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I will not deceive myself today. Step 81
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UPON
THE HOUR PRACTICE MAKING THIS STATEMENT and feeling its impact. Strengthen your
commitment to Knowledge. Do not fall into the apparent ease of self-deception.
Do not be comfortable merely with assumptions or the beliefs of others. Do not
accept generalities as truth. Do not accept appearances as representative of
the reality of another. Do not accept the mere appearance of yourself. Doing
these things demonstrates that you do not value yourself or your life and that
you are too indolent to carry forth effort on your own behalf.
YOU
MUST ENTER UNCERTAINTY TO FIND KNOWLEDGE. What does this mean? It simply means
you are giving up false assumptions, self comforting ideas and the luxury of
self-condemnation. Why is self condemnation a luxury? Because it is easy and
does not require you to examine the truth. You accept it because it is
acceptable in this world, and it gives you a great deal to talk about with your
friends. It evokes sympathy. Therefore, it is easy and weak.
DO
NOT DECEIVE YOURSELF TODAY. Allow yourself to examine the mystery and the truth
of your life. Upon the hour today repeat today’s idea and feel what it means.
Also today, in two longer practice periods, repeat the statement and then
dedicate yourself to stillness and receptivity. By now, you are beginning to
learn how to prepare yourself for stillness—using your breath, concentrating
your mind, relinquishing thoughts and reminding yourself that you are worthy of
such an effort. Remind yourself of the goal that you are attempting to reach.
Do not deceive yourself today. Do not give in to what is easy and painful.
PRACTICE
81: Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.
Picture: An
engineer observing a wastewater treatment plant in Virginia. How great and
costly is the challenge of cleaning wastewater?
From the journal Step
80 - I can only practice.
8
a.m. Tuesday, November 7, 2000 – Election day. I practice stillness and
receptivity – my true life is secret?
Reading
about planners/job change even stress management. There isn’t a job out there
that I want. Planning no longer an issue nationally. It is all done locally.
That fragments – there’s sprawl – so the ongoing challenges of local
fragmentation is unfragmentation – reintegration. Disunity – reunification.
Last
night at River Rec Alan E… talked about a single regional plan for the river as
a way of getting the counties to work together. Here, working in the mud with
the citizens, I’m seeing true cooperation – just supporting the process. I
remain patient, faithful and attentive to my personal responsibility.
→RCC – Regional Community
Commission
– RCO – Regional Community Organization
An RCO
- uses RI to accomplish mission
9:06
a.m. – The RCO’s are encouraged to align geography with Regional Councils for
strategic benefit.
→When the next
generation decides to go back to the earth, nothing will be there.
9:26
a.m. I have a vitality – the “vitality for life” today. It comes from being
heard – which has improved through my own listening. To persevere through ups
and downs – as demonstrated by the music careers profiled on VH1 last night…is
what is needed. My small part…
9:08
p.m. – 9:14 p.m. Where am I? Full Stomach – needing to eat first before I
meditate. A stressful day at work – …
I
voted for Al Gore. He didn’t win in Virginia – but is doing well as of this
time. The national polls did not predict the individual states well. The
Democrats were organized and targeted the issues to the states. That’s what
regions must do…be local.
Cindy
has been very involved in the election tracking. Women are tending to be
democratic and supportive of the role of government, while men tend to be republican
– favoring less government. I see it as men not wanting directions - asking for
them, where women will. The trend to female values is something GCW & RUOW
indicate. …
–
Step 80 #2 – “I can only practice.”
Life
is practice… What have I been practicing?
12:31
a.m. Wednesday, November 8… I can only practice. That comes home this moment. I
re-read step 80. What do I practice? Avoidance, fear, vision, doing too much,
doing everything, being unfocused, parenting, planning, seeing, feeling,
Let
us practice.
NNC
Note: 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.
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