creation. Its medium is concrete emotional energy. It is where our consciousness is focused between lifetimes and when we're finished with the physical plane.

Attitude: One of the overleaves. The attitude is a person's primary slant on life. The seven attitudes are stoic, spiritualist, skeptic, idealist, cynic, realist, and pragmatist.

Aura: A band of etheric substance surrounding our physical body that reflects our seven levels of self. It consists of seven layers of middle-physical plane substance vibrating a little more quickly than the physical body itself.

Baby soul: Someone in the second of the five main physical-plane soul ages, which emphasizes lessons about working with the structure of civilization.

Body type: Physical and psychological traits resulting from the influence of the celestial bodies upon a person's physical body. Everyone has a primary body type, and from one to three secondary body-type influences. The seven main body types are lunar, saturnian, jovial, mercurial, venusian, martial, and solar. A person can also have neptunian, uranian, and plutonian influences.

Buddhaic plane: The highest plane of creation. Its medium is pure or abstract kinetic energy. We experience the buddhaic plane just before fully refocusing our awareness in the Tao. The infinite soul who incarnated as Buddha taught from this plane.

Cadence: A permanent grouping of seven essences. A primary cadence consists of seven essences of the same role; it is the smallest "building block" of the entity. An essence's numerical position within his cadence, and his cadence's position within his greater cadence, significantly influence how he directs his energies. (See also "Greater Cadences" and "Casting.")

Cadre: A unit consisting of seven entities. (See also "Entity.")

Cardinal: Relating to the large or general picture; catalytic. The positive pole is lucidity. The negative pole is activity. (See also "Ordinal.")

Casting: The Tao's expression into the dimensional universe, as in "fragments cast from the Tao," and the order of it, as in "first-cast warrior in the entity." A person's casting is his position within his entity (see "Entity"), or commonly, just his primary cadence position (see "Cadence").

Causal plane: The third plane of creation. Its medium is concrete intellectual energy. It is Michael's plane of existence.

Caution: The second most common of the seven modes. Its positive pole is deliberation; its negative pole is phobia. In caution mode, one releases one's energy carefully.

Center: One of the overleaves. Each person has seven centers: emotional, higher emotional, intellectual, higher intellectual, physical, moving, and instinctive. A person's primary center is the aspect of self from which he dominantly experiences life and responds to stimuli-either the emotional, intellectual, physical, or moving center (or rarely, the instinctive center). The part of center is where his secondary responses originate. The higher intellectual and higher emotional centers are rarely if ever dominant in most people's experience.

Channeling: The act of allowing an intelligence not in human form to express through oneself. (See Channeling.)

Chakra: An energy center in the body. There are seven main chakras.

Chief feature: One of the overleaves. The chief feature is a person's primary stumbling block, the focus of his fears and illusions. A person can also have a secondary chief feature. The seven chief features are self-deprecation, arrogance, self-destruction, greed, martyrdom, impatience, and stubbornness.

Cording: The act of establishing a cord of connection with another person that draws energy from him.

Cycle: (See "Grand cycle.")

Cycled off: Finished incarnating on the physical plane for this grand cycle.

Cynic: One of the seven attitudes. Its positive pole is contradiction; its negative pole is denigration. Cynics view the world in terms of what isn't, or of what won't work.

Devas: Nature spirits or "elementals" who take care of the earth "behind the scenes." They work with the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms, as well as with larger elements, such as the oceans, clouds, and mountains.

Discarnate: Not incarnate; not in a physical body.

Discrimination: One of the seven goals; called "rejection" in Yarbro. Its positive pole is sophistication; its negative pole is prejudice. It is used for lifetimes emphasizing critical faculties. It is one of the least frequently used goals. Read more about discrimination.

Dominance: One of the seven goals. Its positive pole is leadership; its negative pole is dictatorship. It is used for lifetimes that emphasize "winning" and helping others win. Read more about dominance.

Emotional center: One of the seven centers. Its positive pole is sensibility; its negative pole is sentimentality. (See "Center.")

Energy: The fundamental substance of everything in the universe. The nonphysical factors of our lives are energetic in nature. Energy is characterized by vibration and the impulse to move.

Entity: In this book, usually refers to a "spiritual family" of about one thousand souls. Michael is the name of one entity. Entity is also used as in "channeled entity," meaning a channeled consciousness of any kind, but generally a discarnate astral plane soul.

Essence: Soul, or "higher" self, in distinction to the outer personality, or "lower" self. It generally refers to all nonphysical levels of self, including the astral and causal selves, as well as those that resonate with the three highest planes, although it can be used to refer only to the latter. Read more about essence.

Essence contact: Occurs when the personality makes a direct connection with either its own essence or the essence of another person. Essence contact is necessary in order for spiritual growth to occur. It can be a powerful and life-changing experience, or relatively mild.

Essence mate: An essence who was your essence twin during a previous grand cycle.

Essence role: (See "Role.")

Essence twin: Also known as "twin soul" or "twin flame." Your essence twin is another essence you team up with in the beginning of a grand cycle to "reflect" yourself. It is the closest bond an essence can have. (See also "Grand cycle.")

Expression axis: One of the four axes, or universal qualities, upon which the roles and overleaves lie. The expression axis relates to bringing the inner world into the outer.

Extraterrestrial: A sentient soul based on a planet other than earth who is visiting earth either physically or astrally, usually in order to study it and/or to assist in the changes occurring here.

False personality: False ego; the part of self motivated by fear.

Flow: Called "stagnation" in Yarbro; also known as "relaxation" and "equilibrium." One of the seven goals. Its positive pole is suspension or free-flowing; its negative pole is inertia. It is used for lifetimes of rest or of learning to let go.

Four Pillars: Four essential activities in life that are required in order to realize health and happiness. They are: true work, true play, true study, and true rest.

Fragment: Individual essence, or soul. The term conveys that each of us is a fragment of the whole, and particularly, a fragment of our entity, with which we will recombine when we have completed all our lifetimes on the physical plane.

Frequency: Rate of vibration of the soul on a scale of one to one hundred. It gives the essence its "consistency." Slow frequencies feel more solid, medium frequencies feel more liquid, and fast frequencies feel more gaseous.

Goal: One of the overleaves. The goal is a person's primary motivator. The seven goals are reevaluation, growth, discrimination, acceptance, submission, dominance, and flow.

Grand cycle: A cycle of experience that begins when we are cast from the Tao. It includes our physical-plane incarnations and our subsequent progression through the higher planes. It is complete when we are fully reabsorbed back into the Tao. Read the article on grand cycles.

Greater cadence: A unit of seven primary cadences. (See "Cadence.")

Greed: One of the seven chief features, or stumbling blocks. Its positive pole is egotism; its negative pole is voracity. It is caused by a fear of not having enough of a particular thing, such as money, food, sex, or attention. Read more about greed.

Growth: One of the seven goals. Its positive pole is comprehension; its negative pole is confusion. It is used for lifetimes emphasizing learning new things. It is the most frequently used goal. People in growth seek stimulation.

Heartlink: A bond formed through life experience that does not end when the lifetime is completed.

Higher centers: The higher intellectual, higher emotional, and moving centers. These are inner pathways to truth, love, and pure energy, potently accessed most often during moments of great intensity, bringing transcendent, revelatory experiences. (See also "Center.")

Higher emotional center: (See "Higher centers" and "Center.")

Higher intellectual center: (See "Higher centers" and "Center.")

Idealist: One of the seven attitudes. Its positive pole is coalescence; its negative pole is abstraction. Idealists view the world in terms of how it could be changed for the better.

Impatience: One of the seven chief features, or stumbling blocks. Its positive pole is audacity; its negative pole is intolerance. It is a fear of missing out.

Imprinting: Conditioning by outer influences such as parents, education, or society in general.

Incarnate: Living in a physical body, as in incarnate soul.

Infant soul: Someone in the first of the five main physical-plane soul ages, which emphasizes lessons about survival. Read about Infant souls.

Infinite soul: An incarnate representative of a reunited cadre who brings the Tao to bear through one of the three high planes, e.g., Jesus, who manifested the infinite soul through the messianic plane during the last thirty days of his life. The infinite soul is a catalyst for the spiritual transformation of humanity.

Inputs: psychic receivers, or inputs that each role uses.

Inspiration axis: One of the four axes, or universal qualities, upon which the roles and overleaves lie. The inspiration axis relates to the inner world.

Instinctive center: One of the seven centers. Its positive pole is atomic; its negative pole is anatomic. (See "Center.")

Intellectual center: One of the seven centers. Its positive pole is thought; its negative pole is reason. (See "Center.")

Jovial: One of the seven primary body types. Its positive pole is grand; its negative pole is extravagant. Jovial types tend to be full-bodied, maternal, and extroverted.

Karma: A major violation of another person that limits his choices, resulting in a compelling debt. Read more about karma.

King: One of the seven essence roles. Kings seek mastery, which is its positive pole; its negative pole is tyranny.

Level: (See "Soul age level.")

Life plan: The overall blueprint for our life. We design our life plan before incarnating. It includes such things as our life task(s) and overleaves. It also includes agreements with other souls to be our guides, parents, or children; to complete monads or karmas with us; and to otherwise help them and be helped by them.

Life task: The "centerpiece" of our life plan; the most important thing we want to accomplish in a given lifetime. We can have more than one.

Lunar: One of the seven primary body types. Its positive pole is luminous, its negative pole is pallid. Lunar types tend to have pale skin, round faces, and "baby fat." They tend to be slow to react, and to excel at abstract thought.

Male/female energy ratio: The ratio between male (focused) and female (creative) energy in a particular essence. For example, an essence may have a male/female energy ratio of thirty-five/sixty-five-thirty-five percent male energy and sixty-five percent female energy. Male energy emphasizes doing; it moves into the outer world. Female energy emphasizes being; it moves inward.

Martial: One of the seven primary body types. Its positive pole is wiry; its negative pole is musclebound. Martial types tend to have reddish hair and skin, and muscled bodies. They tend to be feisty and active.

Martyrdom: One of the seven chief features, or stumbling blocks. Its positive pole is selflessness; its negative pole is mortification. It is caused by a fear of being unworthy.

Mature soul: Someone in the fourth of the five main physical-plane soul ages, which emphasizes lessons about relationships, emotions, and the inner world.

Maya: Fear-driven illusion or false belief, particularly on the essence level (as opposed to false personality). It is a Hindu term referring to the transitory, illusory appearance of the physical world that obscures the spiritual reality from which it originates.

Medium: A channel who specializes in communication with people who have died, as opposed to one who works with higher or more abstract sources.

Mental plane: The fifth plane of creation. Its medium is abstract intellectual energy, emphasizing truth. The infinite soul who incarnated as Lao-tzu taught from this plane.

Mercurial: One of the seven primary body types. Its positive pole is agile, its negative pole is frenetic. Mercurial types tend to have dark hair and eyes, and compact bodies. They tend to be energetic and good communicators.

Messianic plane: The sixth plane of creation. Its medium is abstract emotional energy, emphasizing love. The infinite soul who incarnated as Jesus taught from this plane.

Michael: A group of 1050 souls who individually completed a series of lifetimes on the physical plane and who now work together and teach from the causal plane, partly through channels. See Who is Michael.

Midlife monad: Midlife crisis; an approximately two-year period around the age of thirty-five (although it can occur anywhere from ages twenty-five to forty-five) in which our genuine role, overleaves, and life path emerge wherever they were obscured by what we were conditioned to be. Those who do not successfully complete the midlife monad tend to remain stuck in their restrictive imprinting.

Mode: One of the overleaves. The mode is a person's primary way of operating. The seven modes are reserve, passion, caution, power, perseverance, aggression, and observation.

Monad: An essential physical-plane experience. Read more. Also see agreements for a discussion about external monads.

Moving center: One of the seven centers. Its positive pole is enduring; its negative pole is energetic. (See "Center.")

Negative pole: (See "Poles.")

Nine Needs: Nine "universal" needs that we all experience in various orders of importance. They are: Security, Adventure, Freedom, Expansion, Power, Expression, Acceptance, Communion, and Exchange.

Observation: The most common of the seven modes. Its positive pole is clarity; its negative pole is surveillance. In observation mode, one releases one's energy neutrally.

Old soul: Someone in the fifth of the five main physical-plane soul ages, which emphasizes lessons about perspective.

Ordinal: Relating to the small or specific picture; receptive. The positive pole is responsiveness. The negative pole is passivity. (See also "Cardinal.")

Overleaves: Personality traits that "overlay" the essence. They are usually chosen before a lifetime begins in order to facilitate the purposes of that lifetime, and operate for that lifetime only. They include the goal, mode, attitude, center, and chief feature.

Parallel universe: An alternative reality similar to this one in which a person makes different critical choices, and goes in different directions as a result.

Passion: One of the seven modes. Its positive pole is self-actualization; its negative pole is identification. In passion mode, one releases one's energy boundlessly, downward and outward.

Perseverance: One of the seven modes. Its positive pole is persistence; its negative pole is immutability. In perseverance, one releases one's energy steadfastly.

Physical center: One of the seven centers. Its positive pole is amoral; its negative pole is erotic. (See "Center.")

Physical plane: The densest of the seven planes; where we presently reside.

Planes of creation: Physical, astral, causal, akashic, mental, messianic, and buddhaic. Just as there are seven colors in the rainbow and seven tones in a musical scale, each with a different vibratory rate, there are seven levels of being on the spectrum of creation. The slowest speed of vibration occurs on the physical plane; the highest, on the buddhaic plane. From the buddhaic plane, energy returns to its source, the Tao. Read more.

Poles: Two aspects of an energy. The positive pole is an energy's true or love-based manifestation. The negative pole is the distortion or constriction of that energy by fear.

Positive pole: (See "Poles.")

Power: One of the seven modes. Its positive pole is authority; its negative pole is oppression. In power mode, one releases one's energy strongly.

Pragmatist: One of the seven attitudes. Its positive pole is practicality; its negative pole is dogma. Pragmatists see the world in terms of what works best or most efficiently.

Previous cycle: A grand cycle completed by an individual spark before its present one on earth. (See "Grand cycle.")

Priest: One of the seven essence roles. Its positive pole is compassion; its negative pole is zeal. Priests seek the higher good.

Probabilities: The range of potential future events. At any given moment, a possible future event can be described as having a certain percentage probability, e.g., a thirty-seven percent probability. As people continue to exercise their free will and make choices, that percentage can change.

Quadrate: Also known as "quadrant." A configuration of four souls who work together over many lifetimes. The positions of a quadrate are love, knowledge, power, and support (or compassion). The first and third positions are strongest.

Realist: One of the seven attitudes. Its positive pole is perception; its negative pole is supposition. Realists view the world in terms of what is; they focus on a situation's objective facts.

Reevaluation: One of the seven goals; called "retardation" in Yarbro. Its positive pole is atavism or simplicity; its negative pole is withdrawal. It is used for lifetimes spent processing past experiences. It is the least frequently used goal. Read more about reevaluation.

Reincarnation: The idea that our soul lives multiple lifetimes, gaining experience through them.

Reincarnational self: A past-life, simultaneous, or potential-future self; another personality spawned by our essence.

Rejection: (See "Discrimination.")

Repression: (See "Reserve.")

Reserve: One of the seven modes; called "repression" in Yarbro. Its positive pole is restraint; its negative pole is inhibition. In reserve mode, one draws one's energy inward and upward, in a contained manner.

Retardation: (See "Reevaluation.")

Role: One of the seven types of essences: server, priest, artisan, sage, warrior, king, and scholar. Everyone has a particular role. It defines the individual's way of being or fundamental style, not his worldly position.

Sage: One of the seven essence roles. Its positive pole is expression; its negative pole is oration. Sages seek insight.

Saturnian: One of the seven primary body types. Its positive pole is rugged, its negative pole is gaunt. Saturnian types tend to have a prominent bone structure and be tall. Psychologically, they tend to be steady, enduring, and paternal.

Scholar: One of the seven essence roles. Scholars seek knowledge, which is their positive pole; their negative pole is theory.

Self-deprecation: One of the seven chief features, or stumbling blocks. Its positive pole is humility; its negative pole is abasement. It is a fear of being inadequate. Read more about self-deprecation.

Self-destruction: One of the seven chief features, or stumbling blocks. Its positive pole is sacrifice; its negative pole is immolation. It is a fear of losing control. Read more.

Self-Karma: A personal challenge essence gives to the personality.

Sentient: Self-aware, choice-making consciousness. Humans and cetaceans (dolphins and whales) are the two sentient species on earth.

Sextant: A configuration of six souls who work together over many lifetimes. The positions of a quadrate are love, knowledge, power, support (or compassion), eccentric, and integrator. The first and fourth positions are strongest.

Sexual Karma: An intense sexual desire for another person, despite a lack of commonalities.

Server: One of the seven essence roles; called "slave" in Yarbro. Its positive pole is service; its negative pole is bondage. Servers seek the common good.

Skeptic: One of the seven attitudes. Its positive pole is investigation; its negative pole is suspicion. Skeptics view the world with doubt.

Slave: (See "Server.")

Sliding: Temporarily moving to another overleaf. Neutral (assimilation axis) overleaves can slide to all others. Overleaves on the three other axes can slide only to their "partners" on the axis. For example, dominance can slide to submission, and vice versa.

Solar: One of the seven primary body types. Its positive pole is radiant, its negative pole is ethereal. Solar types tend to have slight, delicate bodies. They tend to be charismatic, childlike, and cheerful.

Soul age: The soul's stage of development relative to the physical plane. The five main physical-plane soul ages are infant, baby, young, mature, and old. (See also "Transcendental soul" and "Infinite soul.") Each soul age is divided into seven levels. (See "Soul age level.")

Soul age level: One of seven subdivisions of soul age, e.g., a person might be described as being "fifth-level young."

Spirit guide: Nonphysical souls who support our growth, help us complete our life tasks, and in general provide the spiritual assistance we need. Often we are spirit guides to others when we are not incarnate.

Spiritual path: A way of living that emphasizes the growth of conscious awareness, particularly relative to the expression of agape, or unconditional love. (See also "Agape.")

Spiritualist: One of the seven attitudes. Its positive pole is verification; its negative pole is faith. Spiritualists view the world in terms of its possibilities.

Stagnation: (See "Flow.")

Stoic: One of the seven attitudes. Its positive pole is tranquility; its negative pole is resignation. Stoics view the world with serenity, feeling that outer events aren't of primary importance.

Stubbornness: One of the seven chief features, or stumbling blocks. Its positive pole is determination; its negative pole is obstinacy. It is a fear of change. Read more about stubbornness.

Submission: One of the seven goals. Its positive pole is devotion; its negative pole is subservience. It is used for lifetimes that emphasize supporting a greater cause. Read more about submission.

Support circle: A configuration containing twelve positions that offer the various kinds of support that each individual needs. The positions are love, knowledge, compassion, mentor, beauty, child, humor, discipline, anchor, healer, enlightenment, and muse. There are particular souls who fill these various positions for us over many lifetimes, and others who "fill in" when the "regulars" aren't available. Receiving support from our support circle makes our journey through life easier.

Task companion: An essence you team up with in the beginning of a grand cycle (or during the infant soul cycle) to help you with each lifetime's life task, either by having the complement of your life task on the physical plane, or by being one of your spirit guides. It is the second-closest bond an essence can have, after that of essence twin. However, an essence twin relationship is inward-looking, whereas a task companion relationship is outward-looking.

Tao: The All That Is. It usually refers to the dimensionless ground of being rather than to its expression in the manifest universe's seven planes of creation (see "Planes of creation"). Michael normally uses Tao in place of the word God (depending on the beliefs of those listening) because "God" is usually personified as a judgmental and hierarchical male figure. They may also use the word "God" to signify the overall consciousness of the manifest universe. (Pronounced dow.)

Transcendental soul: The incarnation of a representative of a reunited entity, e.g., Gandhi. The transcendental soul is a catalyst for social transformation.

Venusian: One of the seven primary body types. Its positive pole is voluptuous; its negative pole is obese. Venusian types tend to have olive skin, dark hair, and rounded bodies. They tend to be sensuous, warm, and easygoing.

Warrior: One of the seven essence roles. Its positive pole is persuasion; its negative pole is coercion. Warriors seek challenge.

Young soul: Someone in the third of the five main physical-plane soul ages, which emphasizes lessons about worldly success.

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