Greetings All –
IS THIS
STATEMENT AN ADMISSION OF WEAKNESS? Is it a resignation to hopelessness? No, it
is not. It is the beginning of true honesty. When you realize how little you understand and yet realize at the same time
the great offer of Knowledge that is available to you, only then will you seize
upon this opportunity with great encouragement and dedication. You can only
imagine fulfillment, but within you the Knowledge of fulfillment lives and
burns. This is a fire that you cannot put out. This is a fire that exists
within you now. This represents your greater yearning for fulfillment, for
union and for contribution. Far beneath all of your hopes and fears, beneath
your plans and ambitions, this fire is burning now. Relinquish, then, your ideas
concerning fulfillment, but do not be hopeless, for you are placing yourself in
a position to receive the gifts that are intended for you. You have brought
these gifts with you into the world. They are hidden within you where you
cannot find them.
YOU DO NOT
KNOW WHAT FULFILLMENT IS. Happy stimulation alone cannot be fulfillment, for
fulfillment is a state of quietude. It is a state of inner acceptance. It is a
state of total integration. It is a timeless state expressing itself in time.
How can even the happiest stimulation give you that
which can abide in any circumstance and which does not cease when the
stimulation is over? We do not wish to deprive you of happy stimulations, for
they can be very good, but they are momentary
and can only give you a glimpse of the greater possibility. Here we wish to
take you directly to the greater possibility by cultivating the great resources
within your mind and by teaching you a way of seeing the world so that you may
learn of its true purpose.
THEREFORE, UPON
THE HOUR TODAY, repeat today’s idea and consider it seriously in view of
yourself and the world around you. Today, in your two long practice periods,
once again spend time seriously considering this idea. Remember to think of
your own life in these practice periods and apply today’s idea to the plans
that you are aware of concerning your own fulfillment. These thinking
meditations require mental work. Here you will not be still. You will be investigating.
You will be exploring. You will be actively using your mind to penetrate things
that you recognize exist there. This is a time for serious introspection. When
you realize that what you thought you knew is only a
form of imagination, then you will realize your great need for Knowledge.
YOU MUST
UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE in order to learn to receive more. If you think you
have more than you actually have, then you are impoverished without even being
aware of it and will not understand the Great Plan that has been created on
your behalf. You must start from where you are, for in this way you may
proceed, each step certain, each step forward, built upon the step before. There
will be no falling back here, for you will be firmly established on your path to
Knowledge.
PRACTICE 97: Two
30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.
Many subtle ideas in this Step. Take your time. On
cannot get everything in the first passage through Steps practice.
From the Journal:
October
20, 1999
8:35
A.M. God’s will is for me to be unburdened. – Where are my burdens now? What unnecessary
responsibilities have I taken on that make me feel weak and tired. I’ve too
many interests? I’m unfocused in pursuit of them. I tell people they’re good
when they’re not – it didn’t motivate them. I feel too responsible for things.
I want the world to be better, but it has been hard to find peer relationships.
I’ve sought to accept that – but I do get attacked. Mostly by … - also by my staff and bosses. Expectations
are very high it seems to me.
The
unburdening I’ve experienced has been through trusting God/Spirit – and seeing
in my life and others – good coming from bad. Worry is a burden – sometimes seconds
take years. There is trauma – and it is painful.
11:28
p.m. – Unburdened II – This has been a strange day – Good water meeting –
couldn’t do much else – I took a walk at 9 p.m. just for air. Talked to David
when I got back – he’s very stressed as the family caregiver.
How
could I be unburdened.? No relationships – all burdens come from relationships.
I can expect less, expect nothing – do nothing.
Everybody
wants more – that is this planet. If in the greater reality there is contact
with greater community civilizations – then the focus should be on
institutions, mechanisms for the management of humanity – earth biology.
T3M –
talks about taking human biology to the stars.
If I
did my job in only 7.5 hours per day – I’d have time to write. It is, though,
by doing the work I learn what the need is.
My
goals, ambitions are too high? S2K asks?
As a contemplation exercise, it does help to write
out your contemplations. This is helpful for reviews and self-understanding.
That is where we are headed.
The Book has lots of green ink. It is helpful to
outline the points for emphasis and learning.
NNC