Beloved Students:

I greet each of you in the fullness of the love and compassion so needed at this time upon the Earth plane. May each of you know yourselves to be an emanation of perfect love, profound compassion and infinite wisdom, and may you use that knowledge on a daily basis to aid in the release of suffering on behalf of all sentient beings.

As many of you are currently discovering, the energy at work already in 2006 is forceful and will likely prove to be a causative factor in bringing many things into consciousness. This is true at both the individual level and the collective level as well. However, the movement of this energy through the shared human experience could be a bit unsettling for many, and thus I would like it if all my students could designate 2006 as the year of supreme compassion.

If you have not already felt the force of the energy arising for the year, I am sure you will before long. Indeed, as it runs through your life, your experiences and your relationships, you will truly see how necessary it is to maintain a compassionate stance. For those of you who have already put forth the intention to cut through some of your old karmic patterns in 2006, you will likely have ample opportunity to find the field of compassion in which to take up residence. Of course, in any intense encounter (whether within or without), there will be many who push against their experiences to try to gain a sense of control in their own lives. While this strategy may have worked (or seemed to have worked) in past situations, such is likely only to enhance the struggle this year. Compassion for self and others is what is needed now; and those who learn to embody compassion will be the ones who learn the secret of moving with the wave of energy that is now presenting itself.

Compassion is a profound teacher – both to the individual who demonstrates compassion and the one who receives compassion. There is an interesting element to which all should pay attention. For many (and this is true particularly in the West), it is easier to offer compassion than it is to receive compassion. For some reason, this seems to hold true whether the compassion extended comes from another person or from oneself. For many, being confronted with pure compassion turns out not to be as delightful an experience at all.

While this may sound strange, what goes on here is a confrontation between the part of the self that is mindful and the part of the self that wants to stay asleep. The budding mindfulness registers a discomfort with the incoming compassion because it presents a mirror that reflects the areas where one may not be as compassionate as s/he would like. The mindful part wants to look into the mirror and learn from what it sees. The sleepy part, however, wants to avoid the pain of encountering what is reflected, and thus seeks to avoid the issue altogether. Hence, an internal confrontation takes place between these two parts of self.

While under the influence of ego mind, those who have little or no experience in working with their own minds tend to blame their own discomfort on any situation, circumstance or person they deem available. In truth, it is the warring conditions of their own minds that produce the suffering. When this fact is truly understood, it becomes obvious that one must have compassion for the very warring factions of one's own mind that set up this lethal dynamic. Indeed, with clearer understanding of what is really going on, one can see the importance of practicing compassion inwardly as well as outwardly.

As most of you know by this point, the bodhisattva does not distinguish between what may be perceived as "inward" from what appears to be "outward." Thus, the whole notion of "personal experiencing" is seen differently from how the masses may see such. To the bodhisattva, everything is personal and nothing is personal. While such may sound like a huge paradox, indeed one can label something as "paradoxical" only because one designates the perceived "inner" and the perceived "outer" as separate realms. Yet in truth, when one fully embodies compassion, the sense of "inner" and "outer" fall away – almost as if they have never even existed within the mind. This experience is much like awakening from a nightmare and realizing that which was dreamed simply does not exist.

As you know, I'm sure, the main felt sense of true compassion is the experience of internal softness. This sense or feeling of softness is palpable – generally to both the individual holding the compassion and anyone else who is near that person. The bodhisattva is aware of how little one actually controls in life, and is at peace with that knowledge. In advancing beyond the controlling ego mind, it becomes apparent that such is exactly how it should be. While the ego mind may flail about trying to exert control over matters, Essence mind sees the entire experiential realm as a testing ground, a place where one continually tests one's own awareness factor to bring it more fully into alignment with the Source of one's being. The former believes that 1) there is something to control; 2) that the sense of controlling is real in any way, or 3) that suffering exists independently of the mind. All dissolve with the dissolution of mind into pure Consciousness.

To the spiritual aspirant, compassion is actually three things: the path, the traveler on the path, and the destination of the path. It is first easiest to see compassion as the destination, for all aspirants seek to become like their Teachers. Then as the journey continues, one begins to discover that compassion is the path. At this point, one releases one's obsession on the destination and seeks only to perfect the path. Eventually, one will also come to see that the "self" who makes the journey is compassion, for compassion is (or was) the driving force which mandated the journey; and when projecting mind falls away, only compassion remains.

It is most important here to note that compassion is not simply something one feels for others whom one deems to be in more dire straits than oneself. Compassion must not be confused with pity, nor the compelling urges of comparing mind to project itself in situations of greater or lesser import than those it perceives regarding other individuals. Such mental gyrations only complicate the matter. The ultimate test for compassion is ALWAYS the presence of engaged softness.

It must be noted that there is a type of perceived softness to a checked out, or dissociative state. Yet, we cannot call such a state "compassion" since there is little or no engagement with others or the world around. Some seem to confuse the dissociative condition (or state of mind) for compassion, since one in this state often gives the impression of lacking a judgmental mind regarding others or specific events in her/his life. Genuine compassion, on the other hand, is highly engaged with others and life, just not highly invested in specific outcomes.

In the early stages of spiritual growth, compassion arises when one sees another not getting what s/he wants, or what s/he deserves (although that too, dear friends, is a judgment call). Seeing another in pain can trigger compassionate feelings; and often when such arise, one engages in helping the other reinforce ego rather than seeing through the controlling influences of ego mind. Indeed, it is useful to help others, and often quite kind; but one must always be careful not to get one's own ego engaged in aiding the other ego.

It is a delicate dance to discover all the appropriate applications of compassion and to discern the sometimes subtle differences between ego engagement and engaged compassion.

I wish each of you well in this journey of discovery, and I hold for your ultimate success in mastering all the finer points of adeptship. Please join me this month in listening to A Life Review, the talk I gave by teleconference on December 30, 2005. It is my sincere hope that each of you finds how vast your hearts really are; that each of you celebrates the flow of the Great Heart through that which you deem "your" heart. May your individual hearts find perfect dissolution in the Great Heart, and may all sentient beings be blessed by the journey you create into profound compassion.

Your Loving Teacher,
Djwhal Khul