The difficulties I see in the world today are the opportunities for me to develop discernment. CT Step 7 (MP3)
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| The difficulties I see in the world today are the opportunities for me to develop discernment. CT Step 7 |
It is important in learning The Way of Knowledge to
be able to face anything and everything that comes across your path. That does
not, however, mean that you give these things equal value or meaning. There is
great conflict in the world. This cannot be denied. Yet it must be understood
clearly. You cannot put a happy face on it. You cannot say that it is merely a
projection of your own imagination. Do not call it unreal and go seek out those
things that are pleasurable instead. For in your relationship with the world,
conflict is something that must be faced. If you can do this, it will give you
courage and self-determination. The conflicts in the world give you the
opportunity to develop true discernment - seeing what really is and knowing
what really is, all without condemnation.
Look at the conflicts that cross your path today
and take a moment to see them without judgment. Suspend your judgment so that
you may see past what appears to be obvious at the surface and allow a deeper
understanding to naturally and gradually come into being within your
experience. Here you set aside all simple definitions and enter into the realm
of experience. Here instead of putting labels on things, you begin to
understand them.
In your practice in stillness, let your mind be
free. In your hourly practices, apply the mind purposefully and meaningfully.
Today look at conflict and see what you can see.
Practice 7: One
30-minute stillness practice.
Contemplation
practice.
Hourly
practice.
Picture: Holocaust Memorial Parade, Pécs, Hungary - May
26, 2010. At the time, I did not notice that the signs are names of Nazi
concentration camps. The black banners indicated sadness and mourning. In 1969
– 72, as a sailor seeing Europe, I noticed people wearing black armbands. It
seemed political at first until someone told me it was a sign of grieving for the
death of a family member. A good time to be discerning.
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.
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