My Gift Of Gratitude

my-gift-of-gratitudeI am rummaging through various online logs, reflecting on the year 2013.

My gift of gratitude

At the beginning of the year, I was on Step 202 of Steps to Knowledge.  Today, I am on Step 320.  I had only done 98 steps between October 2012 and October 2013, so I would like to think this is an improvement.

I am grateful to Marshall Vian Summers, his family, and his associates for the many efforts they have made to make Steps to Knowledge and its related materials available to the world.

I am grateful for my fellow students of Steps to Knowledge.  You can meet a few of them here. I have met a number of these people in person.

Someone reading this is thinking “But Douglas, what has this quest accomplished for you?” I believe I’m suffering a lot less over the things in the past that didn’t go as planned.  Why?  Because I’m taking my own medicine about idealism and judgment.  I believe I’m using the phrase “That is a possibility…” more, and using the phrases “That’s wrong…” or “That’s just pure evil…” less.  I’d like to believe I’m a little bit less opinion-possessed, and a little more open to not believing everything I think.

At the beginning of this year, I was blogging on Step 5, “I believe what I want to believe.”  I recently blogged on Step 67, “I do not know what I want for the world.”  Some people have made some nice comments.  It definitely has been helpful for me to write about the Steps.  It has caused me to think things I haven’t thought before.

I have great gratitude for Alisa’s contributions to Ascending Knowledge.  I don’t have the money right now to hire a marching band to perform at half-time at the World Cup Final, and spell out “THANK YOU ALISA!” in big block letters, but maybe you can see the picture in your mind’s eye.

As I offer my gift of gratitude, I recall the words of Dag Hammarskjöld: “For all that has been, Thank you. For all that is to come, Yes!”

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

I Should Be Suspicious Of What I Want For The World

Paul Atreides would avenge his father and bring the universe to its knees.  I should be suspicious of what I want for the world.

Steps 65 through 67 of Steps to Knowledge have something in common.  They all contain some variation on the sentence “You have come to the world to work.”  Step 65, “I have come to work in the world,” introduces the idea.  Step 66, “I will stop complaining about the world,” gave the idea of something I need to drop if I’m going to take this idea seriously.  And now, Step 67, “I do not know what I want for the world,” brings another item from which I need to slowly back away; my designs for the world.

I should be suspicious of what I want for the world

Someone might say “I don’t demand that the world devote itself to making me happy.  I’m willing to be the change I wish to see in the world.” But what if the change you wish to see in the world sets other events in motion resulting in changes in the world you didn’t wish to see?  Are you wise enough to see it fully through?  I’m not.

Someone might say “I would make the world a more just place.”  But many who live deserve death, and some that die deserve life.  Can you give it to them?  Even people who care about strangers, who care about evil and social injustice, can be heartless and cruel and hard and cold.

I am recalling the Rumi poem which I have already shared once in this space:

Who makes these changes?
I shoot an arrow right.
It lands left.
I ride after a deer and find myself
Chased by a hog.
I plot to get what I want
And end up in prison.
I dig pits to trap others
And fall in.
I should be suspicious
Of what I want.

Someone is going to ask, “Well, what should we do then?”  Steps to Knowledge recommends at this point that we cultivate a healthy suspicion of what we want for the world.  Steps to Knowledge recommends at this point that we reserve a space for what Knowledge knows it must contribute, for the mission we have in life to fulfill, for the work we have come to the world to do.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Праздник в Душе

Праздник в душе

For English version click here.

Когда Знание открывается внутри себя – это настоящий праздник в душе. Мы приближаемся к одному из самих главных Христианских праздников по григорианскому календарю – Рождеству. Это светлый праздник – именно в это время года происходит зимнее солнцестояние – самая длинная ночь, самый темный день – а сразу вслед за ним начинается восхождение снова к свету.

В это время года, уместно ссылаться на другой текст Нового Послания от Бога под названием «Смысл Рождества». В нем, я читаю:

Только Знание может способствовать добром и благим намерениям. Только Знание может противодействовать страху и враждебности. Только Знание может благословить мир.

Твой посул – стать мужчиной или женщиной Знания — проводником Знания; человек, через которого Знание может говорить, действовать и двигаться; вестник благодати , но также и человек действия, который может способствовать переменам; кто может сказать правду, но с большей уверенностью; кто может выявить заблуждения, но с большим состраданием. Только Знание внутри тебя может сделать это, потому что оно является источником этих великих выражений.

Кстати, о выражении. Это о чем идет речь в Шаге 12 – Моя Индивидуальность – Выражение Самой Жизни. В нем написано, что я присутствую в этом мире для выражения чего-то определенного, для выражения своей индивидуальности. “Шаги к Знанию” часто гласят о том, что у каждого человека есть предназначение, о том, что есть определённая цель для каждого из нас. Только как бы его разузнать? Вот в чем вопрос.

Праздник в Душе

Есть ещё один текст Нового Послания от Бога “Провозглашение”, в нем гласит:

Оно говорит о глубокой духовной потребности человека—о нужде иметь цель, смысл и направление.

Оно говорит о глубоких взаимоотношениях, которые люди могут создавать между собой, взаимоотношениях, представляющих их высшую цель в жизни.

Как я понимаю, у меня есть цель, предназначение, которое относится к себе, к своей индивидуальности, но без взаимоотношений с другими, я вряд ли смогу это предназначение выполнить.

Пришел на ум образ картинки-загадки, где есть многие составные части, отдельные компоненты. Они как бы существуют по отдельности, сами по себе, но только имеют смысл, когда они все вместе соединяются, чтобы составлять одно целое, одну большую красивую картинку. Мое определённая цель только чего-то стоит, когда я соединяюсь с остальными, сделаю свой индивидуальный вклад в целом.

И тогда возникает праздник в душе.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Marshall Vian Summers Questions and Answers

Marshall Vian Summers answered a number of questions in an online chat session

Marshall Vian Summers conducted a live webcast on Sunday, December 15.  I viewed this webcast.  There were 190 people on the chat room at newmessage.org during the webcast, which is more than I’ve ever seen for a webcast by a significant margin.  I was unclear about the fact that there would be a question and answer session on the YouTube page where the webcast was also aired.

That session lasted roughly an hour.  There were some questions which were answered by Marshall, and those are the ones I’m putting in this post, with commentary.  There were some questions answered by members of the Society for the New Message from God.  There were some questions answered by other students of Steps to Knowledge.  I didn’t answer any questions.  Some questions weren’t answered, but I don’t believe it was due to the nature of the questions.  It was a highly active chat.

The New Message from God One viewer asks “How do you do it?”
The New Message from God Marshall responds: “Thank you for your honest question. I wish I could give a simple answer, except to say that I was born for this and that beyond my being a man in the world…my greater community is beyond” [There are many videos at the New Message from God YouTube page which would be worthy of consideration]

Question: What is your relationship to art?
Answer: Marshall responds: “Art is another vehicle of communication. I love art, if it can communicate something real and important.” [The questioner said “I know you play guitar.”]

Question: When is the great deception coming?
Answer: Marshall responds “The great deception is here, that is why God has spoken again and the New Message is here.” [The person who asked this question also trolled the chat, and eventually left after a number of rebukes. I consider it magnanimous of Marshall to answer his question.]

Question: Will you address where new people should begin taking in your message? Answer: Marshall responds: “begin listening to the voice of revelation which is available to you in abundance…find those revelations that strike you and that meet a deeper need. At some point it will be necessary for you to begin taking the Steps to Knowledge….Become a part of the School of the New Message. There are so many important relationships there.” [I believe Marshall is referring to this page, which contains many different New Message revelations. It’s the page I called “the appetizer sampler.”]

Question: I have completed the steps some time ago, when is the best time to start again? How many times through would be necessary for me?
Answer: Marshall responds: “Start when you are ready and do Steps twice and then you will be ready for the next level, which is Steps Continuation Training.” [I’ve been wondering when I was going to mention that the current protocol is to do Steps to Knowledge twice.  It looks like it’s now.  Steps Continuation Training has 84 steps, and the current protocol is to go through it four times.  Therefore, If a student intends to study Steps to Knowledge to the fullest extent, it could be done in less than three years (two years for two times through Steps to Knowledge, and 11 months for four times through the Steps Continuation Training.  It’s going to take me longer than that.]

Question: My daughter asks if we will be together when we left this world.
Answer: Marshall responds: “For a time.” [The daughter asking this question is 9 years old.  It showed a great awareness and curiosity on her part.]

Question: How often should people do the Steps Continuation Training? Twice over then go back to Steps to Knowledge, or indefinitely until we fully reclaim our relationship with Knowledge?…
Answer: “I [Marshall] have done Continuation Training repeatedly but with large gaps in between. Beyond Steps to Knowledge are the Great Practices of the New Message which are to be practiced in all situations…to the extent that you can. This will build your unique studenthood which has other dimensions to it. However I want you to know, I just completed Steps recently. I always return to Steps…it is ever richer the farther you go.” [I took great comfort in this answer.  If Marshall is doing Steps to Knowledge, that says a great deal to me about its importance. I take great comfort that Marshall is taking the medicine he prescribes to the world.]

Question: “i would like to know if there is another person you are waiting for?”
Answer: Marshall responds…”Many.  Those who are to assist me in my time on Earth have not all arrived yet. They have not all made their rendezvous with me.”

Question: Are most of the students responding to the New Message in these early times ultimately from the same Spiritual Family? [The phrase “in these early times” suggests that the New Message from God is in a very early stage of its progress and impact in the world, just as, for example, Islam was in a very early stage during the lifetime of Mohammed.  Someone reading this is thinking “I say, you have high expectations, don’t you?”  We get that a lot.  Spiritual Families are mentioned in Steps to Knowledge, defined as “your small learning group that have been working together through many ages and circumstances in order to cultivate and advance their members so that your group may join with other groups, and so forth.” (Step 186, “I am born of an ancient heritage”) I hadn’t planned on a question requiring so much unpacking.]
Answer: Marshall responds: “No. This is for all the spiritual families represented here on Earth.” [No claim has been made that I know of as to how many spiritual families are represented here on Earth.]

Question: What is a rendezvous more exactly? Is it a physical meeting with the messenger?”
Answer:
Marshall responds: “These are people who have a destiny with me.”

Question: “What are we to do about those who crush us with their evil ways and suppress us from being the spiritual beings that we desire to be to follow the ways God wants us to?”
Answer: “If you allow Knowledge to reshape your life, you cannot be suppressed. In this your oppressors can make you strong and determined. But you must forgive them to have this understanding.”

Question:
“I’ve noticed from the timeline of the New Message video, that there are unreleased Steps books (level 3 to 5). Can you give some clarification on their content and nature?”
Answer: “They are specific trainings for more advanced students of the Revelation. They require an instructor.” [It’s taking us so long, because we’ve got so far to come.]

Question:
How to present the message in totalitarian states or in nations where there is political oppression?
Answer: “In the beginning, the New Message will most likely move in the freer states. However, for those living in oppressed societies, the New Message can still reach them, even through mysterious means.”

Question: Is there a specific order one should read all the NM books? I found the timeline video on youtube helpful.
Answer: “The core proclamation will be released in book form soon. That will be the key book to read first. Until then, read “The Proclamation” and the revelations that have been released to the world.”

Question: Will you say more about being held back? How do I maintain as I care for my elderly mother?
Answer: “Read, study and listen to the revelation while you take care of your elderly mother.”

Question: I am wondering about those of us who are new students – we need to take time to prepare and yet the hour already seems late. How to reconcile?
Answer: Marshall responds…”You have time, but not a lot of time. There is no time to waste in this regard. Necessity will make you strong. Welcome it.”

Question: please, i’d like to k-NOW more about the “3” GRAND ILL-us-i-ON’s (TIME + SPACE + SEPARATION) … can you tell me more about these ?? -)) [This questioner waited very patiently to be answered.  While this questioner was somewhat…unconventional, he or she was unfailingly cheerful and polite.]
Answer: “The grand illusion is that you are separated from God.”

Question: “Marshall, We are consciously here in a physical plane, are we not also existing in a spiritual realm? Are not all of God creations connected?”
Answer: “You are born with two minds. The deeper mind of Knowledge within you represents the part of you that never left God. This is your deeper nature…This is how God of the universe will speak to you if you are prepared. We are living in Creation, and we are also living in the world. This represents the separation that exists within people…which is the dilemma that everyone lives with every day.”

 

I realize these answers possibly generate more questions.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

I Am Here To Express Something

I am here to express something

Step 12. My Individuality Is To Express Life Itself of Steps to Knowledge tells me that I am here to express something.

I am very drawn to the thought that what I am here to express is the emergence of Knowledge. And I understand I can do this by being a vehicle for Knowledge and allowing Knowledge to emerge.

It is the Christmas season and in one of the New Message revelations, The Meaning of Christmas, I read:

Only Knowledge has the strength to move other minds. Only Knowledge has the potency to create a lasting impact. Only Knowledge can foster good and good intentions. Only Knowledge can counteract fear and hostility. Only Knowledge can bless the world.

Your promise, then, is to become a man or a woman of Knowledge—a vehicle for Knowledge (emphasis mine); a person through which Knowledge can speak, act and move; a bringer of Grace, but also a person of action who can effect change, but with a greater spirit; who can speak the truth, but with a greater authority; who can reveal error, but with a greater compassion. Only Knowledge within you can do this because it is the source of these great expressions.

I Am Here To Express Something

When I did this Step, I wrote in my notes:

I am here to express something and this “something” relates to the part I play in the whole, not something that relates to me personally, as an individual, but something that relates to the part of me that contributes to all that is.

And can this not be only something that comes from Knowledge, is an expression of Knowledge, I ask myself now?

I read further in The Meaning of Christmas:

At whatever level your contribution may be given, whatever small part you may play in this great evolutionary change and emergence, let this Christmas be a reminder that there is a calling for you and that you seek to respond because this is the only means for fulfillment and satisfaction in life. This is the only basis for real and lasting relationships.

I am drawing attention to this revelation about Christmas because it is the season. However, I am more inclined toward what Scrooge had to say in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Жизнь – Дерзкое Приключение

Жизнь - Дерзкое Приключение

Coffee for Mister Yves Klein – Photo by Photographer Floriana Barbu

For English version click here.

Жизнь — либо дерзкое приключение, либо ничто.

Быть готовым к переменам и оставаться свободной личностью, несмотря на тяжелые обстоятельства — это та сила, которую ничто не сможет сокрушить.

– Helen Keller

Шаг 11 в книге «Шаги к Знанию: Книга Внутреннего Познания» призывает к осознанию своего полного включения в жизни, к осознанию своего единства с жизнью, со своем Источником, с Богом своего понимания, в конце концов.

Как мне видится, для этого надо избавиться от эгоизма, от гордыни, от ревности к своей исключительности, от склонности думать, что я сама всё знаю лучше всех, как быть, что делать.

Жизнь – Дерзкое Приключение

Мне очень нравится песня Криса Рия «Синее кафе» – она находит большой отклик у меня в душе, и я поняла почему, когда читала слова перевода на русском языке. В своей интерпретации, переводчик, по моему мнению, выражает истинный смысл песни. Я отождествляю с той, которая говорит «Я знаю всё сама», «не нужен лекций мне», но она, то есть, я, готова цену заплатить и прощаться с горячностью юности и невинности, оставлять разбитые мечты в прошлом и дерзко шагать вперед по дороги жизни вслед за тем, кто обладает знанием, кто покажет верный путь.

СИНЕЕ КАФЕ – перевод с английского Евгения Шпунта

Ждут лишь разбитые мечты
В конце моих земных путей.
“Где пропадал?” – спросила ты.
Мы в Синем встретились кафе.
Предупредить тебя пришел,
А ты: “Я знаю все сама”.
Я карты выложил на стол –
Горячность юности твоя
Влечет тебя вперед.

Где ты был?
В каких чужих краях?
Куда идешь сейчас?
Возьми с собой меня.
Что видел?
Что у нас в новостях?
Куда идешь сейчас?
Возьми с собой меня.

Мы в Синем встретились кафе…

Пора тебе в путь выходить,
Готова цену заплатить,
Пусть молодость, невинность
Навсегда уйдут.
Предупредить тебя пришел,
А ты: “Не нужно лекций мне”.
“Где пропадал?” – спросила ты.
Мы в Синем встретились кафе.

Мы в Синем встретились кафе…

Я признаю, что я сама ничего не знаю. Чтобы знать, надо сливаться в единое целое с жизнью, осознать, что я не отдельна от Бога, идти вслед за Знанием, и дерзко принять вызов Вселенной, иначе пропаду.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Some Questions About Complaining

I have some questions about complaining, such as When will I stop?

As I ponder Step 66, “I will stop complaining about the world,” of Steps to Knowledge, I recall a cartoon showing the Israelites crossing the Red Sea, as described in chapter 14 of the book of Exodus. One Israelite is saying to another, “Well, it’s a little damp underfoot…”

Some Questions About Complaining

Is a complaint a judgment on “external speaker?”

Is a complaint a dead giveaway of the presence of idealism, the mother of judgment? Is a complaint a dead giveaway of the absence of Knowledge?

Is a complaint a demand that someone conform to my expectation, with a promise to withhold my happiness and participation if it goes unmet?  Is a complaint a thinly veiled hostage situation, where I am both the hostage and the hostage-taker?

Do you hear people who are flourishing in any area of human endeavor complain about the challenges they face?  Do you hear NBA basketball player LeBron James or La Liga forward Diego Costa complain about the people who try to keep them from scoring?

Does my complaining make me a better person?  Do I have a moral duty to complain as little as possible?

Is my complaining an attempt to enroll you in my judgments and ideals? Will you stop me before I complain again?

Does my complaining make the world a better place?

If I have a mission in my life to fulfill (and Step 33 of Steps to Knowledge says I do), then does my complaining help the fulfillment of that mission?

If I have come to work in the world (and Step 65 of Steps to Knowledge says I have), then does my complaining further that work?

Why are complaints considered less profane than certain other utterances?

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

I Dare To Approach My Source

I Dare To Approach My Source

Coffee for Mister Yves Klein: Photo by Photographer Floriana Barbu

When I say that I dare to approach my Source, I mean I am willing to do what it takes to overcome my ambivalence and doubt, to overcome my cowardice and arrogance, to understand my separation and embrace my desire not to be apart from life. The inner knowing that it is Knowledge that will reveal my Source is what draws me irresistibly to Steps to Knowledge.

Step 11 “I Am Not Apart From Life” first addresses the concept of separation and tells me that I am an individual unaware of my Source and my total inclusion in life. I can accept this and that my task is to become aware of my Source and total inclusion in life. However, my immediate question is, and how precisely am I supposed to do that?

One of the revelations of the New Message from God, The Separation, is dedicated to this very topic and is full of very thought-probing statements. I get the inkling that becoming aware of my Source and embracing my total inclusion in life is going to take quite a bit of effort when it says:

“You are a spiritual being living in a physical reality. This accounts for your dual nature and the fundamental conflict and confusion that permeate your mind and activities. It is the result of separation fundamentally, for you cannot yet be who you really are in this world and life without undergoing a great preparation.”

I Dare To Approach My Source

There is something about Chris Rea’s song “The Blue Café” that pulls at my heartstrings with its haunting melody and soul-searching words.

My world is miles of endless roads 
That leaves a trail of broken dreams 
Where have you been I hear you say 
I’ll meet you at the Blue Cafe . 
This is where the one who knows 
Meets the one who does not care 
Cards of fate, the older shows 
The younger one, who dares to take 
The chance of no return 

I think it is because I identify with the one who doesn’t care (read: the one who thinks she knows it all) who meets the one who [really] knows and wants to go with him. In essence, if I put myself in her place, I am admitting that I am lost and don’t know which way to go. I am willing to leave behind my arrogance, my thinking that I know it all, for I do not wish to be apart from life. I am unaware of my Source and my total inclusion in life, but I want to experience this. The one who knows warns that it will not be easy, I must be prepared to take the chance of no return (undergo a great preparation). I must dare to approach my Source.

Where have you been? 
Where are you going to? 
I want to know what’s new 
I want to go with you 
What have you seen? 
What do you know that’s new? 
Where are you going to? 
‘Cause I want to go with you 

I think this is the key to overcoming separation and not being apart from life. We have built great establishments for ourselves in this world to bolster our individuality, to give our separate lives structure and physical form, to remain within the limits of time and space.

The cost is great, the price is high 
Take all you know, and say goodbye 
Your innocence, inexperience 
Mean nothing now 
‘Cause, this is where the one who knows 
Meets the one who does not care 
Where have you been I hear you say 
I’ll meet you at the Blue Cafe. 

But we are spiritual beings with no form or boundaries to hamper and limit us. Do I dare to approach my Source and go with the one who knows? Do I dare to step out into the mystery of life? Do I dare to embrace my oneness with Source and take the chance of no return? For if I do, there will be no looking back. Once I acknowledge that I share something with all life, I cannot go back to being separate and unique.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Marshall Vian Summers Webcast – 15 December 2013, 1600 GMT

I am pleased to offer people an opportunity to hear a Marshall Vian Summers webcast.  I’ve already given the date and the time. While it is at 4:00 pm GMT, it is at 10:00 am CST in my city of St. Paul, Minnesota. This website gives time zone conversions. There will be a video window, and a chat log.  The webcast is scheduled to be 45 minutes long.

Does Marshall Vian Summers webcast often?

I’m not clearly recalling the last time I watched a Marshall Vian Summers webcast addressed to the general public.  I recall watching a webcast on Earth Day of 2012.  I have seen other webcasts since then, but I believe they were addressed to the New Message from God community, a planetary diaspora of participants from many countries.

When I mentioned the Project Camelot interview of Marshall Vian Summers in October of 2012, it had 112,000 views.  It’s up to 143,000 views now.  This video of Marshall Vian Summers, produced by the Society for the New Message from God, has received 112,000 views in the last 11 months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrvnute7f3I

I don’t know what Marshall will discuss.  I only know it will be a worthwhile investment of your time.  If you listen to this webcast, you might use the Minnesota expression “That’s different.”  But I don’t know anyone who says, after hearing Marshall speak, “Oh, come on, he doesn’t mean that.” There are people like me who think very highly of him, and others who do not. But I don’t anyone who says, after hearing Marshall speak, “I’m bored. I’ve heard all this before.”

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

The Horseman And The Snake

The-Young-Poet-Rumi-by-Skip-Noah Rumi wrote the story of The Horseman and the Snake

The Young Poet Rumi by Skip Noah

The Rumi story of the rider and the man who swallowed a snake first appears in Book 2 (out of 6) of the Mathnawi.  I have read two later versions of this story.  One of them is the 18th century version by Salim Abdali.  The other is the 20th century version by Coleman Barks, called “Jesus on the lean donkey.”  I am sharing the Salim Abdali version, found in the book “Tales of the Dervishes” by Idries Shah.

I am sharing this story because there is a section in the Coleman Barks version that captures the feeling I felt when I first wrote about Step 65 “I have come to work in the world” of Steps to Knowledge.  The line that skewers my soul is “God’s Silence is necessary, because of humankind’s faintheartedness.”  Here is the story.

The Horseman and the Snake

There is a proverb that the “opposition” of the man of knowledge is better than the “support” of the fool.

I, Salim Abdali, bear witness that this is true in the greater ranges of existence, as it is true in the lower levels.

This is made manifest in the tradition of the Wise, who have handed down the tale of the Horseman and the Snake.

A horseman from his point of vantage saw a poisonous snake slip down the throat of a sleeping man.  The horseman realized that if the man were allowed to sleep the venom would surely kill him.

Accordingly he lashed the sleeper until he was awake.  Having no time to lose, he forced this man to a place where there were a number of rotten apples lying upon the ground and made him eat them.  Then he made him drink large gulps of water from a stream.

All the while the other man was trying to get away, crying “What have I done, you enemy of humanity, that you should abuse me in this manner?”

Finally, when he was near to exhaustion, and dusk was falling, the man fell to the ground and vomited out the apples, the water, and the snake.  When he saw what had came out of him, he realized what had happened, and begged the forgiveness of the horseman.

This is our condition.  In reading this, do not take allegory for history, nor history for allegory. Those who are endowed with knowledge have responsibility.  Those who are not, have none beyond what they can conjecture.

The man who was saved said: “If you had told me, I would have accepted your treatment with a good grace.”

The horseman answered: “If I had told you, you would not have believed.  Or you would have been paralyzed by fright.  Or run away.  Or gone to sleep again, seeking forgetfulness. And there would not have been time.”

Spurring his horse, the mysterious rider rode away.

I read the tale of The Horseman and the Snake, and I cry out that my heart might be less faint.

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Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.