Introduction
Ever the ones to disclaim authority, Q’uo provide in this session their best effort at articulating the proper balance between respecting free will and exercising power over others on the service-to-others path. They paint an evolutionary portrait of the role of stewardship that incrementally assembles a complex and precarious web of cultural responsibilities, societal norms, psychological repressions, and codical strictures adhering to its rightful exercise, none of which much limits the potential for abuse, distortion, confusion, or unintended side effects. The one saving grace of the positive steward seems to lie in the guidance discovered within, involving a continual reckoning with one’s own blockages and desires that unearths a hard-won humility found in the balancing of the self and the experience of authority enacted both by and upon the self. The goal of all stewardship is to free other selves, achieving the harmony that allows for full expression of mind/body/spirit complexes without need for outer governance; yet a reliable recipe to effect this harmony appears to evade those of Q’uo.
Group Question
Given the central role of free will, what is the nature of positive stewardship in third density?
Channeled Message
(Steve channeling)
I am Q’uo, and I greet you in the love and in the light of the One Infinite Creator. It is our great pleasure to be with you this day, that we may join our energies with a group who is dwelling for the nonce within the third density of this planetary influence; a density which, we might add, is indeed central to the way the planet, the solar system, the galaxy, and indeed, to the extent that we may speak of such things, the cosmos itself is evolving.
We, like you, are but a small portion of this vast universe, which is in its innermost being oriented towards growth. We reach out to you as stewards of a kind in the way that we address your concern which, in honesty and earnestness, you address to us. May we say to begin with that we do not wish to be regarded as authorities in any way whatsoever. We may choose which of our words resonate with you, and if any do so resonate, we rejoice with you. But we would ask that any of our words that do not resonate with you, you simply set aside, for they are not useful to you at this moment.
Perhaps the best way to think of the service that we have to offer at this time is that which may be given by one who is a little further along a path, looking over the shoulder and calling out little observations that might prove serviceable to those coming along behind, while recognizing that there is always the possibility that the path itself shall be so transformed, in the meantime, that by the time that the follower gets to the point that the leader now occupies, circumstances will be so different that the usefulness of the given report will be minimal, indeed. And thus it is with great humility we approach the question you ask today about the proper role of stewardship when addressing another whose free will must be considered as paramount.
So we would begin by saying that there are various degrees of responsibility one may feel towards other selves. And that in some cases the circumstances of the incarnation are such that one cannot in an ethical sense avoid the responsibility that one has for another self. This is particularly evident when it comes to other selves which find themselves within the charge of, let us say, parents. For an infant surely is unable to care for itself, and it is surely the responsibility for the parent of that infant to see to it that its needs are met.
Some needs are so obvious as to be beyond question: the need for the nurturing, providing the foodstuffs, the need for shelter, safety, and indeed the need for a certain quite substantial amount of direction in giving to the fledgling self the focus and the information necessary for navigating a world which can be quite complex and which is not without danger at many, many turns. And therefore, the responsibility that the parents have for the child extends quite far in relation to the well-being of that child, even into areas concerning the child’s conduct, and we would say that, with respect to these latter areas, free will is already becoming an issue. A parent would seem to need to direct the free will of the child up to a very considerable point, and it is not for the parent ever an easy question of the extent to which that direction needs to be maintained as the child begins to mature and come into its own powers of exercising its free will.
Now we will tell you there is no template that we can offer to satisfy this question, and that to a large extent there is a template provided by the social complex that embraces both parent and child. And the parent does well to not only be aware of that social complex and the expectations that it carries, but also to convey that awareness to the child, so that both child and parent together are aware that there are restraints to free will required as a necessary condition of participating in the larger social complex. And indeed, once the child enters what you call your school, a good portion of the responsibility for instilling the values and expectations of the social complex into the child is handed over to an institution which then begins to take upon itself the training, if you will, of the child, and as you know this process continues up until the point the child begins to test the limits of the prohibitions that are in place. And it is a constant source of tension within any social complex when the individuals that make it up wish to go beyond the limits that have become standardized as norms. And so at the edges, shall we say, of the reach of social complex authority, there are always unresolved issues that go to make up the respect in which the social complex itself must evolve to accommodate the free will expression of its citizens.
Now it also happens that, beyond the realm of authority exercised by parents, there are authorities invested throughout the social complex and exercised in a great variety of ways which require of the individuals in whom this investment is made some degree of responsibility for the conduct of other selves. In some cases, a system of rewards is used, and in other cases, a system of punishments are in place.
Now, it is always tempting for individuals who are endowed with authority to follow to a “T” the rules governing that authority, for by doing so it would seem that the position of authority is properly preserved, properly manifested in the social complex, and the one who bears this authority is safe in the exercise of it, for by remaining within the strictures given as definitive of the authority in question, the individual risks nothing, because there is no exercise of free will on their part in this outreach of the authority. However, we would suggest that societies in which the regulations of social interaction are too strictly adhered to begin already to take at least a slightly negative turn, for what we might call the spirit of the regulation is very often lost in the letter of its application.
Now, as societies themselves begin to mature, there is often an increasing realization that its strictures do not adequately apply to specific situations. And one who occupies a position of authority does well to take cognizance of this point. And it becomes then a matter of the exercise of free will of the one endowed with authority to make application of the regulations of the society in such a manner as to use the best judgment for how these rules might be modified and perhaps even abrogated in a particular circumstance.
Now, the question is, what makes appropriate such modifications, and what guidelines might be in place to prevent arbitrariness in such a circumstance? And we would suggest to you that the best resource that the person in the position of authority has available is that inner guidance available to all, and we would suggest that the cultivation of this inner guidance, when it is cultivated in the direction of charity, compassion, and understanding in the sense of being able to accept the uniqueness of the circumstance presently in question, that these qualities and characteristics are the true virtues of authority well expressed, and it often means that the authority expressed is authority withheld to allow acceptance of that which might, in a strict sense, seem to be transgressive.
Now, because of the preeminence of the veil of consciousness, it is extremely difficult even approaching the impossible to be able to look with perfect clarity into the heart of another so as to comprehend the true motivations of another, and to see how perhaps a particular action fits into a larger life pattern. Much more complicated yet does it become when one resolves to take into account the life patterns that are in play among the people affected by a given action. And so a general set of recommendations governing all exercise of authority are truly beyond reach, and we would say that in a society which is far more advanced than the one you presently enjoy, there is little need for the exercise of authority in the way you mght understand it, for the free will disposition of all tends to be expressed in a manner which is far more harmonious and the intentions of all are ordained precisely to this harmony. That harmony does not obtain in your third density experience, and and indeed we would say that it is extremely rare in any third-density experience, and yet it is useful to contemplate as a value: not a value, we would add, that can be rendered into a program of action, but a value which might give subtle guidance to one who finds oneself in a position of stewardship in relation to others needing, therefore, to express some measure of authority, but being very shy of the possibility of overstepping the judicious use of that authority in such a way as to do more harm than good.
Now we sincerely feel that we have failed to give an adequate response to the question because we have taken that which seems to call out for a clear answer and done more to muddy the waters than to add clarity. But we would say that in matters such as the exercise of stewardship that has the potential to restrict the range of free will expression on the part of others, that the waters indeed are necessarily somewhat muddy.
We will take perhaps a further baby step in addressing this difficult question as we transfer the contact to the one known as Nithin. We are those of Q’uo.
(Nithin channeling)
We are Q’uo, and we are with this instrument.
The question of stewardship is one that at some level involves the acceptance or utilization of roles by the one who is the steward, and the one who is under stewardship, so to speak. We suggest the consideration of several concepts in examining how a positive entity may best exercise stewardship while respecting free will. Such considerations include the steward’s orientation to the exercise, and indeed the outcome of the use of its power, the difference in, shall we say for lack of a better word, spiritual maturity between the steward and the one receiving the fruits of the stewardship.
With respect to the orientation of the exercise of power of the steward, we humbly suggest the consideration of the examples of positive wanderers who have exercised stewardship. The one known as Abraham Lincoln is one such example, as is Martin Luther King Jr. In such a stewardship where the relationship is of a more yellow-ray nature that is the steward in relation to many individuals or groups of entities, it is important to be sensitive to the nature of the calling being put forth by those groups. It is also important to not be attached to the outcome of such work.
So in the exercise of stewardship it is not often a temporary or one-off interaction, for those on the positive path have a responsibility in that the exercise of their power be examined most judiciously prior to, during, and after the exercise. And if any imbalances or distortions or indeed unforeseen or unintended effects occur then that genuine consideration must be undertaken as to whether further action would be beneficial in lessening whatever distortion came about upon the initial exercise of power.
It is also important to note that the more senior, or shall we say the higher difference in seniority between the steward and those under stewardship, has a stronger amplification of the law of responsibility with respect to judicious exercise of the power and abilities of the steward. And thus it is indeed important to use all tools and all aspects available to the steward in order to ensure that the most minimally appropriate use of power occurs as to maintain and ensure the free will of those involved and to allow for the maximal amount of learning of those entities receiving the fruits of the stewardship.
We would also comment on the nature of individual stewardship: that is, stewardship in relation to one other entity is one that understandably occurs at a more, shall we say, orange ray level. But both yellow and orange ray interactions of this nature, if not done with care, can indeed lead to one being caught up in the cycle of karma until such imbalances that occurred in those relationships can be balanced and harmonized.
We would now leave this instrument and go to the one known as Jeremy. We are Q’uo.
(Jeremy channeling)
We are those of Q’uo and are with this instrument.
Our attention now turns to stewardship as an honestation of sorts—not simply understood as the conveyance of love and guidance to another, but rather as an evolutionary experience of that steward who experiences almost certainly the flip side of some condition that it recognizes from moments past within the confines of a given incarnation. Because care can be extended without such a holistic and concrete experience, it can detract one’s awareness from those duties of care one rather owes the self. And when it comes to the misalignments and pitfalls of the exercise of this power in this mode of protection and cultivation we must look to the relationship within, for my friends, you have nothing to offer to another that you have not learned to offer to the self.
Consequently, one who is attuned to the multi-faceted nature of relationship between self and other may recognize the role of the blockage in the steward, the vicarious experience of balancing that such roles often draw unto the self. And this is not wholly and completely to ill effect in either party. It is instead a recapitulation of the didactic nature of all relating. For a humble servant of one in a lesser condition of power offers many, many lessons. It beckons for balance that does not always become realized in one’s inner life.
We would direct your attention for a moment to those overextensions of power that will be observed regardless of polarity chosen. It is always a trial and error exercise to determine how a self and an other self should divvy up, shall we say, the responsibility, for it is not true in any sense, my friends, that in a relating—even one in which a power differential is evinced—that responsibility is ever truly and wholly one-sided, even in the infant. It is simply that the reciprocation of responsibility is more automatic and a subject of less self-conscious reflection. For otherwise there would be no way, my friends, to see oneself in another; there would be no way to hold any object towards which the pair may travel other than the future blossoming of another self that one can relate to.
Therefore, one must learn over time how to steward the self so that one not only shepherds another but sets an example to the other, and this dynamic goes further than the obvious parent-child relationship. There are countless examples of power differentials and they all will point to a kind of conception of what the self is, with the exercise of power as a by-product of sorts. This means that one has in the stewardship relationship that aspires towards the service-to-others polarity a great potential for humbling oneself. This is quite to be celebrated, though it may at first appear to diminish the standing of the empowered one, and this counter-intuitive experience is what we are attempting to convey to you.
Power bursts out of confinement, my friends; it begs for the projection, for the completion of the circuit, and it is the work of many lifetimes to fashion a crystalline will that can create a harmony between one’s emanating consciousness and the effects that consciousness provides. In your situations where you encounter a concern for another that seems to ask for action from you, you have in that the first glimmer of the calling that power, accrued and emplaced in a mind/body/spirit complex at a given point in time and location in space, demands as an opportunity for reflection. And the first experience one has when one recognizes the haphazard effects of undisciplined exercise of power is in the resonance of that neglected responsibility within, a responsibility neglected not out of selfishness or lack of intelligence or mere laziness but, once again my friends, as a foundational experience of third density.
One learns to invoke the patience that reflects the character of evolution. And in this one finds a freedom: a freedom to grow, a freedom to let the past missteps be, and to balance one’s expectation of fruition in the exercise of power with the freedom of the power’s recipient. Setting other selves free: this is the ideal exercise of power, and the ideal is so murky to recognize in this illusion, for you are not responsible for the conditions in which the norms and traditions codify your duties. And to focus solely on those outward duties is to abdicate one’s responsibility to not simply resonate with the crystal of the social complex, but the crystal of the self, the mind/body/spirit complex resonating with each phenomenon that one encounters.
This is not learned intellectually, my friends, and we find that the emphasis on the intellect in the exercise of power leads to many imbalances: the abusive imbalance, the imbalance of excessive ideology, or psychological objectification of another. The way to work with this is actually quite straight ahead, and it bespeaks the primacy of meditation in our messages: simple reflection, the inward advance of the focus of attention, so that one may develop that resonance within the self that helps one see through the mists of illusion to the freedom always latent in potential that the other offers you and your Creator. So we commend you to your task of learning through the heartache of domination, of submission, of confusion: those basic lessons that bring you and the other self you seek to steward into a mutual co-creatorship.
We will now transfer this contact, with thanks to all in the circle, back to the instrument known as Steve. I am Q’uo.
(Steve channeling)
I am Q’uo, and I am again with this instrument.
My friends, we would at this time like to apologize to this group, for we feel that we have done but a poor job of addressing this question which has great importance in your nexus of experience, and yet which entails for us such great difficulty in framing an adequate response to the simple query of how authority might well be exercised. And we would say that our incapacity in this regard relates in a direct way to our own failure to penetrate in thought and in feeling to the depths of the manner in which your social energy complex is at this time evolving. You are a great mystery to us, and we feel that at this time that we would do best to conclude our remarks by confessing those ways in which this mystery announces itself to us.
Now we could say to begin with that the best exercise of guidance is that which takes the form of an invitation rather than a system of prohibitions. For we recognize that it is through a system of prohibitions that those upon your planet, in your plane, have learned to repress certain of their energies in an effort to be in compliance with their strictures, which are fairly definitive of the social complex. And we have spoken before, have we not, of the ways in which repressions seek to find outlets for the energies thus blocked, in many and sundry distorted ways, even to the point that the distortions in question come to define the patterns of restriction in the first place, there being therefore a feedback loop that yields a convoluted energy matrix that each within the social energy complex draws upon in the root of his being, and thereby embraces within itself a very confused energy configuration.
As we gaze upon this confusion and ask ourselves how we might be of service in extending an invitation to you, we find that it is necessary for us to maintain a distance in which there is but an attenuated outreach, or an attenuated draw, expressed as the invitation. For it is not within the realm of our capacity to enter directly into this confused matrix without risking both our own harmony and such harmonies as may be arising within the complex which you enjoy. We have faith, my friends, that these harmonies are indeed in the process of creatively forming, and that they will, in the fullness of time, come to be the exaltation of this experiment in individuation and in the agglomeration of individuals we have called the social complex that is characteristic of this creation in this place, at this time. We do have this faith, and we would like to share with you that faith and our conviction that all will be well, even though we ourselves experience the sorrow and the pain of energies which have long lain repressed and which struggle in their birthing to manifestation to overcome millennia of difficult attempts to overstep the intrusions of dark authority.
It is but little help, perhaps, to learn that we sorrow with you, but maybe it is a little help to learn that there are those such as we who make this effort. For if nothing else, we would like to say that it, for us and hopefully for you, reinforces your sense of your infinite worth. We do recognize that the query you have posed us is a central one for your experience and that attendant to it are great confusions, many of which we share.
And with this act of sharing, we would at this time bring to a conclusion our response to the primary query, asking whether we may be of additional help with regard to a further query which remains on the minds of any and all here present. We are Q’uo.
(No positive responses)
That being the case, at this moment we will take our leave of this instrument and this group, thanking each for the effort made to lift the eyes in the act of seeking, which is after all so fundamental to the nature of incarnate being. We leave you in the love and in the light of the Infinite Creator. Adonai, my friends, Adonai.