2004-02-08-Self Worth

Session

Opening

Elyon (Jonathan TR): Blessings to you, your friend Elyon here. I greet you.

It has been mentioned in your discussion your idea of self worth. I wish to increase your sense of worthiness by describing for you the dynamics that contribute to feelings of worthiness or feelings that detract from worthiness.

Lesson

Personality, Worthiness

You have a saying that goes: I have owned this hammer all my life. It has had a few new handles, and I replaced the head once, but I have had it all my life. The makeup of your being is very much like this. When you are feeling unworthy you are often focusing upon an element of your personality makeup detracting from the whole of your being while magnifying a small element. You observe that your actions do not portray what you define to be a son of God. You observe your hammer handle split, weakened, thereby making you less useful to work at hand, and that that flaw may even be disruptive to your integrity. To one who values their tool the observation of a weakness will be readily remedied; the handle will be replaced. For one who cherishes a tool in good working order there is no hesitancy to remove the weakness. The love for yourself implies willingness to replace your flaws with sound elements.

What is it that continues to make this hammer the same hammer when all parts over time have been replaced? It is the configuration, the pattern. If you were to replace the head with a hatchet you would have changed the pattern and lost the continuity.

Each one of you is personality. It is your pattern. This pattern is eternal. That which contributes to personality is very much like the parts that make up the hammer: your mind, your body. The thoughts that flow through your mind, the nutrients that flow through your body, come and go. When you feel lack of self worth, you are confusing your personality presence with the elements that contribute to your configuration as a living entity. Hesitate not to replace your parts, to transform your mind, to transform your body. These alterations will not remove the pattern that you are. Remember that this pattern that is you is given by God, emerges from the absolute pattern of Father personality. Replacing your flaws extends rightly from a sense of self worth.

Recognition of your faults implies that you are alert and care about the condition of those elements that contribute to your entire being. They should be recognized with joy, for you now can strengthen yourself, better your abilities. As you have only gained experience in a few short years of this earth life, you have yet to, in full awareness, experience many transformations of yourself. These as they accrue begin to reveal to you that element of yourself that changes not. You can realize the permanency of your personality without undertaking these changes, but it is only to one diligent in observation, one astute who can draw such conclusions. For many it is a matter of surviving transformation in experience and recognizing the you that remains regardless of any change. Why do you not cease to be? Why is that hammer still a hammer? It is because the owner loves that tool, in your case the Father in heaven loves you and will go to all ends to keep you in working order, to preserve your presence. Trust the Father's evaluation of you.

Do not fall prey to judging yourself as a supersedure of the Father's worth placed upon you. You will continue to change throughout eternity. I can say you will change only because you remain at the core of that which changes all about you. I hope that I encourage you to continue your work at the development of your being while you are keen toward assisting your fellows in understanding their cosmic relationship, for you are observant of their needs and desire to minister. You must also remember that you are a tool of God, that a good tool is kept in good working order. Ever be ready to swap your parts that you may be prepared for the job at hand.

Thank you for receiving my words today.

Community, Support

Machiventa (Mark): I would share this forum with Elyon who so adequately describes the function of the transformation about you and around you while your core remains steadfast. I would build upon his platform to expand his presentation. This is Machiventa.

As Elyon so adequately portrayed, you see yourselves largely in the minute sense of the flaws, whereas your master craftsman, your Father, chooses to see you as the pattern in which you continue to be useful. Why is this that the master craftsman has so carefully gathered you and so carefully and tenderly watches over your needs as a cherished tool? That is that each one of you, though you may follow some similar patterns, is entirely unique in your appropriateness and usefulness to the master craftsman. All hammers do not appear similar because they possess different functions and purposes.

A variety of tools is necessary to accomplish any intricate task, because each tool is uniquely suited to do the job for which it is accustomed. Therefore does the master craftsman cherish each tool in his tool box as equally important in its own way and for its own task.

Nevertheless I understand that you live in a world where you are judging those tools around you as to their usefulness, and the mindset of your world at this time can be one of a disposable or throw-away mindset. But I tell you this is not the way of the Father, not the way of the master craftsman who cherishes his tools as they become more and more honed to be more effective the longer they are used and the more experienced they become. As only one in an arsenal of useful tools any given individual may come to question their worth amongst all the other valuable tools. In this regard I would like to overlay the image of the importance of the network involved.

Any good soldier may become disillusioned when isolated and left to his own self examination. But when this same soldier is reinforced with the attitude and knowledge that he is part of a vast support network which, not only knows of his contribution to this network but is in very fact dependent upon all aspects of this web of support, he then feels the increased importance of his position. Although it may be at an outpost far away from the main activity, when he feels connected by this sense of support, he gains great courage and strength and self worth by knowing that he is needed by his commanders to be performing exactly the function he is performing. This is the position each of you is in to the master craftsman, to the lieutenant in charge. It is required of each of you that you maintain your post and fulfill your duties, each one to the best of your ability, functioning as the best tool possible so that the commander may rely upon you to be the leverage and apply the pressure where necessary and when necessary to bring about large scale movement and change.

It is not the single, lone, individual acting unconnected who causes great movements and shifts. It is the united partnership of individuals working together which provides the necessary momentum to effect great change. Therefore, while you are but one tool in the master's tool box, you are the unique tool the master requires to effectively manipulate the outpost in which you reside. In this manner you are as valuable to the whole as are your commanders-in-chief in that, without you and your effective use of your tool, the entire plan cannot be accomplished. That is the importance placed upon you as individuals.

I relate this description because at times it is easier for individuals to rally their self worth when they believe that others are depending upon them, that others believe them to be worthy, that others bestow upon them this sense of worthiness through placing the trust of this entire endeavor on the individuals involved. If any one personally may doubt from time to time that they are up to the task, they are adequate to perform their function, just remember that your commander-in- chief believes you to be adequate to the task, in fact has appointed you to this task, in fact needs your unique leverage to accomplish this task.

The burden of this is light when one realizes that you are acting in concert with your Creator, your brother, your Father, for the upliftment of your world and those around you. It becomes a joyous task to undertake, and this matter of self worth becomes washed from your being as you immerse yourself in the task at hand. It is human nature to encounter these feelings of limitation, and it is spirit nature which navigates you through these feelings, and divine nature that cleanses you of all doubt. May we all work together for this united purpose, for this upliftment of your world. For the fulfillment of Michael's mission may we all be of one heart and of one mind to fulfill this purpose. May we all rise to the challenge, grapple with our feelings of inadequacy, and rally to the cause. Thank you for hearing me today.

Dialogue

Self Evaluation

Jonathan: I request that you help us all keep our edges sharp and our handles oiled so we can serve the master craftsman in being about the work of the Father.

Machiventa: We may lead you to this crossroads, but in the end it is always you individually who decides the depth that you explore the cracks in your handles and the willingness you show to be about the restoration of any shortcomings. I will bring up the discussion you had earlier about your shortcomings being the opportunities for your areas of concern. If you notice that your hammer head is marred, then it becomes your choice as to how to deal with that. Do you ignore that? Do you decide to take your hammer to the grinding wheel and buff it down to a smooth finish again? If your hammer causes you splinters you could choose to still use it and sustain minor injury. You could choose to be about the larger task of replacing the hammer handle. Greater effort is required to replace the handle than to wrap it up. You are the ones who decide at what point the handle is no longer serviceable and must be replaced, and you are willing to put forth the effort to do so. Or perhaps the hammer handle can be useful for a little while longer, as it is until the time that you feel that you are ready to supply the necessary effort to upgrade the existing pattern. These choices fall to you as an individual to find the time and the effort necessary to hone your tools, sharpen your blades, sharpen your handles in preparation for the tasks ahead. I am sure that each one of your here is well up to the task of your personal assessments. You have proven repeatedly you are willing to invest the necessary energy to polish yourselves in preparation for these tasks. I have no reason to suspect that it will be otherwise as time proceeds.

Jonathan: I infer that we ought to not stall in any task because we recognize a flaw. We can wrap that handle in duct tape and get the job done knowing that we will need to get rid of that defect, but we can put ourselves to useful work until the change time. Is that right?

Machiventa: Human nature is to stall. The tendency of the human outlook is to patch the existing reality, to limp by with the existing pattern until or unless that becomes no longer serviceable to you. At that point you will decide that the duct tape no longer fulfills the requirements for your use of that tool. If you determine early on that the handle is badly cracked and requires immediate attention, then you don't hesitate to focus on the task . .. your tool more serviceable. If you notice some small cracks or dents in your surface you may decide that your effort is best put in another venue at that time, and you are willing to use the tool in the condition that it is. However, you come to find that when the tool is put to its task these more minor flaws are brought to the surface. When you need to put the tool to a severe test you may find the handle breaks off in your hand and requires your immediate attention.

It is of little consequence in the long term perspective that it took you longer or shorter time to administer these changes. The Father is only concerned that you desire to maintain the hammer. The hammer is important to you enough that you will service the hammer and provide what it needs to keep it functioning in your lives. The sooner you are about the task of providing service to your tools, the more effective your tools become. You do not find yourselves falling short when it is time to provide the leverage necessary and your handle at that point gives way. Every one of us as we follow the ascension career notices cracks and weak points in our tools from time to time. We may decide that sometime that may need attention but for right now I have bigger issues to deal with and neglect the replacing of the handle until we rally the necessary energy to be about that. But in the end it is the fact that you will maintain this hammer and you will use it. If it breaks you will fix it. If it is marred you will polish it. Your devotion to this hammer in the end is the important aspect. The condition of this hammer is the measure of effectiveness you will have in this equation.

Jonathan: Thank you. You hit the truth nail on the head!

Machiventa: And the hammer head sustained no damage. As you note in your own lives some of your favorite possessions may be marred or damaged or chipped or dented but nevertheless they are quite serviceable to you as what they are. In fact, you come to have a sense of security with these tools the way they are; the chip in the handle fitting in your hand as it did last time gives you a sense of stability. So long as that is the case it is not necessary to change this. If in the course of its use it proves unsatisfactory, then is the time you consider replacing the handle with the chip.

Jonathan: You call to mind Jesus' acceptance of the apostles with all their personality traits, his willingness to have Judas even though he knew all was not well in the mind of Judas. Also it calls to mind the Biblical account of Paul requesting the thorn in his side be removed. Alas, he accepted the fact it was not the Father's will. A flaw may be acceptable, that the time is not nigh for its changing.

Closing

Machiventa: You speak to the fact that Michael when he was here was intent on establishing the pattern, the hammer. He was content to act with the hammers at hand, his apostles. Nevertheless he, for his time and all subsequent generations, established his pattern, the hammer, for all time. The various examples of the hammer, the apostles and disciples, have come and gone throughout time, many with chipped handles and dinged heads. Nevertheless the pattern he chose to establish lives on, and the followers live on as a pattern. Therefore is the enduring aspect of his relationship and his, as you say, acceptance of the limitations of the pattern which he developed. One slight more bit of imagery: The Father needs not only hammers. The Father desires a wide array of tools in his tool box. Even chisels, even wedges are useful to the Father, though the very idea of a wedge separating something and breaking something apart, has its useful aspects in the Father's tool box. There are many patterns acceptable to the Father in the form of his useful tools. We all must not think of ourselves as some derivative of the hammer. There are many tools that we may find ourselves replicating the pattern of, all of which are useful and beneficial in the service of the Father. These are the outworkings of our individual characters and personalities. We may be more suited to be the wedge at times than we are the hammer, although both are required to fulfill the job. Therefore do not become hard on yourselves at any time for thinking as though you do not look like a proper hammer. There are numerous other valuable tools which you may come to resemble that are not hammers which are equally valuable to the Father in your unique position. We only use the hammer as a means of illustration of pattern, but there are numerous patterns involved and available for your representation. That is all I will offer for today. Thank you.