Greetings All –
TODAY REVIEW THE PAST TWO WEEKS OF PREPARATION,
reading each lesson as it is given and recalling your practice for that day. In
your long practice period today once again begin to assess the progression of
events and all of your practices. Begin to see that there is a relationship between how you apply your mind
and what you experience as a result. View
your life objectively, without guilt or blame, so that you may understand how
your life is truly emerging.
YOUR LONG PRACTICE PERIOD TODAY will see you
engaging your mind actively on its behalf. You are learning to become objective
about your own progress as a student. You are learning to become objective about
the nature of learning itself. You are learning to become objective so that you
may see. Allow this Review, then, to give you greater perspective about the
work of Knowledge in the world and the presence of Knowledge in your life.
PRACTICE 210: One long practice period.
This Step includes a reference to “crown of thorns” in the first
paragraph:
“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.”
In Christianity, the placement of this crown on
Jesus by the Roman soldiers is an act intended to humiliate Jesus. He did not
put on the crown himself, nor do Christians, but the NM speaks of the crown
this way in Greater Community Spirituality:
“This is what it means to wear a
crown of thorns. This is when the mind is a crown of thorns. You wear it, but
it torments you. It seems to give you a kingly title, but in fact it is a
harness of misery. It seems to elevate you and give you stature in the world,
but in fact it cuts you and hurts you, binds you and mocks you. In order for
the mind to become a halo instead of a crown of thorns, you must affirm your
authority.”
The only other teaching that has a similar use is "A Course in
Miracles." As a Christian, it didn’t make sense there either, way back in the 1990's.
The first time on this Step, I made no note of this.
In the last year I brought this up with other students as to how to understand
it, as it may be a barrier. As of this date, July 22, 2014, I’ve resolved The
Teachers use of the term in this way: for it to make sense, we have to be the
Romans mocking ourselves. In fact, we and other Christians have done this due
to the emphasis in Christian teachings on the suffering of Jesus. To be martyrs,
to suffer as Jesus did, without sin, is something we may be taught to emulate.
We judge ourselves, which Steps teaches us to avoid, and take on the burdens of
the world, including the mistreatment of Jesus. This can be ego, our mind, making us fail due to idealism and judgement.
Shocking as it is, we may in-fact put on a “crown of thorns”
to honor the suffering of Jesus, but that is the wrong message to receive and
to send. This is the teaching as I understand it. Anyone without a strong Christian view of the "Crown of Thorns" as mocking may overlook the thinking connected to the term.
Little things can take a long time to resolve. On
this point, for me – only fourteen years. Perhaps you’ll be quicker at it, or it's not an issue at all.
From the Journal:
6:20
a.m. February 10, 2000 Thursday - there is no time for logic and rationality.
The idea of maintaining models for transportation plans disappears w/o
maintenance folks.
Step
209 - "I will not be cruel with myself today." Have I learned
anything? Yes, but I've tried to learn too many things. I actually thought I
had time to learn the flute, to drum, so I started too many things – interest
was neither time nor talent. I've gone down hundreds of paths – now to prune
the tree – focus on the fruitful areas – stay strong – get a broader
perspective. Know the mission. (2/11/2000 – Actually – computer replaced/displaced
drum/flute.)
– S2K
– Practice 1 – In the stillness – "Allow yourself to be blessed so that
you may bless the world. Allow yourself to bless the world so that you may be
blessed."
---
8:15
p.m. --- I went to Winchester for Chips Lickson and his International Symposium.
That will be work – every global org I find on the net I'm sending my local
scale planet text and asking for feedback.
Practice
#2 – only could do about 15 minutes.
community
='s market
regional
market = regional community
There
are whole's everywhere.
– scale
– scale – scale
– I
am not the PDC – I am using the pdc for my education.
The journal did not cover the “crown of thorns”
point, which I found important to cover on this day in 2014.
There is much to learn and unlearn. Let us
continue.
NNC
P.S. At Step 210, 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.
