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