Greetings All –
I will honor myself today. Step 144 (MP3)
[Open in Drive or copy to your Drive – Download folder or play from Drive –
Step PDF also.]
 |
| I will honor myself today. Step 144 |
IN
SIMPLICITY AND HUMILITY REMIND YOURSELF upon the hour to honor yourself. In
your two deeper practices today, allow yourself to experience the presence of
Knowledge, for this honors you and honors Knowledge as well. Honor yourself
this day so that Knowledge may be honored, for in reality you are Knowledge.
This is your True Self, but it is a Self that you are only now beginning to
reclaim.
PRACTICE
144: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.
Picture: Honoring oneself with a hot fudge sundae – is
this picture appropriate for Step 144?
GCW
– I, Chapter 21 Enduring Happiness, page 145:
“It
does not mean that you become an ascetic and give up all things .That is
ridiculous. That is only for very specialized individuals.”
GCW-II,
Chapter 23 Becoming Wise, page 147:
“What
does it mean to become wise? How do you discern Wisdom in another? What are the
results of achieving this state of mind and readiness? Of course, people have
many images associated with Wisdom. It is often associated with asceticism or
self-sacrifice, loneliness, suffering, mystery or an inexplicable quality in
others. It is often held in very high regard, but in such a way that people
feel that it is quite remote from them and quite beyond their reach or grasp.
Treating oneself well is a
way to honor oneself. Of course, you need the resources for it. But when it is
not an excuse to indulge, well it isn’t prohibited. This picture is of an
outdoor café along the Vltava River in Prague. I did enjoy the moment.
Plan B - If the MP3 doesn’t work, here’s the link
to the folder: New Message - Student Spoken Steps Recordings -
Steps to Knowledge - Working file
If this is your first time seeing one of the “Steps to Knowledge”,
then welcome. There are 365 Steps, daily spiritual practices if one seeks to
complete them in a year, but that is not necessary. They can be used by people
of any religious tradition or no religious tradition. They will help one to
become mindful in the world.
The Step today is from the book: Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing. The practices were
brought to the world through Marshall Vian Summers, The Messenger for The New
Message From God. Important background for the Steps is in: “Greater Community Spirituality” and the “Wisdom Books - I and II”.
Hard copies are available from the New Knowledge Library Store. The
Society for the New Message from God also has a Free Book Project. If you need
the books now, PDF files can be found here: http://goo.gl/RJuuGP
Keeping a journal is recommended. If you have a Steps book,
write your reactions and comments, highlight or underline points that strike
you, and date the note. In this way, your Steps book can be a partial journal.
Using the PDF, you can print out pages as you need them, or use
the software to maintain a digital copy where you can enter notes and highlight
text that stands out.
Other modern methods of keeping a journal include having a
document on your PC or phone to keep notes. You could send yourself an email or
use the voice recorder function. It is important to capture insights and
reactions because it is by this means that you can understand change. Sometimes
it may just be a word or short phrase, an image or a scene.
To end this post I again offer the blessing: "May the
presence of the Teachers be with you." In the invocative language of
Knowledge this blessing is: "Nasi Novare Coram" (pronounced NAH-see
no-VAHR-ay co-RAHM)
The short form of Nasi Novare Coram used by students is NNC.
The short form of Nasi Novare Coram used by students is NNC.
NNC
P.S. 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 linked below 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.
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 anyone 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.
