I find the human mind infinitely fascinating. The ways in which it makes meaning, filtering out things and highlighting others, connecting one thing here and another there, skipping over things altogether in favor of something else, all of which builds a rich tapestry the individual uses to experience and understand the world.  How people work with objects in the Akashics is one way in which this shows clearly, like putting an egg in food coloring highlights all the nooks, crannies and striations in the shell. 

Working with objects is one of the first things I have students do in my Akashic Lvl 1 class in part because it's the easiest way to get message both visually through the particular object and also via direct communication. The objects merge with us physically through being "held" and so can impart information with ease. However, actually working with objects is one of the last things most students do, if they do it at all, in favor of focusing on their soul book where the communication is weightier and the techniques a bit more advanced.  

I'm always interested in students' descriptions of their first few weeks in the Akashics.  This is where they are usually focused on their personal room and their personal object, learning the difference in being grounded during Akashic work vs. not, and working out the kinks when things don’t work exactly as expected or planned.  Some people notice their room has objects in it; some have no interest in their room. Some are so uninterested they skip past their room as quickly as possible in order to reach other areas which feel more relevant and comfortable. This is significant as the room each student enters at the beginning of the journey is their personal room. Not a space which they decorate with their thoughts or imaginings, but their personal room in the Akashics furnished with items which represent how they are living their lives in this moment. 

Some people go to the next space, which may be a room or another building all together or a space in the many and various geographical locations of the Akashics, and find their gift.  Most find the gift, pick it up and commune with it in some form, then attempt to understand its symbolic significance. In other words, they want to know "What does this mean?" and fair enough. Sometimes the meaning is obvious. Sometimes they are very clear on what it means and what they are supposed to understand from it. Most get one narrow meaning of the symbology and leave it at that. Rarely does anyone ask their animal guide to explain the gift or its meaning to them. Almost no one has, without prompting, actually asked the item to explain itself or to unfold the depths of meaning it provides. 

But it’s important to remember Akashic records or soul books are items and we need to know how to work with them in order to understand what they have to say. 

All books in the Akashics are interactive. Soul books are part of the student's soul and so immediately activate and seek to work with the reader. With a soul book, it's not uncommon for students to see their book as a regular hardback book size. However, most are 2'x 3.5' (0.61m x1.7m) and 6"- 8" (15 - 20 cm) thick. Touching the book will shift the visual to match the reality almost instantaneously. It's important to keep in mind your eyes will skip over things, insert more comfortable versions or adjust what you're seeing to meet your expectations. So, the first thing to do while you're looking is start feeling the book with your hands. With objects, trust your hands more than your head. 

Check for what type of material was used to bind it. Is it hard cover or soft like a journal? Is there writing? Is there a place where writing should be? Is there a round place for a symbol? Can you see a symbol there? What about thickness? Are there leather or metal straps holding it together? Are there hinges? Examine everything and assume nothing. Let your hands tell your eyes what is there and have your eyes guide your hands in their explorations. Most of all, note that your soul book is a living thing. It's a part of you, responsive to your touch and excited to get started.  

Remember throughout this process your guides or the Akashic Librarians are available to help you learn the meaning of things and sort out what is being presented to you. It's fairly common for students to get overwhelmed, very internal and reflective, therefore finish their meditation or journey and have no idea what experiences mean or are for. The thing to remember is you can go back at any time and ask. This isn't a one-and-done process. Also, you can practice taking things slower, stopping or pausing after a significant event or moment and ask for advice/wisdom/guidance. Then, once you have it, let this inform what you do next. 

Working with other books takes a slightly different approach just as talking with a stranger takes a bit more framework and connection than having a conversation with your best friend. But with either, once they are actively providing information, the format, in most cases, is the same with interactive 3D imaging or "pictures" on the left-hand page and text/searchable data on the right. The pictures can lift into a 3D presentation floating above the opened book or the reader can allow themselves to go into the picture itself and be part of the presentation. No reader can alter the information being presented, but being there in it provides a great deal more information than just watching.  

Items in the Akashics are like these pictures. Each one is like a jeweled box full of information, all experiential, all which will unfold like a 3D movie or even like a direct injection into the consciousness if we open up to this level of connection and interaction. To do this, simply place your hands on the item. This includes furniture, curtains, wall hangings, structure like fireplaces and so on. Hold the item or place your hands on it, then focus your attention on it like you would someone having a conversation with you. Look the object in the eyes, as it were, to show you are listening. Unlike a soul book where you come to ask a question or any other informational book where you ask to be able to read the information, an item only requires your attention, which is the Akashic equivalent of saying "Hi. How are you?"

It is interesting to me how people are resistant to receiving the simpler more direct and less impactful means of communicating which is offered by objects but seek out the more difficult task of reading a soul book with fervor.  This is in part because they have questions they want to have answered, but it is also in part because of how we have been taught to expect information to be imparted. Indigenous cultures which rely on oral transmission of information and direct experience are comfortable working with objects and seeing the web of connection amongst all things. Literate cultures rely heavily on written information and secondarily on experience or the experience of others. So books are deemed to have the answers and objects are just things to have or to use. 

Items in the Akashics are also different than soul books in that they are not part of the soul of the person so do not have an innate sense of how much information to impart nor how fast. Just like any other conversation, sometimes the party talks slowly, sometimes in a convoluted manner, sometimes too fast, sometimes above our head and so on. Working with items is exactly like a conversation. The student is as much a part of things as the item, not a passive recipient unless they choose to be. So if things are not quite in sync, they can ask for a change. If they can't understand what is being imparted, it shouldn't be assumed this is for some purpose any more than the confusing directions a friend gives have some underlying purpose. More than likely they are simply missing something, or you are and a quick follow up question will resolve the matter.  

Sometimes it is easiest for people to work with their gift object because this is the purpose of it beyond whatever specific significance it has for the student. The gift is willing and able to help the student learn/remember this style of communication. Holding the object, looking directly at it, and opening yourself to listen will allow it to unfold its message. The longer it is held and the more the student focuses on it the more information they'll receive.  Each student should trust their body and their instincts when working with objects at the beginning. If doing so makes them sleepy or they can't focus for very long, this is perfectly all right. This is their mind/body/emotions indicating they've taken in as much information as possible at this time. They can work with it again the next time. Like all work in the Akashics, there is sometimes a need to build up the "muscles" or adjust to this style of work before it becomes comfortable, and we have a capacity to focus on it for any length of time.

Touching or handling things in the Akashics is a great remedy for many different problems including not being able to see things clearly, misinterpreting things, imagining things are there or not there, or proving it's not all in your head. And as many have noticed in dreamtime or through other Akashic experiences, while sight is our key sense in embodied life, it can be complicated in the Akashics. Our minds can play tricks with us, making something look one way when it is actually somewhat or quite a bit different. This is why it's so helpful to hold things or touch them rather than just looking. Not only does this help you focus, but your sense of touch will put the lie to any information your mind is trying to convince you of.

You can use your hands somewhat like a blind person and map your Akashic room. From the door you enter, turn left, hold your hands out in front of you and start walking.  Whatever you come in contact with, touch it to verify what you're seeing - or not seeing - to get a full sense of the object or feature. This includes furniture, knick-knacks, windows and so on. The more you are in physical contact with the object the more information you'll gain, somewhat like a dried sponge coming into contact with water. You won't be knocked off your feet, but your perception of the item and the room will expand as you get filled up with knowingness. Follow the wall, not your visual perception of the room, to discover whole new areas you weren't aware of, items you've skipped over, and to build skill with your Akashic perceptive acuity.  

Everything about an Akashic object is communication from the color to the size, from the place where it is found to the way in which it was interacting with its surroundings.  Beyond this each object has a wealth of information about itself to impart. For each student their gift and the objects in their room have additional information about them. Each is there specifically for and about them. For instance, a fireplace in a room has a great deal to impart just from a visual standpoint. The size, style, condition, and status such as lit or unlit have meaning. Touching the mantle or the hearth will allow it to start unspooling why it is there. It may be potential for things to come; it may be holding space for things in progress. It is usually about our own wellbeing and happiness, working with the left side of our manifestation, that which supports us and where we connect with community, love, and relationship. 

I often recommend to my students they not only visually observe their room each time they enter to note if things have changed, which represents changes they are making within themselves and their embodied life, but to inspect everything. To interact with every single thing in their room. Each individual item can be the focus of a trip to the Akashics as each has deep wisdom to share including practical guidance for the path and the daily life of the student.  This can be done before, during, and after working with the soul book as the information is in addition to and often separate from the questions asked of the soul book. 

Working with objects is also something which can be done outside the student's room. In the Temple of Life each nook is interactive and all objects in the Temple can be held or touched. In some nooks this can be a bit overwhelming such as nooks which explore entire solar systems. However, some students find themselves in niches with one figurine or sitting on a bench. It is completely possible and encouraged to touch the bench, the figurine, even the walls to start a conversation. It can be a revelation to be leaning on a railing overlooking a lower section of the temple and realize information is flooding in. Students complain the information comes but they don't know from where and can't find anyone other than their animal guide by them. What they don't realize is the information came from the railing or whatever other structure they were leaning against when asking a probing question or expanding their attention outward. 

This principal works even out in "nature" in the Akashics. Hedges, garden walls, or barriers of one form or another can divulge their meaning and their wisdom if we are willing to connect with them. Our animal guides are more than willing to help us, to interpret difficult concepts or help us adjust our technique, but rarely do so unless we request it. Often people note things in the landscape but apply an abbreviated meaning to them without investigation or simply sort them as irrelevant while focusing on other things. It pays to have the mind of a Sherlock Holmes when working with the Akashics, allowing the things around us to tell us their meaning rather than assuming we already know it. 

This technique of touching an object to communicate is also very helpful in gleaning wisdom from other rooms and buildings within the Akashic city. Beyond the main general rooms of the Akashic Library are specialty subject matter wings, offices for research, and areas for demonstration and practice of things such as healing techniques. Knowing how to have conversations with objects, allowing them to impart their wisdom, makes these rooms much more accessible and interesting.