Author: AMSlogin

TOPICS: Some people hate that America has a black president – holding on to rugged individualism or admitting that no man is an island – when change is coming, some desperately hold on to the old – thinking that America needs to fight somebody – appointing a scapegoat – betraying the Spirit behind the founding fathers – the real problem is the power elite – no lone gunman – conspiracy theories also scapegoating – in reality everything is an expression of the collective consciousness – unfathomable hypocrisy of the Tea Party – true individualism only through Christhood – many people would commit violence, yet only a few act out the will of the many – a new generation of politicians who see beyond party politics – systemic problems created by seeking to force universe into a political system – the age of the superpowers is over – cooperation is the new superior power – scapegoating will create more violence –

Question: I have a question about the shooting of American congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. I mean, this is kind of eerie. I was reading Gautama Buddha’s last dictation in which he says:

You will also, however, see that there will be the need to question many of the institutions of society that have not been questioned, including whether democracy is truly functioning at its highest potential. Or whether there is a need to take it to a higher level, rather than thinking that the western democracies have achieved some level that cannot be transcended. This will especially be a challenge for the nation of the United States, which sees itself as the birthplace of modern democracy and thinks it is still the most advanced form of democracy in the world. An illusion that will be – and that needs to be – questioned in this coming year and the years to come. For indeed, America has falling far behind the original vision of the founding fathers and especially the vision of Saint Germain—who of course has not stood still since the founding of America and thus has an even greater vision today than what he could impart to the founding fathers back then.

And then just days later we had this horrific shooting, and it seems kind of prophetic, because it has caused at least some people in America to question the tone of the political debate and whether its harshness encourage this kind of extremism. So did the Masters know ahead of time what would happen mere days later? I also noticed that Saint Germain said the Tea party is not in tune with his Freedom Flame, and indeed Sarah Palin has gotten some flack for her part in making the political debate so harsh. Of course, both the party and Palin have denied this, and here is what Palin said today:

“Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state, not with those who listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectfully exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with those who proudly voted in the last election,”

So I guess my question is whether Saint Germain has any comments on this event and the influence it might have on the debate about the future of America and American democracy? And I would also like his thoughts on Sarah Palin and her potential to become president and also Gabrielle Giffords and what she represents.

Answer from ascended master Saint Germain through Kim Michaels: (January 12, 2011)

We obviously can predict what is likely to happen, although it is often difficult to predict when a particular individual will actually do what his mind has been contemplating. So it has for some time been obvious that the harsh and even hateful political rhetoric that started with the election of Barack Obama would at some point produce acts of violence. The simple fact is that racism is still alive and kicking in the United States, and there are truly people who absolutely hate the fact that America has a black president.

Yet since even they are aware that it is political suicide to say this openly, they have instead resorted to criticizing and working against everything President Obama does and everything the Democratic party stands for. These people will do just about anything to get Obama out of office as soon as possible, and they would truly rejoice – in the secrecy of their minds and closed-door meetings – if someone managed to assassinate the President. And then they would be the first to publicly portray it as the act of a crazed, lone gunman.

So this leads us to the statement by Sarah Palin: “Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not collectively with all the citizens of a state,” This remark truly shows what is the essential problem that the American people are facing right now. Will America continue to hold on to the “American dream” of rugged individualism, or will America acknowledge – as most of the rest of the world has already done – that as no man is an island, so no nation is an island?

Sarah Palin and the Tea Party in general (with some exceptions) stand for just about everything that needs to be transcended, if American politics is to be a chalice for golden age ideas. What is happening is simply this: The winds of change are blowing through America. As always, when change is becoming visible and when people sense the inevitability of change, there are those who will seek to desperately hold on to the old.

And so, they come up with a clearly dualistic view of life and formulate a political party, and then they think they are very clever and very righteous by portraying this dualistic view as true American patriotism and as carrying the spirit of the Founding Fathers—for after all, the Founding Fathers fought against the British. And so, these people think that America today also needs to fight somebody.

Thus, these people do what such people have always done. They appoint one or several minority groups as the scapegoats, and then they make the subtle claim that all of America’s problems are caused by these minority groups. So if only the citizen’s of this free nation use the freedoms given to them by the Founding Fathers in order to restrict the freedom of the scapegoats, then all of their problems will vanish.

Yet the freedoms that the Founding Fathers were inspired to write into the constitution were based on the principle that might is not right and that ALL people have rights that no other group of people should take away or violate. So while blatantly claiming to be true American patriots – and in most cases sincerely believing this – they are actually betraying the very Spirit behind the Founding Fathers, namely myself.

And, of course, unknowingly, they are simply playing right into the hands of the power elite, for obviously the real cause of problems in America is NOT democrats, black people, illegal aliens or liberals. The real cause is a combination of the power elite and the collective consciousness, where the power elite embodies and takes advantage of the imbalances that are flowing through the collective consciousness.

So the theory of the “lone gunman” needs to be put to rest as the power elite smokescreen that it is. Neither JFK, nor Martin Luther King nor Gabrielle Giffords were killed by lone gunmen. I am not hereby confirming any conspiracy theories—I am going where no conspiracy theories dare to go. For the conspiracy theories are also based on a dualistic world view, namely that we can isolate this small secret group who is the real cause of our problems. Yet the reality is that there are power elite groups and there are conspiracies, but they can exist only because there are so many things in the collective consciousness for which the majority of the people will not take responsibility.

The real cause of the assassinations of the Kennedys and King were the exact same kind of dualistic tensions that you see magnified by the Tea Party today. And it was precisely these kind of tensions that caused the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and will likely cause other such acts of violence in the next couple of years. The simple fact is that when there is an increase of scapegoating, there is created a strong current in the collective consciousness. This creates a drive to blame the scapegoat and the sense that it is justifiable to use certain means to “neutralize” the scapegoat.

Just look at the fact that both Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee have publicly called for Julian Assange to be executed or dealt with as a terrorist. To have politicians in the United States of America make such statements – and then still be in politics the day after – would make the Founding Fathers rotate in their graves—if they were still in their graves. It is simply a betrayal of everything the Constitution stands for, and it is an almost unfathomable hypocrisy to see this play out in public with hardly anyone lifting an eyebrow.

And the very fact that there was so little outcry shows exactly why the Tea Party has won support, and why there is such a strong undercurrent in the collective consciousness that it can indeed overpower certain individuals with weak minds.

So let us briefly talk about individualism. True individualism comes only when you attain a certain degree of Christhood. This allows you to rise above the currents in the mass consciousness, but it also raises you above the need for scapegoating. People who do not have personal Christhood can still seem like strong individuals, but their individualism is the selfishness of the ego. Such people resist the collective consciousness out of pure selfishness.

Yet then there are people who do not have a strong individualism but whose minds have become open to the mass consciousness due to an unwillingness to take responsibility. These are the people who are especially open to scapegoating—for it allows them to project responsibility away from themselves. There are many people in the general population who fall into this category, and they all have a responsibility for creating the current in the collective consciousness. Most of these people would – often without admitting it consciously – like to commit acts of violence against the scapegoats, but they still have enough fear to restrain themselves.

There are, however, individuals whose minds have become so unbalanced that they do not have such restraints. So they become the flash-points for acting out what many would like to do, but do not dare to do. Thus, the myth of the individual gunman was created by the power elite to deflect responsibility away from themselves, and their conspiratorial acts to control society by eliminating those who threaten to overturn status quo. And it is believed by the public because they also do not want to take responsibility for themselves. So it is very convenient to place all responsibility on “the criminals who commit them” and say that acts of violence stand on their own.

To hear a person who might be running for president of the United States make such statements is truly a burden to my heart—especially when I see the people either accept or ignore it. Do you really think a person who is so eager to project responsibility away from herself and her part in making the political rhetoric so hateful, is fit to hold the “most powerful political office?” If she ever was elected – which I consider highly unlikely, given that there are many intelligent people in the Republican Party – you can be sure America would become embroiled in even more wars under the guise of eliminating some scapegoat or other.

Now for Gabrielle Giffords, who represents almost the polar opposite of Sarah Palin. Although she was elected as a democrat, she clearly holds many views that are traditionally held by republicans. Yet she is widely seen as a centrist, as are many other relatively young people running on both a republican or democratic platform. And it is precisely such people that have the potential to take America closer to the Golden Age, because they are at least beginning to open their minds to an inescapable reality of the new millennium: the era of party politics is over.

America and the world are facing such serious problems, that people no longer have the luxury of defining “solutions” based on a predefined party platform. It simply should not matter whether a problem is viewed through democratic or republican glasses. All that should matter is this:

• What are our universal core values, the very principles of rights upon which democracy is founded?
• What is right for the majority of the people and in the long term?
• What will actually work?

Only people with this mindset will be able to serve as the instruments for guiding America and the world through the coming decade—for only they will be open to receiving solutions from the Holy Spirit, solutions that cannot be defining based on a particular thought system or political ideology. For it is precisely the attempts to force the universe to fit into a particular mental box that has created the “systemic” problems that are beginning to be acknowledged. And thus, the very mindset and approach that created the problems will not be able to bring forth viable, long-term solutions to those problems. And only people whose minds are not trapped in the traditional mental boxes can be the open doors for the new ideas that will bring society out of the current crisis.

As a final note on America, one of the major shifts that needs to happen in the collective psyche of the American people is the recognition of a very simple fact. When the Berlin wall came down, most Americans believed that America, democracy and capitalism had won, or even that freedom had won over tyranny. Most people – even most outside the United States – also thought that the world would transition from a phase dominated by two superpowers into a new phase with only one – benevolent – superpower.

Yet the stark reality is that when the wall came down, a new era dawned, an era in which there will be no superpowers. For in this age, no nation will be powerful enough to dominate the world. Only those nations who can cooperate – and thus demonstrate they do not want to dominate through force – will be ultimately successful in forming alliances that will lead the world. Neither the United States, nor China – with all its misguided ambitions from a dead era – will dominate the world. Cooperation – based on a true spirit of oneness rather than the dualistic mindset – will be the new “ruler” of the world.

If America does not embrace this, then it will become even more isolated in the world than has been the case since George Bush made the monumental mistake to invade Iraq. And then America will indeed experience such severe financial chaos that it will abort its ability to wage the wars that those looking for a scapegoat – as well as the power elite looking for profit – would like to see happen.

Of course, America also needs to acknowledge the fact that the sense of embarrassment over the leaking of diplomatic cables is not constructive. The cables simply show the immaturity of America’s diplomats, which is again an expression of the collective consciousness that sees itself as isolated from and superior to other nations. Instead, America needs to see itself as a member of the family of nations and act as such. And Americans need to interact with people from other nations as equals, instead of insisting on the world becoming like America. For the original strength of America was indeed its openness to many different cultures and ideas, which is precisely what gave rise to the ingenuity and experimentation that made America an economic superpower.

So it is indeed no trivial matter whether the current situation causes America to do some sincere soul-searching or whether it is just a bump in the road, and it will soon be back to “politics as usual.” Of course, if the soul-searching does not happen now, there will simply be other incidents that will force America to realize, that unless scapegoating is removed from the national psyche, violence against politicians, minority groups or people in general will become even more common than it has been, now for so many years that one must wonder when the nation wakes up and calls out, “Houston, we have a problem!”

 Copyright © 2011 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: A system based on punishment is outdated – crime follows when people cannot fulfill their divine plans – people rebelling against the control by the power elite – the need for fundamental changes in the system – things will become more extreme until people question the system itself –

Question: Right now about 1 in 10 Americans is incarcerated in prison and they get out and many of them continue to come back. My question is, does putting people in prison do any good and how can we improve our prisons?

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

I have given an extensive teaching on the death penalty in which I also touch on the entire penal system. So I encourage you to study that teaching.

The essence of the situation is that it is only the ego who sees the need for punishment and thus creates an entire justice system and penal system that is focused on administering punishment to those who go beyond the laws or the norms of society.

Yet even beyond it, you see so many laws in the current society that are based on defining for people what they should or should not do, instead of seeking to raise up people’s consciousness to the condition I just spoke about, where people naturally, from within, do what they came here to do because it is their greatest love to fulfill their divine plans.

Of course, going even further back – looking at the even bigger picture – you have a society that does not allow people to unfold their divine plans. Because, again, it is an unbalanced society, where a power elite has done everything they could possibly think of to prevent people from fulfilling their divine plans. And therefore condemning them to go into a negative spiral that gives them greater and greater frustration. Which they then take out in various acts – such as breaking the laws of society or getting into drugs – that are often a sense of hopelessness and despair, of not feeling any sense of purpose—or feeling any possibility of expressing the purpose that they sense however vaguely that life must have.

And thus, you see that correcting the condition of so many people being incarcerated is a very big topic that cannot be done by just focusing on the justice system, the laws, or the penal system. But you will see that it all ties in with the ego and its attempt to control everything. You have a society in which a small elite has been allowed to carry out their personal egos’ desire for ultimate control to the point of going very far in terms of controlling the general population.

You then see a growing number of people who are actually rebelling against that control. And what I’m saying is that what you sometimes see as breaking the laws is actually a form of rebellion against an unjust condition that the people do not have a clear vision to rebel against in a more constructive manner. I am not thereby saying that the people who break the laws are necessarily heroes or are consciously doing this, for most of them are not. I am saying that it is an unconscious form of rebellion against an unjust system that limits the population.

And thus, what you see is that the ego of the elite – even those who run the country in the politicians, the judges and those who administer the laws in the law enforcement community – often go into an ego-based, fear-based reaction of wanting to punish, restrict and control those that they actually realize they cannot control. But their conscious minds are not willing to accept that they cannot control the people because the system is broken and needs to be fundamentally overhauled.

And so what you see right now is, again, the situation we have talked about before, that when there is imbalance, that imbalance will become more and more extreme in an attempt to awaken the people to the need to step back and say, “How are we going astray, how is the current condition showing us that we have shortcomings in the system, so that we need to rethink our approach and find a different way to approach this problem instead of simply putting people in jail?” So that people can say, “Well how can we find a way to actually educate people to raise their consciousness to help them find a more constructive way to engage in society?”

Yet they must also then change society to allow people to express more individual initiative in constructive ways, rather than building the frustration that eventually leads them to respond with some form of anger or injustice in breaking the laws and thereby violating clearly the free will of other people.

Yet, you see what I am saying here? There may be laws that are enacted to protect the general population from having their property or free will violated by certain people. Yet when the number of unbalanced people goes beyond a certain limit, it should be recognized by society that there is something wrong with the system. For you cannot keep saying that there is something wrong with all of these people, and therefore we just need to keep putting them away until we have locked up the problem—for this is not a sustainable approach to the problem.

Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: The anything goes attitude – if mother nature says “anything goes” the earth will shake – a naive conception of freedom –

Question : Is there anything we can do to help alleviate any possibilities of natural catastrophes in California, raising the light, making any particular calls, to help neutralize any issues in California?

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

There is nothing you can DO, my beloved—just BE. You are already “doing” all you can do by using our spiritual tools.

There is, of course, more that can be done in the long run, which involves awakening the people in California to the connection between their own consciousness and the natural disasters that have a potential to occur. For, as we have said before, while there is a great Freedom Flame in California, there is also the misuse of freedom into the “anything goes” attitude, my beloved.

And I can assure you that when a people have the attitude that anything goes, then Mother Nature – being the cosmic mirror – must reason that they want to see a response from Mother earth where Mother earth says “Well, anything goes.” So the earth will shake, and the coastlines will shift and the storms will roll in.

There is literally always a connection between the consciousness of the people and what happens to Mother earth. For she must respond by mirroring back to the people that which they are not willing to see in their own consciousness. So that they have another opportunity to take a look at themselves and recognize that perhaps their concept of freedom is extremely naïve, when they expect that they can do anything they want without reaping the consequences. They expect they can precipitate an action without reaping the reaction from the laws of nature and the Mother of Nature.

Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: Rise above dualistic thinking – Californians can rise above dualistic thinking – a new type of candidate will emerge –

Question: Do you think that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, would make a good president?

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

It is an academic question, since he is not eligible to run for president. But the answer is no. Not in his current state of consciousness, where he is still too blinded by dualistic thinking. And it is unlikely that he will be able to rise above it in his natural lifespan.

Thus, we look for an entirely different kind of political leader. One who does not have the dualistic mentality, one who is not trying to be the hero who has the solution to all problems, but one who is much more sensitive, much more nuanced in his thinking or her thinking—and thus is able to see beyond black-and-white thinking and tune in to the true higher way, the spiritual way, that goes beyond the black and white extremes.

I am not thereby condemning Schwarzenegger, for he has been a positive influence and he has made great strides to rise above dualistic thinking. But yet, there is such a long way to go that it is not realistic to see this happen, and thus we look for other candidates – who are not known publicly today – to arise. And this will happen as the people’s thinking rises above duality. They will naturally precipitate better candidates. And this, of course, could potentially happen here in California, if the people will rethink their concept of freedom and truly rise above the “anything goes” mentality.

Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: The U.S. has an elitist government – party politics before principle – old parties cannot reform themselves – when people feel their vote makes no difference, democracy is not functioning – two parties easily lead to dualistic struggle – the people have moved toward the center, the middle way – black-and-white thinking is outdated –

 Question: Master MORE, I would like to know what your opinion is of the political parties as regard to the upcoming election. Are there any that are in either party that are not of the elite, and is there any chance for those who are not of the elite to win?

Answer from ascended master MORE through Kim Michaels:

The short answer is no. There is, in the current state of affairs in the United States, no chance whatsoever that a person who is not either of the elite or is willing to compromise with the elite can become nominated by the two main political parties in the United States. This is simply not a realistic possibility. And thus, it is no longer true that the United States has a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people.

In order to become nominated by the main political parties, you have to demonstrate that you are willing to put party politics before principle. And we of the ascended masters are, of course, always looking for candidates who are putting principle before politics. It is virtually impossible to imagine that the needed transformation of American politics can happen without changing the system and opening up for more than two political parties.

For the two old parties are so steeped in tradition and politics, that there is little chance that they can renew themselves—unless they are faced with a direct threat that they might lose power to a third, independent party or even more parties. This is a pattern you have seen in some European nations, such as England, where the traditional two parties have been replaced by a more open system. And this, of course, is something that at present we would like to see duplicated in the United States.

It is not functional in a democracy that a large part of the population do not even care to vote because they do not want to vote for the traditional parties and they do not feel that it makes any real difference whether they vote for this or that party. Or as you have had in an election in the nineties, a large percentage of the people vote for an independent candidate who does not win the election and then those people have no representation in congress. This is not true democracy, nor is it a true republic. For who says that a republic can have only two parties?

The concept of having only two parties in a parliament can very easily deteriorate into a dualistic struggle. Whereas if you have more than two parties, there is more diversity. And thus, there is an opportunity that things will not become so rigid, will not become so black and white, where the two parties have to distinguish themselves from each other and therefore often take opposite views on a particular issue. Whereas, in reality, the best solution is not found in the opposite views, but is found somewhere in the middle ground. And thus, you need other parties who can bring forth that middle way in order to bring politics away from the dualistic polarities and towards a more unified centrist policy.

For you will see, if you look at the American people, that they have, over the last several decades, moved towards the center rather than going to towards the extremes. Certainly, there are still people who are polarized in the two extremes of liberal and conservative. But nevertheless, the majority of the people are not in the two extremes, and thus they feel that neither party actually represents them. For the parties are driven by those who are the most zealous people, and they are often the ones who are most steeped in black-and-white thinking.

As we have explained many times, the era of black-and-white thinking in politics needs to come to an end, and the sooner the better. Black-and-white thinking in the history of the world has too many times led to conflict and war. As you certainly see that it was the black-and-white thinking of the Bush administration that precipitated the war in Iraq—a war that is not supported by a majority of the people because the people are not trapped in a black-and-white view of the world. They realize that America cannot fulfill its divine plan in the world by basing its policies on black-and-white thinking.

 Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: A balanced approach is needed – the true intent of the Founding Fathers – a church must not exert power over the civilian government – the most basic human right – the power elite versus the population – no power on earth can take away rights – a nation under God – universal spirituality – overcoming extremism – a warning to America – the 911 attacks – 

Question: Can you please address the issue of the separation of church and state? 

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

Recent events have put a new focus on the American Constitution, especially the issue of the separation between church and state. As with any other issue on planet earth, there is a polarization of the debate. Two opposing factions are emerging, and each of them claims to have the only truth.

Currently, none of the opposing factions have the truth, let alone the only truth. I desire to attempt to bring a balanced perspective into the debate in the hope that it might enlighten those who are willing to look beyond the polarized viewpoints, the black and white positions, and take a balanced approach to the issue.

If you read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with an open mind, there can be no doubt that the Founding Fathers intended to create a nation with a clear separation between church and state. Yet I must tell you that hardly anyone in the United States’ government, legal establishment and media seems to have a correct understanding of the Founding Fathers’ original intent behind the separation of church and state.

The essential issue here is that while the Founding Fathers did indeed intend a separation between church and state, they did not intend a separation between the state and all religion, or rather spirituality.

Why did the Founding Fathers see a clear need to write the separation of church and state into the Constitution? Because they were painfully aware of what had been going on in Europe for centuries. They were determined to do everything possible to prevent the United States from repeating the misuse of power seen so clearly in the history of the European continent.

One of the great problems in Europe had been the emergence of the Catholic Church as a totalitarian power attempting to control every aspect of life in Catholic nations. Even in some Protestant nations there was a clear tendency for a particular church to exert far too much power over the civil government. I am not saying this to single out the Catholic Church or any other church. I am simply pointing out that throughout history there has been a tendency for religious people to become rigid and dogmatic, wanting to silence or remove all other religions than their own. Over the course of history, this has often caused religious authorities to attempt to use civil governments to outlaw what they saw as competing religions.

The Founding Fathers clearly saw that the most basic human right is each person’s right to have a direct, personal relationship with God, a relationship which no authority on earth has the right to distort or manipulate. The freedom to worship truly is the most basic of all human freedoms.

Consider carefully the words from the Declaration of Independence,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

The Founding Fathers had learned the lesson that throughout the history of the human race a small elite has attempted to control and manipulate the general population. This power elite will use any means available to it, including the civil government and the religious authorities of the time. The main goal of the Founding Fathers was to write a Constitution that would make it as difficult as possible for a small elite to dominate the population of the United States.

To counteract the tendency towards elitism, the Founding Fathers clearly saw that the Constitution had to recognize the existence of an authority that is above and beyond any human, or earthly, authority. If you do not recognize that there is a power beyond any human power, then you cannot prevent elitism and power struggles from undermining the freedom of the people.

To establish a truly free nation, it must be recognized that every human being has rights that no earthly leader or institution is allowed to take away. In other words, neither a civil government, a dictator, a king or even a religious leader has the authority to take away the rights that God gave to his people.

The Founding Fathers had learned the lesson from history, which clearly demonstrates that once you allow any human institution to claim that it has ultimate power, it is inevitable that there will be the misuse of power. Unfortunately, it seems as if most modern Americans, protected by their Constitution, have forgotten the lesson of history that was so clear to the Founding Fathers. Most modern Americans have forgotten that their freedom, and even the survival of their nation, rests upon the concept of rights that are given by a higher authority, namely God. If people had not forgotten this lesson, how could we possibly have a situation in which the government, the media and the courts are sincerely debating and considering that all mention of religion should be taken out of all aspects of the United States’ government?

The Founding Fathers wanted a separation of church and state because they did not want to see the emergence of one dominant church which would do in the United States what the Catholic Church had done in Europe. However, the Founding Fathers never wanted to create a state in which the recital of prayers in public schools was banned by the Supreme Court, a court charged with defending the Constitution.

The Founding Fathers simply could not imagine that the very institution which they created for the purpose of defending the Constitution would eventually become so degraded and perverted that it actually attacked and undermined the very principle upon which the Constitution rests, namely that this nation is a nation under God. The Founding Fathers could not imagine that Americans could forget that only by accepting the authority of God as being above and beyond any earthly authority can this nation survive.

When you look at the fact that the Founding Fathers wrote the separation of church and state into the Constitution, you clearly see that although they were highly spiritual people, they did not take a sectarian approach to religion. In other words, they did not believe that their particular church was the only true church. If they had been caught in the trap represented by the sectarian approach to religion, they would not have written the separation of church and state into the Constitution. They would have worked to ensure that their church would become the dominant church in the new republic.

When you read the Constitution, you see that the Founding Fathers were highly religious, or rather spiritual, people. However, their approach to spirituality was precisely the universal, non-sectarian, balanced approach that I am advocating throughout this website. The Founding Fathers believed in, and lived, the exact same universal spirituality that I preached 2,000 years ago and which has been preached by every true spiritual leader who has ever graced the surface of this war-torn planet.

My point here is that the only way to resolve the debate around the separation of church and state is that a critical mass of people must begin to embrace and live this universal spirituality. Only if this happens can we hope to prevent the unbalanced viewpoints from derailing the debate.

Today, the debate is dominated by two opposing factions. One is the religious right, namely Christian churches espousing a literal or fundamentalist interpretation of the scriptures. The goal of this movement is to force the United States to conform to its literal or fundamentalist interpretation of the Christian religion.

The other faction is dominated by people who believe in the religion of scientific materialism. These people believe that there is no God and that there never was any God. Therefore, their goal is to take everything related to God and spirituality out of every aspect of the American government and, if possible, the American way of life.

I must tell you frankly that both of these opposing factions are out of touch with the original intent of the Founding Fathers of this nation. The Founding Fathers did not want to create a nation dominated by one particular church. They wanted all people to have the freedom to worship without having their relationship to God dictated by an earthly authority. Likewise, the Founding Fathers did not want to create a nation in which all mention of God or spirituality was banned from any governmental institution.

The Founding Fathers had a universal approach to spirituality and their hope and dream was that most Americans would espouse that universal approach. So far this dream has not been fulfilled, but it is never too late. It is still possible that a critical mass of Americans can begin to see beyond the extremist positions represented by both sides of the issue. It is still possible that a critical mass of Americans could embrace the middle way of the Christ consciousness.

My goal for this website is to make people aware of this middle way which offers a viable alternative, in fact the only viable alternative, to the eternal human power struggle.

Yes, I am indeed Jesus Christ and I know that some people will say that I want everyone to become a Christian. Yet if you will honestly study my website, LINK you will see that this is not my intention. I want everyone to embrace and attain a higher state of consciousness which is above and beyond the relativity and duality of the dualistic mind. This is the message that I preached 2,000 years ago, and this is the message that I preach again today. May those who have ears hear my words and save their nation and their Constitution from becoming yet another victim in the power struggle that has been fought on this planet since the first human being fell into a lower state of consciousness.

I love this nation and so do many of my colleagues of the ascended masters. This nation is truly meant to be a nation under God. There are those in this nation, and they are found on both sides of the issue, who believe that the American people have a right to do whatever they want with this nation according to their current beliefs.

As I explain throughout this website, God has given human beings free will. Therefore, the American people do indeed have a right to do as they please with their nation.

Yet I cannot fail to warn you of what will happen if America continues to move in the present direction. It is a simple fact that America was sponsored by certain ascended masters who gave much light to the founding and the growth of this nation. It is precisely this spiritual sponsorship that has enabled the United States of America to become a prosperous and powerful nation. Yet currently America has entered a downward spiral of misusing its power and abandoning the original intent behind the founding of this nation. If this downward trend continues, the sponsorship of the ascended masters can indeed be withdrawn from this nation. Were this to happen, the United States would go through a phase very similar to the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Many Americans currently believe that it is their own ingenuity and hard work which has built this nation. I am not discounting the ingenuity and hard work of the American people. Yet what has truly built this nation is the Light of God flowing through the American people. As I said, it is not my own self but the Father within me who is doing the work.

If the spiritual light was withdrawn, the American people would go through a rude awakening and discover that no amount of ingenuity and hard work can ensure the survival of their nation. Only the sponsorship and the protection of the ascended masters can ensure the survival of America.

In that respect, let me mention briefly that the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 were a clear indication that the American people have created a rent in the spiritual protection of this nation. These terrorist attacks, as terrible as they seem to most Americans, were only a faint echo of things that could come upon this nation if it lost its spiritual sponsorship.

I am not saying this to in any way sound like a doomsday prophet. I am saying it to point out that there is a lot at stake in the Constitutional debate concerning the separation of church and state. If America does not resolve this issue by embracing a universal approach to spirituality, the downward trend cannot be reversed. The key to reversing the downward trend is the return of the spiritual principles behind not only the Constitution but the very creation of this nation.

We of the ascended masters are watching this debate, and we are almost holding our breath because we know how much is at stake. This is not just another debate about some academic issue. This is THE debate about the most essential issue facing this nation. Will the American people continue to allow God in their government, or will they say to God, “We no longer need you?”

 Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: Get over being Indians – transcend earthly limitations – regardless of the body, you are a universal lifestream – questioning your past – native culture stagnant before Europeans arrived – native Americans could have transformed their old culture – potential for native states –

Question: My question is about the consciousness and the state of the native American and Alaskan native people, which is one of lack and suffering. And truly, there is suffering. And how they can become More when to many of them Jesus has become a symbol of the missionaries who really oppressed them. So how can they obtain a higher consciousness? And do the white people in America, the ones whose ancestors perpetuated the violence, have a role in helping the native people transcend their current state of lack and suffering? 

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

You might recall that in Ireland the Ascended Master Patrick was asked what he would say to the Irish people. And his remark was: “Get over being Irish!” Likewise, I would say to the native Americans: “Get over being Indians!”

What is it we desire to see for all people on earth? It is that they transcend their human, earthly limitations and come to see themselves as spiritual people. The people who are currently embodied in what they see as native American bodies, they are not native American souls, they are universal spiritual lifestreams. Just as the people who are embodied in black African bodies or Asian bodies or white bodies are not white or black or red or yellow souls. They are all universal lifestreams.

So what we desire is for all people to reclaim their true spiritual identity and to express it. And this does not mean that all people have to abandon their current culture and that we eventually envision a world where there is only one world-wide culture, for that is not our vision at all. It is quite possible that the native American people can express their universal spirituality through some aspect, some version, of their traditional culture. But it will not be the culture the way it is right now, it will be a new – transformed – culture, that is far more universal than what you see now.

Before the native American people can reach for that universality, they need to overcome their emotional attachment to carrying on a tradition and a history that time has run away from. Why have we talked about the British people needing to question the monarchy, which has been such a fixture of the British consciousness for a thousand years? Can you not see that the native American people are facing a very similar challenge as the British people, and as people around the world, of overcoming the limitations from the past and embracing growth?

The real problem with the native American culture is that it had become stagnant even before white people arrived. And thus, the American Indians have gone into a state of consciousness where they feel they are victims. They feel that somehow the white people came in and destroyed their culture. But when you consider the teaching of the cosmic mirror, can you not see that if the native American people had not had a division in their own consciousness, they could not have precipitated an external force that would come in and overturn their culture?

In fact, I can tell you that the highest potential for America was that the native Americans would have let go of their tradition and adapted—creating an entirely new culture, where they did not uncritically take over the European culture or the European religion, but where they were willing to transform their own culture, to realize that they could no longer hold on to the old, but that simply the change in times, demanded a transformation.

Look at the history of Europe and ask yourself why Europe became such a dominant influence in the world. Surely, you will see that one aspect of this dominance was the dominance through force that is precipitated by the power elite. But you see the power elite in Europe did not have actual physical power to create the expansion that lead to the colonization of other continents. They were, so to speak, riding on the expansion of consciousness that was driven by the fact that the European people were willing to let go of the old, the Catholic mental box, coming to the age of enlightenment, and therefore transcend and adapt—let go of the old culture and create a new.

The highest potential for the native Americans was that they would have gone through their own period of enlightenment, whereby you could actually have had the emergence of an entirely new culture that would have created certain states in America that could still have been part of the United States of America, but could have had a separate culture, a much more distinctly native American but also a much more modern culture.

This potential has been lost, but the only way forward for the native Americans is to seek to create today what could have been created back then and transcending the traditional culture, realizing that they are universal lifestreams and that their native spirituality can be transformed into a higher spirituality that is more universal. They do not have to take over Christianity in any way, but you could certainly see a mixture of the universal principles of native American spirituality with the universal principles of Christianity. So you would see a more native American version that still honored the Christ consciousness and the Christ potential in every person.

 Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: The masters have to work with us based on the practical situation and our state of consciousness – not idealist but practical realists – if the top ten percent go beyond duality, nations will follow – during the cold war, the U.S. could have a large army without making karma, but not today – allowing the U.S. to be misused by international power elite – there is never a situation where armed conflict is the only option –

Question: Some spiritual organizations have been big on standing armies, national defense, America being on the moral high ground, but now I see on page 42 of The Art of Non-War says that a nation that builds an army puts itself “in peril.” I remember reading some stuff about communist deception, potential sneak attacks and reasons for a star wars defense. Now deception by the so called arch-deceivers, can’t just go on unchecked. How are we supposed to approach being deceived by various things in the world?

Answer from ascended master Saint Germain through Kim Michaels:

There are cycles for everything. What we brought forth in the past was a message that was very clearly designed for a particular cycle in earth’s history. During that cycle, there was a dualistic polarity between the communist block and the western societies, especially the United States.

If the United States had abandoned its military, there is no question that the Soviet Union would have attempted to conquer the world. It would have failed, but it would have created much suffering in the process. And thus, we of the ascended masters are practical realists. And as I explained, when I was working with the crowned heads of Europe, I was not able to bring forth the ideal solution that I saw, but had to work with the kings in their present state of consciousness, doing whatever could be done to move society forward.

Yet what we are doing today is bringing forth a higher teaching, a teaching about non-duality. And it is our aim to reach the top ten percent with that teaching, so that they can use it to raise their consciousness beyond the dualistic struggle—and thereby become the forerunners that will pull their nations up above that struggle.

This will then lead to a situation where even a nation like the United States can begin to rethink its approach to foreign policy, to national security. And the nation can begin to realize that having an army is indeed a very delicate matter. For in the present world situation, it is not realistic for a country the size of the United States to abandon its military. But yet the United States’ military, in its current form, is in many ways designed to be an aggressive force that can project military force anywhere on the globe, even when it is far beyond areas that are a direct threat to the national security of the U.S.

And thus, the reality is that for the United States to maintain a military as it did during the cold war – to serve as a counter balance against communist aggression – this was not a karma-making situation for the nation. But in today’s world, where the Soviet Union is, realistically speaking, much less of a threat—the former Soviet Union I should say, although there is some reality in still talking about the Soviet Union, as there is a certain consciousness in the Russian military and among some politicians that really have not changed since the communist days. Yet because the dynamics have shifted in the world, it would be extremely wise for the United States to realize that part of its military capacity now has no real justification and thus using that capacity, even maintaining it, is a karma-making situation for the nation.

The invasion of Iraq is a karma-making situation for the United States, for it was an unwarranted use of military force. So you see the delicate balance, that I am not saying that at present the United States should abandon its military but that it needs to rethink its military capacity and the use of it. Even its military philosophy, strategy and doctrine, so that it becomes purified of any dogma or strategy that can allow the United States to be misused by an international power elite, to further their goals of world control.

Certainly, the claim that the war in Iraq was part of an effort to spread freedom and democracy around the world was hollow at best. It was clearly a situation where – using the excuse of terrorism – the United States’ government and military became a pawn in a much larger geopolitical game.

How can you avoid being deceived? Well, by striving for the Christ consciousness that raises your consciousness above the dualistic struggle, so that you can see through the dualistic lies precipitated by the power elites – the many different power elites – that are vying for power and control.

And that is precisely why a book such as The Art of Non-War is designed to help jolt people out of the dualistic thinking, and thereby be willing to question what they have been brought up to see as unquestionable. Including the entire concept – held by a majority of the people in this world – that war is inevitable, and that when certain situations have gone beyond a certain point, the only practical or possible response is armed conflict. There is hardly any situation where there is not a non-violent solution that would bring about a better outcome than an armed conflict.

And thus we hope that the top ten percent will embrace the teachings on non-duality, which we have actually inspired upon many different individuals and even some organizations, so that they can be expressed in many different contexts and therefore be acceptable and understandable to people from many backgrounds. So that, within the foreseeable future, the top ten percent can begin to pull every nation beyond dualistic thinking. For this is truly the only means to bring forth the Golden Age.

 Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: The dualistic mind has generated very complex situations with no simple answers – an eye for an eye – uncompromising law for a low state of consciousness – God’s laws set up to guide free will, meaning you create your own situation – the fall into duality blinded people to this reality – Jesus gave a higher law than the Law of Moses – punishment versus reward – enlightened self-interest – self-centered people think might is right – to prevent anarchy, society must define firm consequences – two levels of selfishness: uncontrolled and calculated – death is the ultimate fear and risk – in ideal society no death penalty – not there at the moment – how to raise society to higher level – help people see that we create our own situation through our consciousness – killing is never morally justified – absolute justification versus practical justification – also applied to drug trade – a better way to deal with criminals – criminals suffer from a spiritual malady – healing the soul vehicle – pain cannot compensate for pain – from punishment to treatment – a higher understanding is needed –

Question: Dear Jesus, thank you for your profound and insightful teachings on this website. With the possible exception of abortion, few social issues have divided Americans more than the death penalty. What are your thoughts on this subject? Is the death penalty legally and/or morally justifiable for murder cases? Is there a better or more humane way to deal with criminals who commit such acts than by the death penalty?

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

I understand why this issue has deeply divided Americans. The simple fact is that this is an extremely complex issue, and it is therefore no wonder that people find it difficult to sort out the many complexities involved. In fact, I can assure you that I myself cannot provide a final answer to these questions. I realize that this will surprise many. However, the reality of the situation on earth is that because people have become trapped by the relativity of the dualistic mind, they have created a situation that is almost infinitely complex. There are so many layers of complexity that you cannot provide a simple, all-encompassing answer to a question like the death penalty. So without writing an entire book about this single issue, let me attempt to give you a few thoughts to ponder.

I have explained elsewhere that there are cycles in the spiritual evolution of humankind. During Old Testament times, the law was based on the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth. In other words, the principle was that whatever you do to someone else, society will do to you. If you kill another human being, society will kill you.

When you begin to attain Christ consciousness, you experience and accept that God is a God of unconditional love. You will therefore naturally begin to question how a God of unconditional love could give a law with such brutal results. You can understand this only when you realize, as I explain in the book Save Yourself, that religion was never meant to give an absolute or infallible truth or doctrine. Religion is always the response to a crisis, and the crisis is that human beings have descended to a very low level of consciousness. During Old Testament times, humanity had descended to such a low level of consciousness that the only way to bring them to a higher level was to give them a firm and uncompromising law.

Everything done by the ascended masters has the purpose of raising people to a correct understanding of God and their relationship with God. Part of this understanding is that God has created a framework of laws, and God has given human beings free will to do whatever they want within that framework. However, while people can do whatever they want, they must also bear the consequences of their actions.

After the Fall of Man, which was truly a fall into a lower state of consciousness, human beings descended into a state of consciousness in which they had no recognition or understanding of what I have just stated. They simply did not understand that they had created their own situation. To help them come closer to understanding that their misery is self-created, and that what they send out will be mirrored back by the universe, the Law of Moses was given. The principle of this law is that if a person killed another human being, then society would administer the death penalty. Thereby, people could directly see that their actions had inescapable consequences.

You will notice that in my Sermon on the Mount I gave a higher law. Instead of an eye for an eye, I told people to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In essence, the message is the same. You are creating your own situation. The universe mirrors back to you whatever you send out, so if you want the universe to treat you a certain way, you must begin by treating other people that way.

Because people had risen to a higher level of consciousness, I could give the positive version instead of the more ominous version that people received during Old Testament times. The Old Testament version is based on the idea of punishment. My version was based on the promise of a reward. The Old Testament version said, “If you do this, you will be punished.” My version said, “If you treat people right, you will be rewarded.” The same message expressed in different ways, both of which are adapted to a certain level of consciousness.

As I explained in the discourse mentioned above, the teachings I gave 2,000 years ago where not meant to be the final spiritual teachings given on this planet. They were adapted to the level of consciousness that most people had at the time. People were meant to grow to a higher understanding of the reality of life and of their relationship to God. Today, people are not meant to act based on the promise of a reward. People are meant to learn that whatever they do affects themselves, and therefore it is in their own best interest to follow God’s laws and principles and to treat other people the way they would like to be treated. You are not acting on the hope of a reward; you are acting because you know it is right and benefits everyone.

So now back to the death penalty. As I said, the Old Testament law was directed at a certain level of consciousness. It is a simple fact that certain people have descended to such a low level of consciousness that you cannot reason with them. They simply cannot understand the concept of enlightened self-interest. They are so trapped by the dualistic mind that they have become completely self-centered and they consider only what is in their short-term interest. Such people are completely selfish, and they will do absolutely anything to pursue what they see as their own self interest.

If there are no checks and balances that restrain such people’s behavior, you will see a society that quickly deteriorates into anarchy and the law of the jungle where might is right. To prevent this, a civilized nation must do something to restrain these people’s behavior and prevent them from acting out their narrow self interest. These people are in such a low state of consciousness that the only thing that will compel them to restrain their behavior is either raw fear or the calculated evaluation that the risk is too big compared to the reward.

Let me address two levels of selfishness that you see in people. One is what I would call uncontrolled selfishness, and such people are simply so consumed by their self-centered desires that they are incapable of considering the consequences of their actions. In other words, such people simply will not see that their actions have negative consequences for other people or they will not recognize that those consequences are a legitimate reason to refrain from certain actions. Such people find it very difficult to control their actions, and the only thing that has a chance of restraining them is the firm and uncompromising threat of punishment. Only raw fear will have any impact on these people.

The other aspect of selfishness is what I would call calculated selfishness. These people are quite capable of controlling their actions. They simply have a firm belief that they have some superior right to do whatever they deem to be in their own best interest. Whereas the above group often end up as petty or violent criminals, the latter group are the sophisticated, calculating criminals. In fact, many of these people are in positions where they can pursue their selfish interests without being considered criminals by society.

My point here is that these people will not respond to raw fear because they will always try to calculate how they can avoid being caught. So these people are simply making a cool and calculated assessment of the risk compared to the potential reward. If they think the balance comes out in their favor, they will do whatever they want because their basic belief is that the end can justify the means. If they think they can get away with it, they will do it.

For both types of people, there is no ability to recognize that higher principles or the concern for others should be a guideline or restriction for their behavior. So what can deter such people from acting out their selfishness? Only one thing is the ultimate cause of fear, namely death. Only one thing is the ultimate risk, namely death.

My point here is that as long as some people are trapped at these two levels of consciousness, it simply will not be possible, or at least it will not be practical, to do away with the death penalty. If you did, you would make it extremely difficult for society to deal with the kind of people who are trapped in extreme selfishness.

Obviously, this is not an ideal situation. I look forward to the day when the death penalty can be left behind by humankind. I obviously do not approve of a situation where a society kills a human being. I have explained this in great detail in my discourse on the war in Iraq and why there are no just wars. So the bottom line is that as long as you have a society in which killing is necessary, or is seen as necessary, you have a dysfunctional situation. However, I am a spiritual teacher and as such I have learned to be a practical realist. I know the ideal society is one in which the death penalty is unnecessary, but I also know that we are not there at the present moment. Let me explain this in greater detail.

As as stated above, there is an evolutionary process that is aimed at raising the consciousness of humankind. What is happening in this process is that a few people are far ahead of the average population while another minority lags behind. So when you consider what is right on this planet, you must consider all levels of consciousness.

In terms of the death penalty, you have a group of people on this planet who have correctly sensed that the death penalty is not ideal and that is is not ultimately justifiable according to the laws of God. I can only commend these people for their sense of attunement and discernment. As a product of their advanced spiritual development, they tune in to the fact that the death penalty should ideally be removed.

I completely agree with this viewpoint, yet the question is when humanity will be ready for the removal of the death penalty? And as I have explained above, we are not there at the present moment. Therefore, it would be more constructive for such people to stop campaigning for the removal of the death penalty and instead work to raise society to the level where the death penalty becomes obsolete.

What would it take for society to get to that point? Well, as I explain throughout this website, the only real solution to the problems on this earth is the Christ consciousness. The reason is that the current conditions on this planet are the products of the lower state of consciousness, the dualistic mind. Because of the relative viewpoints of this lower state of consciousness, people have created conditions that are out of alignment with the principles that God used to create the universe. Therefore, these conditions will inevitably self-destruct, and that is why you see so many areas of society that are in a process of decay and self-destruction.

The only way out of this downward spiral is that a critical mass of people must raise their consciousness to the level of the Christ consciousness. This has already started occurring, but we have not yet reached a critical mass that can take society and humanity to a decidedly higher level. I have high hopes that this will occur within the next decade or two, but because of the unpredictability of human beings I have no guarantee.

However, if my vision for earth were to come to pass, the consciousness of humankind would be raised to a higher level. The effect of this would be that all human beings would be pulled to a higher understanding of how they create their own situation. That is why I said that if I be lifted up, I would draw all people to me. If a critical mass of people manifest their individual Christhood, it will raise the consciousness of every human being on the planet.

Some people will rebel against this growth, but they will simply be removed and no longer be given the opportunity to embody on this planet. So when the consciousness of humankind is raised to a certain level, the death penalty will no longer be necessary. When will this happen? It is human beings in embodiment who must answer that question.

Is the death penalty legally and/or morally justifiable for murder cases?

I would like to refer to my discourse on the war in Iraq, which also contains more detail on why killing another human being is never justified according to the laws of God. I state in that discourse that war is never ultimately justifiable, and the same applies to any kind of killing, including the death penalty. However, I also state that certain wars are unavoidable.

The reason being that human beings have created conditions that are so far from the ideal envisioned by God that it is sometimes necessary to use means that are out of alignment with the laws of God. In other words, because many people have allowed themselves to descend into a completely self-centered and selfish state of consciousness, society has to take extreme measures in order to protect other citizens from the selfish acts of these people. And if these people respond only to raw fear or the extreme risk of death, then society has to use the death penalty. Is that morally justifiable? That depends on how you define morals.

If you define morals in an absolute sense, you will say that the absolute standard for judging moral behavior is the law of God. According to this law, the death penalty is not morally justifiable. However, we do not have ideal conditions on this planet. Instead, we have a major spiritual crisis. In such a crisis, it can be necessary to apply extreme measures in order to bring society forward. Therefore, it can be necessary to use the death penalty. In one sense doing so is justifiable, but the problem here is that some people do not understand that it is justifiable only in response to a crisis, and when the crisis has been resolved the measure is no longer justifiable or needed.

Do you see the delicate distinction here? The death penalty is currently justifiable as a stopgap response to a crisis. However, because the crisis is so far from the law and the truth of God, it would be wrong to say that the death penalty is justifiable in an absolute sense.

Let us now consider the death penalty in relation to murder cases. When you take my earlier remarks about people who are deterred only by raw fear or the threat of extreme risk, you see that the death penalty should not be restricted to murder cases. This is simply a relic from Old Testament times and the law of an eye for an eye. If you kill someone, you will be killed.

I know the following statement will shock many people. But as long as a society deems it necessary to uphold the death penalty, this form of punishment should be applied not only to murder cases. It should be applied also to crimes with very high potential for economic gain or crimes that destroy someone’s opportunity for a productive life. As one example, let me mention the production, smuggling and sale of addictive drugs.

In my view, the drug trade is simply the modern version of slavery. You can go back in time and find instances where people owned slaves that were forced to work the mines under inhuman conditions. These people were given the bare minimum to keep them alive and they were being treated in such inhumane ways that it defies description.

We now have a number of democratic nations who consider themselves to be the most civilized nations ever to grace the face of this earth. These nations take pride in the fact that they have long ago abolished slavery. Yet in the midst of their so-called civilization they allow both illegal and legal activity that binds people into a spiritual slavery through addictive chemical substances. From a spiritual standpoint, this is deplorable. This is inexcusable. This is absolutely unacceptable.

Any thinking person can see that the illegal drug trade is driven by one thing and one thing only, namely the potential for huge profits. Any thinking person can see that the bigger the profit, the bigger the risk people are willing to take. So the only effective way to combat illegal drug trading is to change the balance between risk and reward. And because the potential profits are so high, there is only one risk factor which has any chance of offsetting the hope for reward, and that factor is death.

If a society administers the death penalty to a murderer, then it should administer the death penalty to people who trade in illegal drugs at a large scale. Many of these drugs not only lead, albeit slowly, to the death of the physical body but they also lead to the spiritual death of the lifestream. In fact I can tell you that when it comes to incurring personal karma, those who are involved with the trade in illegal and legal drugs make a far more severe karma than many murderers. Other crimes that warrant the death penalty is the sexual exploitation of children through pedophilia or selling children to slavery, prostitution or child pornography.

Is there a better or more humane way to deal with criminals who commit such acts than by the death penalty?

Obviously, there is a better way to deal with people who commit acts that warrant the death penalty. Unfortunately, western society is not at a point where it is equipped to implement these ways. To truly deal with criminals in a more effective way, society would have to acquire and embrace a much deeper understanding of the spiritual development of the lifestream.

Because society today is split between the warring factions of orthodox religion and materialistic science, this understanding has not been developed. Neither orthodox religion nor materialistic science, in their current forms, can serve as the instruments for bringing forth this new understanding. Many of the elements of this understanding have already been brought forth, but they have not been embraced by society. Until the war between religion and science has been resolved, it is not likely that society will embrace the methods and the understanding needed to effectively help criminals in their spiritual growth.

This is a very big topic in itself, so without going into another lengthy discussion, let me simply outline the main problem.

The problem in today’s world is that society is stuck between two levels in the spiritual evolution of humankind. The old level was dominated by a lower state of consciousness, and in this state of consciousness it was necessary to deter crime through the threat of punishment, such as the death penalty. The new level of consciousness, into which society has already started to move, is based on a much deeper understanding of the spiritual evolution of the lifestream. According to this higher understanding, a criminal does not deserve punishment. A criminal is a sick person who deserves treatment.

The key element that is currently missing is an understanding of the lifestream. When I say that a criminal is a sick person, I am not talking about a physical, not even a psychological illness as these are currently understood by materialistic science. I am talking about a spiritual condition, a condition of the lifestream. Therefore, in reality a criminal is a spiritually ill person who is in need of spiritual treatment.

Crime is the effect of a wound or split in the soul vehicle. The soul vehicle has lost its wholeness, and that is why it performs selfish acts. The true and loving way to deal with such a lifestream is to help it regain its wholeness. This leads to a healing of the individual soul vehicle, and at the same time the consciousness of the entire society is raised. In other words, it is a win-win situation for everyone. You will see in my life that I embraced all those who were rejected by society and I attempted to help them regain wholeness.

This should be the purpose of the justice systems of the world. And this means that the word “justice system” is obsolete. Only a dysfunctional society believes that when a person has inflicted pain on someone else, you can restore balance (justice) by having society inflict pain on that person. You restore balance, and thereby provide spiritual justice, by removing the cause of the pain, namely the lack of wholeness in the person who committed the act.

The current system of punishing criminals is a lose-lose situation. Very few criminals are reformed by being punished for their crime, so their consciousness is not raised. As a result, the consciousness of society is not raised. In fact, what happens to many criminals after they are put in prison causes a drop in their level of consciousness and it drags the rest of society down with them.

What needs to happen in the coming decades is that the penal systems of the civilized world must move away from punishment and towards treatment. The problem is that because of the current war between science and religion, it will be very difficult to create this new system. Scientific materialists currently have a monopoly on the science of psychology. And many orthodox religious people are attempting to maintain their monopoly on religion. None of these sides will be willing to make the adjustments that are necessary in order to create a penal system based on a true understanding of the spiritual needs of the lifestream.

I take great hope in the fact that many people have already started to see the need to develop a deeper understanding of the lifestream. I commend the many people who are already working to bring such an understanding to all areas of society, including the penal system. I strongly encourage these people to continue their efforts no matter how impossible the odds may seem.

I would, however, like to encourage these people to make use of the understanding provided on our websites. First of all, I encourage them to increase their attunement with their Christ selves and to see themselves as part of a team that includes the ascended masters. I encourage them to consider my remark that with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible.

Human power alone cannot bring about the necessary transition into a society that can do away with the death penalty and treat criminals the way they deserve to be treated by the fact that they are wounded lifestreams. Yet when human power is combined with the divine power, this change truly can occur.

However, everything is subject to the free will of human beings, so I can only wait for a critical mass of people to open their minds and hearts to the divine solution that is already present and simply needs to be brought into the material realm through their minds and hearts.

 Copyright © 2008 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: Why can’t leaders see they are making a mistake? – a veil of energy around their minds – blinded by their own mental image – new perspective is needed, and it must come from sensitive people – thinking outside the national mental box – many think the masters always have a solution to man-made problems – yet in many cases there is no solution – people must change consciousness instead of looking for a quick-fix – America is in a catch-22 – not willing to consider that America made a mistake – Americans always have to win – ultimate victory is self-transformation – the American form of black-and-white thinking – superiority prevents you from admitting mistakes – false Christianity has given Americans a sense of superiority – black-and-white Christianity goes back to Roman Empire – America Christianity leads to spiritual pride – a Christian or a Christed nation? – will the people take back THEIR government? –

Question from Kim: Jesus, I know that a lot of people are wondering what you think about the situation in Iraq, including the November elections in the U.S., the Baker-Hamilton report, the escalating violence and now President Bush’s call for sending an extra 20,000 troops. Do you have any comments?

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels: (January 11, 2007)

Why would people expect me to comment on a situation when there has been no fundamental change in the dynamics of the situation? I have commented extensively on the situation twice before Link 1, Link 2, and what has changed that was not covered by those comments?

Here is what I said in May 2004:

It was black-and-white thinking that led the United States to go to war with Iraq. The war and the fact that the United States government insists on continuing on its present course, has created a counter force from the universe that this nation has no chance of overcoming. The more the United States insist on pushing in its current direction, the more the universe will push back. The opposition you see from the Iraqi people, and even from foreign fighters, is simply an expression of the fact that the universe is pushing back. I am not thereby saying that the universe or the ascended masters approve of the attacks on Americans in Iraq. I am simply pointing out the fact that if the United States want to see this opposition diminish, it has to change course, it has to change its mindset and its fundamental approach to the situation in Iraq. It has to leave behind the black-and-white thinking that created the problem, because you simply cannot solve a problem with the same state of consciousness that created the problem. [end quote]

Do you see any changes in the thinking of the Bush administration? Do you see a serious desire to overcome black-and-white thinking? Isn’t sending 20,000 more troops simply doing more of the same?

Kim: Do you have any recommendations for how the United States might change course and what might be the best possible way to deal with the situation? Are there any specific solutions that might resolve what seems to be a stalemate or even a downward spiral?

Jesus: In may of 2004 I said the following:

No member of the ascended masters has any desire to see the United States humiliated before the eyes of the world. We did not support this war, as I explained in my previous comments, but we would like to see the United States, and all the parties involved, emerge from the situation in a way that can lead to true progress in terms of establishing a more peaceful world. In other words, we would like all nations involved to learn the best possible lessons they can learn, incorporate those lessons into their policies and then move on in a constructive direction.

I can assure you that we of the ascended masters are more than willing to work with the moderate and balanced people in the United States government. And if these people would reach for a higher understanding, we would willingly provide the understanding of how the crisis in Iraq could be solved in a way that represents the best possible outcome of a situation that was not the best possible to begin with. [end quote]

I would like people to consider that my underlying theme on this website is that when people become blinded by the dualistic thinking of the ego, they cannot see the reality of any situation. If you look at history, you will see many situations in which a leader or group of leaders became so blinded by a situation that they made decisions which all people now realize were monumental mistakes. Why couldn’t the leaders themselves see what is now obvious to everyone?

The reason is that when people are in a very intense situation and when they are already into black-and-white or gray thinking, they generate mental and emotional energy which forms a veil around their minds – even the entire situation – and prevents them from looking at the big picture. Thus, they become blinded by their own way of looking at the situation and their desire to be right. They form, a mental image of the situation and they seek to force that image upon reality. If their image is wrong or if they are not willing to adjust the image based on changes in the situation, they will continue doing the same thing until something shatters the veil of illusions, such as Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.

My point is that the Iraq war is a textbook example of a situation that blinds the decision makers because they look at it from inside their self-created mental box. Thus, nothing will fundamentally change until something shatters the veil that blinds the Bush administration and to some degree the entire nation.

The Baker-Hamilton commission was an honest attempt to provide an outside perspective. The ascended masters did work with the members of this commission—not in the sense that we appeared to them or that they knew who we are. What we do in order to help humankind solve any problem is to send thoughtforms that people with sensitive minds can pick up and often take for their own ideas.

What does it take for a person to receive such ideas? The person needs to have some knowledge of the actual situation and the person needs to be willing to look at the situation in a new way. Take note that I am not saying the person needs to know everything, for the people who know the most are often very inflexible and unwilling to “think outside the box.” So there has to be a balance between knowing enough to receive an idea and being open to new ways of looking at the situation.

There were members of the Baker-Hamilton commission who were sufficiently balanced and who could receive some of our ideas, so the commission’s recommendations are generally sound. However, I would like to point out that we were severely limited in what kind of ideas we could transfer to the commission, and it is important to understand why.

Even balanced and sensitive people will work within the larger framework of their national consciousness. And since the American nation has not sufficiently examined its own psyche and the psychological mechanism that led to the Iraq war, the members of the commission were not able to think outside the national box. Thus, they simply could not receive ideas that were too far beyond the American nation’s current view of itself and the conflict.

There are many people on earth – even many ascended master students – who look upon us as some kind of magicians. They think that no matter how complex a situation people have created through dualistic thinking, the ascended masters – who supposedly know everything – should be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat and make a suggestion that will instantly resolve the situation. They think we always have a solution to human problems.

Yet the stark reality is that you cannot solve a problem with the same state of consciousness that created the problem. And in most cases – when people finally acknowledge that things didn’t go as planned – they are not looking to change their consciousness, they are simply looking for a quick-fix. Yet there is no quick-fix for any major problem, and especially not a problem as complex as the Iraq war, whereby I do not mean the outer situation in Iraq – although it is surely complex – but the larger situation of the national psyche of America.

The American nation and the national debate is still focused almost exclusively on the outer situation in Iraq and there has been very few honest attempts to look in the mirror and ask the logical question, “How did we get ourselves into this situation?” If you do not understand how your own consciousness led you into a situation, how could you possibly get yourself out of that situation? And if you are not willing to change the consciousness that created the situation, how could you even receive the ideas that will help you change the outer situation?

The ascended masters do have solutions that would bring about the best practical outcome of the situation around the Iraq war, but at this point the people who can make decisions – even the people who can be heard in the public debate – are not able to receive those ideas because their minds are trapped in a mental box that is simply too small. Until that changes, I see no point in publicly suggesting solutions. And even after it changes, this website is not the best forum for presenting such solutions, since the American government does not have a habit of consulting this website before making foreign policy decisions. I am, for that matter, not saying they should, as we are quite capable of transferring ideas directly to people with open minds.

Kim: So what is the fundamental change that needs to happen in the national debate? What needs to change is that the American nation asks the unthinkable question. What is that question?

Jesus: If you look at President Bush’s rhetoric before the November election, you will see that his most often used phrase was “stay the course.” President Bush believes he was right in going to war. He is genuinely surprised that things didn’t go as planned, yet he believes that if the United States can just turn the critical corner, everything will change and there will be a happy ending. In other words, President Bush believes history will eventually prove him right.

After the election, President Bush realized that the American people were tired of hearing about staying the course, so he is no longer using that expression. The American people clearly voted for changes in Iraq and the Baker-Hamilton report recommended several. In the shock after the election, President Bush seemed to be open to the report, but after recovering, he has now decided to send more troops—which is clearly against what the report recommended and what the American people wanted. So President Bush is no longer talking about staying the course in Iraq, he is simply staying the course.

My point is that President Bush fundamentally believes that going to war was the right decision and that history will eventually prove this. And although there is growing doubt, the fact is that so far no one – in congress, in the media or among the people – have been willing to come out and publicly ask the unthinkable question: “Was it a fundamental mistake for the American nation to go to war in Iraq?”

Until that question is asked and seriously considered, the American nation will not be able to understand the mechanism in the national psyche that led the nation into this war. And until that mechanism is understood and changed, the American nation will not be able to see the best possible way to rise above the situation. The very mindset that led the nation into the war is preventing the nation from seeing the best way out of the war. It is a catch-22, but as always, it can be broken by asking the unthinkable questions and looking for answers outside the box.

Do you see what I am suggesting? As long as the American government and the entire nation is operating inside the mental box that America could not possibly have made a monumental mistake, they will be looking for a way to prove that it was not a mistake. And committing another 20,000 troops and billions of dollars will be seen as a reasonable price to pay to save the national pride. Here is what I said just before the war started:

I do not consider any war unavoidable, but I realize that if the United States were to stop or even postpone this war, the current leadership of this nation would see it as a loss of credibility, even a loss of face. [end quote]

Unfortunately, the concern for not losing face is still a primary force in the American nation’s approach to the war, and I am not here only talking about the Bush administration but the entire nation, including the media and the Democratic party (most of whom voted for the war). No one really wants to admit that the war was a mistake, no one really wants to come out and say that the emperor has nothing on.

As a result, the national debate is locked on a track that cannot lead to a constructive solution. Yet if it is openly admitted that the war was a mistake, then the debate will change fundamentally. And this will open up for possibilities that, today, no one can even imagine. If the nation would honestly admit that a mistake was made – without making President Bush the scapegoat – it could potentially bring about a shift in the national psyche and tremendous growth and transformation could be the result. Obviously, practical solutions for exiting Iraq without causing a major war in the region would also be forthcoming—as if someone had pulled a rabbit out of a hat.

One of the main messages on this website is that if you encounter – as an individual or a nation – a situation that does not reflect who you want to be, you can use the situation as a springboard for transforming yourself. You need to recognize that the universe is a mirror and that what you experience as physical circumstances is a reflection of your state of consciousness. What you get back from the universe is a product of the mental images you send into the cosmic mirror. Thus, even the worst possible outer circumstances can be used as an impetus to take a look at your own consciousness and change your mental images. Doing this honestly can lead to tremendous personal and national transformation, and such transformation is the highest form of victory.

In other words, the American nation now has a certain mental image of what it means to have victory or defeat in Iraq. Yet the ascended masters have an entirely different conception of victory, namely the greatest possible transformation for all nations involved. We are not primarily concerned about what happens in the outer circumstances, for what we really want to see is that America – and, of course, Iraq – uses this situation to rise above its current state of national consciousness.

Yet it is an inescapable fact – as I have explained above – that leaders or even entire nations can be blinded by a situation. Thus, the very mindset that led America into this war is also preventing the nation from asking whether the war was a mistake. So for those who are open to examining the national psyche, let me offer some thoughts. Here is what I said in 2004:

I would like the United States to learn the highest possible lesson from this war. The highest possible lesson is that in today’s world black-and-white thinking no longer works. This form of thinking simply cannot produce results that are in harmony with the greater good of all. In fact, in today’s world allowing your actions to be motivated by black-and-white thinking is a recipe for disaster. [end quote]

We can now go further by taking a more specific look at the kind of black-and-white thinking that influences the United States. My brother, Gautama Buddha, described it eloquently in his New Year’s address:

My beloved, what was it indeed that caused the American President to start the war in Iraq—which now most people in his own country realize was an ill-conceived adventure? Well, it was, my beloved, that there is something in the national psyche of America that Americans have so far not been willing to recognize and give up. And what is that something, my beloved? Well, it is indeed the entire idea of superiority. The entire idea that a certain people can be the chosen people, the most powerful people, that a nation can somehow be favored by God. [end quote]

Superiority is indeed a specific form of black-and-white thinking. It is dualistic in that it requires two opposite polarities. For someone to be superior, someone else must obviously be inferior. For someone to be good, someone else must be bad. Thus, superiority causes a nation to set itself apart from other nations and peoples, even to set itself above them.

In this context, the main problem with superiority is that once you have allowed yourself to think you are superior, you simply cannot admit a mistake. For if you were to be proven wrong, your claim to superiority would be threatened. That is why superiority so often causes people to become blind, and it has led to many of the situations mentioned earlier where leaders made enormous mistakes.

Once a situation was set on a track, the leaders could not change course because doing so would be seen as admitting a mistake, which would then threaten their claim to superiority. So they blindly kept going in the same direction, they kept “staying the course.” In some cases the consequences of their actions became so severe that they could no longer be ignored. In other cases the consequences were not severe enough to awaken the leaders or their nation and consequently no one learned the lesson. Which is precisely why history has a nasty habit of repeating itself.

What Gautama did not explain in his discourse is why the United States is so influenced by superiority, and he did not do this because it is my responsibility to do so.

It should be obvious that President Bush has been influenced by a subtle sense of superiority, and he has obviously felt that the United States had the moral high ground over Saddam Hussein. He has felt that American freedom and democracy is superior to any other form of government, which gives America a right, even a duty, to spread freedom and democracy around the world.

Yet where do these feelings of moral superiority come from? Well, the truth is that they come from the president’s Christian belief system. President Bush has made no secret of his evangelical background, yet as I recently explained in my comments on Pastor Ted Haggard, evangelical, or fundamentalist Christianity is very far removed from my true teachings. In fact, while America sees itself as a Christian nation, it is actually dominated by a black-and-white form of Christianity that is not true Christianity.

This black-and-white Christianity is defended vigorously by preachers like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Ted Haggard, Billy Graham and others, some of whom actually advised the president before he made the decision to go to war. Some of these preachers have publicly stated that the war in Iraq was a just war, even that God told them it was just.

Obviously, these modern preachers did not create black-and-white Christianity, but they are indeed responsible for holding America back and preventing the nation from growing into a more balanced approach to Christianity, such as has been at least approached by Bishop Spong, Joel Olstein, Rick Warren and others (I am not hereby saying I agree with everything these people advocate, I am only saying they are making sincere attempts to develop a more balanced approach to Christianity. It remains to be seen whether they can avoid the trap of going from black-and-white to gray thinking.).

Obviously, the development of black-and-white Christianity goes back to when Christianity became the state religion of the Roman empire. For Constantine, Christianity was not a system of thought designed to set people free but a means to a political end, namely the survival of the Roman empire. Ever since then, Christianity has been controlled by people who see it as their duty to control the population, and this view is obviously based on the fact that such people see themselves as being far superior to the population.

That is why these people destroyed my true mission, namely to set an example of a systematic path to personal Christhood that all people can follow. They did this by elevating me to be the only Son of God, even as being God in embodiment (which I consider to be blasphemy). Thus, from the very beginning of Catholic Christianity and continuing into Lutheran Christianity, this religion has been dominated by the sense of superiority.

Since Christianity has portrayed itself as the only true religion and as the only road to salvation, superiority and spiritual pride have been the inevitable companions of the Christian movement. Obviously, this has allowed Christianity to be dominated by people who are blinded by their egos, and that is why this religion has spawned so many atrocities, such as the Inquisition, the crusades and so on.

Yet what was the admonishment I gave to my disciples when they were fighting over who should be superior among them? Did I not say,

43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark, Chapter 10)

My overall point here is that if America wants to truly learn the lesson it needs to learn from the Iraq war, it needs to take a long, hard look at its Christian heritage. It needs to acknowledge that American Christianity has, for far too long, been dominated by black-and-white thinking that leads to spiritual pride and a sense of superiority. It is high time to move Christianity out of this form of thinking without falling into the equally non-productive trap of gray thinking.

As Gautama mentioned, America does indeed have a special sponsorship from Saint Germain and has the potential to become a forerunner for the Golden Age. Yet for this to happen, America must overcome the superiority-inferiority duality and begin to see itself as the servant of all nations. America must decide to stop serving mammon – meaning the international power elite who wants only money and power – and instead begin to serve God, meaning God’s purpose of setting all people free from suppression by bringing a Golden Age to earth.

Yet for America to fulfill this role, it must make an essential decision. Does America want to be a Christian nation or a Christed nation?

For those who cannot tell the difference, I recommend they begin by studying my ego discourses and then move on to studying this website in general. The difference truly is the difference between life and death, between being the true servant of all life or seeking to elevate oneself above others. I can assure you that I had no sense of superiority toward any part of life and I have no tolerance whatsoever for those who have turned my religion into a den of thieves, dominated by those who think they can steal or buy their salvation by elevating themselves above others on earth.

God is no respecter of persons and neither is Christ. Nor are we respecters of nations except those who are seeking to humbly serve the people instead of serving an elite who insists on continuing to play in the sandbox of superiority. If a nation is built on sand – if it is a house divided against itself by allowing an elite to manipulate the people – it will not stand as the winds of Aquarius will begin to blow with full force.

Take note of what I said in 2004. It is as relevant today as it was back then:

The American people are today in a similar situation to that encountered by Prince Hamlet. Hamlet knew there were forces inside his own kingdom that were plotting against him, yet he refused to take active measures to stop these forces, and this decision led to a greater calamity.

I am not suggesting that the American people should use violence to prevent their government from using violence. On the contrary, this battle must be fought with information and nonviolent measures. What I am saying is that the American people must do something to restrain their own government, because without action from the people, the government will not be able to restrain itself. [end quote]

Obviously, the American people have indeed done something to restrain their government by the way they voted in the November elections. Unfortunately, their president seems content to ignore the message they were sending him, for he is still so blinded by superiority – and the accompanying unwillingness to admit that the war was a mistake from the beginning – that he thinks his own people are wrong and that history will eventually prove him right.

Thus, he is still acting as a typical politician who is trying to save face, rather than stepping up and becoming a true statesman who can admit his mistakes and make the necessary adjustments to save his nation. Therefore, the American people now face a new challenge of whether they will call their president to order and make clear to him – through the democratic means available to them – that they want to see the change in policy that they voted for.

Will the American people decide to step up and accept their responsibility for making their nation a Christed nation? Or will they continue the old approach of leaving it up to a small elite to run the nation as they see fit? I can assure you that if President Bush’s latest policy is allowed to go forward unchallenged, the consequences will not be to anyone’s liking.

The simple fact is that President Bush and his entire administration needs a reality check that shatters their spiritual blindness. It would be better for everyone if that reality check came from the people who elected Bush rather than from a disastrous development in the Middle East, where several scenarios – all equally non-constructive – are about to drop into the physical realm from where they cannot be turned back.

 Copyright © 2007 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: People grow through free choices – only the forces of anti-christ seek to force people’s free will – you cannot force people to be free – America is now deeply influenced by totalitarian consciousness – Iraqi people not ready for democracy – America can be a bastion for freedom, but not through force – U.S. did not liberate Iraqi people – they became a new oppressor – Iraqi people not ready for freedom – religious wars spring from anti-christ – forces in American government are exponents for anti-christ – second American revolution based on Christ discernment –

Question: I recently heard George Bush say in an interview that he considers it to be the America’s destiny and duty to spread freedom and democracy around the world. Given that he is attempting to do this with military force in Iraq, I wonder where this might lead in light of what you have said elsewhere. I also wonder whether it is possible to spread freedom and democracy through military power—I mean how can you force a people to be free if they are not willing to fight for their freedom?

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

If you read the beautiful discourse by my beloved Mother, you will see that there was an angel, named Lucifer, who rebelled against God when God gave human beings free will. God created human beings as extensions of himself, and they are meant to descend into the densest part of God’s creation, namely the material universe, and then work their way up through the different levels of God’s creation. They are meant to do this not by being forced to do so but through their own free will, so that when they reach the highest levels of Gods creation, they will have done so exclusively because they love God more than anything else. They will have done so because they have chosen to seek union with God and have refused to be trapped in any lower sense of identity.

Therefore, planet earth can be seen as a school for lifestreams in which people are meant to learn by exercising their free will. Consequently, it is a law of God that no one is allowed to interfere with the free will of human beings. We of the ascended masters have absolute respect for God’s law, and that is why we never interfere with the free will of our unascended brothers and sisters. This fact explains why we have limited power in terms of changing people’s behavior.

Ultimately, we cannot prevent humankind from destroying itself or destroying this planet. If people are bent on self-destruction, and if they ignore our advice and our rescue attempts, we can and we will allow them to destroy themselves because we have ultimate respect for the Law of Free Will. And we trust that God knew what he was doing when he gave people free will. As Mother Mary eloquently explains, Lucifer did not believe that God knew what he was doing when he gave people free will. He rebelled against God’s plan and lowered his consciousness until he descended into the material universe. In this universe he became the primary exponent for the consciousness of anti-christ.

This consciousness has absolutely no respect for God’s Law of Free Will. Therefore, the consciousness of anti-christ is a consciousness that seeks to force people. The consciousness of anti-christ believes that it is the true savior of human beings and that it needs to save people from destroying themselves. It also believes that the reason people have the ability to destroy themselves is that they have free will. Therefore, the consciousness of anti-christ believes that it is necessary and justified to override people’s free will in order to save them from themselves. In other words, the consciousness of anti-christ is a consciousness that imposes a judgment upon people and then seeks to force them into following what it defines as the greater good.

When you transfer this to the idea that the United States has a duty to spread freedom and democracy around the world, you see the potential dangers. Truly, as you say above, it is impossible to force people to be free. You can be free only when you choose to be free. This is what happened in the United States, where the people decided to fight for their freedom by their own power, their own wisdom and their own love for freedom.

The American Revolution was truly an expression of the consciousness of Christ through the people that founded this nation and wrote the Constitution. Yet as has happened to many empires of the past, the United States has today moved far away from the spirit of freedom and the consciousness of Christ that wrestled this nation away from the totalitarian power embodied in the English crown. Indeed, those same totalitarian powers, meaning the totalitarian consciousness, the consciousness of anti-christ, has today gained a very strong foothold in the United States of America. Your current president is only one among many people who are flirting with this state of consciousness.

Take care that you do not fall into a black-and-white way of thinking. It truly is the intent of the ascended masters that the United States should be a bastion for true freedom and the Christ consciousness. It truly is our highest hope that the United States can become a bastion for spreading the true freedom of the Christ consciousness around the world. Yet this true freedom cannot be spread through force, and this is the essential distinction.

Take for example Iraq. Why did Saddam Hussein remain in power for so long? Because the Iraqi people have not reached a level of maturity that makes them truly want to be free. They were not willing to step up to the level of Christ consciousness that is necessary for a people to become free. You see, because of the current imperfect conditions on planet earth, people have to win their freedom by fighting the oppressors that represent the consciousness of anti-christ. This is not God’s original plan or design, but it is the current – although temporary – reality on planet earth. My point is that when people have reached the level of Christ consciousness that makes them willing to be free and makes them willing to lose everything, including their lives (“Give me liberty or give me death!”), in order to win the freedom of the Christ consciousness, then the ascended masters will send them outside help that can give them what they need to win their freedom.

When the early American colonists reached a level of Christ consciousness that enabled them to be free, the nation of France was inspired to give them what they needed to defeat the British army and establish this nation. Could the United States of America have been established through non-violence? Yes it could, but at the time the people in the colonies did not have a high enough level of Christ consciousness to win their freedom without violence.

My point here is that it is perfectly legitimate for the United States to serve as a bastion for spreading freedom and democracy around the world, but it is not legitimate for the United States to do this through force. In other words, if there had been a sufficiently strong resistance movement within Iraq, it would have been legitimate for the United States to aid this resistance movement in overthrowing Saddam Hussein from within. Yet it was not legitimate for the United States to go in and violently overthrow Saddam Hussein, because this actually interferes with the free will of the Iraqi people and their evolution toward Christ consciousness.

That is why you see the current situation in Iraq, where many people do not see the United States as a liberator but see it as simply another oppressive force, similar to Saddam Hussein. You see, contrary to the popular belief held by the president and his advisors, the United States has not liberated the Iraqi people. They have simply removed a tyrant, and in so doing they have become the new tyrant oppressing the people. And because the people were not ready for their freedom, they simply view the United States as another oppressor. Obviously, that is not the case for all Iraqis, but I can tell you that the Iraqi people have not reached a collective level of Christ consciousness that allows them to be truly free.  That is why the violence and infighting will continue in the foreseeable future and why the country could erupt into a civil war that could quickly ignite a larger war in the Middle East. This is why the world is not safer after the removal of Saddam Hussein. Even America is not safer.

When a people is not ready for freedom and democracy, there is nothing gained by going in with military might and forcing them to become free and democratic. Democracy is a very demanding form of government, and people have to be ready for it. The Iraqi people are obviously not ready. They are not yet willing to take responsibility for their nation and for governing themselves, so they actually want to have an oppressor that they can oppose.

So my final point is that America cannot fulfill its Divine plan by indiscriminately using its military power to overthrow dictators around the world. In order to truly spread freedom and democracy, America needs to have a very keen Christ discernment, so that it knows when to step in and when NOT to step in. If not, it will be like the fool who rushes in where angels fear to tread. And as I say many times throughout this website, the only real solution is that a critical mass of Americans embrace my true teachings about the path to Christhood. Only when a critical mass of Americans reach Christhood on a personal level, will there be a foundation for the government acting with Christ discernment.

In another answer,  I explain that the mind of Christ is not in opposition to the mind of anti-christ. The mind of anti-christ has simply created its own opposition, which many people see as good and evil. They even fall prey to the illusion that what they define as good is Christ and what they define as evil is anti-christ.

My point here is that over the millennia numerous people have been caught in this endless game of thinking that in order to do God’s will and God’s work, they have to align themselves with the force that they call good and seek to eradicate the force that they call evil. This is what has led to all of the religiously motivated wars you see on this planet. It led to the Crusades in which Christians thought it justified that they kill other human beings in my name. It has led to the modern terrorist movement in which Muslims believe it is justified to kill other people in the name of Allah. And it has led to a movement in the United States in which certain forces believe that it is justified to eradicate Muslim terrorism in the name of Christ. Unfortunately, there are people in the White House who have fallen prey to this lie and therefore have become temporary exponents for the consciousness of anti-christ.

When will this end? It will end when a critical mass of the American people reach a high enough level of Christ consciousness that they can throw off the force of anti-christ that has infiltrated their government. In other words, there is a great need for a second American revolution, but it must – and I say must – be a spiritual revolution instead of a violent physical revolution. What is needed today is that the spiritual people of America make an all-out effort to attain Christ consciousness on a personal level and then begin to express that Christ consciousness in all areas of their society.

When you put on the mind of Christ, you become the open door for bringing forth a higher awareness, a higher culture and a higher form of government that can solve the problems that today seem to have no solutions. My entire purpose for this website is to give people the tools and the understanding they need to manifest Christ consciousness. Let those who have ears, hear my words, but be not hearers of the word only [James 1:22]. Be the doers of the word by being the Word incarnate.

Copyright © 2004 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: Practical realism – the masters do not endorse either party as none can bring about the needed changes – long-term changes to the political system –

Question: After listening to many lightworkers today, the day after the Presidential election, we all seem to be extremely sad and heartbroken. It’s like someone has ripped our Spirit right out of us. I thought it was just me that couldn’t seem to understand how people in this United States of America, cannot see the lies and deceit of our government. Many of us have been praying the rosaries, hoping we could somehow change the mindset of American voters. So I ask Jesus, on behalf of all dedicated lightworkers on this planet, please offer us some consoling words, so we can pick ourselves up and go back to our mission of bringing peace and manifesting God’s kingdom on earth.

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

Thank you for asking this question; it gives me the opportunity to give some important teachings for all who consider themselves spiritual people, whether you call yourself a lightworker, a lightbearer, or a spiritual and religious person. Let me give you some thoughts.

I understand that when you look at certain events through the filter of the mind of a person in embodiment, it can seem very frustrating. Yet we of the ascended masters have been associated with humankind for a very long time. So we naturally have a much broader perspective, and I would like to give you a bit of that perspective. We have seen so many times that individuals, or a group of people, have not lived up to their highest potential. They have chosen the low road instead of the high road. Because we have seen this so often, we have learned to deal with the frustration and adopt an attitude of practical realism.

If you read my previous comments on the presidential election, you will see that between the lines is this attitude of practical realism. I talk about the need for sweeping changes in the American political system. Yet I also realize that it would not be possible to bring about such changes in this presidential election. Therefore, from the standpoint of a practical realist, it wasn’t all that important who won the election.

I understand that many spiritual people have severe issues with George Bush because of the war in Iraq and other parts of his policies. I understand that many of these people are leaning toward the Democratic Party and were therefore disappointed that the party’s candidate was not elected. If you read my discourse carefully, you will see that the ascended masters do not endorse either of the major parties in the United States. The reason being that neither of the two dominant parties are able or willing to – on their own accord – bring about the political reforms that we would like to see happen.

Yet these changes could still come about if enough people raise their consciousness. In other words, nothing is lost and we of the ascended masters do not consider this election as a blow to our ongoing plans. What would be a blow to our plans is if many lightworkers become discouraged and stop doing their spiritual work to bring about changes regardless of which political party holds power. As a spiritual person, you must never forget that the power of God is greater than any political power, but the power of God must work through people.

My point here is that as spiritual seekers it is important not to become attached to either of the two political parties. And if you are not attached, then you really should not be heartbroken or feel like your Spirit has been ripped out of you. That is a feeling I would like to see all spiritual people rise above, and it can only happen when you overcome your attachments to the things of this world.

Instead, you need to take the long view and maintain the vision and keep up the spiritual work for bringing about the long-term changes to the political system that I have outlined in my discourse. You also need to keep working and praying for the raising of your own consciousness and the raising of the consciousness of a critical mass of the American people. This is the only way to bring about political changes. You cannot do this by simply electing one or the other party or one or the other candidate.

 Copyright © 2004 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: Both parties have the same elitist agenda – government must have the consent of the governed – a morally bankrupt system – original political system outdated because of technology – electoral college must go – representative democracy needs modification – major decisions made by popular vote – abandon the Senate – abortion demonstrates the problem – media controlled by power elite – grassroots movement towards self-government – the people do not need a power elite to govern them – take political parties out of the process – no more following the party line – time to abandon black-and-white thinking – gap between people and the government – two-party system must go – Christianity out of touch with Jesus’ true teachings – America sitting between two chairs – both political system and religion must be renewed – bought off with the good life – the middle way beyond dualistic extremes – how dark forces use power elite to undermine democracy – the lesser of two evils is not the greater good –

Question: Beloved Jesus: It is reported: that one of the most underreported but pivotal stories of this election season: Untold numbers of American Christians, conservatives, Republicans, libertarians, constitutionalists and others “on the right” are torn over how to vote in this November’s election.  Some are so turned off by both major-party presidential candidates they are threatening to stay home on Election Day. Others are abandoning, or considering abandoning, their traditional political home, the Republican Party, in favor of a third party. They regard the two major political camps as so similar and unacceptable that only a third-party choice seems worthwhile. After all, they say, “Voting for the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.” Many others, however, plead that the “lesser of two evils” is also by definition the greater good, and that no matter what the mistakes and imperfections of George W. Bush and his administration, it’s light years better than the wholesale betrayal America would experience during a Kerry administration.  The question is: as this is a race in November for a President of the United States, should we condone voting for the lesser of two evils; not voting at all; voting for a third-party candidate you approve of but has little chance of winning; write in your own candidate on the ballot? And any other comments you may wish to share concerning this crucial election.

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

The members of the ascended masters have different assignments and specialties. Given the office I hold, I am not the ascended master who is primarily assigned to oversee the American election. My beloved brother, Saint Germain, is far more involved with America, including the election, because he was the primary master who sponsored the founding of the United States of America. Yet given that we are all one, I can certainly give you some thoughts to ponder.

Thought 1.
The ascended masters are quite concerned about the upcoming American election. We do consider it a watershed election, but not for the reasons given by partisan politicians and their supporters. We do not consider it very important whether this or that candidate is elected president, because in our estimation neither the candidates nor their parties will be able or willing to bring about the changes needed to bring the United States of America in alignment with the spiritual principles that formed the basis for the founding of this nation.

Simply consider the fact that both candidates have ties to rich families, graduated from the same university and were members of the same secret society at that university. The fact that they claim to be on different sides of the political spectrum only serves to demonstrate what we of the ascended masters can clearly see, namely that both sides of the political spectrum are advancing the same agenda. That agenda is an elitist agenda. It is an agenda that seeks to further advance the state of affairs where a small elite runs the country instead of the American people. This is clearly against one of the founding principles of the United States, namely that this nation should have a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people. Instead, you now have a government that is of the power elite, by the power elite and for the power elite.

Thought 2.
The ascended masters consider this an important election because we hope that the events leading up to the election, and the turmoil that is likely to transpire in the weeks after the election, will awaken the American people to the fact that major changes are needed in the political system. We hope that this will lead to drastic reforms in the United States that will eventually spread to most other democratic nations, as the original American Constitution inspired the founding of many other democratic nations around the world.

The central issue here is that the basic principle in a democracy is that the government must rule by the consent of the governed. The fact that so many Americans are dissatisfied with both candidates and feel like none of the political parties express their views, shows clearly that the American government is currently not ruling by the consent of the governed. If that is not the case, then the American political system is morally bankrupt, and it no longer rules by moral, but only by legal, authority. This is a situation that is not sustainable, and that is one reason why I, in a previous discourse, called for a non-violent second American revolution.

Thought 3.
What should be the ingredients of such a political revolution? As one aspect, it needs to become obvious to a majority of Americans that the political system that was put in place in the late 1700s has become outdated because of technological advances. One example of this is the electoral college, which was practical at a time when the means of communication were primitive and slow. In a nation as large as the United States, the electoral college had some merit 200 years ago. However, in today’s world of instant communication, the presidency should be decided exclusively by the popular vote. It should not be possible that a candidate could win the presidency while receiving a minority of the popular vote. The vote of every citizen should count the same, regardless of which state you live in.

On a more fundamental level, it should be obvious that while a representative democracy was an absolute necessity when this nation was founded, modern communications and information technology has made this far less essential. This should lead to the conclusion that it is no longer correct that the political apparatus should make all major decisions in this nation. There are already several European countries that have various processes in place, whereby important decisions are made by public referendum and simply cannot be made by the president, the ruling party or even parliament.

This should give rise to the recognition that the elected representatives should serve more as administrators and not as policy makers. This could lead to a streamlining of the government, whereby the Senate could be abandoned. The president and the Congress would make the day-to-day decisions about how to run the nation, how to respond to a crisis and how to implement policy. Yet policy should be decided by the people through referendums.

The most obvious example of how major political decisions are out of touch with the will – and the consent – of the people is the issue of abortion. If the founding fathers knew that an issue of this magnitude had been decided by the vote of one single supreme court justice, they would rotate in their graves—to use a popular expression. Given that some of your founding fathers are today members of the ascended masters, I can assure you that they are appalled by this development. Therefore, it needs to become obvious that all major policy decisions should be made by the American people after a free debate.

Such a debate could not have taken place before the advent of the Internet, because the mainstream media has for decades been completely controlled by the power elite who wants to tighten their grip on all aspects of American society, and for that matter the world as a whole. Yet in today’s world, there are far better opportunities than ever before for people to be informed about what is really happening in society.

Therefore, what needs to happen is the emergence of a grassroots movement in the United States which argues for constitutional reforms that puts major policy decisions in the hands of the people. Anyone who would work against such a reform would clearly be against democracy, against freedom and for elitism. Only a power elite who wants to maintain status quo could be opposed to such a reform. I am aware that some people will come up with a range of arguments against what I am suggesting, but these arguments have no validity in today’s information society.

Today’s people are perfectly capable of governing themselves, and they do not need an elite to govern them. This is the lie promoted by dark forces for thousands of years on this planet, and as the consciousness of humankind is being raised, this argument is becoming increasingly weak.

Thought 4.
The change I propose above would serve one more important function. It would signal to the power elite in America that “the party is over.” In other words, we need to take party politics out of the political process. You have a situation today in which many politicians are forced to argue for a case that they either do not believe in or that they realize is not the ultimate truth. Yet in order to support their party, they have to conform and follow the party line. You have a situation where many people are forced to take a certain position in order to distinguish themselves from the other party on that issue. Therefore, you have two parties who each tend to take one of the two extreme positions on any issue.

In another discourse, I argue in great detail, that the most important change that needs to happen in American politics is that America needs to abandon black-and-white thinking. Contrary to what many Christians believe, the Christ consciousness is not an extremist type of consciousness. It is neither the ultra-conservative hellfire and brimstone position proclaimed by some Christian fundamentalist preachers, nor is it a liberal, anything-goes type of consciousness. The Christ consciousness, as I seek to explain throughout this website, is above and beyond the relativity opposites, the dualistic extremes, that spring from the dualistic mind.

Yet in today’s political climate, both parties are often forced to take one of the extremist positions, meaning that neither party can, for political reasons, afford to take the Christed position—if they were able to discern this position, which they often are not. This needs to end, and it could be ended by leaving all major policy decisions to be decided by popular vote.

Thought 5
Another way to approach the problem of party politics is to say that what is currently happening in the United States is that the people are feeling more and more politically disenfranchised. They feel they have less and less say over decisions made by the government and that there is an increasing gap between the ordinary citizen and the government. They feel they can do little to change things because they have no real candidates or parties to vote for. This is again in direct opposition to the principle of having a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people. That is why there needs to be constitutional changes that make it more feasible for the people to challenge status quo.

One step towards breaking up traditional party politics would be to create a process that made it easier for new political parties to gain influence on the democratic process. The two-party system has simply outlived its usefulness. Several European nations have systems that make it far easier for a third party to gain entry into the political process. It is simply not democratic that a number of Americans could vote for a presidential candidate, as happened in the 1992 election, who is not a member of one of the two major parties, and after the election those people had no representation in Congress.

It is necessary to make it easier for new parties to be on the ballot and to have seats in Congress, depending on the percentage of the popular vote they receive. I am aware that in several European nations this has led to a proliferation of political parties that often create political gridlock. Yet this political gridlock could be avoided by letting all major policy decisions be decided by popular vote.

Am I saying this would be an easy transition? I am aware that it is easy to outline the transition and much harder to implement it. Yet what I am saying is that this is an essential transition because you have two simple options:

• You can allow the current political system to become more and more elitist and to place more and more power in the hands of a smaller and smaller segment of the American population.
• You can change the system so that you can once again have a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people and that rules by the consent of the governed, meaning a majority of the governed.

Thought 6.
I am fully aware that many Christians find themselves in a conundrum concerning which candidate to support for President. Yet if these people would take a step back, they would realize that their conundrum goes much deeper than political issues. It goes to the very heart of their religious beliefs and how they see Christianity.

As I seek to explain throughout this website, orthodox Christianity has perverted my true teachings by creating doctrines that spring from the dualistic mind. Over the past several decades, humankind’s consciousness has been raised dramatically, and this has helped millions of people, both Christians and non-Christians, to begin to see through the fallacy of dualistic thinking.

Yet at the same time, the rising spiritual light has also forced many people to take more extreme positions. In the United States, this has caused most Christian church leaders to take an exceedingly conservative position. And this conservative position is in many ways out of alignment with the truth of Christ. The best example is that so many Christian church leaders supported the war in Iraq, while the ascended masters did not, as explained elsewhere.

Millions of Christians are beginning to realize the fallacy of black-and-white thinking, and that is why they find it increasingly difficult to support the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Yet the only true solution to this issue is not a political, but a spiritual solution. What these many Christians need to do is to recognize the simple fact that their Christian churches are out of alignment with my true teachings. Therefore, the key to resolving the situation is that millions of Christians wake up to the reality of my true teachings, namely that they have the ability to know Christ truth within their hearts, to follow my footsteps and put on the mind of Christ. This is the only factor that will significantly change not only the political landscape in the United States but also the religious landscape. This leads to another important thought.

Thought 7.
As I attempt to explain throughout this website, the current conditions found on this planet were not created by God. They are almost exclusively an expression of the current state of consciousness of humankind. The logical consequence is that the government of any country is an expression of the state of consciousness, the collective state of consciousness, of the people of that country.

What is happening in the United States is that millions of people are rising to a higher level of consciousness. They are beginning to see the fallacy of the dualistic, black-and-white thinking. Yet they have not yet broken through to a conscious realization of what is happening, and therefore the changes that are taking place at the deeper levels of people’s minds have not yet been translated into visible changes in people’s personal lives and in society as a whole. One might say that America right now is sitting between two chairs. It is stuck in a kind of no-man’s-land, where the current religious culture and the current political culture is outdated and obsolete. Yet we have not yet had a critical mass of people who have attained a clear vision of why it is obsolete and what it will take to change it.

One major reason for this impasse is that so many Americans have been bought off with the “good life” represented by the good material life. Therefore, they are reluctant to rock the boat by abandoning what is comfortable. As a result, many Christians are in reality seeking to serve both God and mammon, yet as I said 2,000 years ago, you cannot serve two masters. Unfortunately, until a critical mass of Americans decide to leave their nets – of entanglements with the power elite and the good life – and serve the true master of the Christ mind, the nation will remain stuck in its current political stalemate.

What can break this impasse? Only one thing, namely that more people attain a higher degree of Christhood. And the main thing that could bring this about is that my true teachings, as I describe them on my website, LINK would spread as a wildfire and be recognized by a critical mass of people in the United States and elsewhere.

When a critical mass of people in a nation rise to a certain level of Christ consciousness, it will cause a chain reaction that will ripple through all aspects of that society. If Christians in the United States were to consciously recognize the need to follow in my footsteps and put on personal Christhood, it could quickly change the religious culture in this nation. This would lead to a clear, conscious recognition that the mind of Christ is beyond the relative extremes of the dualistic mind.

In the political spectrum, this would lead the way for the changes I have talked about earlier, changes that would lead America away from the elitist political system and put the decision-making power in the hands of the people. This would also cause such a dramatic shift in consciousness that you would suddenly see political candidates that were beyond party politics and had the true characteristics of a statesman. These candidates would be the type of candidates that people with some degree of Christ consciousness could support wholeheartedly.

Thought 8.
What I am saying is that the two candidates that are currently running for president are typical expressions of the state of consciousness of the American people. George Bush represents the one extreme, namely the people who cling to the status quo and the dualistic, black-and-white thinking. The biggest problem with George Bush is that he is unwilling to admit when he has made a wrong decision and change his decision accordingly. He believes that if a leader changes his position, it is a sign of weakness. Yet a true leader will always change his position when faced with decisive evidence, and his mind is always open to finding such evidence.

John Kerry represents the many people who have realized the fallacies of black-and-white thinking but have swung into the opposite extreme. Instead of judging everything based on black-and-white thinking, they now tend to believe that anything goes and that there are no higher guiding principles. This is what makes it difficult for these people, John Kerry included, to take a firm stand on any issue and to maintain that stand. They simply cannot see through the many relative arguments to make a firm decision.

The middle way between these two extremes is the Christ mind, which realizes that all decisions must be based on timeless principles that are above and beyond the relativity of the dualistic mind. Yet it also realizes that you cannot apply such principles in a black-and-white manner. Because humankind is currently so enmeshed in the consciousness of duality, it can be necessary to adapt principles to this temporary reality. The Christ mind realizes that it can sometimes be necessary to make decisions that seem to compromise timeless principles, and this is a temporary necessity that is done to bring society forward. Therefore, the overall progression of society is indeed in accordance with timeless principles and will ultimately lead to a higher state of consciousness.

Thought 9.
Let me say that the lesser of two evils is still an evil. To say that the lesser of two evils represents the greater good shows a complete ignorance of the tactics used by dark forces to control the people of earth, a tactic that is personified by the power elite. Let me make it clear that the dark forces did not want to see the creation of democracies. They opposed this with with all their power, and ever since the emergence of the first democracy, they have attempted to use their henchmen in the power elite to undermine democracy from within. Their tactic is twofold:

• In a democracy, people can vote, but they can only vote based on what they know. So if you can control information, you can to some degree control how people vote. That is why, for a very long time, the power elite has attempted to gain control over the mainstream media, and they have been very successful, especially in the United States where the media is driven by profit. It is so easy for the dark forces to control people who are driven by greed.
• In a democracy people can vote, but they can only vote by selecting from the available candidates. So if you can control who can run, you can control who will be elected. And if you do this well, all of the people running will work for the same larger agenda, namely to maintain or expand the control of the power elite.

What has happened in the United States is that a small elite has attained a very high degree of control, and they are greatly helped by the two-party system and the mainstream media. They have managed to create a situation where the only candidates who have a realistic chance of being elected president are those representing the two major parties. And in order to be nominated, you have to sell your soul and demonstrate that you will follow the party line. Despite the alleged differences between democrats and republicans, millions of Americans are beginning to realize that both parties are advancing the same agenda. They simply go about it in slightly different ways.

The result is that no matter which party you vote for, you vote for the same elitist agenda. Nevertheless, if you can make people believe that the lesser of two evils is the greater good, there is little risk that they will rock the boat by demanding widespread political reform.

Thought 10.
What can you do to change the situation? I have said that there needs to be a reform movement that emerges from the grassroots level and gains such widespread support that it cannot be ignored by mainstream media and mainstream politicians. Locally elected politicians will still respond to demands made by the people who voted them into office and can vote them out at the next election.

Nevertheless, such a reform movement cannot emerge in a vacuum. It must ride the wave created by a change in consciousness, and that is why the only factor that can truly break the status quo is that millions of Americans wake up to the need to put on the mind of Christ. So for those open to this website, I am not saying you should start of join a political reform movement, although you could certainly support it.

The most important thing you could do is to work on your personal Christhood and work on spreading the knowledge of my true teachings. In other words, if you want to make a difference, you will make the greatest difference by helping the rise in Christ consciousness both on the personal and collective level. Remember my statement, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32 ). If you lift up yourself, you will lift up your society and bring the mind of Christ into American politics. This is the most valuable contribution you could possibly make to your country, be it the United States or any other nation.

In the short term, it would also be very helpful for people to use our decrees and invocations to call for the exposure and overturning of the power elite and for reform in American politics. It would be extremely valuable to call for the exposure of all corruption in the election and for the enlightenment of the American people.

 Copyright © 2004 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: Prisoner abuse and the desire to justify the war – ascended masters do not want to humiliate the U.S. – they want all nations to learn their lessons – staying the course – inflexibility leads to disaster – black-and-white thinking no longer works – the U.S. is opposing the universe itself and cannot win – imbalance caused by dualistic thinking – defining an outer enemy, thinking killing the enemy will solve all problems – reaching for the Christ mind – mindset that caused greatest atrocities of history – a vacuum after the Cold War – defining Islam as the enemy of America – black-and-white thinking in Iraq – epic struggle takes place in all people’s minds – America must rise to a higher view of Christianity – pounding your head against the concrete wall of the universe –

Question from Kim: Jesus, I just reread the comments on the Iraq war that you gave last year. I especially took note of the following: 

I will prophesy that if the administration decides to launch a war against Iraq, it is highly likely that it will later be seen as the greatest mistake of the Bush administration. I will also predict that such a war will not minimize the risk of terrorist attacks on American interests. On the contrary, it is likely to fuel further attacks. Furthermore, a war with Iraq will not help bring about world peace.

The simple fact is that after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States was in the position of being seen as the victim, and therefore it had widespread support and cooperation. A war with Iraq will almost certainly remove the impression that the United States is a victim. Instead, it will be seen as an aggressor and international support and cooperation will begin to evaporate, as is already evident in the United Nations.

I will prophesy that if the Bush administration goes to war against Iraq, this war will have ramifications that will haunt the United States, and indeed the entire planet, for a long time to come. Taken to the extreme, there is a risk, not a high risk but still a risk, that the war with Iraq can escalate into a worldwide conflict. If such a conflict ensues, it is likely to begin with an increase in the number of terrorist attacks. Yet there is a real risk that the situation can escalate into a full-blown war between nation states. Who can tell how far such a conflict might escalate? 

I am wondering if you have any comments about the latest developments, such as the continuing violence and the prisoner abuse problem?

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels: (May 11, 2004)

I do have several comments. First of all, concerning the abuse of prisoners, I hope people will begin to ask themselves if there is a connection between this abuse and the fact that the United States government, especially during the fall of last year when much of the abuse took place, was under intense international pressure to justify the war by finding weapons of mass destruction, by finding Saddam Hussein or by finding a link to the terrorists in Al Qaeda. Could this possibly have created a frame of mind within the system that made it seem justifiable to do whatever it took to get the much needed information? If so, how high into the ranks of the military and the government did this mindset go?

In other words, is it likely that the abuse was created solely by the initiative of a handful of vigilantes, as the government currently claims, or was there a deeper systemic problem springing from the need to justify the war? I will prophesy that there will be more exposures, and I hope they will indeed uncover everything that there is to uncover in this matter—and I can assure you there is much to uncover.

My second comment is that no member of the ascended masters has any desire to see the United States humiliated before the eyes of the world. We did not support this war, as I explained in my previous comments,  but we would like to see the United States, and all the parties involved, emerge from the situation in a way that can lead to true progress in terms of establishing a more peaceful world. In other words, we would like all nations involved to learn the best possible lessons they can learn, incorporate those lessons into their policies and then move on in a constructive direction.

In that respect, we are gravely concerned when we hear the President of the United States, and most of those who support him in the government and the military – even some voices in the media – state that the United States simply needs to stay the course in Iraq. There seems to be a mindset that if the United States keeps doing what it has been doing so far, then things will eventually turn around and the movie will have a happy ending. I might remind people of Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity, namely that you keep doing the same thing but expect different results.

We of the ascended masters have been involved with humankind for thousands of years, and we have seen every mistake that was made during human history. Nothing is more concerning to us than to hear a powerful political or military leader state that he will not change course no matter what happens. This inflexibility and unwillingness to adapt to circumstances has been the cause of some of the greatest military and political disasters seen in human history. It is a mindset that always springs from pride, but in this case there is more to it that simple pride and arrogance.

As I said, I would like the United States to learn the highest possible lesson from this war. The highest possible lesson is that in today’s world black-and-white thinking no longer works. This form of thinking simply cannot produce results that are in harmony with the greater good of all. In fact, in today’s world allowing your actions to be motivated by black-and-white thinking is a recipe for disaster. The reason for that is simple.

As I explain in another discourse, cycles have turned and humankind has entered at new age, a new spiritual cycle. As Mother Mary explains in her discourse, it is extremely important to have a balance between the expanding force of the Father and the contracting force of the Mother. This has become much more important in the present age, and I can assure you that any form of imbalance leads to tension and eventually to self-destruction. If you become unbalanced, you create an action, and the universe will immediately create a reaction that will oppose your action. If you continue to go in the same direction, without being willing to change your approach, then you will be opposing the universe itself and no nation, not even the United States, can oppose the universe and win.

The essence of imbalance is the form of black-and-white thinking where you define the world in simplistic terms. This is precisely the kind of thinking that led the United States to go to war in Iraq. In all fairness, let me make it clear that President Bush was not dominated by this type of thinking when he took office. He was a much more balanced and pragmatic politician at that time. Yet after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, President Bush became more influenced by black-and-white thinking.

This mindset is a direct result of the unbalanced approach to Christianity that has been going on for almost 2,000 years and that in the United States has found its most extreme expression in the fundamentalist movement. This movement wants to define everything in the simplistic terms of a struggle between good and evil, and this is what leads people to define everything as either being good, meaning white, or evil, meaning black, with no shades in between. I am not here talking about race, I am simply talking about the colors black and white.

I am in no way denying that there is an epic struggle between good and evil on this planet. Yet as I attempt to explain throughout this website, the difference between good and evil cannot be understood or defined by the dualistic mind because to the dualistic mind everything is relative, meaning that good and evil also become relative terms. This is what leads people to define an outer enemy as the source of evil and to believe that if only they destroy that outer enemy, they have destroyed evil on this planet.

For almost two millennia, certain people in orthodox Christianity have defined outer enemies as being the representatives of anti-christ. This led to the Crusades, the inquisition, the persecution of scientists and many other atrocities. The reason being that when you begin to accept black-and-white thinking, you step on to a slippery slope, and before you know it, you end up believing in one of the most subtle lies promoted by the forces of anti-christ, namely the lie that the ends can justify the means. This then quickly leads to a belief that the higher goal of removing what you have defined as evil can justify going against the laws of God, such as the commandment that thou shalt not kill or my commandments in the Sermon on the Mount. This is what causes people to become trapped in a state of consciousness where they firmly believe they are good Christians, yet their actions are in direct violation of everything I stand for. They simply do not realize that anti-christ is a state of consciousness that elevates the relative viewpoints of the dualistic mind to infallible doctrines that are in opposition to the truth of Christ.

What I hope the more intelligent people in the United States, and around the world, will learn as a result of watching the events around the Iraq war is that when you engage in black-and-white thinking, you simply create an opposition to your actions that will eventually destroy yourself—unless you change your mindset.

My point here being that the only way to properly define good and evil is to reach for the higher understanding of the Christ mind. When you do have that perspective, you see that good and evil must be defined as states of consciousness, and every human being and every nation has the potential to be an instrument for both good and evil. Therefore, it is never justifiable to make generalizations and say that a particular group of people, a particular race or a particular nation, are all evil and therefore it is justified that we kill them all. This is a simplistic black-and-white perspective that will only lead to disaster. Eventually, especially in this new age, it will lead to self-destruction for those who insist on holding on to this mindset.

I might add that this mindset has led to the greatest conflicts in history. A typical example of black-and-white thinking was Nazi Germany. Yet the reason Nazi Germany rose to power was that black-and-white thinking was on the rise in many European nations and in the United States. Nazi Germany therefore became the reaction to the action of black-and-white thinking already present in the West. After the second World War, the West became locked in a power struggle with the Soviet Union. Both sides in this conflict were heavily influenced by black-and-white thinking, yet the Soviet Union was more extreme than the West, and that is why the Soviet Union eventually crumbled under its own weight.

What happened during the Clinton presidency was that the United States was in a vacuum left by the collapse of the Soviet Union. After decades of having struggled against an outer enemy, the United States suddenly had no obvious enemy. Unfortunately, the United States did not go through the necessary national soul-searching that could have led it to abandon the black-and-white thinking and reach for a higher national consciousness. As a result of this, and as a result of the lack of integrity that surfaced during the Clinton presidency, certain forces in the United States became more vocal, and those forces are exponents of black-and-white thinking.

The rise in fundamentalist thinking led to the creation of a counter force, and it was this force that actually found expression in the September 11 terrorist attacks. I am not saying that this force had not already been present for some time. I am saying that it was the increase in black-and-white thinking in the United States that triggered the terrorist attacks.

As I explained in my discourses on the Iraq war and the September 11 attacks, the United States had a unique opportunity to reach out to the world and forge a real brotherhood of nations that could have gradually worked toward a real resolution to the problem of terrorism—which by the way would require greater economic equality throughout the world.

Instead, the American president came under the influence of certain forces in the United States that are exponents of the black-and-white thinking. The president then used this black-and-white thinking to define an outer enemy, which I must tell you is, by many circles in America, seen as the religion of Islam itself. I know very well that everyone would deny this charge. Yet I must tell you that the most powerful exponents of black-and-white thinking are certain Christian groups in the United States, and many people in these groups consider the religion of Islam to be the real enemy of Christianity and of western civilization—even the real anti-christ. This line of thinking led directly to the definition of an Axis of Evil that eventually led to the Iraq war.

I realize that the president and most of his advisers truly believed that once Saddam Hussein was removed from power, the Iraqi people would welcome the Americans as liberators. I realize these people are genuinely shocked that this has not taken place, and they continue to believe that if only the United States stays the course, the Iraqi people will eventually come around. Yet what the American government does not understand is that the forces of action and reaction are also at play within the Iraqi nation.

It was the Iraqi people’s tendency to black-and-white thinking that created the counter force in the form of Saddam Hussein and his repressive government. This is a problem that you see in general in the Middle East. As I explained in my discourse on why Jews and Arabs hate each other, there are many people in the Middle East who simply cannot function without having an outer enemy. For the Iraqi people, their own leader became that enemy.

Now that this leader has been removed, the Iraqi people are subconsciously feeling a vacuum. Suddenly, the enemy they hated, and which gave them an excuse for not changing their state of consciousness (by facing the enemy within), has been removed. This means that their sense of stability, which Saddam Hussein provided (as did communism in the Soviet Union and Hitler in Nazi Germany) has been taken away, and because they are not ready to take responsibility for themselves and for their nation, they are fearful of the future. Therefore, instead of feeling liberated by the United States, they react with fear and transfer their hatred of their former dictator to the nation that threw them into this uncertain situation.

You see, black-and-white thinking is a form of spiritual immaturity, and the characteristic of this immaturity is that people cannot or will not take responsibility for their own lives and for their salvation. Therefore, they fall prey to the simplistic thinking that defines the world in terms of black and white. There is an epic struggle between good and evil, and that struggle is fought by forces far beyond your control and on an external battlefield. Therefore, it really isn’t your fault, and you don’t have to change your state of consciousness and take responsibility for yourself.

The more mature approach is to realize that the battle between good and evil is a battle between two states of consciousness, and therefore it is an internal battle fought in the minds and hearts of all human beings. The external battles are simply expressions of what is going on in the collective consciousness, and therefore the outer situation will not change until people change their consciousness. This change must begin on an individual basis, and someone must start the process—meaning you. I explain this in greater detail in another discourse.

I am not saying this is the case for all people in Iraq, because many people are ready for greater national freedom and responsibility. Nevertheless, what you see going on in Iraq right now is simply that people’s hatred of Saddam Hussein has been transferred to the Americans. And because people sense that the Americans are not as ruthless as Saddam Hussein, they do not have the same fear of standing up to the Americans as they had of standing up to Saddam. Therefore, they are now doing to the Americans what they should long ago have done to their own leader.

My point is that the United States, by going into Iraq, truly followed the old saying that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. The United States went into a nation with deep inner tensions, involving many different opposing forces. Therefore, the United States has now become involved with this intricate mesh of force and counter force. It has become a force that immediately creates a counter force.

Is there a way out? Yes there are indeed many constructive ways out for the United States. Yet to find a good way out, it will be necessary that some of the more moderate and balanced people in the United States military, in the government and in the Bush administration itself will reach for the balanced perspective of the Christ mind. In so doing they must be willing to leave behind the black-and-white thinking.

I am not going to give any particular advice in this forum. Yet I can assure you that we of the ascended masters are more than willing to work with the moderate and balanced people in the United States government. And if these people would reach for a higher understanding, we would willingly provide the understanding of how the crisis in Iraq could be solved in a way that represents the best possible outcome of a situation that was not the best possible to begin with.

I also sincerely hope that the United States will begin the process of freeing the soul of the nation from the penetrating effects of black-and-white thinking. As I explain throughout this website, orthodox Christianity is far removed from my original teachings. In this modern age, time has simply run away from this form of Christianity, and from any black-and-white approach to religion, including what you see in Islamic fundamentalist circles.

It is my sincere hope that the United States can rise to a higher understanding of the true principles behind Christianity and thereby leave behind the old ways that can only lead to conflict. If the United States does not abandon this way of thinking, I can assure you that in the coming years this nation will be involved in ever greater and ever more intense conflicts that will be even more messy and humiliating than what you currently see in Iraq.

God has given both individuals and nations free will. If you will not learn through a higher understanding, you will be given the opportunity to learn by seeing the consequences of your actions. This will happen when the universe creates a reaction to your action. The universe will literally form a concrete wall that opposes your unbalanced action. For a time, you might be able to pound your head against the concrete wall without major damage. Yet eventually, you will suffer a concussion or even more devastating effects.

It was black-and-white thinking that led the United States to go to war with Iraq. The war and the fact that the United States government insists on continuing on its present course, has created a counter force from the universe that this nation has no chance of overcoming. The more the United States insist on pushing in its current direction, the more the universe will push back. The opposition you see from the Iraqi people, and even from foreign fighters, is simply an expression of the fact that the universe is pushing back.

I am not thereby saying that the universe or the ascended masters approve of the attacks on Americans in Iraq. I am simply pointing out the fact that if the United States want to see this opposition diminish, it has to change course, it has to change its mindset and its fundamental approach to the situation in Iraq. It has to leave behind the black-and-white thinking that created the problem, because you simply cannot solve a problem with the same state of consciousness that created the problem.

I sincerely hope that this nation will be able to change its mindset before the situation escalates even more. I hope we can avoid the worst-case scenario, which would be a full-scale civil war in Iraq after the hand-over of power. If such a civil war was indeed to take place, it would be almost inevitable that other nations would be drawn into the conflict, and it could quickly escalate beyond the control of anyone on this planet.

I realize that I last year stated that if the United States went to war with Iraq it would later be seen as one of the greatest mistakes of the Bush presidency. Recent opinion polls have shown that over half of the American people believe the war was a mistake. I am not saying this to gloat about my prophesy being right. I am saying it because I sincerely hope that the prophecy I just gave about the potential worst-case scenario will not come true and will indeed be proven wrong by the American government changing course as soon as possible.

 Copyright © 2004 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: George Bush is not evil – some decisions made from ignorance – any leader represents the consciousness of the people – Americans must raise their consciousness –

Question: Is George Bush here to quicken the process of the earth changes. Since he’s very evil, how much longer will it take before its balanced back out. 

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

Concerning your opinion about the American president, I do not consider him an evil person. He has made certain decisions with which I do not agree, but such decisions are always the result of ignorance. In this case, his ignorance was partly brought about because of advice from people close to the president.

You must also realize that any leader of a nation becomes an exponent of the consciousness of the people of that nation. Therefore, the leader will not be removed until a critical mass of the followers change their consciousness. So it really isn’t a matter of what the president does but what all Americans do. And yes, the consciousness of the American people, and that of all people around the world, does have a fundamental impact on earth changes.

Copyright © 2004 by Kim Michaels

TOPICS: Terrorists are neither in heaven nor in hell – hatred towards them not justified – belief that other people’s violation of God’s law justifies your violation of the law is what caused the attacks – Jesus wants to save all people  – God did not let this happen – human beings built the vortices of hatred that precipitated the attacks – Americans themselves fed the downward spiral of hatred – the ascended masters sponsor America – therefore, they want Americans to awaken from their illusions – Americans take their sponsorship for granted – what made America vulnerable – glorification of violence – capitalist exploitation of other nations – corporations run America, not the people – many Muslims are consumed by internal anger – America could have turned the other cheek – violence only fuels more hatred and invites more attacks – no need for a modern version of the crusades – violence have been going on for thousands of years without bringing peace – the lie that you must stop turning the other cheek and resolve situations through violence – Jesus wages spiritual warfare – the most powerful weapon he gave us – fine line between defense and aggression – America blew a unique opportunity – a free nation cannot forcefully defeat terrorism – remove the anger that fuels it – opportunity to learn something about yourself –

Question from Kim: Jesus, since it is the 2-year anniversary of the terrorists acts on September 11, 2001, I would like to ask you to comment on this. I would like to start by asking you whether these attacks were justified in any way and whether the terrorists were rewarded in heaven, as they believed they would be.

Answer from ascended master Jesus through Kim Michaels:

The attacks were not justified or justifiable in any way. I have already talked about this in my comments on the man who killed an abortion doctor. What I said there applies equally to the terrorists. I have also talked about this in my comments on the war in Iraq.

Let me state clearly that the terrorists have not been rewarded in heaven. Let me also state that they have not gone to the fiery hell that many Christians envision. Contrary to popular belief, God has no desire to punish any lifestream. God desires to see every lifestream grow in its understanding of life so that it can eventually, by its own free-will choosing, return to his kingdom. This applies to both the terrorists and the victims of the attacks. Obviously, the lifestreams of the terrorists have more difficult hurdles to overcome on the road to heaven than most of their victims.

My point here is that even though these people committed atrocious acts, God has not forever condemned them to hell. This is a fallacy perpetrated by orthodox Christianity, and unfortunately it is a fallacy that causes many Christians to think that they are justified in harboring feelings of anger or even hatred towards the terrorists.

Did I not say, “Judge not, lest ye be judged?” Did I not say to forgive seventy times seven? Did I not say to love your enemies? Oh yes, I am aware that most people feel that certain acts are so evil that they somehow neutralize my commands. Yet I must tell you that the very idea that because another human being has violated the laws of God, it is now justified that you too violate the laws of God, this very idea is the reason why the terrorist attacks occurred in the first place.

I must tell you that the people behind the attacks were not evil people. They were very confused and unbalanced people who had allowed certain evil people to manipulate them into a state of fanaticism and extremism. Unfortunately, many Americans, including many Christians, have also allowed themselves to be manipulated into a state of extremism in terms of how this nation should respond to the terrorist acts.

They are driven by fear, anger or even a desire for revenge. This is not in accordance with the laws of God or with my commands. If you harbor anger or hatred towards your fellow man, you are not only hurting yourself, you are also feeding your energy to the dark forces who are the originators of all wars on this planet.

Kim: I have to say that I am a bit shocked. I think many Americans will feel that your remarks are insensitive to the many people who lost loved ones in the terrorist attacks.

Jesus: I understand that they will. Nevertheless, I must speak the truth. I hope these people will recognize that I feel nothing but compassion for the victims and their families. I have no other desire but to see them comforted and to see them move into a positive spiral that leads to increased spiritual growth.

Yet I have been appointed by God as the savior of humankind. It is my mission to save every lifestream on planet earth. Although many people will fail to understand or accept this, it is my great love and desire to save every lifestream, including the many lifestreams who do not belong to a Christian religion and who are not likely to ever join a Christian religion.

As I state throughout this website, there is more than one true religion. So the popular Christian belief that only those who are Christians will be saved is simply an illusion. And this illusion has led some Christians to develop a certain insensitivity towards those of other religions. And after the terrorist attacks, some Christians have developed an insensitivity towards their brothers and sisters who belong to the true religion of Islam.

I must tell these people that although I feel their pain, I am right now also feeling the pain of thousands of people in Iraq who have lost loved ones in the recent war. I also feel the pain of the many people who were killed in this war, and I have personally been assisting many of these lifestreams in trying to heal themselves from the pain of seeing their lives cut short. I have been trying to help them move on with their spiritual path. I have assisted many lifestreams of Iraqis who have been Muslims all of their lives. Contrary to human beings on earth, I do not make human judgments and my love is not conditional.

Kim: After the attacks, many people were asking themselves, “How could God let this happen?” What would you say to them?

Jesus: One of the main messages on this website is that people need to wake up and realize that God has not created most of the conditions currently found on this planet. God has not created the anger and hatred between different groups of people that has turned the earth into a powder keg in which the slightest spark will set off an explosion.

People have created these conditions by allowing themselves to engage in anger and hatred and thereby letting their emotional energies create vortexes of energy that suck them into an endless spiral of anger leading to hatred and hatred leading to violence and violence leading to more hatred and so on and so forth for what in human terms seems like an eternity.

God did not let the terrorist attacks happen. Human beings created the conditions that brought about these attacks. I understand that many Americans were shocked by the attacks. Yet I must tell you that it was not only the anger and hatred in the Arab world that led to the attacks. Americans themselves are partly responsible for feeding the downward spiral of anger, hatred and violence.

Therefore, although this will be an unpopular message, I must tell you that Americans were partly responsible for bringing this calamity upon themselves. I must also tell you, as I stated in my talk about the separation of church and state, that unless a critical mass of Americans change course and begin to embody the true inner path to Christhood, there will be other calamities coming upon this nation.

There is a popular belief in America that this nation could not possibly do anything wrong and that God would not allow anything really bad to happen to this nation. The terrorist attacks in 2001 should have been the wake-up call that caused Americans to grow out of this illusion. It is not that God wants to punish America. We of the ascended masters have a great love for America. In fact many of us have given our Light and guidance to sponsor America as a bastion for freedom for the entire planet.

Yet we have also seen that Americans have taken our sponsorship for granted and have used our Light to create a society based on greed, a quest for wealth, power and control that in itself has created a downward spiral that threatens to suck this nation into a collapse. This collapse will not be God’s punishment but a result of the fact that Americans are systematically violating the laws of God and therefore punishing themselves.

Let me state clearly that there are two conditions which have made America vulnerable to these attacks. As I said elsewhere, America has created a rent in the spiritual protection of this nation and that is what allowed the terrorist attacks to occur. This rent in the garment, the spiritual garment of this nation, was created by two factors:

• One factor is the undeniable fact that the United States has a fascination with violence that goes back for generations. Few nations have, in recent history, seen as much violence as the United States. No nation has glorified violence through its entertainment industry as America has. This has led to a deplorable condition in which many young Americans have been programmed to respond with anger and violence to many situations that do not warrant such extreme measures. In fact, many Americans have, through the entertainment industry, been programmed to believe that in certain circumstances the only option or the only efficient option is to respond with violence. This is what has been driving this nation since the terrorist attacks occurred.

• The other factor is something that most Americans simply do not understand because they have been deliberately misinformed by their own media. As I said, we of the ascended masters have given spiritual sponsorship to America. Our desire was that America should export the principles of freedom and democracy to the world. Instead, America has to a large degree turned itself into an exporter of capitalist exploitation of other nations and peoples. America has exported its goods and has often used its military might to allow its big corporations to exploit other nations. At the same time America has, through the entertainment industry, exported a capitalist culture which is in direct opposition to the spiritual principles of freedom and democracy that are the very foundation for the growth and continued survival of this nation. This has been done by huge corporations that have no respect for spiritual principles, for the American nation or for the American people. Yet the American people and the American government have allowed themselves to become pawns in a game for global domination and control.

Most Americans will deny this, yet they simply do not understand what is happening. However, many people in other nations clearly see what is happening and that is why you see such of widespread anger against America. Most Americans do not understand this anger, yet if they were willing to take an unbiased look in the mirror, they would understand why the anger started.

I am not thereby saying that this anger is in any way justified. The fact that America has wronged other nations does not justify the anger and hatred because there are better ways to deal with the situation. Likewise, I must make it very clear that no matter what America has done to other nations, it does not justify that people take their anger into a state of fanaticism in which they believe that the end can justify the means.

I must also add here that many people, and many of them live in the Islamic world, are not really angry at America. These people are simply consumed by anger and hatred, and America has become the scapegoat. Nevertheless, if America had not been exporting its particular version of capitalism, it would not have been such a convenient scapegoat. I will also say that there are some people who hate the light in America and want to either steal or destroy that light. Nevertheless, if America had been using the spiritual Light as intended by the ascended masters, such people would have found very little support even in the most extremist Islamic groups.

Kim: It sounds like you are saying that America should not have responded to the attacks with violence. If that is what you are saying, then how should America have responded?

Jesus: I am indeed saying that America should not have responded to the attacks with violence.

How should America have responded? America claims to be a Christian nation. If you love me, keep my commandments. What was my foremost commandment? It was to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It was to turn the other cheek.

Kim: Wait, wait I realize the truth in what you are saying, but most Americans seem to feel that responding with non-violence would simply have encouraged the terrorists and invited more attacks?

Jesus: So are these people thinking that what America has done for the past two years has not encouraged terrorism and has not invited more attacks?

I think most Americans can see that the attacks were fueled by fanaticism and that the fanaticism springs from anger against America. I realize that many Americans do not understand this anger and think it is not justified. Yet in this context it does not matter whether the anger is justified. What matters is that the anger exists and that it is the anger which leads to fanaticism which then leads to terrorist attacks.

So is it not obvious that anything you do to fuel the anger will fail to diminish the risk for future attacks? Is it not obvious that responding with violence, especially violence against Muslim nations, will not help make America safer? What America has done over the past two years is to create an explosive situation that could very well end up in an uncontrollable confrontation between Christian and Muslim nations. If this were indeed to happen, you could see a third world-wide war before anyone had time to stop it.

I for one did not support the Christian crusades against the Muslims during the Middle Ages. And I for one have no desire to see a modern version of this deplorable scenario caused by religious fanaticism and extremism on both sides.

It is a simple fact that violence will never diminish violence. Two wrongs will never make a right. The ends will never justify the means. Simply take a look at what is happening today between Israel and the Palestinians. An act of violence from one side leads to cries for revenge from the other side and these cries release a retaliatory strike. The retaliatory strike leads to more hatred from the other side which leads to another retaliatory strike. And this has now been going on for thousands of years between various groups in the Middle East, but especially between Jews and Arabs.

It is amazing to me that people can think that doing the same thing for thousands of years will somehow produce a solution tomorrow. If people have responded with violence for thousands of years, and we still do not have peace, how can they believe that peace will somehow come from continued violence? Or is it simply that these people are so overwhelmed by the spirals of hatred, which they have created, that they are no longer able to think?

One of the more popular scenarios in American movies is the hero who is by nature a peaceful person and just wants to live his life without bothering anyone. Now the bad guys move into the scene and keep attacking the hero – or innocent people – until he finally reaches the breaking point, whips out his gun and shoots all the bad guys. The underlying message in such movies is that you can only turn the other cheek for so long and then you must resolve the crisis through violence. This is a fallacy.

Yet this is the message that the American government, including the president himself, has embraced after the terrorist attacks. After the attacks occurred, your president decided that he was going to use all of the resources available to him to “get the people responsible.” There are two problems with this line of reasoning. The first one is that America, as I explained earlier, is not simply the peaceful giant who leaves everyone else alone. America is somewhat of a bully in the world-wide neighborhood.

However, what is truly wrong with this line of reasoning is that it is completely against the true teachings of Jesus Christ. Did I not say to forgive seventy times seven? Did I not say to turn the other cheek? Did I specify conditions under which it was acceptable to stop turning the other cheek and instead kill the person who slaps you in the face? I am not aware that I outlined such conditions, but perhaps the American government, and some among the American clergy, can explain to me how these conditions somehow crept into the culture of a nation which calls itself a Christian nation.

I am Jesus Christ, and I am not the touchy-feely Savior that so many modern Christians have made me out to be. I am come for the judgment of the forces of darkness that for thousands of years have attempted to destroy God’s plan for this planet. I am here to wage a spiritual warfare against these forces so that they will be removed from this planet and we can finally bring God’s kingdom to earth.

Yet I must tell you that this spiritual warfare will not be fought by killing other human beings, no matter what these people have done to you. The spiritual warfare that I am talking about is a warfare to remove the fear, anger and hatred that fuels the forces of darkness and enables them to control human beings. This warfare takes place primarily in the psyche of individual human beings and in the collective consciousness of humankind. It also takes place at planes of existence that are beyond the sight of most human beings.

Anger and hatred cannot be removed by adding more anger and hatred. Anger and hatred can be removed only by bringing the perfect love that casts out all fear, the fear that is the true cause of anger and hatred.

I am come to deliver God’s people on this earth. I am come to deliver them from the forces of darkness, but I cannot deliver people against their free will. Before I can deliver people, they must be willing to make the free-will decision to give up the fear, the anger and the hatred that makes them easy prey for the forces of darkness. If you harbor fear, anger and hatred, then the Prince of this world has something in you, and he will use it to control you.

Now, given that I am here to wage spiritual warfare and that I need my followers to wage this warfare with me, is it not logical that I would have given them the weapons to win this war? And what is the most powerful weapon that I gave to humankind, a weapon that is sure to defeat the forces of darkness? That weapon is to turn the other cheek!

Kim: I assume you are not saying that America shouldn’t take measures to defend itself against future attacks?

Jesus: No, obviously America has a right to defend itself. However, there is a fine line between defending yourself and becoming an aggressor, and currently the American government is on the wrong side of that line.

After the attacks, the American government had a unique opportunity. America was widely seen as a victim. If Americans had been willing to do some soul-searching and to take an honest look at why there is such anger against America, then the American government could have started an entirely new era in international cooperation and good will amongst free and democratic nations.

This was a once-in-a-millennia opportunity for creating a positive spiral that could have done more to further the cause of freedom and democracy than any other single factor. I am sad to say that the American government systematically squandered this opportunity by acting as the hero in a bad action movie.

We now have a situation where America is no longer seen as a victim but as a bully. And this view is not unjustified. Instead of encouraging international cooperation, America has encouraged international hostility. This has in fact done more to help the terrorists than virtually anything else could have done. For each of the terrorists that have supposedly been captured and killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, there are 20 more ready to join their ranks. The vortexes of anger and hatred over the Middle East have been reinforced many times over, and people find it increasingly difficult to avoid being sucked into them. This is a lesson that has also been clearly demonstrated in the ongoing hostility between Jews and Arabs.

Terrorism is a guerrilla movement. I understand that there are nations that harbor terrorists. Yet going after these nations instead of going after the terrorists themselves will only aggravate the situation.

The simple equation is that a nation state cannot effectively fight guerrilla warfare by using conventional forces. If you attempt to use such forces to fight guerrilla warfare, your only chance of being effective is to turn yourself into a totalitarian nation which has no respect for freedom and human rights and which is prepared to violate these rights without restraint. This will destroy America as a bastion for freedom and cause this nation to lose its spiritual sponsorship.

Therefore, the only effective way to fight terrorism is to remove the support of the terrorists. To fight terrorism, remove the anger that fuels it.

If America had been willing to change its culture and foreign policy so that it was no longer dominated by greed but was brought into alignment with the principles of Christ, the principle of treating your brother as you would have him treat you, then America could have created a positive spiral. The terrorist attacks could have become the catalyst for a worldwide movement towards greater freedom and cooperation. Instead, the American nation has created a downward spiral whereby violence leads to hatred and hatred leads to more violence. Given the propensity of human beings to respond with violence, even I cannot tell how far this will go before people finally wake up and decide to abandon violence and seek a peaceful solution, a spiritual solution.

I realize this is a shocking message. Yet after two years of mourning, America should be ready to look beyond its own sorrow and anger and listen to the advice of the Prince of Peace.

Kim: So you are saying that America has not been willing to do the soul-searching necessary to learn from the 9/11 attacks?

Jesus: Everything that happens to you, as an individual and as a nation, is an opportunity to learn something about yourself. If you make wise use of the opportunity, you will grow. If you ignore the opportunity, or fail to understand the real message, you are likely to stagnate.

Planet earth is a schoolroom. Everything that happens carries a message. If you correctly interpret the message, any event can be used as an opportunity for growth. So far America as a nation has not been willing to look for the true message behind the terrorist attacks. America has not been willing to look in the mirror.

I am not thereby condoning the attacks. I am simply saying that they do represent an opportunity for soul-searching and growth. This process started to happen immediately following the attacks, but it was never carried through. It is, however, never too late to stand in front of the mirror and ask, “God, what do you want me to learn from this. Jesus, what do you want me to learn from this?” Ask and you shall receive an answer.

 Copyright © 2003 by Kim Michaels