x2 Step 287 - With Knowledge I cannot be at war. – Journal – Step 286

Today:  Step 287 - With Knowledge I cannot be at war. (MP3) 

With Knowledge I cannot be at war. Step 287

WITH KNOWLEDGE YOU CANNOT BE AT WAR. You cannot be at war within yourself or with others, for with Knowledge there is only Knowledge and there is confusion in the world. Confusion does not require attack. Therefore, with Knowledge you are not at war, for you have one mind, one purpose, one responsibility, one direction and one meaning. The more your mind becomes uniform, the more your external life will become uniform as well. How can you be at war within yourself when you are following Knowledge? War is born of ambivalence where opposing value systems conflict with each other to gain your recognition. Competing ideas, competing emotions and competing values all wage war on one another, and you are caught in the middle of their great battles.

WITH KNOWLEDGE ALL OF THIS IS ESCAPED. With Knowledge you cannot be at war within yourself. In time, all of your self-doubt, uncertainty, fear and anxiety will wear away. As they do so, you will increasingly feel that you are not at war and will enjoy the full benefit of being at peace. This will enable you to turn your eyes upon the world with the full force of your involvement, for all of your mental and physical energy will now be available for you to contribute to the world. What you will contribute will be greater than your actions or your words, for you will carry stillness and peace into the world.

HERE YOU WILL NOT BE IN OPPOSITION TO ANYONE, though others may choose to be in opposition to you. Here you will not be at war with anyone, even if others choose to be at war with you. This will be your greatest contribution, and this is what your life will teach through demonstration. Here Knowledge will bestow itself upon the world and teach the great lessons that you are now learning to receive for yourself. This teaching will occur naturally. You need not force it upon the world, and you need not attempt to change anyone else, for Knowledge will accomplish its true task through you.

UPON THE HOUR REALIZE THE MEANING OF TODAY’S IDEA and realize the power of Knowledge to end all of your suffering and eventually the suffering of the world. In your deeper practice periods, return to your great sanctuary and once again become a recipient of Knowledge in openness and humility. Then, you will be able to carry your abiding relationship with Knowledge into the world with greater and greater certainty. Then, what needs to be contributed will radiate from you effortlessly.

PRACTICE 287: Two 30-minute practice periods.

Hourly practice.

From the journal:  Step 286 - I carrystillness into the world with me today.

8:35 a.m. June 1, 2001 – Joe Callahan and Warren French got their Shenandoah Valley Technology Counsel awards last night for education and entrepreneurship. I worked hard to write nominations. My surprise payoff was a chance to meet Mark Warner, gubernatorial candidate – mention Alan Vorhees’ name and offer to send him my GIS proposal and experience true interest.

Now I must do something with that and keep my relationships intact as well as grow them further.

10:45 p.m. … Preparing for Practice #2 – Step 286 "I carry stillness into the world with me today". Doing the Census PD data is a challenge because of the jurisdictions needing to match local PD boundaries.

Watched a dumb movie "Best and Show" – ate pizza – my goal tomorrow – GIS idea to Mark Warner. My small part.

Back to the daily efforts, compared to the intensity of being with other students in Boulder, being back in the world feels mundane. 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.