Greetings All –
IF YOU GIVE WITHOUT PERSONAL AMBITION, you will give
according to Knowledge, and your gift will be specific and given in such a way
that it will empower you and those who can receive your gift. This is Knowledge
guiding you. If you try to give for your own self-aggrandizement, if you try to
give for your own self-assurance or if you try to give to alleviate an abiding
sense of guilt or inadequacy, you will not give with discernment. Your giving,
then, will be ill placed and will produce increasing conflict and
discouragement for you.
LIFE DOES NOTHING AIMLESSLY. Everything fulfills a
purpose. Therefore, your giving must be done with discernment, and your discernment
is something you must learn step by step, day by day. This is Wisdom
functioning in the world. With Knowledge you must learn this Wisdom; otherwise,
you will not be able to give your true gifts effectively and will misinterpret
their results. Knowledge will give you that which must be given truly and will
direct you to give truly. If you do not interfere with this or place an extra
burden upon your giving, your giving will be totally effective and will
acknowledge both the giver and the receiver.
REMEMBER THIS UPON THE HOUR. Exercise discernment. There
are people you should not give to in a direct way. There are people you should
give to in a direct way. There are situations you should not enter. There are
situations you must enter. There are problems you should not involve yourself
with. There are problems you should involve yourself with. How can you personally
discern where your gifts must be placed? Only Knowledge can discern this, and
you can only discern it with Knowledge. Therefore, trust your deepest inclinations
today. Do not let compulsions born of guilt or fear guide you or motivate you
in your desire to give. Practice this day to learn discernment. Practice this
day to align yourself with Knowledge.
IN YOUR LONGER PRACTICE PERIODS engage yourself
once again with attempting to comprehend today’s lesson. Do not be happy with false
assumptions. Consider all thoughts and feelings in favor of or against today’s
idea. Begin to observe your own ambitions. Begin to observe how they are born
of your fears. Begin to discern how simple it is to follow Knowledge. With
simplicity comes power. You must learn discernment. Learning this will take
time. In this, you learn to utilize all experiences for good, for no experience
should be condemned. It should always be used for learning and preparation. In this
way, you will not justify error, but use it for your own development and for
the advancement of the world.
PRACTICE 261: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly
practice.
Yesterday: Step
260 - I am a friend of the world today.
Here’s the page for the day. I’d dated this and the following pages in
green, but switched to blue ink for comments. More later – running behind.
From the Journal:
(To
be added later)
NNC
P.S. At Step 261, 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.
