Greetings All –
Step 97 - I do not know
what fulfillment is. (MP3)
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folder or play from Drive – Step PDF also.]
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| "I do not know what fulfillment is." Step 97 |
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
Journal
second time x2 Step 96. This is for those who have completed Steps once. Doing Steps
with only the texts, messages and your life experience, including what you may
have studied and practiced is your journey. I’m showing Step comments after the
Step, so as not to influence you in advance. It is a wilderness trek to be left
to your own wits, but then you can also listen more closely for guides, angels
and teachers, always first saying: “I surround and protect myself with the Love
and the Grace of God.” Thankfully, I was taught this practice in 1989.
P.S. If you’ve some interest due to this or other
Steps, you should go to the beginning blog post. From here you will learn about Steps to Knowledge
and can begin it on the day that makes sense; 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 post 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.
