9/17/16

I must learn to give with discernment. Step 261 - Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing ~ Spiritual Practices


Greetings All –

I must learn to give with discernment. Step 261 (MP3) [Open in Drive or copy to your Drive – Download folder or play from Drive – Step PDF also.]

I must learn to give with discernment. Step 261
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-assurances 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.

Picture:  A beggar on the street in Prague.


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 Spiritualityand 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.

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.