Recognizing the self is a long and arduous journey – one that requires stamina, humor, and tremendous desire backed by commitment and will. Once the self has been recognized the Teacher will draw forth example through words or visual pictures, memories. The student that is desirous of learning rapidly will pay heed to all that is drawn forth unexpectedly within the mind’s arena. Those experiences that may have been particularly painful or shameful need be brought from the perimeter, so to say, for the mind has learned to move it rapidly outside of the arena – that which garners the full attention of the self.

Once this memory has been brought back into the arena of the mind and full attention placed upon it, the self can begin to understand the experience by looking at the lessons that have been most recently presented. It could be a memory provided by the Teacher that informs the self of the start of behaviors that resulted in future lesson, or it could be merely a typical example of the self’s behavior that has been unrecognized, until just recently. It is the Teacher’s duty to provide the student with testing to determine if the lesson has been learned and if behaviors will be employed due to stimulus response, due to the automatic response or due to negative energies belonging to the field of the lesson that is currently being presented.

The individual that is reviewing the self’s past must first draw forth the feeling, all feelings that were experienced by the self within the relationship with the other. It is to recognize that those emotions that are negative – anger, bitterness, resentment – are those that need be addressed, for these are corrosive, damaging to the individual that provides them with safe harbor. Once the individual has looked at those negative emotions and determined the lessons that were intended to be learned by the self, the self must then review the lessons with another, to allow the other to question the self, to provide as honest an answer as the self can provide. Recognizing that the lesson plan will have colored the words utilized if the relationship has been well-discussed, it shall also have flavored, changed the experience somewhat – either to be more positive or more negative than that which was truly experienced. Observing the self within the relationship, drawing forth the lesson plan, seeing the activity of lesson failure in the self, viewing the faults, the behaviors of the other, to determine how the self’s lesson plan was activated; if possible, determining the lesson for the other, for this will inform the self of the service provided by the other for the self.

Once the negative emotions have been surveyed, it is important to then survey the positive emotions to determine if the rose-colored glasses were being employed, or if truth, reality was being experienced. It is rare that the individual tied to the lesson plan is capable of seeing the self within relationship honestly, clearly, without shading. It is through this exercise that the self becomes more clear to the self; in particular, the self who surveys the relationships of the self and begins to see that the self responded similarly time after time after time – both positively and negatively. It is also important to note the lessons that were presented by the other for the self, for these too are often similar in nature; the same type of individual is sought so that the lesson may be learned.

The survey of the self when reviewing the past is often quite difficult to accomplish honestly, without the assistance of another, for the self has viewed the relationship of the self with others in a manner that is consistent with the self’s lesson plan; to see or not to see – to see the faults of the other, not to see the faults of the self.

Sol: How do we know which relationships are the ones that we need to put through this process that you just described?

All those individuals that come to the mind my brother are being brought forth by the Teacher for reasons specific; they may be related to each other and they may not. Be assured, lesson resides within that has yet to be recognized by the self. This is why I suggest assistance, for often the self is unable to see that which has been concealed from the self for many years, often decades.

To understand the nature of learning one must focus the attention upon the self of the past, the self of the present and to begin to visualize the self of the future. Failure to do so results in lesson failure for unless the self sees the self of the past in the self of the present, the self of the future shall continue forth unimpeded. Learning the lesson means total integration of that which has been presented to the self; this means that challenge is presented – no thought, no care, nor concern is afforded to the challenge – the self immediately responds lovingly, of the light, dispelling negativity that may have been brought forth in order to test the self, allowing negativity to remain if the lesson is being provided to another.

The student believes that the self is learning once the lesson plan is recognized; in reality, emotion is what is recognized – the response of the self, that which has been automatic for many, many years – potentially many, many lifetimes – those responses that are supplied by the field belonging to the lesson plans of the self. Recognizing that the self need be patient, need expand the view beyond the self, to welcome others that the self finds annoying, irritating, frustrating – those that the self judges frequently – to welcome them to spend more time in the self’s presence; for it is in this way that the self sees the self – all those things that irritate, frustrate, anger and potentially cause sorrow within the self are things that reside within the self awaiting recognition, awaiting resolution.

The typical student isolates the self, particularly from those situations where irritation, frustration, anger or sorrow could be experienced and begins to tune out those individuals that annoy, irritate, frustrate or anger the self; it excludes the self from all situations that may challenge the self. The self stops drinking and smoking and the self stops placing the self in situations with others who drink, with others who smoke. It is telling the self, “I need more time. I cannot challenge myself at this time…I am not strong enough,” only to find that many months may pass, oftentimes years, and once the self begins to expose the self to these situations, the self finds that the self is still too weak to be challenged. It is to challenge the self early on; to provide the self with as much challenge as possible while the self’s resolve is strong, while the desire within is unimpeachable, while the self easily and readily casts aside all that which says that the self may not make it, that the self may fail. Recognizing the task – to learn – is multi-phased; it is awareness, identification, followed by recognition, followed by choice – to retain or to change. The choice of the self informs the Teacher of that which need be learned in future; all choice made by the self is honored by the Teacher. The Teacher is, in fact, delighted that the student is now choosing.

The student that fails to pay heed to the memories provided, that is unwilling to examine the self’s behavior – to seek clarity on the behavior of the other to make certain that the self’s memory has not been skewed due to lesson failure – it is this student that will fail to understand the lessons that have now been learned. The Teacher must wait for the student to recognize that the self’s behavior has indeed shifted. The self recognizes the lesson failures of the past; the self realizes that the behaviors have been absent for some time. The reason for the shift in behavior is brought forth and discussed with others. The self takes steps to aid another who is witnessed exhibiting the same behaviors that previously belonged to the self. It is all these actions that inform the Teacher that the student has indeed learned the lesson sufficiently to enable release of energies that lie within - energies that are utilized to call forth lesson once again in future, whether in this or subsequent lifetimes.

Release of energies then frees the student to respond without the pulse of energies being activated, freeing the student’s energies to accomplish the sharing, openhearted sharing, with another that causes the other to decide that maybe it is now time for the self to change as well. The presence of negative energies is sensed unconsciously by the other. The will that is utilized by the individual who is attempting to aid another can override these energies; however, they may never be overcome completely for the energy match has been made and is felt within the other. This means that negativity has been activated within the other. The ego has determined that suspicion is necessary, “The other is saying one thing but another is being sensed. The other is attempting to control. The other is attempting to change me…I feel it…I sense it.” It is merely the presence of negative energies – these energies are utilized by each individual’s Teacher to draw to the self those who have similar lesson. One who proselytizes will naturally draw another who proselytizes to the self; it is that individual that will feel that another is attempting to change them, that the other is attempting to control them, that the other is attempting to make them be something or someone that they do not wish to be.

It is the rare student that recognizes the teacher that is also student and that overrides the response of the self’s own ego to disregard that which is being proffered.

To understand the reason why teachers upon this planet have marginal success is to understand this lesson. To recognize that the majority of teachers are also student - student of the self, for the self remains unknown.