Journal-keeping made simple. Capture your insights; Remember your ideas

Journal-keeping made simple. Capture your insights; remember your ideas

Steps to Knowledge encourages keeping a journal. It need not be a dull exercise.

R. Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome and global thinker, said: "you have ten minutes at your disposal to put an idea into action before it goes back to dreamland."

            

The simplest action is to trap your idea: write it out, sketch it, record in audio or video on a smart phone, and note date/time.

We’ve all had brilliant ideas, only to lose them to “dreamland”. To prevent such loss is one great reason to start and keep a journal, to trap your creative ideas. Here are simple steps to get yours started.

1. Get a standard composition book. Colors and designs are options. Long term, black and white is simple and less costly. I’ve got over 30 years’ worth. Decorate the cover if you wish.

2. Get a writing instrument. Keep it with the journal. A mechanical pencil with .7 HB lead works well for me. Thicker and thinner leads are available. Pencil can be corrected and won’t run if water gets on it. I’ve used ink pens in the past, but inks can be a problem. Whatever you use, keep refills handy. A plastic sheet or piece of heavy paper should be used as a pad, so the pencil (or pen) doesn’t cut through the paper.

3. First line, first page, write the time to left of the margin line, then day and date to the right:

10 am     │Thursday, January __, 2___

4. Write something/anything. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, but be sure to check it later to make sure you can read what you wrote.

                │ I am starting this journal because I get great ideas...

10:35 a   │ That wasn’t too bad. …

10:15 p   │ Friday, January __, 2___

                  Busy day; no time to write. One thought ….

5. Once started, your goal is to make at least an entry a day, even if it is only the date. Now that there’s a place to record ideas, thoughts, questions and moods, and review them each week, you can grow your creative ideas. It is a Star Trek Captain’s log of your space journey.

6. For privacy, don’t put your name on it. If it gets lost – too bad, just try to get the best ideas into the next volume. You can make your own code/language. Once you’ve filled a book, put the beginning and ending dates on the front. Then store them; read them – have fun watching your ideas grow.

7. You may not want to carry it around, so used 3 x 5 index cards, a sticky note or send yourself a text or email, or voice recording of your ideas. It is a place to noodle-out problems and opportunities. This conversation with yourself can help when you are mad at the world, which is energy, a fuel that fuels creativity.

8. Overnight success takes 20 years. Your best ideas may take your whole life to achieve. You may need more education, work experience and even, that other things be invented. If your ideas are that good and no one else is doing them, maybe that’s your purpose in life – what God wants you to do.

9. Have fun, creative ideas can be both serious and silly, there is no way to do it wrong. If your memory is perfect, then even a blank book will have been a success, since you remembered it all.

Steps to Knowledge The Book of Inner Knowing and Continuation Training - Links to all Steps

Begin (or Repeat) Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing; or Prepare to begin Steps with introductory reading! 

To enable students to proceed at their own pace and begin Steps any day of the year, this series of blog posts present the Steps in 13 page links, four weeks per page. Each Step link is to the 2016 posting which also links to my journal entries for the given Step the following day. As recommended, I had maintained a journal during Steps study. That is useful for the review Steps. Whether or not my journey is a useful companion for yours is something you can decide. A "Journal-keeping made simple" page follows here. 

Though it may be possible to do the Steps without any preparatory reading, I recommend the following books. These are in the order I read them. All links are to The New Message From God website where the books can be read online. Purchase options exist as well. The order in which the material was received may be an order to follow. Resources for publication were limited, so choices had to be made. Students today have a great advantage.

Greater Community Spirituality

I read this first, starting August 29, 1998. It is this day I count as beginning of my studenthood. It was received in 1993. 

 

 

 

 

 

Wisdom From The Greater Community - Book 1

In the course of doing the Steps, I felt I needed more background, so I stopped to complete reading the two earlier Wisdom books. This was received 1986-88.

  

 

Wisdom From The Greater Community - Book 2

This was received 1989-1993. It helps build the perspective needed for this approach.

 

Relationships and Higher Purpose

This is the book was received on January 1, 1989. It had not been published at the time I first did Steps to Knowledge. It is the second book provided to Humanity. It is the book we need to read at age 16. Depending upon your needs, this may be a place to start.  

Steps to Knowledge was received in the 20 day period 

May 26 to  June 14, 1989. A Steps Vigil is held annually. 

To encourage this spiritual practice is the objective of this blog and the daily Tweets that point people to it.

 Please begin.

Steps   1 – 28 ~ Weeks 1 - 4

Steps  29 – 56 ~ Weeks 5 – 8

Steps  57 – 84 ~ Weeks 9 – 12

Steps  85 – 112 ~ Weeks 13 – 16

Steps 113 – 140 ~ Weeks 17 – 20

Steps 141 – 168 ~ Weeks 21 – 24

Steps 169 – 196 ~ Weeks 25 – 28

Steps 197 – 224 ~ Weeks 29 – 32

Steps 225 – 252 ~ Weeks 33 – 36

Steps 253 – 280 ~ Weeks 37 – 40

Steps 281 – 308 ~ Weeks 41 – 44

Steps 309 – 336 ~ Weeks 45 – 48

Steps 337 – 365 ~ Weeks 49 – 52

If a link does not work or you wish to download all Steps at once, here’s the link to the folder on Google Drive: New Message - Student Spoken Steps Recordings - Steps to Knowledge

Get the PDF here Steps to Knowledge - The Book of Inner Knowing 

 

Those who have completed Steps to Knowledge twice can go on to the Continuation Training which should be repeated as many times as necessary. It will be useful sometimes to repeat the 365 Steps. There is much other to study over and over, since it is all to deep to be absorbed in a single pass.

Part One – Continuation Training Steps 1 – 28

Part Two – Continuation Training Steps 29-56

Part Three - Continuation Training Steps 57-84

If a link does not work or you wish to download all CT Steps at once, here’s the link to the folder on Google Drive: New Message - Steps to Knowledge Continuation Training - Student Spoken CT Steps

 

Get the PDF here Steps to Knowledge: Continuation Training  

 

Living The Way of Knowledge

This book was received in 1994. It is valuable. Something for after completion of Steps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for the Greater Community

This book has been published recently. It wasn't available in 1998. If you have time, it is worth reading. It was received in 1997.

There is a great deal of other material to read, listen to or watch. This is a long journey, one very worthwhile.

 

 

 

We continue.

NNC

Note: If you’ve some interest, but this is the first time you’ve seen 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. Begin at the beginning.

To be an independent student is certainly an option. 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.