in Michael Teachings by | Status: The measure of value we present |
| Written by Matthew Spears |
| Thursday, 12 November 2009 21:01 |
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[Blog (non channeled), Nov 2009] One of my loves is the theatre. I've studied acting, clowning, and improvisation, and I've performed onstage for years, everything from bedroom farce to Dracula to Shakespeare. I love it because it brings me to a heightened state of aliveness. All of the other actors I know who value this aspect of acting as I do are also very spiritual people. We may not write inspiring prose and we may not belong to any congregation, but we see a temple in the exultation of unhibited emotion. Having surrendered within to our many selves, we've received a firsthand glimpse into the oneness that we all share. And through all this, we've learned incredible amounts about ourselves through the intricate tapestry of our most visible measure of ourselves: relationships. It would be too much in this one post to recount the many lessons in the playfulness that is theatre, so for now I'll focus on one critical element any actor learns quickly: status. Status: The Flow of Energy in InteractionsIt may be unfashionable to mention status in the politically-correct culture of the "land of the free", but we are all influenced by it on some level. We know when we are speaking to an "important" person. We are affected by this knowledge. The energetically sensitive feel how energy naturally flows to the "higher status" person. There's always a reaction to this. Sometimes the effect is on our emotional reaction, from admiration to resentment. Sometimes the effect automatically creates a dynamic in the relationship: subservience or combativeness. Not everyone reacts the same way, but everyone feels it. We react to it even more because we're not supposed to notice it. Education, on the level of status, has made us blind. We're supposed to believe that the homeless person living in a cardboard box is a human being with the same value and perfection we have, but I have yet to see someone interact with a homeless person on that level. In my experience there's disgust, aversion, or pity - all signs of the perception of status and the flow of energy from it. In this competitive world, the cultural model is built around status. It governs the intrinsic framework of relationships. Most of us notice status but don't think of it consciously. We want to "succeed" but in order to do so we must go up a rung on the status ladder. Being "successful". Owning a house, or a nice car. Being respected by others. Showing mastery in something and being able to come across well at social events. Academic success. Even spiritual mastery is subject to the concept of status -- the idea of "ascension", or "old" souls being somehow better, are perfect examples. Being accepted as "enlightened" is very high status. But we don't think of what status truly is, and especially not what the ultimate expression of status is. Exploring Status YourselfOne exercise in theatre is to "play" status. Everyone is awarded a different number between 1 and 10, with 10 being the highest status. I invite you to play this at a party; it's great fun and a wonderful tool for growth.
As the status scale increases, there's increasingly less shame and an increasingly strong, proud, engaging bearing. Yet while going up the scale, you're always in a state of comparison. You notice your relationships with others: who is lower status and who is higher? You need to please the ones with higher status. You give in and give them energy. Life force flows to them, leaving the lower status empty. At the same time, you must protect your place from those "lower" than you are and maybe even get some energy from them. Yet you remain ever vigilant against them, happy when they appear to be in their "place." As an aside, it is for this reason that it's no accident that it's those on the lower status of society that are most angry towards illegal immigrants. What is interesting in this game, and is the reason I'm mentioning this here, is what happens at the top of the spectrum. These are the people with ultra-high status. If you're close to the top, you know you're above most of the world, but there's still insecurity and full of comparison. There is still someone above you, somewhere, somehow. You are still comparing. In our society, this might be the ultra rich -- they know they have status, but they are still in competition and are looking for some way they can finally feel above it all. At the very top, however, is a paradox: the ultimate status is with those who move beyond it. To these people there is no such thing as status. The person with the "highest" status is unconcerned with games of comparison or worthiness. They know their value. They see their importance. It is indisputable. There is no question and no game. They can be who they are without any reluctance, guile, or mask. They can relate to others as they are. It is as if they were born into unspoilt royalty. Life is full of bounty and beauty, and there is no question that the universe finds them full of value and their desires welcome. This is true status.
And yet, part of this is the problem of Arrogance: when you gain energy from putting forth something that is not fully who you are, not from true vulnerability, then you keep yourself from the highest levels of status and worth. By trying to raise your status out of lack, you entrench yourself as "lower status". The idea of the 'evolved person', the manifested man, the enlightened one, is also intrinsic to the highest status. The manifested person is at the highest status, wherever he is. He could be among nobles or beggars -- it doesn't matter. My 'ideal' of how to live within status is the ideal of living in the highest status and treating every other thing in the Universe as also in that status. Imagine this for yourself. You are at the highest status. Everything supports you and naturally gives you energy without depleting itself. The universe responds naturally to you. And yet you interact with everything as equals. You see the smallest blade of grass as also of the highest status. There is nothing to defend against, no lack, and even no status. There is only plenty. In short, the ideal is to live in beingness -- fully vulnerable as who you are. This is the ultimate expression of status. Think of Siddhartha by the river in his old age. He shows his perfection as he is whether he is surrounded by adulants or insects. It is an expression of completeness. Many people on a western spiritual path use the greeting 'namaste' without really considering what it means, but it is another way to express this ideal. Your highest nature welcomes and greets the highest nature of that which is around you. You welcome and embrace all that you are, and you treat every other thing in the Universe as reverentially as your own highest nature.
So I say to you all: Namaste
I now ask you: from your own deep honesty and vulnerability, what is the truth of how you view your status in relationship with the world? 
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Comments (6)
  written by Maxim, November 14, 2009
I've certainly noticed the energetics of status play through my life. Had to make a couple of comments on the homeless. There are homeless and there are homeless. I live in Marin County, California and there is a huge culture of the homeless and semi-homeless (higher status of course). I've slept in a van for over 5 years. At the YMCA which I belong there are plenty in similar status who for the most part pass for "normal". There is a hill behind San Rafael in which many have set up tents including a friend who is taking art classes at the local college. There are also those who have their signs and beg and those who drink and drug. There is one guy I know of who loves to create ingenius places to sleep such as hoisting himself up in a tree. I know a couple who have been together for over twenty years and have been homeless interspersed with house sitting and other means. For some time I had no idea, just knew the guy liked to hold forth in front of the local natural food store to those who will listen. I know another guy who is currently couch surfing and has an online investment business in currency trading. There is a guy who has slept in 1971 Continental Mark III, that he is restoring, for years who speaks of the homeless as if it didn't include him. He also showed me ingenious ways to cook food in the microwave at Whole Foods.
Just wanted to add that as a footnote to the idea of homelessness. ~~~Max  written by lovingawareness, November 14, 2009
Max, you're absolutely right that there are many different forms of homelessness. In Vancouver, what most people know as homelessness is on the downtown east side, where there are many addicts, which causes its own form of homelessness in an expensive city. On the other hand, I once knew someone who was homeless but was truly comfortable in it and acted like he was on equal, high status with everyone. He had a beautiful smile. So there's no 'rules', but it's a good awareness practice to be aware of status and the energy flow that results.
Kathleen, yes, judgment and comparison are part of the status game. That's the beauty of the highest status - it all disappears. written by Maxim, November 15, 2009
If the highest status transcends status then perhaps the "highest" home is the same way...transcending home and homelessness. there is no home but your essential beingness no matter how it is dressed up and presented in the world of form. Maybe I say this because its in my blood... my forbears were Canadian Doukhobors, some of whom burned down their own homes proclaiming god would take care of them.
When I was a teenager I guaged my personal status vis a vis being a "man" in terms of going beyond my virgin status and getting laid. I remember lying to my cousin saying I had when I hadn't... so pressing was this need for status. Nowadays with some people I am very open about my living status, namely sleeping in a van, while with others I kind of go invisible to pass as "normal" which compromises the openess of the relationship. This applies especially to business relationships... being that I build homes and remodel them, or have for a few decades, it has seemed that sleeping in a van would make me less credible....  written by sivadogg, November 16, 2009
took me a while to get around to it but glad I read this article ... really interesting tie in to shame, pride and the chief feature of arrogance. here's how it resonates with me and sparks questions and hopefully this will help someone else reading these comments ...
someone close to me for many years told me more that a few times that i had too much pride. in that and several other ways he was telling me that i held my status higher than i deserved. i hear it from other people as well, mostly an older generation of women who said i thought too much of myself - generational. self preservational response to misogyny, probably. i do my best to disregard and move on. I guess my question is, is it arrogance to disregard someone else's opinion of you? or is it an approach that beingness on your own? how would you know the difference? written by lovingawareness, November 16, 2009
Thanks Maxim. Yes, transcending home and homelessness does seem higher status. Where there's nothing to lose, because there's no attachments to it.
One comment I have about arrogance and status is that it's mostly the arrogant who call other people arrogant and prideful. They feel their status being questioned. Putting other people "down to size" is more about making sure their status isn't above you, even on an energetic basis. So no, I would say disregarding others' opinions isn't necessarily Arrogance at all. That's if there's listening, taking it in, then finding out there's no resonance so letting it go completely. The CF of Arrogance would put up a wall so that it doesn't get inside in the first place. Write comment
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Number one, the lowest status, takes as little space as possible. Shame is the sea in which this status swims. It's as if you were homeless and were just waiting to be rounded up. You make little eye contact. Your motions are hesitant. You are beaten before you even begin.
Why do I mention this? Because it is inextricably linked with the western spiritual quest. There are thousands upon thousands of blogs on personal growth and advice giving. In my experience, very few of them give from a sense of complete fullness. Instead, there is a desire to feel good from having others appreciate the inspiration and insight. (One of the reasons I stopped writing for a time was because this impulse was very strong within me.) This is status: the more others appreciate you and give you applause and energy, the higher your status.
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