8/14/14

Step 226 - Knowledge is with me. I will not be afraid. Entry for Step 225 - Today I will be serious and lighthearted all at once.


Greetings All –


KNOWLEDGE IS WITH YOU and when you are with Knowledge, you will not be afraid. In time, fear will become more and more external to your true experience as you learn to abide with Knowledge. The value of today’s idea must be recognized in light of the fact that your mind is engaged with fear habitually to such a great extent that it seems to make the reclamation of Knowledge and the application of Knowledge very difficult for you. This appears difficult only because your mind has been so habitually engaged with fear in the past. Habits can be broken. New habits of thinking and behavior can be instilled and strengthened. It is merely the result of applying your mind. It is the result of practice.


TODAY PRACTICE ABIDING WITH KNOWLEDGE, which will undo all the habits that have cast themselves against you and the world. Being in life is practice and is always a form of service. Today practice the truth and serve the truth, and in this all errors are weakened. Their foundation is removed, and in its place you will begin to learn a new way of being in the world, a new way of engaging yourself with the world, and you will have a greater structure for applying your mental and physical faculties.


UPON THE HOUR ABIDE WITH KNOWLEDGE. Dispel fear and remind yourself that Knowledge is with you. Remind yourself that your Teachers are with you. Remind yourself that students everywhere who are involved in the reclamation of Knowledge are with you. In this, the world will become small and you will become great. In your deeper practices, allow yourself the freedom of experiencing Knowledge. Enter the great depth and stillness of the mind, as it immerses itself into the presence of love.


PRACTICE 226: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.


This Step elicited much thought and quite a bit was recorded in the journal. That was a choice then. From the Journal:

February 26, 2000

9 a.m. Step 225 - "Today I will be serious and light hearted all at once." The long practice is to apply/engage the mind. I choose to write this one out - and meditate in Practice 2 - S2K is bringing me some of the self-discipline I've lacked - a focus here which demands focus elsewhere in my life. While I've always been concerned with serious things, S2K is providing a focus. Being serious isolates one from others - I've always done that to some degree, not by choice.

9:59 a.m. Remaining in the body, staying on earth - in order to be among the community of humanity

10:25 a.m. Certainly a curious time. I draw strength from my Spiritual and Variously Incarnate Family who I sense, but do not totally know, and our common service to Knowledge. Manifestation has gotten ahead of spirit - ignorance has stolen the fire of creation and until the separation/distance/gap is filled - there will be pain.

Regional Community Leadership Awards -
Geographic            Geographic
Service            X      Information
System                     System

4:20 p.m. At Little Bear - on the east side - facing the hollow - shielded from being seen from the trail. I came to meditate - Practice #2. The day has flowed okay - accomplished a little at the office. Set up an e-groups list for the River. Would like to set up more if it works out.

Step 225 - At the wall - in the woods - it is very easy to be both serious and lighthearted. Looking at the rocks -




everyone a perfect whole sculpture. Once piece of some thing bigger - now broken into smaller wholes. Perfect then, perfect now.  The stones layered to be the wall.



The stones of the forest floor - sculpted by the elements, vegetation/movement of the earth - I am guided in my life. How I became overcommitted to my PDC I don't understand - except - that I was there.

Personnel at the office is really getting weirder. My sense of meaning, direction, purpose is enhanced by the GC perspective. Is GC fantasy - I think not.

5:15 p.m. #2 Done 30 minutes. I will be serious about strengthening my conscious connection to Knowledge. Throughout my life there has been subconscious connection that has grown more and more conscious over the years. I've experienced many levels of connecting, including the full Holy Instants. I've experienced extended periods of Grace – and now have a greater and greater conscious network of family and teachers. All my relations. I choose to be serious – but I do not wish to appear harsh or driven – monomaniacal – Capt. Ahab. The expectations of others at work and in life is difficult to deal with. I'm trying to be lighthearted there.

The GC paradigm is Knowledge = light; Ignorance = dark

The world says ignorance is bliss.

Knowledge demand's responsibility and that’s the last thing people want. They want special treatment, special relationships.

For this attempted meditation, as the book suggests – I reviewed my life – and its seriousness – the way in which I carried the problems of the world, my world – has Mrs. Suettinger observed. [age 16]

Ignorance creates trauma and blinds knowledge. Denial spirits = ignorance. Without allies to wake one up – are we denial spirits?

Manifestation is high risk – keeping soul intact is a challenge. What is next? The journey in this place of doing. To connect to "Being w/o question" is important. That is faith which brings grace - and then there are works - regions work.

Amen & Amen
T-om Su-ne

11:59 p.m. Back from Vacation Gala – one Rotary night out. It was fun – and I learned from Ed Duncan about the Fred. Co. campaign against the PDC – so – Lauren will do the RP annual report – I’ll assist not. This frees me from hours of work. Lauren it is all yours.

Besides all of this, which speaks for itself at this time, there were notes on the Steps page.  



There is reference to the prior day’s comment about “dull boy” and appearing to others as being in own world.



Most students I’ve meet have a sense of being different in the world. In Steps and the other books, one can learn how to deal with this in a self-understanding way.

NNC




P.S. At Step 226, 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