Imprinting and Personality

What is Imprinting? How does it affect a personality?

A vaguely defined concept found sporadically in only a few Michael books, alludes to a phenomenon that is primarily cited in biology and psychology: that influence is Imprinting. But in the Michael Teaching, imprinting represents a tool for spiritual evolution providing an overlay of conditioned experiences which flavor the development of the individual Personality, and form bonds with the imprinters themselves. Those bonds may feel like chains if the beliefs and habits imparted chafe the individual’s sense of self. Reviewing and questioning ones imprinting, occurs within the developmental timeline, as defined by this Teaching, during the rebellion and reevaluation phase called the 3^rd Internal Monad. The process generally peaks and shedding occurs during the next phase of the 4^th Internal Monad. Yet as a life proceeds and there is a deepening of self awareness imprinting is analyzed throughout.

The Imprinting process is the layering of additional veils over the composite of Overleaves and Soul Age like programming subroutines into a computer. It is the idea that traits can be learned and behavior copied from those who are immediately within our sphere of observation. More than mere mimicry however, Imprinting is a bonding agent and forms associations. Yet it is possible to have a muse or inspirational figure imprint you vicariously adopting beliefs in a second hand fashion like books or as in the case of religious teachings, disciples of the Master.

In the Michael concept and use of the term Imprinting influential traits may come from many sources. There is imprinting from parents, siblings, friends, mates, culture, and organizations: military, religious, sporting, even corporate. Whoever or whatever the source, an imprinter is often an arranged relationship for the Essence who receives the influence. Life may also deliver imprinters/imprinting in unplanned ways spicing up the experience for the Essence and forcing spontaneous adaptation and growth for the Personality.

Imprinting is primarily a psychological effect but it is equally significant as a spiritual mechanism: it lends itself to recognition and affiliation to those who will protect you, guide you, or give you necessary anchors for your identity. No greater karmic or monadal force exists more potent than familial imprinting. Choosing parents and siblings serve the Essence in shaping an entire life for a Personality. This substantiates the significance of choosing one’s parents as a key starting point in a life. But for believers of earthly ancestral lineages, the biological imprint of similar genetic attractors lends a fascinating and in-depth substrate to how imprinting can intricately function.

These ducklings have imprinted on this dog. Animals and humans alike seek to attach themselves to the nearest object. It is a bonding that creates instinctual safety for survival. As this photo humorously depicts, there may not be any similarity between the Imprinter and Imprinted, merely proximity.

Imprinting should not be confused with being trained like an animal in performance carrying out commands or jumping hoops. For the person being imprinted the experience may be cumulative as a summation of repeated exposure or instantaneously as a trauma, peak experience, or revelation. Imprinting is an affect upon someone. There is no set method or time period in which it may accrue for someone and indeed not all relationships provide imprinting. Sometimes it takes the form of a skill acquisition or shift in consciousness. Direct apprenticeship is a deliberate way in which someone chooses a mentor to imprint some method or way of being, including learning to experience the context of one’s Soul Age. In other words, at any time in a life, one might engage people who are at the desired Soul Age they themselves are actually at but perhaps having difficulty manifesting. These observations can lead one to release themselves into the attitudes and behaviors which are appropriate for their spiritual stage of development.

Michael puts it this way.

Imprinting will work in two discrete ways. First, it might be a facilitation for advancement of a soul growth providing new modeling and data on how to act in a given life circumstance or cultural motif. Or on the other hand, it may act as an obstacle which can delay growth constricting the emergence of the individual’s chosen Overleaves and thus hinder the expression of True Personality. A Persona is shaped reflecting the Overleaves and Soul Age of the Imprinter or the Imprinting influence. For instance, Old Souls raised in Soviet Russia had a difficult time finding the safety to allow themselves the esoteric pursuits under a Baby Soul regime. In and of itself, a Persona is not exactly the same as a “false personality.” Some are formed not in fear, but by love of a familiar set of circumstances which cause an individual to desire to emulate a

A person whose Imprinting is pulling them every which way.

venerated person or ideology. However, it is also possible for a person to get distracted from their development; captured by the positive reinforcement offered by others who approve of your Persona. In that sense, caught up in imitation, acting out an identity which gets love and praise may be the sincerest form of flattery one can offer. But while well intended, it is not authentic in the strictest sense; preventing one’s actual Overleaves from exerting their influence upon the Personality. Rejection of one’s true self is more often seen in reaction to manipulative, dynamic, or intimidating people or institutions; where the fear of not conforming to expectations has caused a person to mimic and pretend. In this context it is accurate to call the masqueraded identity a False Personality. Then, confronting and casting off imprinting becomes paramount if the personality is ever to express itself fully in an authentic way.

Mating too, often carries an imprint for a specific body type attraction, having a genetic pre-program that will make detection of suitors evident at the unconscious level. Then when it comes to sex and the means by which love is expressed, particularly in early life, sex partners may impact the perception of the entire realm of sexuality and intimacy thereby being imprinters to one another.

Asking about Imprinting in a Channeling Session

A client can deepen their inquiry by asking the nature of the Imprinting that has affected their lives and whether it promotes or retards the expression of True Personality. Several questions are very useful for clarification and personalization of the material being offered and steer Michael toward searching your past to discover subtleties which reveal profound insights.

1. What were/are the attributes adopted by me? Why did I choose them?
2. What affect has those imprints had upon me? (ex. learning to hunt, sew, cook, racial biases, beliefs about work, etc.)
3. Which member of my family was my most significant imprinter? What did I intend to model from them?
4. Positively and negatively, how does that imprinting affect me today?
5. Does that imprinting retard or enhance my growth?
6. What kind of imprinting is missing in my personality make-up and how do I compensate for it?
7. Have I been an imprinter for someone else? What did I convey? Was what I conveyed sufficient in our agreement? Is their karmic residue now because of it?
8. What imprinting did I choose to receive by being born in: city, state, nationality, era, country, etc?

Asking these questions provides and opportunity for illumination and liberation. Forgiveness is also achievable between parties in which harsh imprinting was agreed upon before the lifetime. If you are able to grasp the karmic theme, the reason for it transpiring, how the imprint actually acted to focus your life perspective and decision making in ways that have lead you to a juncture in your life, then understanding may free up energy and open you to new options.

In the final analysis, Imprinting is an important component in human spiritual evolution. Getting a firm grasp on the depth and implications of what you have been conditioned with as response or coping strategies, the person’s you emulated, skills you adopted, familial or cultural dogmas into which you were engrained, and finally the beliefs you accepted about others and yourself, can be archeological in uncovering and piecing together the past. With Michael’s help, shedding light upon any previously unknown aspects of your life, will empower you with understanding as to the purpose and function of what you acquired through your life.

Examples of Imprinting

• The story of Mowgli who was a boy imprinted and raised by wolves.   Portrayed in the book, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.
• Stephen Stayner, kidnapped at age 7 and raised for the next 7 years by Kenneth Pernell as his son.
• Almost all Journeyman-Apprentice relationships
• The child soldiers of Somalia, Uganda, Sierra Leone, and other Infant Soul countries in Africa.
• Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts
• Military “esprit de corps”
• Corporate “ladder climbing”
• Pets may imprint on their owners. This is usually data gathering for preparing to a shift from Devic-Hive experience into individual sentience.