Ascended Master Surya through Kim Michaels, March 6, 2026. This dictation was given at the conference in Vilnius, Lithuania: Making a Difference in a Turbulent World.
I AM the Ascended Master Surya. What can you do, from my perspective, to make a difference in a turbulent world?
Well, as you might guess from my decree, the most common word in there is—balance. What you can do is strive for balance in all things. Now, of course, immediately the question springs up: “What is balance?” Well, balance means different things at different levels of the path, at different levels of consciousness. Let us explore that.
Between the 48th and the 96th level
We have given many teachings about the duality consciousness. We have explained how there are always two opposite polarities that are pulling you in opposite directions. Naturally, when you start the spiritual path, let us say at the 48th level of consciousness, you are still affected by dualistic selves, by dualistic beliefs and ideas, by the collective consciousness, by dark forces. And they will attempt to pull on you, pull on anything you have in your consciousness that allows them to bring you towards this dualistic polarity or that dualistic polarity.
At this level of the path, you can say that what you need to strive for is to achieve a balance between two opposites. This is what most people in the world would say about balance. You are not going too far to that side, you are not going too far to the opposite, you try to find some middle ground. That is balance. And this is valid enough at the lower levels of the path. Between the 48th and the 96th level, it is valid enough to strive for balance, where you might say: “I am striving to not go too extreme, not be too extreme.”
Peak experiences and contrast
But again, the question comes up: “What exactly does that mean? How do I implement that in my life?” Well, there are of course some obvious ways. You could say, for example, that certain drugs pull you towards an extreme, unbalanced state of consciousness. They give you a high, but inevitably, after that comes a low. Your life becomes a seesaw between that chemically induced high and the also, in a sense, chemically induced lows. And that, of course, is not balanced.
There comes a point on the spiritual path where you have to make a choice. Do you want to go further on the path and, therefore, give up the drugs? Or do you want to continue the lifestyle you are having and, therefore, stay at that level? We can say in this case, you are avoiding something that pulls you, not only just towards one extreme but actually pulls you into this seesaw—up, down, up, down. Same of course with alcohol, with certain other things.
Then, you can have lifestyles where you can have people who are chasing an adrenaline rush. They are doing something, downhill skiing, parasailing, parachuting, whatever it may be. And that gives them a rush, and then they go back to their normal lives and they feel the contrast. And then, you have people who see themselves as spiritual people, but they are constantly striving to have what they call peak experiences. They might, for example, participate in a sweat lodge, where they do something extreme for several days. They participate in some cleansing ritual, perhaps some cleansing diet for a week or two. Or they even do ayahuasca because they do not consider that drugs, that is something different. But it also pulls you towards these extremes of highs and lows. You can have a genuine, mystical, spiritual experience, but there is a big contrast between that and your normal lifestyle.
Many people are still going from one extreme to another, even though going back to their normal life does not necessarily take them into a chemical low, it can still take them into a psychological low, because they feel like they are only really alive when they are doing something extreme. And there are many spiritual people who have been trapped in this for a very long time, where they are always striving for something, some extreme experience or something ultimate.
Many people today are talking about awakening or even enlightenment, where they see this as some extreme experience, a permanent experience. Where if you are awakened, well, you are awakened. There is only awakened and not awakened. They are, therefore, still seeing the path as going from one opposite, maya, illusion, being asleep, to the opposite, being awakened. But it is still two opposite polarities.
Seeing non-duality through a dualistic filter
It is necessary, of course, as we have said, on the 48th to the 96th level, your task is to pull yourself above the downward pull of the collective consciousness. It is necessary to have a goal you are working towards, however you see it. But the higher you go, the more you need to find a balanced outlook on what your goal is. What is your goal for spiritual growth? It is not awakening or enlightenment as most people see it, because they see it as some ultimate state of consciousness. Some ecstatic, blissful state of consciousness where all your problems are gone and you are not suffering anymore. But you see, their view of this is dualistic in the sense that they see it as the opposite of the unawakened state. But as long as there is that contrast, where is the balance? See, they will say: “Oh, there is no balance. You are either awakened or you are asleep. There is nothing in between. There is no need for balance. You need to strive for the extreme and when you go there, you are there permanently and there is no more growth.”
But what is the duality consciousness? What is the illusion that you are a separate being? It is an unbalanced experience. Because in duality, as I said, there are the two opposite polarities always pulling on you. It is inherently, existentially unbalanced. If your vision of the goal of spiritual growth is dualistic, you are seeking a getaway from one dualistic polarity and attain another. Well, you have not freed yourself from duality, have you? Even if you talk about non-duality, attaining a non-dual state of consciousness, attaining a state of no self, you are still looking through a dualistic filter and, therefore, you cannot find balance.
From one extreme to another
Now, what would be a state of balance on the spiritual path? Well, let us first look at the unbalanced aspect of this, which is that many, many spiritual people throughout the ages and also today have thought that after they find the spiritual path, they find a spiritual teaching, they find a spiritual practice, perhaps a guru, then they need to completely change their lifestyle. They need to move to the guru’s ashram. They need to focus all of their attention on spiritual activities, spiritual studies, spiritual practice. And that will then get them to the goal. But this is, of course, a state of imbalance. I am not saying it cannot be necessary for some people to do this for a time.
This messenger certainly did it. And as Kuan Yin was saying: “If you chose to have that experience, it was because you needed it.” But this messenger was also well aware that he needed to have it until he no longer needed it. And he could have continued in that state of mind for the rest of this embodiment. Having an unbalanced approach, thinking all he had to do was study certain teachings and practice decrees and this and that. As many people have decided: “I am a Buddhist monk. For the rest of my life, I am going to live in this monastery and do this Buddhist practice every day.” But you see, there comes a point where that no longer gives you growth.
You see what I am trying to say here. Most people grow up in an environment that is not spiritual. It can be a traditional religion, it can be a materialistic, atheistic environment. It is not spiritual, which means what? It is unbalanced towards one polarity. Now they find a spiritual path and teaching, and now they swing the pendulum towards the other extreme. Their entire life is focused on spiritual activities, and that is unbalanced to the other side.
Blending the spiritual with the “unspiritual”
As we have said, in the Aquarian Age, the challenge is to find a balance between spiritual and your normal daily life. There is no, first of all, no contradiction, no competition, but eventually they blend together. There is not even a distinction, because you realize that you can actually grow spiritually by living an active life in society. And in many cases, at least beyond a certain level, you will grow faster that way. Because, as we have mentioned before, when you withdraw from society into a spiritual environment, you are withdrawing into a fairly controlled environment. And if you conform to the rules in that environment, nothing will challenge you.
There are monks and nuns who feel they have dedicated their life to Christ or to God or to the Buddha. And they have lived for 30 or 40 years in a monastery, followed all the rules. Nobody ever challenged them. Hardly anybody noticed them. But they have risen maybe one or two or a few levels of the 144. Whereas, if they had found a balance, they could have risen many more levels. And with balance, I mean precisely that you are out in active society. You are interacting with other people, so that they challenge you. You have something that you are tempted to react to. Whereas, in a controlled environment of a monastery or a cave in the Himalayas, what is there to react to? You are in a much more controlled environment. It is easy to be non-attached when you do not have the children running around fighting over this or that toy, or the youngest having to have the diaper changed, or waking up in the middle of the night. Then, it is easy to be the Buddha.
A balanced approach to spirituality
You see, what many people have done, like Kuan Yin explained, they have created this standard. If I do these activities—study and understand this elaborate teaching, I practice and practice for hours a day, I eat a certain diet, I talk a certain way, I walk calmly, I am floating on air, I am always talking calmly—then I am spiritual. But see, as Kuan Yin also said, you cannot fake it. “Fake it till you make it” does not apply on the spiritual path. You have to be willing to look at the psychology, your reactions. Where is the environment that gives you the most input for looking at your reactions? Well, it is the environment where you react the most.
In this day and age, a balanced approach to spirituality is where you say: “Where am I at in life? Do I have a family? Do I have a job? Do I have a career? Do I need to function in life? Do I need to work for a living? Well, then I need to integrate my spirituality with that lifestyle. Spend the time I can spend on spirituality and not be frustrated that I cannot spend more time on spiritual activities.” And gradually, then you shift and realize that the whole distinction between spiritual and non-spiritual activities is actually a lack of balance.
What is a spiritual activity?
How do you define what is a spiritual and non-spiritual activity? Well, people do it based on outer criteria. There is a huge collective beast created over thousands of years by spiritual people that this is how you are supposed to act when you are spiritual. And many people attempt to conform to it. But in reality, what is a spiritual activity? One that helps you see your unresolved psychology and resolve it. That is spiritual. Because that is what drives spiritual growth, as we have said so many times, the resolution of psychology.
At a certain level of the path, you are new, you are enthusiastic, you are experimenting. But there comes that more mature level where you need to decide you are actively seeking a balance between what you see as spiritual and what you see as not spiritual. Yes, of course, you can avoid the directly anti-spiritual, but you find a balance between everyday life and spiritual activities. And then, as you mature in that phase, you start breaking down that distinction between spiritual and not spiritual activities. How is it not spiritual to bring up children, to work with other people and seek to help and inspire them? How is it not spiritual to bring forth some new idea that brings society or a specific field forward?
Bringing light into any activity
There are so many activities in the world where you can bring something more into that activity. It can be as little as smiling to someone you pass on the street. It can be when you are interacting with other people in your work situation, that instead of doing what most people are doing, being annoyed, being irritated, you are smiling, you are supporting them, you are encouraging them, you are seeking to inspire people. That is a spiritual activity. You might say that there comes a point where you realize that: “What is the difference between the world and the spiritual realm?”
You are beginning to experience, realize there is a spiritual realm beyond the material world. What is the main difference? What is the only difference? A difference in vibration. The spiritual realm is energy, but it vibrates at a higher level than the material. And then, you begin to realize that: “How does energy flow into the material realm? Well, it can flow through you, your mind, from your Higher Self, your I AM Presence, from the ascended masters. The energy can flow through your energy field.” And any time, any situation, where there is any kind of flow of spiritual light through you to other people, is that not a spiritual activity? Well, of course it is. But how do you become an open door for the spiritual light? By finding some kind of balance.
Many have tried to take heaven by force, doing these extreme practices, perhaps doing incantations or spells or rituals. But that is not spiritual light. It may create some energetic phenomena that can impress certain people. But it is not spiritual light because, despite the quote found in the New Testament, you cannot take heaven by force. You can attempt to, but you cannot achieve it.
Acquiring Christ discernment
Then, we go closer to the 96th level of consciousness, we come closer to the level where you can attain, begin to attain personal Christhood. And that is when one of the changes that will happen is that you start acquiring discernment.
Now, many people, if they heard the word ‘discernment,’ many spiritual people have never even heard it. But if they heard it, they would say: “So, what is that? Give me a rule here. Come on, give me a standard. If I live up to this standard, I have discernment and this is Christhood. If I do not, I do not have discernment and this is not Christhood.” But you see, that is a dualistic approach. You want to have a standard, so you can say: “If I do this, I am always right.” But discernment is when you begin to see beyond the dualistic polarities and you begin to experience the Christ light directly. Where you experience that in Christ, there are no opposites, there is no opposition.
Christ is the undivided mind. Where is the room for polarities in the undivided, the unified? And therefore, discernment means you can sense intuitively when a vibration is dualistic, when it vibrates below a certain level. And when it vibrates higher than that level and, therefore, is a pure expression of the Christ mind. That is when you step up to a whole different approach to balance. You are not seeking to define it. You are not seeking to say: “Ah, yes, sitting in a room meditating on the Buddha or giving mantras or decrees, that is balanced. But riding a bicycle on the way to work, that is not balanced, even if the bicycle stays balanced.”
Balance is a neutral state of mind
What you realize at this level is that balance is a state of mind. And you can do a certain activity with a balanced state of mind or you can do it with an unbalanced state of mind. You can give decrees and invocations with an unbalanced state of mind and it does not have the full effect. It still has some effect, but not the full effect. Or you can give it with a balanced state of mind and it has a greater effect. And that is when you begin to realize: “What is balance? It is not the midpoint between two extremes. It is what we have called neutrality, a neutral state of mind where there are no extremes. Therefore, nothing pulls on you.”
You see, before you attain this Christ discernment based on an experience of vibration, you can achieve some state of balance, but there is still a pull on you from both extremes. And you have to be constantly aware, constantly alert that you do not get pulled either to that side or that side. Now, this is still progress, as I said. Instead of, without being aware of it, you are just pulled from one extreme to the other, or pulled into one extreme and stay there for an embodiment. But as long as there is a pull, you are not really where Jesus talked about when he said: “The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.”
Above the 96th level
When you go beyond the 96th level, you come to that point where balance—first, it means there is nothing pulling on you, because the forces of this world have nothing they can pull on you with. But there comes even a point where you gain that higher discernment, where you see that which helps you come closer to oneness with your higher self, oneness with the Christ mind, that is balanced. That which pulls you away from that oneness is unbalanced.
But then, there is an even higher level, which is where you do not even think in terms of right and wrong, good or bad, balanced and unbalanced, because all of these definitions have faded away. However, this does not mean that everything is the same or that nothing matters.
There are those who think in terms of non-duality and awakening. And they think they can attain this state of non-self, where there are no differentiations. But they all go into this depressive state of mind, where nothing matters, life has no purpose, there is no point in doing anything. And that is not what we are talking about. But there comes a point where you see that beyond this distinction of good and bad, spiritual and non-spiritual, is the ability to discern without that value judgment. In the beginning, you will think that having Christ discernment is better than not having it, that the Christ consciousness is better than the anti-christ consciousness.
But there comes a point where all of these distinctions become meaningless, because you lock in to what Kuan Yin explained, namely that everything is an experience created in the mind. And you begin to see, experience that at the lower levels of consciousness, your mind creates an internal experience, especially below the 48th level. Everything is created internally, not by your mind necessarily, but also the collective mind and the minds of the fallen beings, where you take in many things. But you are completely blinded by maya, by illusion. But then, as you go higher, you see that your mind is a mixture of the two. You still have some worldly beliefs and ideas, but you also have some intuitive insights and contact with the Christ mind.
The rest of this dictation, along with an invocation based on the dictation, is found in the book: Making a Difference in a Turbulent World.
Copyright © 2026 Kim Michaels