x2 Step 63 – Journal Step 62 - Today I will learn to listen to life.

Today: Step 63 – Review  (MP3) – Journal Step 62

 

AS BEFORE, IN YOUR REVIEW review the past week of practice and learn the extent of your involvement and how it can be increased and enhanced. This week your practice has been expanded. It has been taken into the world with you to be applied in all manner of situations, regardless of your emotional states, regardless of the emotional states of those who influence you and regardless of where you are and what you are doing. In this way, everything becomes part of your practice. The world, then, instead of being a fearful place that oppresses you, becomes a useful place to cultivate Knowledge.

REALIZE THE STRENGTH THAT YOU ARE GIVEN when you are able to practice regardless of your emotional states, for you are greater than your emotions, and you need not repress them to realize this. To become objective with your own internal states, you must operate from a position where you can observe them and where you are not dominated by them. This will allow you to become present to yourself and will give you true compassion and understanding. Then you will not be a tyrant with yourself, and tyranny in your life will come to an end.

IN YOUR ONE LONG PRACTICE PERIOD, evaluate this prior week as carefully as possible without condemnation. Remember that you are learning how to practice. Remember that you are learning to develop your skills. Remember that you are a student. Be a beginning student, for a beginning student makes few assumptions and wishes to learn everything.

PRACTICE 63: One long practice period.

Review again. The objective is set out in the Step: "The world, then, instead of being a fearful place that oppresses you, becomes a useful place to cultivate Knowledge." Bonus!

From the journal Step 62 - Today I will learn to listen to life.

8:02 a.m. Friday, October 20, 2000 next weekend it is off to Wisconsin.

This book is about to end. No grand finale comes to mind. S2K is a great resource to my heart, mind and soul. Life among the souls who've come to earth is a challenge – not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

The golden rule – do unto others as you would have them do unto you seems to have limits. The doing of others overpowers/ignores my doing.

Yesterday's Executive Committee meeting was interesting. Winchester (Ed D…) still does not like the PDC and doesn't want it to do anything. Ed D… remains enigmatic and never satisfied. Chuck J… is the same. Steve puts out the planners message – – – it is not well received by all.

As I observed in the a.m. As conveyed in the shower by my group discussion – it is harder to be regional than local. It does not have the focus. That's why regions must be standardized to become the basis for intentional regional community.

I am living this. There must be others who could be in a position to see it, who do see it.

"RI" is a term that people seem to get. GCW has helped me create this. I faith must be in the thought that listening to the world will help advance this view.

In the GCW cosmic view we are in charge it seems in a self – organizing way. The goal is a mystery? – Experience manifestation and return to our Ancient Home (Heaven?)

Playing out reality…the good, the bad and the ugly.

1:16 a.m. Saturday, October 21, 2000

For S2K I was to listen on the hour. I'm not certain what I heard – sounds of nature, sounds of vehicles, sounds of radio, TV, a movie, often people, but more often not.

Listening is an important part of communication. To the average person, that might not even relate to communication. The focus may be more on what the person says and the fact that the message is not understood. Listening is something others should do. One’s own listening skills may never be questioned.

Here we are being instructed to listen. The beginning paragraph is poetic, a song/psalm that might be put to music.

Today I will learn to listen to life -  (Step/Song/Psalm 62)

Verse:

1. If you are present to the world,

you will be able to hear the world. (repeat)

Refrain:

Today practice listening,

Today practice listening. (repeat)

2. If you are present to life,

you will be able to hear life. (repeat)

Refrain.

3. If you are present to God,

you will be able to hear God. (repeat)

Refrain.

4. If you are present to yourself,

you will be able to hear yourself. (repeat)

Refrain.

That the Psalms were songs is something I learned reading The Urantia Book. It said Jesus and the Disciples would sing psalms as they walked from town to town. Other than the 23^rd Psalm, I don’t recall hearing any other sung in my life. They were always read. 

Perhaps someone can put this to music for The Music Department. Let us continue.

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.