There was talk of the personality, and the fact that we must have it for a reason and why not live with it — or words to that effect.
THERE COMES A POINT, BELIEVE US, WHEN YOU TIRE OF THE EXPERIENCE [of justifying the ego's needs]. THE FALLACY IN YOUR INTERPRETATION OF THE [Werner] ERHARD TRAINING IS IN YOUR STUBBORN INSISTENCE THAT YOU LOVE YOUR MISERY. WE DO NOT HEAR THE MAN WERNER SAYING THIS. IT IS POSSIBLE TO ENDURE AN UNPLEASANT SITUATION WITH GRACE, BUT THE GOAL IS TO STEP FROM IT AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, NOT STAY THERE AND GRIND YOUR MOLARS.
THE MAN ROBERT HEINLEIN HIT UPON AN ACCIDENTAL TRUTH IN HIS EPIC. (Stranger in a Strange Land, no doubt.) HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THIS TRUTH, BUT WAS ABLE TO WRITE ABOUT IT: YOU APPREHEND THE SITUATION FULLY, LOVE IT AS A PART OF THE UNIVERSAL FLOW, AND THEN YOU LET IT GO — AND BY LETTING GO WE MEAN DOWN TO THE LAST VESTIGE: NO RESENTMENT, NO REGRETS. IF IT IS DONE IN PERSONALITY, THEN IT CANNOT BE IMPORTANT ON THE ESSENCE LEVEL.
THERE ARE IN LIFE STRUGGLES, AND TRUE GOALS [of essence] AND FALSE GOALS [of ego], AND WHEN YOUR WILL IS CENTERED UPON ACHIEVING A FALSE GOAL, THEN YOU ARE AT ODDS WITH THE FLOW, AND YOUR ESSENCE WILL FIGHT THIS, AND THIS IS WHERE THE [internal] DISCOMFORT COMES IN. EVEN STEPS ARE USED BY SOME AS GOALS SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY ARE UNABLE TO REASONABLY DEFINE A GOAL FOR THEMSELVES — FOR INSTANCE, LET US DISCUSS THE PHYSICIAN’S ROLE IN YOUR WORLD. IF THE GOAL IS TO HEAL, THEN THE ESSENCE WILL BE AT PEACE, OR EVEN IF THE GOAL IS TO TEACH. BUT IF THE GOAL IS OBSCURED BY PARENTAL IDEALS OR THE NEED TO PLEASE OR THE NEED TO GET AHEAD IN LIFE, THEN THE PERSONALITY IS IN CHARGE, AND THE ESSENCE IS RESTLESS AND UNSATISFIED. THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE PHYSICIAN SHOULD NOT ACHIEVE AND EVEN MAKE A COMFORTABLE LIFE FOR HIMSELF. IT SIMPLY SAYS THAT THIS [materialism] IS NOT A GOAL THAT IS SATISFYING TO THE SOUL.
SOURCE: Michael Teachings Transcripts