The Nine Needs

By DAVID GREGG

(Michael Teachings) |

In the Michael teachings there are nine "universal" needs that act as unconscious motivators in our lives, inspiring us to evolve spiritually, and to seek out the lessons most appropriate for our growth.

The nine needs are: Security, Adventure, Freedom, Expansion, Power, Expression, Acceptance, Communion, and Exchange.

At first glance the needs may seem like a mere footnote in the teachings, but they can wield an enormous impact in our lives, instilling a remarkable sense of inner peace if satisfied. Indeed, an unrequited need feels like a hunger that no amount of food can touch, resulting in inexplicable feelings of sadness if not properly nourished.

Consequently, when our needs are met we're generally happy with the shape and focus of our lives, but when they're blocked, a cloud of discontentment darkens every corner of our existence. Needs are so influential that if they are consistently unmet we'll find ourselves trapped in a downward spiral of dissatisfaction and extreme frustration. Needs are a pervasive influence in your life and cannot not be ignored for long without consequences.

Every so often, though, not satisfying a need can be beneficial. Michael channel Jose Stevens says: "Sometimes the stress of not having your needs met results in personal growth, so it is not always a bad thing if your needs are not met. On occasion your essence deliberately thwarts a need so that you will be pushed to deal with a lesson."

Understanding Our Needs

While we experience all of the needs in certain degrees, three primary needs are usually selected at a young age and remain fairly consistent throughout a lifetime. In later years the needs become more important and are used to help us accomplish the life task. At this point the needs may slightly change in priority, thus charting a better course through life as the task progresses, helping to steer us away from too many obstacles.

Although there is some similarity to the overleaves, Needs are primarily about satisfying inner yearnings, where overleaves mainly focus on perspectives, or ways of reacting. Supportive alliances with the overleaves are commonly seen when, for example, a need of communion is paired with the emotional center, or passion mode with a need of expansion.

Needs that abrade with themselves or with other overleaves can lead to conflicts in the personality.

Relationships and Needs

It is important to understand that the fulfillment of needs are strictly the responsibility of the person who has them. A person will often expect their spouse, friend, or family member to help in this fulfillment, but needs are a reflection of the inner world, and are solely the responsibility of the individual. Attempting to impose the attainment of a need upon the actions of another person will only create resentment and discord.

Relationships can play an integral role in our needs. We tend to have more things in common with a person who shares one or two needs with us, and such commonalities can help forge a deeper connection with that person. The compatibility and long term sustainability of most relationships is indeed based on the needs that are shared. Typically, little connection is shared between those who have no needs in common. In fact, opposing needs often lay the groundwork for domestic strife and the formation of karmic relationships.

How Needs Manifest

Like the Overleaves, Needs can be expressed positively or negatively. They are also expressed indiscriminately, since a potentially destructive expression of a need is just as easy to manifest as a positive one.

There are seven levels of expression for each need. The greatest level of satisfaction is achieved when needs are expressed at their highest levels, preferably five through seven. The seven levels of expression for the need of Adventure, for example, are:

1) Destructive drama 2) Addictions/Adrenaline rush 3) Excitement of senses - drugs, sex 4) Stimulation of mind 5) Self Discovery 6) Essence contact 7) Enlightenment

Soul age plays a decisive role in our ability to manifest the higher levels of each need. To better illustrate, in the previously mentioned need of Adventure, an Infant soul might commit a random act of violence to fulfill the need; a Baby soul might trek into a rainforest and attempt to convert the local natives to a religion; a Young soul might attempt to conquer a nation; a Mature soul might seek a star-crossed lover; and an Old soul might explore the spiritually expanding merits of a philosophy, such as the Michael teachings.

Applying the Information

Carefully examine the following descriptions below and out of the nine needs listed, determine the three that resonate the strongest. Some people like to create a list and either group them from one to nine based on highest priority, or in tiers of three groups. Either way, the end result should be to identify the top three needs that play a meaningful role in your life, and then examine if they are being satisfied or fulfilled. If not, ask yourself how you can change that.

After deciding on your three primary needs, pay attention to the seven levels of each one. Can you see the levels of a particular need that you are currently manifesting in your life? The first three levels are the most destructive and fall under the domain of false personality, whereas levels five through seven are consciously aware manifestations and -- like the positive poles of the overleaves -- directly correlate with a stronger connection to essence and true personality. The fourth level acts as a bridge and is neutral.

Here' s my channeling from Michael that summarizes the benefits of the nine needs:

First and foremost, the nine needs are a useful spiritual development tool that can gauge the degree to which you bring essence into your life. When your needs are unconsciously driven, you are asleep at the wheel, aimlessly traveling from one unconscious desire to another -- and growing increasingly ravenous by a consumption of experiences that offer short-term gratification, but nothing more. Being consciously aware of the seven levels within a need-- and knowing the level that you most frequent -- is often all that is required to "wake up," so to speak, and elevate your needs to levels that are more spiritually nutritious. When you bring your full consciousness to any activity that you pursue, you immediately raise your degree of essence to levels that are more fulfilling and sustainable. It's about being awake.

Employing the services of an excellent Michael channel can be of assistance during this process, but if you are completely honest, your primary needs will begin to reveal themselves. Good luck!

 

The Nine Needs

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People with a need for Security are quite happy with the status quo. They don't like to rock the boat because this could lead to perilous situations, and these people never want their lives to be in jeopardy. With this need there is an overwhelming compulsion to feel safe at all times. All decisions in life will be based on such templates, which involves finding a sense of balance and trust in the knowledge that everything will be alright.

Related to the Instinctive center and the 1st chakra, Security focuses on the machinery of survival that's needed in life, ranging from having warm clothes to wear to getting a steady paycheck.

Similar to the Chief Feature of Stubbornness, people with a need of Security are wary of change. They can be obsessively cautious, will rarely take risks, and in their negative manifestations can become so indecisive and paralyzed by the fear of a new set of experiences that they're unable to function.

In everyday existence, people with a need of Security might be those friends you have who preach the virtues of getting a secure job with lots of benefits. Having a substantial amount of money in the bank and amassing as much life insurance as their monthly salary will allow are additional indicators. Of course, many people aspire to these same ideals, but security minded folks can almost become phobic in such ambitions.

People with a need of Security are forever researching and investigating their options, and they will never step into action, for instance, to take a new job, without the assurance that they have a "sure thing."

In the positive pole of Trust, people with Security are stable and grounded. Since they have built a secure foundation to stand on, they feel comfortable with the winds of life in their face, and will even takes risks when necessary.

In the negative pole of Fear, there's an irrational sense of apprehension and caution, and like Stubbornness, a refusal to move forward or confront life in any way. In extreme cases the person actually becomes too terrified to move.

How the Need of Security Affects the 1st Chakra

The 1st chakra governs basic survival issues and the will to live. An important task of this chakra is to learn to be fully present in the body. By staying in the positive pole of Security and avoiding fear-based reactions to events in life, the 1st chakra remains more balanced and healthy.

The negative pole of Security can affect the 1st chakra, resulting in problems like financial difficulties, addictions and compulsive behavior, sexual dysfunction, and intense fear.

Loss of grounding is a common issue, making life a constant struggle. People who are ungrounded can become victims of their own fears and lose the ability to manage their most basic needs. A total dependency on others is often an unfortunate outcome.

Finding an attainable goal can be the first step towards re-balancing the 1st chakra and the need of security. Simple acts like going for a walk or tending to the garden can be a simple catalyst in breaking negative patterns.

Positive affirmations to try are:

I am safe and protected.

I am loved.

I release all negativity from my life.

Michael's Comments On Security

Wanting to feel secure is an understandable need and one that ensures survival in a hostile environment. The need of Security is then one of the more practical desires an earth-bound creature can possess -- and all creatures share this need to a certain extent, not just sentient souls. The need is crucial, for example, in keeping infant souls safe in their first incarnations, and the need serves as a useful directive to older souls that have taken a devil-may-care approach to life, or to arrogantly emboldened warriors in battle that foolishly believe their might and brawn is somehow unstoppable. Thus, a need of Security serves a variety of purposes, but its chief concern is to keep a fragment safe. This may come under the jurisdiction of a lesson, a helpful reminder, or both.

The need of Security is also useful in forging deeper ties to those parts of self that rarely see the light of day -- meaning certain vulnerabilities we all hide within us, those raw nerves we've kept safe from the harshness of life. The need creates a comfort zone so these newly denuded parts can rise to the surface in the personality, revealing levels of expression that may have seemed impossible before. That said, these vulnerabilities should not suggest that fragments with this need are necessarily weak-kneed and easily frightened. Quite to the contrary, actually. A need of security, as we alluded earlier, can act as a useful damper to those who have been overly aggressive in past lives, and whom might benefit from shoring up their base before venturing out to battle.

The need of security can also have a beneficial grounding effect on fragments who have shown a distressing lack of deliberation in their choices. There are similarities here to the mode of Caution.

Lastly, a need of security is beneficial to those in close proximity to a fragment with this need, where a safe haven is provided for friends, family, and associates.

 

The Seven Levels Of Security

1) Blind Faith

2) False hope

3) Clinging to tradition

4) Security based on theory

5) Security based on reliable sources

6) Security based on experience/intuition

7) Trust in Tao

1) Blind Faith: Blind faith is a dogged determination, unwavering and unpersuadable, to fix all beliefs on a desired ideal, religious conviction, or any other system of thought. It doesn't allow the believer to accept any divergencies, no matter how useful, from the onject of their belief. Such fixed patterns effectively blind the see-er from adopting alternative views that might allow adaptability to challenging life situations. Blind faith is ultimately destructive because it eliminates individual choice, leading to an unrelenting allegiance to a stagnant lifetime, or worse, an inability to make life saving decisions. In such scenarios, blind faith is a sure path to self-destruction.

 

 

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"There is something about jumping a horse over a fence, something that makes you feel good. Perhaps it's the risk, the gamble. In any event it's a thing I need." -- William Faulkner

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." -- Helen Keller

Associated with the Goal of Growth, the need for Adventure drives people to seek various forms of stimulation. The pursuit of exciting new experiences and an inherent craving for any form of adrenaline rush are common components of this need.

People with a need for Adventure tend to be independent, optimistic, confident, and possess an exuberant zest for life. They love to take risks or meet challenges, and the sense of drama that normally accompanies such enterprises is enormously satisfying to them. In the negative pole, this flair for drama can be used inappropriately, leading to either the creation of crisis for effect, a reckless regard for life and limb, or a self-destructive pattern of compulsive disorders involving alcohol, drugs, sex, and excessive spending.

A need for Adventure is occasionally chosen when souls have fallen asleep at the wheel too many times in previous past lives. The need pokes and prods people to stay awake or to seek a higher degree of presence in their lifetime. Those who have become too attached to security will often choose a need of adventure in order to add excitement to what normally might be a safe but boring life. There is a push with this need to meet the world head on, and to explore agreements, engage the life task, and complete karma.

The thrill of discovery is tantamount with this need and occasionally an intoxication can develop from the sheer exhilaration of it all. This can be both fulfilling and exhausting, especially when the hunger for new experience becomes insatiable. At some point regarding certain experiences, the realization must be made that the "tank is running on empty" and there's nothing to gain from endless repetition.

Adventure can manifest in many different ways, from a love of traveling, to an entrepreneur starting a new company. Roller coasters enthusiasts, recreational drug users, fans of Indiana Jones movies, or readers of horror/sci-fi novels might all have a need for Adventure in common, as well as people who seem driven to frequently change jobs, spouses, or the places where they live. Falling madly in love with someone is one of the more pleasant expressions of this need

How the 2nd Chakra Affects the Need of Adventure

This chakra focuses on the emotional self and is driven in the pursuit of pleasurable experiences, both sensual and sexual. In short, the main goal is to enjoy life. This makes for a nice partnership with the need for Adventure.

On the positive side, this chakra/need combination leads to creative and resourceful people who live life fully and with gusto. In the negative, hedonistic behavior can take root. There can be great suffering in life and difficulty in letting go of negative attitudes. Examining the root causes of emotional distress can be the first step towards healing. Finding something that is enjoyed and doing it passionately can also help in dissipating negative energy. Exploring the four pillars, especially True Play, can be of enormous assistance here.

Helpful affirmations are:

Life feels great.

I love myself and I am loved by others.

I am supremely happy with the way my life is unfolding.

7 Levels of Adventure

1) Destructive drama 2) Glamour/Addictions/Adrenaline rush 3) Excitement of senses (drugs/sex) 4) Stimulation of mind/learning 5) Self/Inner discovery 6) Essence contact 7) Enlightenment/Presence

 

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Independence and spontaneity are the chief components of this need. The structural confinements of working 9-5, along with the commitments and deadlines often imposed in such lifestyles, are heavily frowned upon by people who seek this form of independence. People with a need for Freedom seek mobility and the luxury of having and making individual choices. The denial of these choices and the personal freedom that comes with them can create much unhappiness. In a nutshell, these people do not like to have rules imposed upon them.

In the positive pole of independence, these people are self-confident, responsible, and independent thinkers who possess a high self-esteem. In the negative pole they can literally run away from responsibility, avoid relationships, distance themselves from others, and painfully deprive themselves of achieving true intimacy. To corrupt the words of John Locke, they can truly become an island.

If you are in a relationship with someone who has this need, learn to give them breathing room. They may initially shy away from commitment, but if you grant them the carte blanche of free will and avoid rules and restrictions that fearfully try to bind their wandering spirit, they will love you for it and your relationship will prosper.

People who have their need for freedom minimized or obstructed will often feel tremendous anger and resentment, hurling themselves straight into their chief features. Conversely, an inappropriate use of freedom often results in the loss of latitude so desperately desired. Like anything, a sense of balance is required, especially when acting without compulsion.

Freedom comes in many guises, from the freedom to love to the freedom to create. Having the freedom to share personal truths is another manifestation, as well as the freedom to move through life with total autonomy. Since freedom has similarities with both the higher intellectual center and the 6th chakra, the keeping of a journal is not an unusual habit for those with this need. A common catharsis is a longing to express deep secrets and desires without fear of being judged by others.

The need for Freedom is about avoiding confinement, both physically and mentally, along with a desire for unfettered experience -- which makes this need very popular with Scholars. It should not be confused with the need for Adventure, which focuses on stimulation.

Humorously, people with this need might dream of having the word "choice" tattooed on their foreheads. They strongly desire to choose where to live, who to have relationships with, what belief systems to adopt, and anything else that involves the process of making personal decisions. The art of living in the moment is strongly embraced by those with this need, and these people long to express who they truly are without concern for societal norms or expectations. Freedom also paves the way toward more experience and growth, primarily because the life compass tries to chart a course around all obstacles that hinder experience.

How the Need of Freedom Affects the 6th Chakra

Related to the 6th chakra, the inner yearnings of this need can directly effect how this chakra functions. Needs are often chosen to better facilitate the life task, and the chakras most necessary for this task are usually taken into consideration when selecting the needs. It appears that both the need and the chakra work hand in hand.

A person with a need for freedom is often interested (perhaps on a subconscious level) in balancing their mental faculties with a focused left brain and an open right. Enhanced levels of discernment and wisdom occurs with this balance, and a greater understanding of both the inner and outer worlds can result.

An interest in this need/chakra connection sometimes stems from a previous lifetime where the individual was either too reliant on their intellectual capacities and theorized habitually (a problem for many Scholars), or was overly dependent on their right brain and recklessly lived life in the moment with little regard for the future. A need for freedom stimulates the 6th chakra in a way that brings these issues forward to be worked on.

In order to better fulfill this need you might ask yourself questions like:

-- What is confining me in life?
-- What takes up most of my energy?
-- Am I working harder than I should? Is there a sense of balance?
-- Am I doing what I love? Am I allowing my potential to fully blossom?
-- Am I intellectually stagnated? Am I allowing my intuition full reign in order to balance both sides of my brain?
-- Do I suppress my feelings?
-- Do I see the bigger picture?

An unfulfilled need of freedom often manifests in headaches, confusion, irritability, and a propensity towards intellectual coldness without insight. Ways of balancing this need include:

-- Visiting friends or family and making warm, heartfelt social connections.
-- Exercising more.
-- Meditation.
-- Reading mind-expanding books or exploring art.
-- Listening to music that satisfies on both an intellectual and emotional level.
-- Taking spontaneous trips or vacations.
-- Working freelance and avoiding jobs with too many rules.
-- Trusting intuitive insights and learning to allow both thoughts and feelings to govern decisions.

if you're predominantly left-brained, the following exercise will be useful:

Take a blank piece of paper and force yourself to write the first thing that comes into your mind without editing the results. This exercise should continue for three minutes, and the goal is to write as quickly as possible, non-stop, without a care about how disjointed or erratic the thoughts may seem. Just keep writing. By turning off the internal editor (left brain) it allows the right brain to gain more dominance. Getting a feel for what it's like to use the right brain is the first step towards using it more often. It's also an important step towards realizing more personal freedom, both on an intellectual and emotional level.

By freeing your mind you liberate your life.

Summary

A positive manifestation of the freedom need produces insightful, imaginative, and intuitive people who are a source of inspiration to others. If they can stay balanced and not fall prey to the seductive dance of illusion, real transcendence can occur here.

7 Levels of Freedom

1) Destructive irresponsibility 2) Aimless/Unfocused 3) Released/unshackled 4) Mental liberation 5) Emotional liberation 6) Choosing freely 7) Realization of unlimited potential

 

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This need is popular with those who are determined to push themselves in all endeavors. People with this need really see the big picture and they're forever looking towards the future. The focus is on growth and expansion, with a continuous desire to either create something new or build on something old. Depending on soul age and individual goals, this can manifest anywhere from creating vast real estate empires, amassing enormous wealth, building an art collection, or advancing science. Plumbing the depths of spiritual wisdom, for example, can be another expression of this need and something perhaps pursued by an older soul. In short, people with this need will try to expand themselves on all levels.

In the positive pole there's a strong desire to make a difference in the world, and to bring recognition to other people or advance awareness about important cultural movements or far-reaching societal concerns. Art, music, literature, science, and even spirituality, are all noble endeavors that a person in expansion might want to champion. This need is virtually limitless in its scope and motivates people to strive towards the attainment of true wisdom and authenticity.

In the negative pole, expansion can result in compulsive greed and false pride. The person becomes so convinced of their superiority in all things that they lose their sense of reality and spiritually slide back to where they started. There's also a tendency to become confused by the complexity they have created and petty judgments often arise. Obesity is another distorted manifestation of this need, along with quirky obsessions to hoard things or various forms of indiscriminate growth, such as cancer.

7 Levels of Expansion

1. cancer 2. indiscriminate growth/accumulation 3. sprawl 4. stretch of ideas 5. emotional expansion/ growth 6. expansion of spirit/awareness/transformation 7. total awareness/prosperity.

 

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People with a primary need for Power seem driven to be in a position of influence. They enjoy being in charge, or "calling the shots," and desire to be figures of authority in any area they choose to master. There's an impetus to place themselves in situations where they can exude confidence, and a strong sense of responsibility is learned from that.

People with this need tend to be good organizers; they're self
disciplined and they usually set a good example of leadership that others can follow. While this need often involves an exploration of leadership in one form or another, the need can also be fulfilled by association with others who are in a position of power, or by helping people empower themselves.

Being blinded by personal agendas is a common pitfall of this need, and a sense of detachment is necessary in order to manifest what is most desired in life. Indeed, the creation of personal reality is a chief lesson here.

Not surprisingly, the art of diplomacy is actively studied by those with this need, requiring the development of patience and tolerance of other people and learning to accept their individual points of view. Not succumbing to the debauchery of power is yet another lesson, one where moderation in all things is learned and self-indulgence and excess is avoided. This is a common old soul focus.

In the positive pole, the attainment of Power is used for the greater good and true equality is shared. There's also the ability to work with others in a positive way and the art of diplomacy is in full vigor.

In the negative pole, issues of control becomes an obsession, often to the point of tyrannical behavior. Anger and manipulative behavior can result, along with explosive emotional outbursts and abuse.

How the 3rd Chakra Affects the Need of Power

This chakra governs personal power, the things we stand for in life, and learning to choose wisely.

7 Levels of Power

1) Crush Opposition 2) Oppress Self & Others 3) Control Self & Others 4) Guide/Influence Self & Others 5) Erase Personal Energy Leaks/Self Discipline 6) Spiritual Practices to Build Power 7) Personal Authority/Spiritual Power

 

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People with this need are happiest when opportunities to express creativity are given full reign. There is a desire to realize the full potential of their creative gifts, whether through the use of words, speech, art, music, or dancing. Indeed, true artistry can be realized with this need.

On the other hand, sometimes expression will exceed the boundaries of good taste, and like some Sages in the negative pole, the individual creation will be crafted more for its shock value than anything else.

In the positive pole, individual creativity is used for the benefit of self and others. Expression releases the inner sanctuaries of people, and this helps them achieve a greater understanding of both themselves and the world. In short, it shows who we are and allows the expression of any talent, whatever that may be.

In the negative pole, a self-centered attitude prevails, and individual expression is thoughtlessly thrust into the space of others. Temper tantrums and moodiness can dominate, along with a childish insistence on having things go one way. Various forms of lying and deception can also find expression here. In worse case scenarios, self-destruction can occur in a final act of expression that destroys the self.

7 Levels of Expression

1) Total Destruction 2) Destructive Acts 3) Infamy/Shock Others 4) Work Projects 5) Entertain 6) Artistic Self Expression 7) Renaissance Person - Full Use of Creativity

 

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Accentuating a fundamental desire shared by most humans, the need for acceptance involves the acceptance of self and others. How we judge humanity is a quintessential lesson we must eventually learn before cycling off, and this need exemplifies that by encouraging tolerance for all who walk the earth.

With this need there is a deep desire to be loved, accepted, and to mirror this back to others, whether its through intimate relationships, family bonding, lifetime friendships, or close connections in a community.

Relaxed, well-mannered, and quick to offer a friendly word if it will make someone feel good, people with this need are generally affable souls who are comfortable to be around. Like the goal of Flow, they accept what life brings them without much fuss, and are usually willing to forgive any transgressions taken against them.

Although true for most people, having a significant other as a safe haven is vitally important to those with this need. Without this intimate connection there will be considerably less happiness and a feeling of being lost or disconnected from the world.

In the positive pole this need encourages close bonding, romantic connections, and an open acceptance of people, despite obvious disparities. Over time, levels of altruism and total agape may eventually be reached.

In the negative pole, flattery or ingratiation will be used to gain favor by deliberate effort, such as the use of a phony smile or the courtesy laugh. Further, there can be an outright rejection of others and value judgments about everything. Prejudices concerning groups, lifestyles, or customs are all too common.

There can also be a tendency to lie. Indeed, lying usually stems from a fear of not being loved or accepted, and it's used in hopes of avoiding that pain. Sadly, lies are insidious in their seductiveness and can become an addictive response to all unpleasant situations. The problem for people with a need of acceptance is when they resort to dishonesty they not only contradict themselves and damage their own self-worth, but they rob others of the ability to choose and make decisions not erroneously based on falsified information. This undermines the dignity and autonomy of the person being lied to because their choices might have been different if they had known the truth. Much self-karma can come from lying.

7 Levels of Acceptance

1. Ingratiation 2. Pleasing 3. Toleration 4. Conditional Acceptance 5. Matter-of-fact ok-ness 6. Love 7. Agape.

 

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People with this need tend to be tribal and family oriented. They are highly social and will use just about any excuse to justify gathering a group of people together. In short, they do not like to be alone.

In the positive pole, these people are happiest when they are sharing with others, both emotionally and mentally. Physically, there is almost always an open invitation from them to come share their world in one capacity or another. Not surprisingly, people with this need make great hosts, and excel when they are given the responsibility of organizing community events, parties, or other social functions. They also seem to have an natural affinity for working with children.

There are many layers to this need, ranging from feelings of devotion to a higher being, to a need to be with a tribe or greater community, such as other Michael students. Associations with family members and true friends represents another layer, along with a deep desire for intimacy.

Regardless of role, there is an obvious talent for socializing here and an apparent ease in making good impressions on others. Friends or family members who are less outgoing can quickly feel overwhelmed by these gregarious, social butterflies, who endlessly try to thrust them into encounters with other people.

In the negative pole, there can be a desperate neediness that drives others away. This sort of behavior can lead to increasing levels of shallowness and indiscriminatingly approving of and accepting the company of anyone just to avoid being alone. In the most negative extremes, this can sometimes manifest in criminal behavior in order to attract attention.

7 Levels of Communion

1) Indiscriminate contact 2) Desperate neediness 3) Fraternizing 4) Socializing 5) Mutual closeness/warmth 6) Intimacy/communion 7) Unity

 

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The need for exchange is about the sharing of information and knowledge, especially with those who are interested in reciprocity. This need is not about mere chit-chat or social banter, but instead focuses on something of value. Using many guises, this form of exchange finds expression through activities like teaching, meaningful discussions, energetic connections with friends, the giving of gifts, intimate expressions of love, and so forth. There is an interest in truth and integrity with this need, and this often guides the method of exchange.

This need expresses itself through skin contact, expenditures of time, and social interaction. With skin contact there's generosity involving physical touch and the expression that can give. With time, the old expression of spending "quality time" with someone comes into play. With social interaction, there's an open flow of communication and general receptivity to others. All of the forms of exchange are important to this need.

In the positive pole, people with this need can be a valuable source of knowledge to others, producing both great teachers and students. There is a wonderful openness in all forms of communication here, and an interest in working with others to achieve a common goal. Exchange in general is a vital means of expression that all humans need in order to stay balanced and connected.

In the negative pole, there's inappropriate communication, such as slander and gossip. There can be an unwillingness to exchange information and an urge to keep it a secret. Negativity and cynicism can predominate here, as well as the use of information against others or simply lying and deceiving.

7 Levels of Exchange

1. slander/war 2. gossip 3. idle chatter 4. trade/barter 5. mutual profit (win-win) 6. understanding 7. teaching/learning.

Back to The Michael Teachings

About David Gregg

David is the webmaster of MichaelTeachings.com and also moderates the Michael teachings discussion list at Yahoogroups. He has been a Michael student since 1996 and began channeling as a tool for spiritual enrichment. He is also a professional musician and plays the saxophone, clarinet, and flute, with a lifetime love for jazz and classical music. He enjoys literature and book collecting, and writes short stories in his spare time.

He occasionally writes reviews and profiles of jazz musicians at his jazz blog, Jazz Reader.

 

 

 

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