The goal is part of your overleaf chart or soul profile.

The goal, in the Michael Teachings overleaf system is the energy that the soul desires most to incorporate in how the life is lived. This is flexible and can be incorporated in many ways.

The name is accurately chosen: this is the goal of the lifetime. It is not a given. If the goal is flow, the lifetime may not flow in any sense - that is the challenge of the lifetime, to learn to glide along with external forces in an effortless dance.

List of Goals

Here are the seven goals:

Re-Evaluation

This was previously known as Retardation or Abbreviation.

In this goal, there is a desire to learn to handle a peaceful life with little occurring in an outward sense. Often physical or mental disabilities are chosen so that there is little responsibility placed on the person.  This is often a goal chosen after many lifetimes of furious activity or trauma that needs processing.

As the most Ordinal of the goals, it is the most inner-focused goal.  Simplicity is desired in all things.  It is a very good goal to choose when there is much inner processing and reflection needed.  It is inspirational in that it inspires others to find their own sense of simplicity and inner groundedness.

Discrimination

Another name for this goal is Rejection, which tends to have a more negative connotation.  It could easily be called "Discernment", for this is a goal that leads to that.

Rather than being directly about rejecting life, those with this goal try to find out who they are by being able to discern who they are not. They find out what they want by paying attention to what they don't want.  They are intensely aware of the energies around them that do not work for them and seek to mitigate this.  Rejection of what doesn't work is a natural extension of this process. However, it does not need to look abrasive at all.  Essence seeks to learn about discrimination and necessary boundaries over the course of the lifetime in a balance way.

This is not a 'negative' goal, but an absolutely necessary one. Discernment is just as important as unconditional acceptance. Without discernment, as you see later with the acceptance goal, agape turns into ingratiation. Rejection is on the Expression axis, opposite Acceptance, so there tends to be an expressive and vocal element to the energy. Those with discrimination can be very loving, especially once their discernment is listened to.

Submission

Submission is the Ordinal goal of the Action axis. Those in submission tend to throw themselves into following another, a purpose, or a cause.  It resonates with the Warrior role, and there is a certain element of warrior challenge and allegiance to a cause in submission.

Submission can manifest in many ways, from priesthood (Pope John Paul II), to being dedicated in a marriage, to dedicatedly working for an activist cause, to being a good reliable resource in a company at all times.  This is different than the mode of Perseverance in that being a goal, it is more about being and the energy in interacting with others and one's Self. The outward manifestation doesn't matter as much - instead the focus is on finding one's Self through dedication and submission.

Often those in submission find themselves associating with the paired goal, that of Dominance.

Flow

This was previously known as Relaxation or Stagnation.

In this goal an effortless flow along life is desired. Picture the image of a canoe floating down a river. This river has its moments of picturesque calm and meditative peace, but it also has rapids and crashes against cliff walls. Like a person in flow, an expert with the canoe will let the river do the work for him, using the minimal effort to position himself where he desires.

Also similar to the metaphor of the canoe is the necessity of balance. Balance is a central part of the lessons of Flow. The lifetime is an ever moving balance between the inner urgings of Essence, the demands of the external world, and the needs and well-being of the personality. When one of these gets too much focus, there will be a feeling of imbalance which will affect strongly those in Flow.

Sometimes the lifetime lived is as simple as Re-Evaluation, but other times it can be very outwardly busy. There can be flow in all atmospheres. The life of a politician is often one of flow; the politician acts on others desires and strives for balance.

On the negative side of Flow is its negative pole, -inertia. This is like a canoeist who doesn't paddle; they feel trapped in whatever circumstance is shown them. At its most limiting energy, it is like being a rock that has fallen to the bottom of the river. The inertia of past beliefs and perceptions is too much for the gentle guidance of essence and the world to overcome.

Acceptance

Acceptance, at its fullest manifestation, is an outward expression of love and acceptance of all that is life. Those in acceptance both want to accept and want to be accepted. Because it is a Cardinal overleaf, it is outward focused; those in acceptance actively reach outward to people to accept and search new experiences to accept.  It is a common goal; 30% of the population have it.

The positive pole is +agape, a spiritual unconditional acceptance of All That Is. This is the goal of all spiritual growth. The negative pole is -ingratiation, a tense state in which the acceptance is unconsciously manipulated out of people and things. This can manifest as keeping to an image of "what is accepted" rather than being who you are, or it can be about cajoling others into an "accepting" state.

Growth

This is the Cardinal goal of the Inspiration axis. Expansion is the theme of this goal; to be discovering new things about life and themselves and to look for new experiences and relationships, to name a couple of characteristics. Those in growth tend to be a whirlwind of activity, especially if other overleaves are on the Action axis.  The focus of the goal of course depends Soul Age, so a mature soul might be intensely seeking new relationships of all forms, not necessarily sexually.

This is a common goal; about 30% of people have it.

In the positive pole of +comprehension or evolution, there is a balance kept.  Like walking, there is a perpetual leaning, being slightly off balance in a way that encourages motion.  However, there is a learned way of being (mostly) in control of this state so that different choices can be made and overwhelming experiences can be slowed if needed.  In the negative pole of -confusion, the feeling of overwhelm is near-perpetual as the balance has not been found.  More intense experiences will likely be generated from the reaction of this confusion and the need to resolve it.

Dominance

As the most Cardinal goal, this is the goal which is felt most by those around them. Those in dominance seek the power position, that of maximum influence, in the events that unfold around them. This doesn't necessarily mean visibly, especially with a Mode that is not cardinal; sometimes it is behind the scenes or even on an energetic basis. It corresponds loosely to the King energy.

The goal of the essence when choosing this goal is not about power over others, but simply about true power.  When the person manifests themselves fully, they bring a sense of total completeness in their being.  In Michael Math terms, this is because Dominance has the position of 7, the Cardinal Action position.  When you are large energetically because you are complete As You Are, then you naturally are given authority because you already have it within you.  This feels good to others.  This is the positive pole of +leadership.

In the negative pole of -dictatorship, there is a desire for that sense of power and inner authority, but it is denied within, so the focus is outward.  There are often attempts to create the image of leadership via positions and relationships, but because it is not natural, the forced nature of this creates resistance in others and the result is a neverending search to end this resistance in others.

Table of Goals