Continuance

About the Word

Continuance is the noun form of the verb to Continue, which comes to old English from the French, which is turn came from Latin. The Latin word means, literally, to hold togther. Continuance is the border between before and after. But it doesn'tseparate the two; the action of continuance holds together the past and the future; the here and the there.

Purpose of Continuance

Consider that, as growth occurs, the border between what was and what will be is in constant expansion. Expansion is the rule of the Universe, so that border is always in flux. We feel discomfort when we fight this expansion; we feel peace when we allow it, and joy when we participate in it.

Thus you want nothing barring your flow or holding you back, causing you to turn from your course of Continuance.

This expanding border is the edge between you and not-you. As it expands, there is more and more overlap between what is you and everything else, until. one day, the expansion between your System of Continuance and that of everyone and everything else, completely overlap. At that time, the notion that We are all One will not be just a catchphrase, but an obvious, experienced fact.

At that point, we—ALL—will be Whoie (which is, remember, the meaning of the word ONA).

At A Glance

The location of this system has been purported to be the most ideal place from which one should operate one's body. From this point one is connected with the spiritual levels as well as able to access the physical through the mind. When the mind field is aligned this process operates beyond time and space.

What is Continuance?

We've all had the experience of finding ourselves facing an unwelcome change and instinctively resisting it. This is an example of the discomfort that comes from fighting one's System of Continuance.

Some people resist all change. One doesn't have to look beyond the political climate to witness fearful people resisting change. Whether it's the abolition of slavery, giving votes to women, or marriage equality, there is always a small but vocal, terrified minority who fight it tooth and nail.

But even many who gladly embrace social change, fight personal changes. They remain in jobs they hate rather than risk finding a new one; they remain in loveless marriages rather than face the unknown that lies beyond.

Continuance is the expanding border between what is and what can be. Recognizing that expansive change is always good, is the lesson of this System.

Because Continuance is a constantly-expanding border, change is an inescapable part of life. Those who take change in stride are happier than those whose lives are a constant battle against the inevitable. For some this may include getting beyond the loss of a loved one or a pet, the ability gained to get a scholastic degree or to climb a mountain. It allows us to move forward from each lifechanging event to the next.

And then, just as the caterpillar inevitably transforms into a butterfly, our physical bodies transform into our next, spiritual form. And this change, universal as it is, causes the most angst among people—ironic, since it is the one change every single one of us must go through! And yet, people put such energy into fighting it, as if this time it can be avoided!

There is more than enough fear in our world, and we need to let it go. Let us not create enemies to fight against that are a part of us. Find the joy and love in every person with whom you come into contact. That is the soul of Continuance, for in the truth of spirit it has no beginning and seeks no end.

The lesson of Continuance is simply this: We all are One; we cannot maintain the distinction between me and thee when the System of Continuance is in constant expansion. So, instead of fighting expansive change, we must develop a knack for easily integrating the changes into ourselves. Thus, the statement of System 12 is I ACCEPT.

I ACCEPT

The active intelligence that creates statements of Continuance is in the form of I ACCEPT.

I ACCEPT comes in a variety of forms. I ACCEPT statements are made which apply to the Unifying Inner Aspect, the Unifying Field, and the System of Continuance. Inner Aspect statements refer to the manner in which you integrate changes within yourself; Field statements refer to the manner in which you integrate changes outside of yourself, and System statements describe your integration of All That Is into your personal experience..

Examples

Inner Aspect

The Twelfth Inner Aspect is that of Unifying. This is the deepest place that you can access inside of yourself, for it is where you find All That Is. This is where you know yourself as endless and without boundaries. Accessing this Inner Aspect is something that mystics spend lifetimes learning to acheive.

This Inner Aspect knows itself and is the doorway to the divine, the endless possibilities of what lies ahead. It unifies all the other parts of your beingness and in this process you are renewed and made whole.

The Twelfth Inner Aspect serves to integrate all the other Inner Aspects into a cohesive Whole.

Unhealthy Inner Aspect

A person with an unhealthy Unifying Inner Aspect is in a constant state of fear…of him- or herself.

We all know people who are terrified of revealing their true selves. They may be closeted gays, or secret drug users, or may simply be unwilling to accept that they cannot stand their hypercritical mother. Just because you want to keep something a secret doesn't mean it's a bad thing. But when you keep a secret from yourself, even when it's something that others would not find problematic, it is a problem…for you.

If you have an inner need that terrifies or disgusts you, that doesn't mean that acting out that need is needed to become healthy. It does mean that you need to acknowledge that this need is a part of you. Examine it, get to know it, try to understand where it came from and what it has to teach you.

The easiest way to spot your secret fears, is to note what particularly bothers you about others. If you hate when others speak so loudly in a restaurant that everyone else can hear them, perhaps you are afraid to express yourself so uninhibitedly. If the idea of someone being on welfare enrages you, perhaps you, yourself, would like to let go of having to work for a living.

The next time someone annoys you, especially if their behavior wasn't even directed at you—ask yourself, is that behavior I would never allow myself? If so, why not? What would happen if I did allow it? What would happen if I admit I'd like to do that, myself? Would anyone suffer actual harm if I did? If not, why not try it?

A common secret fear is that we cannot control the world around us. None of us can, of course; but some people find the idea so terrifying that they simply cannot deal with the reality. So they hide this fear-inspiring knowledge so deeply inside they can convince themselves that they are in control. In fact, they will seek out positions of authority and control. They become CEOs, religious or political leaders, experts in their fields. This doesn't mean thatall such persons have weak Unifying Inner Aspects! Statesmen do not. Experts who keep up with new developments do not. But politicians-for-hire and "experts" who resist new information do..

Inner Aspect Health

When your Twelfth Inner Aspect is healthy, you are completely comfortable with yourself. You have no secrets from yourself, and consequently the opinion of others is of no concern to you, unless it, in turn, adversely affects others. What might happen if you spot someone playing with matches doesn't make you nervious; on the other hand, you'll be the first to run into a burning building to save anyone who might be trapped inside.

You can create a healthy Unifying Inner Aspect by paying attention to the things about others that annoy you, accepting that the behavior or appearance that annoys you is an issue with yourself that you haven't yet accepted, and find a way to accept and embrace it. Once your Twelfth Inner Aspect is healthy, it tends to stay that way; but don't be surprised if new sources of annoyance, or old sources you thought you'd handled, sporadically come up. However, the more practice you have with accepting and integrating your hidden demons, the easier it will become.

Exercise 12-a

Write down four Inner Aspect I ACCEPT statements (referring to the way you do, or don't include your inner life into this process), Mark statements that indicate successful integrations I+. Mark statements that indicate limited or negative integrations I-.

Unifying Field

Just as your Unifying Inner Aspect relates to your inner traits, your Unifying Field has to do with how you relate to the traits of the external world. This is the Field that touches Infinity; and aspects of the external world that repulse you, or distract or seduce you, act as barriers between you and that Infinite.

Unhealthy Field

People who have an unhealthy Unifying Field are at odds with the world around them. This is the person who is always upset with how "awful" things are. He or she watches the nightly news is always upset by it, but would never consider not watching it. He or she is always complaining about his or her friends and coworkers appearance and behavior. In politics, the person with an unhealthy 12th Field may be liberal or conservative, but either way hates the other party and is certain the world will come to no good end if the "other" party has its way. This person fears or detests those who belong to other races or nationalities or gender expressions. Even folks who dress differently come under their disapproving scrutiny.

These people believe in fighting against things and people and ideas. They might turn to a few underhanded tricks to win the larger populace over. They might appear to really be concerned about other people. Once again these are not truly evil or bad people. They are not fully integrated and thus speak of partiality and a need to come together and come from one mind. That is because these people have learned to not really respect diversity in others. In fact they fear it.

Because this fear is so intense, the person with an unhleathy Unifying Field will bully, lie, or manipulate others in an attempt to make them toe the line. This makes them the nemesis of others who don't match their standards, but a hero to others who share the same fears.

On the other hand, a person with a weakened Twelfth Field may be completed captivated by something or someone in their lives.Television, food, sex, or some individual may so distract this person that they are not at ease with the world. Overeating and undereating, preoccupation with diet or the purity of drinking water, obsession with what someone else is doing or even thinking, are all hallmarks of a weak unifying Field.

Field Health

When you have a healthy Unifying Field, nothing other than immediate, real, danger frightens you, and not even that makes you lose control of yourself. You find people of other cultures, races, nationalities, abilities and gender variations to be stimulating and have friends of every sort. You're sort of a one-person United Nations! You don't bother to watch the news, except perhaps for the entertainment value, and nothing on TV or the radio or the movies or the newspapers upsets you. This doesn't mean you don't lend your support to causes you favor, just that you don't all worked up over them.

With a healthy Unifying Field, you are used to the fact that babies and animals seem drawn to you. Why not? You never demand that they be anything other than what they are. They sense you are comfortable with them, so they are comfortable with you.

With a healthy Twefth Field you never worry that the world will be destroyed, or even about your own death. You know that all things change, and you accept that. That doesn't mean that you are indifferent to the effects of climate change, racism, or inequality. It just means that you do what you can to influence others in a positive manner, and don't put emotional energy into things you cannot or do not influence.

You know that againstness never works, and would never participate in a "war" against poverty, drugs, breast cancer or terrorism. You would participate in positive sources of change, such as helping the homeless get back on their feet, educating the young as to the effects of debilitating drugs (whether illegal or legal!), contribute to cancer research, or making friends around the world to defuse the causes of terrorism.

At the end of the day, you know that the Universe consists of untold quadrillions of planets, and as many forms of life; that all things grow, change, adapt, and eventually pass on; and that every step of that contributes to the experience of the Universe and the Whoieness from which it arises. Instead of fearing death and change, you look forward to whatever comes next.

Exercise 12-b

Write down four I ACCEPT statements referring to your Unifying Field, Mark a strong sense of wholeness with F+; Mark unhealthy or painful sense of wholeness F-. 

Finding Your Continuance

Referring to the Systems chart in Workshop Zero, please note that the parabolic plane for System Twelve extends from a point about three feet above the head.

Continuance as a System

According to the dictionary, a continuum is defined as "a continuous extent, series, or whole." You have probably heard the word before, for example in the term, "Space-Time Continuum." The top of your dining room table is a continuum consisting of the entire extent of the tabletop, including its paint or finish and anything that might be on it. The Universe (all outer space) is a three-dimensional continuum; time and space together form the space-time continuum, which is the entire Universe, not only all its area, but also its entire history and future: In other words, the entire 4th-dimensional extent taken up by the entire Universe from Big Bang to Big Crunch.

A continuum may be contained in a larger continuum; for example, our Universe is a bubble in a 5th-dimensional continuum, that also contains other bubble (parallel) universes, A 6th-dimensional continuum is required to contain 5th-dimensional continua, and a 7th holds many 6th's, and so on. At the level of Infinity, you have just One Continuum that some call God, some call Allah, some call All That Is, and so on. This ultimate continuum contains all that exists, everything, every object in every universe, every event (because time is included in these continua), every thought, every possibility.

Your System of Continuance is your experience of the ultimate continuum. It is your understanding of yourself as a holographic aspect of that continuum. (Remember, a hologram is a small piece of film that includes an image of an entire object in three dimensions.) The ancient adage, "As above, so below" applies here: You aren't just part of All That Is; you are representave of it, all of it.

In other words, your System of Continuance is your experience of being All That Is.

As with each System, the Twelfth combines your Twelfth Inner Aspect and Twelfth Field and extends them into the Universe. Your Unifying Inner Aspect, acceptance of your inner traits, and your Unifying Field, acceptance of the world around you, combine to form your System of Continuance.

The one thing that All That Is cannot do, is reject any part of Itself. Thus your System of Continuance, when working as it is designed to, is one of complete and total acceptance of and membership in everything,

Unhealthy System

A person with an unhealthy Twelfth System may seem disconnected from a sense of spirit. They tend to be agnostics or atheists. They have difficulty making a connection to intangible things or ideas.

They may be extremely skeptical or critical concerning concepts such as magic, spirit or religion. Because they do not feel connected to Divine Purpose, they don't believe there is such a thing. This does not make them bad people. Many atheists live more ethical lives than some religious people. It's just that they tend to be pragmatic: They do things for the here-and-now, without ever perceiving the big picture. Thus, school shootings, terrorist attacks, wars and diseases all seem like hopeless tragedies to them. Nothing seems to have any purpose. Since they don't believe in an afterlife, their motto might be, "Life's a bitch and then you die."

These people tend to have rules that apply to them and not everyone else, such as the guy with the greenest lawn during water restriction during a drought, or the politician who votes for laws that favor his benefactors rather than his consituents, or the financier who sells junk bonds that hurt the purchasers but get him a raise.

System Health

When you have your System of Continuance operating at top efficiency, you understand the Big Picture—even if you don't know the details, you know in every fiber of your being that every occurrence, whether good, bad or indifferent, is part of the Universal Plan and is therefore good.

You may sometimes need to just smile and nod sympathetically when a friend bewails the sad state of something—some apparent tragedy. You know there is no such thing as a tragedy because there is no death, no true "innocents" and there is no wasted experience. You know that life continues after the transformation we call "death" so can't quite work yourself up to the outrage others around you so often display. While feeling empathy for the survivors and the bereaved, you also understand that their experience of loss is also part of the big picture, for the benefit of them, everyone they know, and even you; because, in this continuum where everything and everyone is interconnected, "no sparrow falls" that doesn't add to the expansive growth of the universe.

To increase the health of one's System of Continuance, one must keep one's vibrational frequency as high as possible. That is done through meditation, proper diet, rest, and exercise. Use the sounds you have learned and all the colors and exercises. Revisit the statement exercises from time to time and see what has shifted and what needs work.

How can you tell what your frequency is? It's easy: The higher it is, the more you will feel that you are part of a grand unfolding plan in which there are no missteps. The more stressed you are over things that don't seem to work out, whether personal or global, the lower your frequency is.

Very few people spend all of their time with healthy Twelfth Systems. However, the more effort you put into keeping your other inner aspects, fields, and systems healthy, the healthier your Twelfth willl be…another example of the interconnectedness of all things.

One of the best methods of assisting the System of Continuance is to do The breathing Technique of Continuance and all the hands-on work you have learned. Use your hands to heal the world we all live in. You don't even have to think about it, just touch people, places and things and use the sounds and intend the highest good for all concerned. You have the ability to help others improve the health of their own Twelfth Systems, not with words—which will sound like empty platitudes to those with weakened Systems of Continuance—but energetically. Listen to their anxieties quietly, put a hand on their shoulder, nod in empathy for their pain. But do not try to share your point of view, unless you are asked. In time, with enough supportive presence and energy and touch, you will be.

Exercise 12-c

Write down four I ACCEPT statements referring to your System of Continuance, Mark items that indicate successful Continuance with S+; Mark items that indicate unsuccessful Continuance S-. 

Just as your Unifying Inner Aspect relates to your inner traits, your Unifying Field has to do with how you relate to the traits of the external world. This is the Field that touches Infinity; and aspects of the external world that repulse you, or distract or seduce you, act as barriers between you and that Infinite.