Greetings All –
DO NOT BE CRUEL TO YOURSELF by attempting to wear
your crown of thorns, which represents your system of beliefs and assumptions.
Do not project upon yourself the weight of blame and unforgiveness. Do not
attempt to force your mind to exemplify those qualities that you hold dear, for
they will arise naturally from Knowledge.
INSTEAD, ENTER INTO STILLNESS in your two deeper
practice periods, realizing once again that all things you most highly value
will be naturally exemplified through Knowledge. All those things you find abhorrent
will naturally fade away. A mind thus liberated can bestow the greatest
possible gift upon the world.
CONSIDER THIS, THEN, UPON THE HOUR as you attempt
to apply today’s idea to all you see, hear and do. Do not be cruel with
yourself today, for there is no justification for this. Allow yourself to be
blessed so that you may bless the world. Allow yourself to bless the world so that you yourself may be blessed.
PRACTICE 209: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly
practice.
From the Journal:
6:10 a.m. Wednesday, February 9, 2000 – My vitality for my office work has returned. The green ink might eventually come through this pen.
6:10 a.m. Wednesday, February 9, 2000 – My vitality for my office work has returned. The green ink might eventually come through this pen.
6:20
a.m. S2K says it is giving you an ability to be objective – it is
possible/probable that we make errors under this view – lose time in our lives,
though each error piles on as a reason to seek knowledge. This perspective has
helped me recover my vitality.
7:41
a.m. Yesterday's thought on the road – "governance is all about
boundaries." Can you have governance w/o boundaries? The notion of a
boundaryless/edgeless world is absurd? Always edges –
8:15
a.m. Step 208 "all things I truly value will be expressed from
Knowledge." – The text "All things that are most highly valued human
life – love, patience, devotion, tolerance, forgiveness, true accomplishment,
courage and faith – all naturally arise from Knowledge."
- These
are outward expressions of the mind that is serving knowledge – and arise
naturally
→ What requires
self-discipline is to reorient my focus, reorient my devotion and reorient by
service.
→ either you
serve Knowledge (Holy Spirit) or one of its substitutes.
I am
to actively apply these ideas in the long practices, therefore I'm writing this
out. The awareness of the personal benefit of the refocusing was expressed in
my first two entries this day, 6:10 and 6:20 a.m.
I
have been able to recover my service focus and expanded as the GCW/S2K have
allowed me to see better the barriers I encounter and to manage my frustration
better, so as not to self inflict more pain by becoming "hurt."
I
guess my new focus in dealing with people is to draw out their knowledge in
order to get their contribution.
11:29
p.m. A long and generally good day. Work is flowing, though I'm immeasurably
behind. Worked until 8:45 p.m. – went to store – getting in @ 9:15. ---
Practice
#2 – Step 208
---
re-orient
– focus, devotion and service …
Seems
like there has been progress today. Let us keep at the Steps.
NNC
P.S. At Step 208, 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.
