200. Milestone Celebration: FAQs with Michael Massey

Listen here

Michael Massey joins to celebrate the 200th episode of The Meditation Conversation podcast! It seems like just yesterday I was releasing the 100th episode. We thought it would be fun to answer some Frequently Asked Questions that each of us receive. We talk about personality constructs, and the deconstruction of personality which can come through spiritual awakening, the ups and downs to trying to get your family to adopt a meditation practice, what the concept of God means to us, and knowing your spirit guides.

00:01.94
Michael
Hello and welcome to the meditation conversation I am your special guest host Michael Massey and ah, this is for episode 200 of the meditation conversation and so I do have for her second grand appearance as a guest on this show I have Kara Gooden

Kara

yeah did you say gooden

Michael

I did I did. Ah. I ah yeah

Kara

yeah, I'm not supposed to call you out.

Michael

Yeah, no, no, you weren't it's actually goodwin. good-win. Yeah, goodwin yeah. Ah well okay, so here we are on is today the eighth or ninth eighth today is the Eighth September Eighth recording episode 200 and it seems like. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago we were doing this for episode 100

Kara

I know it really doesn't

Michael

I was tripping out, I'm like wait a second. It's like the math didn't work out. Yeah, and I'm like have you been doing like you know. 3 podcasts a day or something?

Kara

I know it's really weird isn't it know as I remember when it started getting into like the one seventy's I was like, how am I in the one seventy's already? I've been kind of like hey we've got the two hundredth coming up like quickly. Yeah, and we got to you know, collaborate and see what we want to do for it.

Michael

So here we are collaborating and so we thought we would do our own kind of funny faq where we're just gonna share with each other and let you all listen in is is a couple of the most common questions that we get asked each of us respectively and then before we do that though, um for my sake and the listeners too, is what do you have to say about the last hundred episodes. Are you know what has is there anything that you'd you'd like to share about what this has meant for you or how it's evolved?

Kara

Yeah, that's a good question. Um, it's been really interesting because it's gained a lot of momentum. Um, so for 1 thing I I have a lot of requests tobe on the podcast, which is nice. That's nice. Um, and that's just come with with time you know where but there are far too many to be able to honor all of them. But um, I love hearing from people so I'll get like people who send me emails to talk about, you know that they've discovered the podcast and what it's meant to them. Um, or just you know, people will you know I'll um, always post whenever there's a new episode, I'll post it on Instagram and Facebook and people will message me on there or put in the comments about. What they really liked about the episode. So I love that because it's kind of like I just put it out. You know it's like I have the interview and I edit it and then I put it out there and so it really means a lot, because it just sort of like goes out and I don't necessarily then think about people listening to it. You know, because there's such amazing conversations for me that I get so much out of and then I get to listen to them again when I edit. Um. So then to get that full circle where people are like wow I really enjoyed that particular conversation and it triggered this for me or, you know this this particular thing I really needed to hear at that time. Sometimes people will talk about how they've they've asked the universe a question and then they've heard that then it ends up being something that we talk about in the episode and it seems like the answer to the question that they put out and that it's just so it means so much so that's awesome. 

05:02.25
Michael
For sure and you've had  some notable guests, but not the least of which was Neale Donald Walsch, author of the Conversations with God series. And so that was must have been the highlight for you as well.

Kara

Yeah yeah, I loved having having him on that was a great conversation. Recently I had Barbara Lamb, she was another kind of legendary guest and Caroline Corey, that one as of now I don't know if it'll go out before this or not but I had a great conversation with her and can't wait to get that out. Yeah Ruben Langdon, Adam Apollo,

05:52.91
Michael
And now I feel really like it might who am I not to say oh and Michael massey

Kara

Michael Masssey, yes had that guy. Yes, those are always great.

Michael

Um, ah and should we should we jump into our little  faq's, okay, unless there was something else should like share.

Kara

No I think that's good.

Michael

Okay, um. Well should I break the ice since you just did some questions or whatever. Okay, so um, so the probably the number 1 question that I get asked and have gotten asked. Um and I'm really dating this to like my post awakening kind of last twelve thirteen years or so but okay, um, since I entered full time service work. Ah, so probably the one I get asked the most is where are you from where are you from? And, the funny thing about this is and this is very common questions but it's probably 1 of the more common questions that everybody gets asked. It gets to be a really funny question to get asked though when you're going to a special spiritual awakening because the answer to it isn't always so obvious. Ah, right? and the the funny thing about the reason people ask this question at all is it's a way that people actually relate from personality to personality. So it establishes a starting point where somebody can now build a new construct file. on which to classify that person. Okay, okay, and then we're doing this all the time, the way that we're actually building in our mind how all these relationships work and you meet somebody and it's like you. Like here's a little computer system. You're opening up a little new file and your mind you put your but Kara on it. Okay, met Kara and and where she's from. Where's she's from right and now I can start building a my stack. Um.

So now the the funny thing is is on the receiving side of it. It's a question that the personality construct has an answer for um and. Ah, so what happens if you dismantle the personality? Yeah, then it becomes complicated right? What if you have you know, dismantled or rebuilt or maybe you're trying on a new personality in which case this new personality construct may have come to you? You might have been born and raised in Indiana, all that sort of stuff, you go through a whole rebirth experience in Hawaii.

Right? And then if somebody asks you immediately after that where are you from? You're gonna feel like you're from Hawaii, yeah, that's your new origin point. Now incidentally this really came up to me a lot while I was doing these big Sand Artwork you know these big old fifty yard long murals in the sand in in Hawaii. So I'm out there and I'm drawing all that in and that would always capture people's attention and they would get mesmerized but the scale of it because you almost had to be looking out of one of the hotel windows down at the beach to see the full picture. Ah and people would be looking around and then they'd be like like where are you from? They mean it's such an an enigma then they really want to know where you're from. At that point I had done so much deconstructing and reconstructing I really didn't know how to answer that question and it's like okay is it where I lived most recently, was it where I like graduated high school or college. Is it where I've lived the most, is it where I was born. Or was it the place that's most fond in my heart and for me those are all different places.

And then those are all just earthly spots. Let alone multidimensional self in a greater understanding of you know? yeah yeah that so I would typically um I would wrestle with it. Finally I just said. Since I was on the sand and I was drawing Disney characters. That's what I did I did Disney characters of mendoles and I happened to really grow up in Southern California in Fullerton California just about five six miles away from Disneyland I started telling people when they asked me where i't from I said disneyland ahha and that I would just at least be a funny way. People would chuckle. They either think I'm making a joke because I'm yeah trying Disney or other people be like oh he's from he's from socal. Yeah yeah, and they would get it and that was. And the the reason I didn't really want to answer that because as soon as I did answer it. It would start building a new construct for me and I didn't want I didn't I was writing this place where I didn't want to have any permanent. Yeah. Constructs and I wanted to to stay fluid and and and be an enigma or whatever. Yeah, so um, so is I ended up settling on that nowadays. Ah you know people ask me where I'm from and I'll probably just.

You know wherever my current residence at this moment is you know in Indianapolis. I just yeah playing it that way because and the funny thing is that the it is only the the personality or the ego that even cares about this at all. It's a funny thing because we about when all those constructs are gone. There's only one answer to that question and it's the same answer for everyone. So no one would ever souls. Don't ask each other where they're from. Ah, yeah, because everybody knows and there's only one answer and that we're from God.

Kara

Yeah, yeah, that's so interesting and you're right I mean it is like this It's a a personality to personality. But there is like I think a reaching out in in an attempt to connect.  The only reason really that you ever would ask somebody where they're from like when they give the answer you try to like figure out how it fits into your life,like oh I've been there or I know somebody from there. My aunt lives there or whatever. Um, if it's like you know in your case, you know you were born in Brazil like I've got nothing there because I have no connection to Brazil at all, you know. (laughs)

14:23.47
Michael
Um, but yeah, so we do like the personality then tries to see like okay how are we connected through location you know? Yeah yeah, and it's the way that we relate to each other and we relate based on finding common ground wherever that yeah might be. Right? Careers, interests, places we've lived right? Yeah, whatever, right? So your turn.

Kara

Okay, um so I get asked a lot do your kids meditate. Or people assume that my kids meditate and they're like how do you get your kids to. Um, it's a version of this. Um, and so the answer is that my kids don't really meditate. Um, but it's really fun to see them like they notice meditation, they'll like sit in the lotus position. I've got a picture of my daughter in in a one of those pop-up, like water fountain structures, you know where you see the kids like running through? And she's like got this water spaying up on her and she's in the lotus position like in a meditation kind of pose. Um, or if it comes up on Tv, like we were watching the office last night and Michael Scott was having the office all sit on the floor and he was oming, you know and they're like Mama! But I did find like when I was new to meditation, when I lived in Italy, I was kind of trying to get them to adopt it because I knew how good it was just for their nervous system and how it could help with anxiety and so forth and so I was trying to implement this practice of mindfulness time before school or even just taking some deep breaths or something before they went to school or before bedtime and at least at that time, and this was years and years ago, now they're 15 and 12, they were much littler at that time. But they they could not finish fast enough and it became this like this struggle of come on, let's just, you know you're gonna feel better just sit down, quit, you guys stop arguing just relax! Everybody relax!

Micheal

You sound very relaxed as you're saying that?

Kara

Yeah, exactly exactly so eventually I was like this is so counterproductive. So I kind of learned through that experience and through other experiences of just like hey let them have their own path and if it's interesting to them then they'll pick it up and I can only be ah, a role model for them.

So I've mentioned on the podcast several times that my daughter has scoliosis and so I've been doing a lot ofvdifferent types of of therapies to help her with that. Um some of which are energetic and many of that like any energetic work I do on her, and I do that to her almost every day. So she's very familiar with energetic healing work. Um, and that's just something that's sort of seeping into her reality through this experience, and we're also doing other types of of interventions too. 

So it's something and more and more you know, it's it's in their world. My daughter's in middle school and they do mindful minutes or mindful Mondays or something like that where they take a few moments to just breathe and be quiet. Um, which she complains about (laughs). But but you know it's in their world and then they've got just the example of you know, seeing that it's important to me and you know whatever they notice about me versus you know other people in their world. So that's really been my approach, just more of like leadership in terms of hey here it is, this is a thing and it's helpful. Um, but really not trying to force anything on them. As such they they really don't have like a proper meditation practice.

Michael

You know I I like the perspective though of just yeah, like equipping people, kids you know with a tool that you're not, you're not forcing them to do anything with it. Yeah, but it's like here you're gonna have this and this is to help you who knows what life is gonna ring at you? Yeah right? and then having kids be like just saying okay, this is a way to how to calm. Restore, so that because things are gonna, anxieties and all that, that's gonna come. But if you have a tool just to address that along the way then it doesn't have to lead to some big crises where all of it has to get dealt with at some future point. You know? Yeah you can just do a little bit. Um, that's great. Ah I think also because you learn to swim. Yes, yeah, ah, and then there and then defend himself. Yeah yeah, martial arts. But just even if it's just a simple self-defense course. So I mean I think these are like 3 things that are are great tools for everybody to know is how to center yourself in your space. Ah okay, how to meditate, and then how to defend your space, and then how to swim. How to survive if you're in water. Yeah that's just an important one. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, good good all right?

Kara:

Well, what's next for the next one, frequently asked question.

Michael

Um, um, well it kind of picks up where the other question left off. Okay, um, you know where am I from, well the same place we're all from the same place. We're all from God. A question I do get asked a lot is um, you know what is God to you, and it's funny because as soon as I'm getting to know people right? You're fine trying to find points to relate. It doesn't really take too long generally for somebody talking to me to realize that there's something spiritual about the way I talk. True? or.. yeah? Yeah, so inevitably this topic comes up and again now you're dealing with one of the interesting questions when somebody asks, you know what is God to you. Because now we're talking about the origin of it all and also what we hold most sacred is these notions and also when there isn't a point of agreement on that you know this of oh that God is my God too. Guess what humans are known to do?

Kara

Fight.

Michael

I think it's because of the how deep that sacredness is that it if that feels threatened at all. Then. Yeah, and then that turns into war of good versus evil real fast and the funny thing is is that actually doesn't have anything to do with the soul or the truth, that has to do with ah a misunderstanding of personality constructs because that's where that's coming from to begin with right? Yeah, but anyways it ah it is a it is a good question and of course um, in in moment here I'm just gonna I'm gonna give you the quick answer because it's actually God's really easy to, you know just to sum up in a couple words, right? Yeah yeah, yeah, good Yeah I know right? There's a little special gift here now. 

Yeah, it's not something that's easy to put into words and it is something that's kind of sacred and and this is a also kind of on my mind because I just did get asked this question. Ah. Few days ago by the Amazon driver.

Kara

Really?

Michael

Yes ah, yeah, actually I said something and um, that got him so thinking. He drove away and then he wanted to come back but he didn't have the address anymore. It took him three weeks of driving around and knocking and going up doors and stuff and finally failed me again.

Kara

You're kidding me? Wow! What had you said to him? 

Michael
Ah, peaked his interest he had seen my pendant and then I I just showed him the pyramid. Ah yeah, and um, who knows what else I said. Who knows I will always say stuff all right? and um anyways and he's now become ah a fan of the podcast.

Kara

Oh yeah, oh that's awesome. That's Great.

Michael

So. Ah, but anyway so he ah he he has to bust out this question of Wow of hey, what's God to you or what are your thoughts on God or whatever right? And um. And ultimately this is a question that it's it's our own like god given right to come to our own understanding of this. You don't have to take anybody else else's word for it is everyone has a right to just to discover and relate for oneself. Okay, that's the beauty of it. So the way I am answering this is is and I'm gonna just kind of use I'm gonna direct it to you? Okay, you you and me. Alright, so let's say that we're gonna wave a little magic wand. Okay, and it's big universe. So. There's lots of stuff there to see. So let's say I'm given I am given as much time as I need billions of years or however, long. Okay, and I'm also given equip equipment with. Sufficient numbers of but bodies. Um, whatever lifetimes long life. Whatever a spaceship. It's whatever it is I need in order to go out and explore it. Okay and so let's say however much time that takes it's gonna be a long time.

But Gosh darn it I do I go and I explore it and point arrives where I've seen it all right? So Wow I have seen it all. Wow What a amazing journey seeing it all. So in a sense I could say truth like I say that I know it all in that I've seen it all and so I can relate like we're talking to to everything that exists within the Universe. So I can kind of know it all. Now let's say Kara you, you're like oh I'm gonna go on this journey too and so there you go off exploring until you reach a point where you've seen it all too and then we meet together there in the middle. And I'm like wow did you see it all. You're like yeah yeah I saw it all I'm like I saw it all too and now we can like powwow over a cuppa right? and we can chat about? Oh. How'd you like this or that or. Would have all this whole universe of of ability to relate so how deep would our connection be in terms of that relation when we have this huge fast array. Okay. And so you've seen it all I've seen it all I could say I know it all you could say you know it all and yet there's 1 more thing though is that that my experience. Wasn't the exact same as your experience. Yeah, okay, so although we might say we know it all. There's a difference between that and being all knowing.

Yeah so what is God. God is the one who has seen it all. Not just one way but all ways. How many different points of view and perspectives there are the Universe. You go Oh The computation. The level of intelligence the energy to do that. Yeah know it's a it's a whole another level then no matter how. Yeah big we are that is always bigger and that's yeah, but that's both where we come from and where we yeah are going? Yeah that also.

Kara

I've really love that and it it just shows that you know it's It's within everything too. So It's not like this other thing. It's like you know it all because you've done it all. And I know it all because I've done it all in this form you know in that version and there's the overarching or like the thread that is going through everything that is experiencing everything that is God. I Love that?

Michael

Yeah and so yes, we're we can't get away from it which is silly. Yeah, we but we can think that we can yeah we can feel like it. We can have the experience so called of. Not being a part of that. But yeah, you know that's not the truth. That's the illusion. Yeah, right?

Kara

Yeah, beautiful. Okay, um, another one that comes up a lot is about guides So who are somebody's guides or how do they know who to um, you know how? So in my journey of teaching meditation or coaching, for quite a while I was teaching in in other people's places you know so like in yoga Studios or I teach at ah in a school district actually but the teachers in the school district. So I have to try to be pretty secular when I lead meditation so that it's not too like spiritual, just to be respectful of the environment. Um, well now I'm doing more things like just of my own accord where like I have a membership program for example and so I'm leading Meditations but I'm not like I don't have to quote unquote answer to anybody, I can feel into the group and what people are looking for and ready for um. And so it has opened me up more to being able to kind of invite in that spiritual element that I've sort of held at Bay in other circumstances and and so I will encourage people to like as we're starting a meditation to kind of put a sphere of light around them and invite in their guides and so this can be kind of a stumbling block for people because then they they inherently sort of and I can relate this to like feeling like well who are my guides like who am I even talking to do I need to know like. Okay I want Phil to come in. You know and and I you know need to know that who they are what they look like what their names are what their roles are and so forth. So for me from my own perspective, it's a constant evolution, in terms of who I feel resonance with. There are beings or guides that I feel connection with for certain parts of my journey who I will bring into my meditation, invite into my meditation who um, then maybe don't feel as relevant after a while. You know they feel like maybe they were there to support one part of it. So how do you know who that is? Well for me the way that it's played out has been um, just paying attention. Like when beings are coming into my awareness, and I don't think I've ever had the situation where like I'm in meditation and a being comes to me in my third eye or in front of me or whatever or I hear a name or anything. It hasn't really happened for me like that. More often, it will be like something that I'm reading, something that I'm watching, something that I'm hearing, something that comes up in conversation. But I notice that it comes up from different places and I'm like oh! Like that's happened with Kuan Yin for example, where there was a period of time where I had no idea who that even was and then suddenly I'm getting hit with Kuan Yin Kuan Yin Kuan Yin and I'm like okay maybe there's something here for me, like let me let me try that out.

Michael

You know can I can I chime in for something? The the funny thing about it. Is you just mentioned Kuan Yin right? And she was also one who showed up for me in my journey as well. The funny thing is, is that now this podcast itself is actually adding out into a collective field of material that's out there. Kuan Yin can use it to actually speak to somebody, because somebody here is gonna be listening to this and Kuan Yin has hit their radar a couple little things here and there and then they're gonna be sitting here right now. Right now somebody's going what yes, what? Yes, exactly like this.

Kara 36:33.95

Thank you for pointing that out because this is like how it works, this is how it has worked for me too. I would love to hear your perspective on this because I have a feeling that for you there have been times where you actually have had beings kind of enter into your field where you're like getting information in a way that I haven't experienced.

In terms of getting asked that question and then what it means for the person who is asking. They may be at a place where they don't have any frame of reference for any guides. You know they may have grown up with kind of like a feeling of well I'm familiar with like a Guardian Angel. So I feel that I have a Guardian angel but I don't know who that is and I've never seen them I just feel like I'll find out when I die that this person this being has been walking with me and helping me and protecting me and so forth.

Michael

Um, which is true.

Kara

Right? So um, but I think like I I feel it's important that we don't hold ourselves back from feeling like well if I don't know then I must not have guides.So either feeling like if you had some you would know? Or that we need to maybe feel a presence or you trust that there's a presence but you don't have any frame of reference for who it is. That's okay, too because that's part of the discovery and it's part of the journey and it's part of the fun of it. You know it's this like, "Oh here's another reference point. Let me see how this feels for me." And kind of just letting that be because I feel like a big part of just the whole purpose of what we're doing here, a lot of it is Discovery and it's kind of, it's a discovery of who we are and it's a construction who we are. Ah yes, exactly So it's, in my opinion, it's not necessarily like you have, like you need to find this role and fulfill it so much as it's like you also are a creator who is here creating your reality and Constructing. So do you want to share a bit about your own guides?

38:08.36
Michael
Have I shared the story of the the pit? I'll just jam it real quick. I had already kind of been introduced to my team and now I didn't really know their their names and was actually early on I did do something that was like whoa. Really surprised me the response and I had already connected with a couple of them and stuff like that. But I was aware that there was more. There's more forces and presences around me and things, I just don't know their names or whatever.

39:39.32
Michael
And so but I was actually doing a ah fireside prayer in the the woods that night and where I was just in gratitude and thankful and so I just included gratitude for um, ah for everyone who has helped me um, seen and unseen, known and unknown, and immediately all the like the trees and everything just started quaking and shaking away. Yeah, and everything just like just exploded, was like dancing, the trees are dancing and it was amazing. So we are not really expected to from, say from the spiritual realms we're not expected and to be able to know names besides when the names might be like not very, they're not even like in English you know? Obviously they're not English but you know what I mean? Anyhow, so I had actually come to a point where I came to rely on my guides all the time. I didn't know all the their names, I could just feel their presence and when I call them boom they just showed up like that.

41:05.70
Michael
You know like there's a security detail or something you know they all came in to surround me and I was just strong enough to face whatever was I was doing. Whatever was the cause for me to call them in. And so one day I was in meditation, I was just doing a body Scan which I did a lot frequently at that time, and I hit this frequency that was like, oh what is that? That's nasty and that's pretty good and you know what. Or my abilities had developed to where I just moved my consciousness and I'm just floating down, I can kind of see what's going and I just go right into that frequency. I'm like well let's go find out what that is and next thing I know I feel this sense of falling and that plummet and I'm visually in this pit. Just like pitch black in there and there's like this snarling of like demon hoard. You know, kind of like in Lord of the rings or something. I'm like is this place..? and I go, Well bring my team in here, this is gnarly, and so I call for my team and then nobody showed up. I'm like where? what? and I kind of looked up from in the pit

42:34.10
Michael
with m awareness and it's like there's this little hole that I come through and I can see like all my team are just staring down a. They're all standing around the hole looking down at me like freaking bugs bunny cartoon or something, I'm like uh? and they look at me like, "We ain't going down in there. That's your job." 

42:59.12
Michael
And I'm like what? Ah okay, yeah, and so then I'm like, it was just up to me at that point, that environment that was full of fear, the point was to remember where I'm from. Yeah, yeah, that I'm not of that place, that where I'm from and where are we from, we're from God. Remember that, and all of a sudden that drops in. I call it God bomb, that just went poof and just vaporized the demon hoard and just cleared that whole thing out and um, the interesting thing is is that from that day forward I have I am so I can still capable of feeling fear. But I'm no longer terrified. Of anything. So that's the real gift and that's the reason why the team you know, my guides were like, no he needs to do this on his own. 

44:21.62
Kara
Yeah, because that's how we grow and get stronger right?

Michael

So so that's just 1 thing for people to go, if you're calling out for help and you're not maybe you're not getting it. It doesn't mean it's because you don't have help or whatnot and these are things, you kind of got to sort out along the way. Yeah, and sometimes things are just happening because we can be lost in the waves and think we're drowning. When the truth, the reality is is all we need to do is stand up. Yeah, and the universe typically doesn't swarm to help you. You know if you're lying down on the sound and complaining that you're drowning. Yeah. No, it's gonna say stand up.

Kara

Yeah wow well that's really powerful and beautiful. Thank you, thank you for joining me on the 200th episode.

Michael

Oh yes, well, you know, no no. Thank you for joining me Kara on this 200th yes, you've been a beautiful guest.

Kara

Thank you

Michael

Ireally really appreciate the work you're doing I wish you the best of luck and success as you go on for your next hundred and um and perhaps we'll see you again. Then.

45:56.71
Kara
Maybe next month at the rate we're going you know.

Michael

oh right? like wait a second. No no, no, no, something's really, yeah, what are you doing kind of wormholes. Are we?

Kara

Yeah yeah. Well thank you so much. Thank you thank you all too yeah and thank you.

Listen here