Greetings All –
FREEDOM IS YOURS WHO LIVE WITH KNOWLEDGE. Freedom is
yours who need not burden yourself with the undue strain of unnecessary
thinking and speculation. Freedom is yours who can dedicate yourself to your
one purpose and to your specific tasks that emanate from this purpose. What
greater freedom is there than the freedom to utilize your Knowledge and to
fulfill its destiny in the world? Nothing else can be called freedom, for
anything else is merely the freedom to be in chaos and to degenerate into misery.
YOU ARE FREE THIS DAY TO ALLOW KNOWLEDGE to abide
with you. This day in your hourly practice and in your two deeper meditations, remember
that you are free. When you have the freedom to be with Knowledge in your two
meditation periods, allow yourself to enter stillness and let not any feeling,
idea or thought dissuade you from
experiencing the great freedom that you have to
escape from the world into Knowledge.
THESE PRACTICE TIMES ARE SO IMPORTANT for your
overall wellbeing. The result of this involvement will give you greater access
to Knowledge in all of your outward endeavors as you learn to abide in peace
with Knowledge and as you learn to follow Knowledge as it exercises its Wisdom in the world. You are free this day to
be with Knowledge, for this day you are free.
PRACTICE 239: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly
practice.
Yesterday: Step 238 -
Review
Spent a good deal of time on this review. I used
two days to get back onto Saturday as the review day. I’d engineered this
earlier, but one day I skipped ahead to get a more positive Step. Just a need at
that point. You might recall that early on I wondered if I could do two Steps a
day, because I felt I need to progress quickly. Sounds a little weird; just a
reflection of my hunger.
From the Journal:
Friday
March 10, 2000 –
---
10:30
p.m. quite a day. The MIF got its full funding - I was pleased to learn at 3:30
p.m. so I could pass it on to Bev --- as the personnel committee was about
to meet. They adjourned - Bev told me they wanted to advertise again for the
old position. That's fine. The week ahead is full. Now to review the past two
weeks of practice.
The
Internet today - "It's as if there were no communications before the
Internet." Tom's thought after watching CNN tech news.
11:30
p.m. Slow going on the long practice, tired from the events of the day. The Knowledge
universe is beginning to emerge. It's a pattern of life is proving itself in
response to my little faith.
5:46
a.m. March 11, 2000 – Saturday.
We
run better lean. Every meeting I go to – I learn something. Jack Marsh’s vision
of dealing with the cyber-law problem with Sherman anti-trust and other needs
to beat cyber terrorism/hacking impacting the new economy. He wants to use the
I-81 – Quad State Corridor as a model in which to iron out/test issues.
TJC:
Regional Community Specialist
Now
– to complete the practice –
Step
225 – Today I will be serious and lighthearted all at once.
–
Reviewing the journal for this practice February 26 was very enlightening. I'm
doing the long practice Saturday – which will get me back on that path.
– The
relationships are becoming more clear – so I'm able to be more bold in my
ideas.
Step
226 – "Knowledge is with me. I will not be afraid."
The
text says "being in life is practice is always a form of service.
It
is so amazing that in this world I can be sitting in my kitchen, drinking
Starbucks coffee, warm, dry and food always handy, and doing my spiritual
correspondence course with the Greater Community. This is the life I was meant
to have and I shall do my small part to the rest of my ability.
7:05
a.m. it is clear to me at this moment, where I came from, what I am doing here,
and where I'm going. I know the beginning, the middle and the end. Like all
stories – it begins "Once upon a time ___ and ends – and they lived
happily ever after."
Step
227 "I will not think that I know today." This step suggests my prior
paragraph was wrong; or maybe I've learned since this lesson. → Okay
Spatial
data – people don’t get its value, but understand that in real estate its
location, location, location – latitude, longitude, elevation
Step
228 – "I will not be poor today." This perspective came at a very
important time. The very long, somewhat tedious ACIM exercises were great
preparation.
The
text states "Knowledge…once it is allowed to emerge…it begins to balance
and harmonize the mind that is its vehicle…" This is my result – and the
passing of the "truth test" for it gives me freedom to be about the
creator's work.
Step
229 – "I will not blame another for my pain."
Review
– this was important and timely – Peace is not the illusion, it is the reality.
Step
230 – "My suffering is born of confusion." → The whole truth is what I find – the truth about
"wholes." I feel so privileged to have these insights…and want to
share them with others – to have an audience. I feel I've reclaimed a piece of Knowledge
– nothing new under the sun.
231
– I have a calling in the world. > The practice is written for many levels
of Student. I’ve felt my calling emerge for many years. It could change or
become more focused. It was my calling and led me to S2K looking for
"greater community" tools.
232
– My calling in life requires the development of others.
– Lesson response – "yes"
233
– I'm part of a Greater Force for good in the world. – OK – no problem
Everything
that looks local is, upon inspection, a network of entities – a region of
cooperation – and located within a greater context. Every entity is whole – a
node in a network – yet a network itself.
10:40
p.m. Back to finish the review. Bernice and Sarah are friends again. I took
work alone for the ride, but – of course, there was no time. The week ahead is
full – I keep doing my best. S2K is helpful in gaining perspective.
234
– Knowledge serves humanity in all ways. YES –
235
The power of Knowledge is becoming evident to me. Yes
236 With
Knowledge I will know what to do. OK –
237
– I'm only beginning to comprehend the meaning of my life. Yes.
A great amount of time went into this review. Some
insights and progress points were recorded.Something I found
interesting and truthful: “It is so amazing that in this world I can be sitting in my kitchen,
drinking Starbucks coffee, warm, dry and food always handy, and doing my
spiritual correspondence course with the Greater Community.” The Steps are quite a bit to take
in. It may be time to mentally think about continuing with the second pass
through the Steps.
Formats are not consistent. The original is hand written –
and I’m only correcting the worse grammar, spelling and punctuation errors.
Entries need not be format perfect – this is a journal just for you. So, that
is why the text isn’t too pretty – lots of dashes, new paragraphs, consistent
with how it was written. I say, that is OK.
Let us continue.
NNC
P.S. At Step 239, 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.
