8/1/14

Step 213 - I do not understand the world. Entry for Step 212 - I gain strength from all who practice with me.


Greetings All –


YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORLD. You only entertain judgments about it and then attempt to understand your judgments. The world will reveal itself to you as you look without these restraints and limitations. In this, you will find that your beliefs can become useful in allowing you to take each next step in life. They need not limit your perception of the universe. You cannot be in the world without beliefs or assumptions. Yet, your beliefs and assumptions are meant to be tools to serve your mind, to give it a temporary structure and to allow it to engage its natural abilities in a positive manner.


YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORLD TODAY. Be happy that this is so, for your condemnation is unfounded. You do not understand the world today. This gives you an opportunity to witness the world.


UPON THE HOUR REPEAT THIS IDEA as you look upon the world. Remind yourself that you do not understand what you see, so you are free to look again. If you are not free to look, it simply means that you are attempting to justify your own judgments. This is not seeing. This is merely entertaining your own fantasies. In your two deeper practice periods today, allow your mind to enter stillness, for without the burden of attempting to justify your fantasies, your mind will naturally seek its true place in service to Knowledge. You do not understand the world today, and so you do not understand yourself.


PRACTICE 213: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.






At the time I first did this Step, the year 2000, there were not many students in the world. While world population has grown from 6.1 billion in 2000 to 7.1 billion in 2014 – 14.3%, the active student population has gone from, perhaps, hundreds to several thousand. As the challenges to life increase, and the failure of substitutes for Knowledge are recognize, more may find this. It is important to offer encouragement for those who try, recognizing that “results may vary.” It is not a path of “Instant Karma.”

The Journal entry took some time to post, as you’ll understand if you choose to read it. I’m putting the Steps page first this day, to show the notations:  



“This counteracts the ignorant forces of the world.” Is my personal mind an ignorant force?

“…reclamation of Knowledge…” – the spilled files of the universe [This is a reference to an 11th grade philosophy writing, about 1963, that I’d written and saved, somehow – “God is all knowledge. God has given man the task of discovering him. It is as though the filing cabinet of the universe was suddenly dumped into infinity and a meager employee was given the task of discovering and recording all the lost information. …”

“… your true purpose is to keep Knowledge alive in the world.” When did society know how to raise children; when did it forget?  2/13/2000

“… attempt to receive the influence of all who are attempting to reclaim Knowledge.” Nothing new under the Sun –

3/19/01 – Knowledge is the relationship.

“efficacy” – effectiveness, power to produce the desired result [definition]

From the Journal:

8:10 a.m. Sunday, February 13, 2000 Where am I? On earth, in my home – located in the Town of Front Royal, in the County of Warren, State of Virginia, United States of America, continent of North America. I am in the physical within a human family – genetic and adoptive. All my four pillars require work. Coming home last night – there was a phone message from Sarah. It said, "Dad, get me out." And a computer voice ended – Galveston jail. I called Floyd R. and learned she was in jail for assaulting Lloyd. They were in Houston – doing business – stealing it seems is what Loyd's occupation is [Network Engineering]. I called the sheriff – got hooked to the jail – and confirmed she was there. M.E. is out of town. I called David – he didn't know about it, but called a bondsman and got the story. How can Sarah be reached? It was late – 11 p.m. I was inclined to drink some wine/eat ice cream – but – I did my 2nd practice, then went to bed. Now I'm up – preparing for the day’s practice and recording this for who knows what posterity.

(All I want to do is integrate a little geographic sense into the world – regional visibility.)

---

2:30 p.m. Home – feeling tired and spaced. I moving toward reorganization of program priorities and integrating office Outlook. It isn't easy. I've tried before – the coding system is limited.

Everything done has to fit a project category for costing. People who only work on project have life simpler.

I'm getting some positive emails on my regional community posts. By sticking my claim as an expert on regions – and speaking for them – I followed be abilities potential's information – busting insights of Ti–Mar and begun GC. The latter two I encountered at the Denver Psychic Fair – that plus Barbie Edwards–the harp and Doreen Virtue. Only the harp has had limited benefit – I’ve given that to Kristen to use.

3:03 p.m. The squat – an exercise – stamina builder – stretcher – seems tribal – squat around the fire/drawing in the dirt – no furniture – a way to deal with changing eyesight now.

4:50 p.m. Waiting. Waiting for Sarah to call. Ironed shirts, ate, doing laundry, organizing work – waiting for my daughter to call. It is a sad, lonely wait. Will she learn quick enough to save her life? Prayer – I send her self-love, strength – self-control of anger.

You know you didn’t have to read this, but I’m glad someone did. This is the sort of challenge thousands of parents have

- [The estimated total number of young adults ages 18 to 29 in prison or jails … 745,200 in 1999,…] – which is why on the Steps page I wrote: When did society know how to raise children; when did it forget?  

At this point, my daughter is 20 years into what has always been a challenging life. I did my Step, then nervously waited. She is in Texas, I am in Virginia – 1,300 miles away. Her mother has to handle the on the ground logistics. I would have gotten through this incident one way or another, but I did find then that the Steps practices to date were beneficial. That, perhaps, is the takeaway for any other student.


NNC




P.S. At Step 213, we are into Part Two of Steps, so if you’ve found this and find some appeal in this or other Steps, you should really go to the beginning blog post. From here you learn about Steps to Knowledge and can begin it on the day that makes sense and then progress as needed. You can use the posts on this blog as a companion if it helps. They will remain in order in the archives - one per Step.

Often it takes 18 months to get through the Steps once. For this blog, the pace is one-a-day, but it really makes no difference how fast you do it, only that you begin, persist and repeat. Posts here provide a trail that may let you have a virtual companion when and if you want one. One may have to study alone, as I did in the beginning. There are other Steps students blogging their experience and you might find a person more like you as a companion, or use a number of such Steps journeys. There are options as well through the Free School of the New Message