CT Step 75 - I will not be deterred by others' opinions. – Journal – CT Step 74

Today:  CT Step 75 - I will not be deterred by others' opinions. (MP3)

I will not be deterred by others' opinions. CT Step 75

Anyone who has broken new ground in any avenue of life, in any endeavor, has had to deal with criticism, disbelief and ambivalence from others. This throws you back upon yourself, for it is your authority here that must be exercised to a greater degree than you had thought before. Even those people who you thought were very educated and high-minded, perhaps they will ridicule you as well. Perhaps they cannot see what you thought they could see. This can be very revealing, for intellectual brilliance is very different from the power that comes from Knowledge.

Here you will see the difference between real spirituality and spirituality of a more cosmetic nature. Here you will not speak with pride about your spiritual understanding, all the books you have read or all the insights you have had, for you will see that this is nothing but vanity and that the Wise do not talk in this way. Here you will learn the reality of discernment and discretion and how the wise remain hidden and how the foolish proclaim themselves. This may be very upsetting or very confusing at the outset. It may turn your world upside down, but it will be a confirmation of what you have always felt and always known. And it will show you that your light, however small it may seem at this moment, is a real light and that it will grow as you nurture it, protect it and learn how to bring it into the world.

The opinions of others will make you strong if you can learn that their opinions do not necessarily come from Knowledge. Here it can take quite a while to discern between positive and constructive feedback and feedback which is merely condemning and an expression of ignorance. Here you must be careful whom you associate with, for the unknowing must be dealt with very carefully, and you must understand their condition with compassion. You must practice forbearance around them.

There may be times when you are the only one who feels what you feel and knows what you know. You will know it is true if it is consistent and does not leave you, for that which is believed, that which is a personal conviction, does not have this stability and resides in a different part of your mind and your body.

In order for you to become a man or woman of Knowledge, you must become strong—stronger than you are today, wiser than you are today, more discerning and more discrete than you are today. Because you are amongst the first to learn The Greater Community Way of Knowledge, you will have to face a certain amount of criticism and disbelief. This is fine. All pioneers face this, both within themselves and around them. If you can perceive it wisely, it will make you strong. It will give you compassion because you will understand why people think these things and say these things and why they are afraid. They may even resist your claiming your freedom because that would make their own bondage more apparent to them, more painful to endure and more difficult to avoid.

Practice your stillness meditation and your hourly practices in awareness and discernment. Also, this day listen to criticism and ask yourself, "Is this helpful to me?" If Knowledge is silent, then just realize that the person is expressing something else, trying to express a concern or an anxiety or a need, perhaps in a way that is not appropriate. Do not condemn them and do not take personal offense. This is the condition of the world. The world is without Knowledge, yet Knowledge is here.

In your study of Steps to Knowledge, you will have to endure your own self-criticism and your own self-doubt. If others express this to you, then use this engagement to practice regaining your self-trust. Always remain open for correction and for a deepening of your own understanding. In this, even your critics can assist you in The Way of Knowledge.

Practice 75:    One 30-minute stillness practice.

                         Contemplation practice.

                         Hourly practice.

Picture:  If you go to a conference of your peers relative to your work or your life interests, your will need to deal with the “opinions’ of others”. That can happen in many places. This is from an American Planning Association conference in San Francisco. It is a place I sought to give my thinking on regional planning, but had to use feedback to make myself strong.

Plan B - If the MP3 doesn’t work, here’s the link to the folder: New Message - Student Spoken Steps CT Recordings - Steps to Knowledge Continuation Training - Working file

From the journal:  CT Step 74 - I seek to be a force for good in the world.

8:33 a.m. Wednesday, November 7, 2001 – Waking with insight here at 2827 Forest Avenue, the mental environment that my mother created – not unlike those of Penny and Diane.

A region – the ability to work across boundaries – is the Miracle of the Commons. Government of the people, by the people, for the people is a miracle of cooperation.

I am here to learn and to contribute.

Staying up so late, surfing the TV seemed insane. A woman singer 25, India.Arie singing a song about strength. The lyrics resonate today after 9-11. She said that 5 years ago she began writing such songs, not Knowing why she was moved.

In looking for forces changing the mental environment I was only looking for controlling, negative community forces, but I see too the presence of Good as well, people like myself doing something, pursuing a path – not Knowing why they are doing it, only that they must.

10:22 a.m. At the hospital. Spoke to Diane – I wish I could get her to go to some therapy.

3:34 p.m. Back @ home – tired, worn out, I need sleep, I drink coffee.

5:50 p.m. In the Aurora Hospital Chapel – A simple room @ the end of the hall overlooking the lake. It has 16 chairs – a stained glass wall of a sunrise (or sunset?) A high table – with the Bible – and altar if needed – so here I do my contemplation. The Step today 74 "I seek to be a force for good in the world".

Good is already clearly in the world. Ungood gets the attention – or is the polarity difficult to manage.

["Old is106" story this day as I recall 1/7/2015]

This day seeking to be “a force for good in the world” I found there was already much good in the world. Life is challenging, but with the Steps perspective we can become less critical and more contributing. 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.

If you do know about Steps, but have not done Steps twice completely, read the related materials, and have a sense of the direction of this study, you won’t get the experience. The Introduction begins:

“This is the Steps to Knowledge Continuation Training. It is designed to build upon the Steps that were learned in Steps to Knowledge to enable you to experience the grace, the power and the direction of Knowledge in your life and to become an expression of Knowledge in everything that you do. If you have completed the book, Steps to Knowledge, twice through and have followed the instructions as they were given without altering the curriculum in any way, then you are now ready to begin this more advanced study”.

If you are an independent student, that is certainly an option. 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.