An Antidote For Discouragement

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Douglas

I believe the ancient Israelite psalmist Asaph did the world a great favor by confessing his unhappiness and bewilderment with the prosperity of the wicked in his day. It wasn’t merely that he envied their prosperity, but something much worse. He was discouraged from being good and doing good by the success of the arrogant. He was troubled that God would permit such a discouragement to take place. In Psalm 73, Asaph wrote:

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
and have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been afflicted,
and every morning brings new punishments.
If I had spoken out like that,
I would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply. (Psalm 73:13-16, New International Version)

An antidote for discouragement

When I read about the seven deadly sins, I discovered that there were two varieties of the sin of sloth. One variety of sloth is the laziness or indolence commonly associated with sloth. Another variety is the sloth of discouragement, the unwillingness to do good because of the belief that justice cannot or will not triumph.

I am pleased to share an antidote for discouragement from the New Message from God. This antidote is found in Step 245 of Steps to Knowledge. Step 245 teaches “When others fail, I am reminded of the need for Knowledge.”

I consider the word “fail” in this context to mean “fail to do the right thing, fail to demonstrate good character, fail to act consistently with one’s true self.” In this context, Knowledge is used to signify the great mystery of a person’s life, the greater aspect of mind that we have brought with us from our Ancient Home.

The very first sentence of the step seems to say to me “and by ‘the need for Knowledge,’ we mean ‘your need for Knowledge.'” As I pondered this step further, the step seemed to say to me “and by ‘your need for Knowledge,’ we mean ‘your need to practice, your need to follow the practices (stillness, inner listening, mental investigation, etc.) of Steps to Knowledge.'” It is as if this step is discouraging from looking at those who fail and saying “There for the grace of God go I.” It is as if this step is encouraging me to look at those who fail and say “There for the lack of my practice go I.” An antidote for discouragement over those who fail is to be found in the practice studio, in making the effort to become a better person.

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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.

How Shall I Develop Myself?

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Douglas

I am persuaded that you are needed here. And by “here” I mean “in this world.” Therefore, it is my sincere hope that you will cleanse and develop yourself, because you are important. Therefore, I can get behind the idea of New Year’s Resolutions (NYRs) to a certain extent. I would also like to offer some adjustments to the existing custom.

How shall I develop myself?

How shall I develop myself? Ashleigh Brilliant wrote “At any moment I could start being a better person…But which moment should I choose?” The current custom of NYRs involves identifying a problem, and then not doing anything about it until January 1. Therefore, the earlier in December one’s NYRs are made, the more skeptical I am regarding them. The earlier in December one’s NYRs are made, the more disempowering they are, as they take you away from the idea that you could do something right now.

How shall I develop myself? I can generally get behind the idea of both spoken and written NYRs. I can generally get behind the idea of an NYR being in the form of an affirmation. But many spoken and written resolutions fail. Many affirmations fail. Why is that the case? I consider one reason to be the lack of unity on the inside of a person. Many people resolve to do something, but don’t envision themselves doing the thing they resolved. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger attributed his success as a bodybuilder not only to his efforts in the gym, but to his efforts in visualizing himself practicing, visualizing his muscles growing, visualizing his being acclaimed as a champion. Therefore, I consider any NYRs that do not include visualizations of both taking the actions, and getting the results of those actions, to be disempowering and non-well-formed.

How shall I develop myself? Many NYRs are reasonably well-formed, and have a certain amount of inner visualization behind them, but still fail. Why is that the case? I consider one reason to be the lack of practice, the lack of “putting feet to your prayers.” Some people are practicing things that are guaranteed to result in something other than their NYR. Therefore, I consider any NYRs that do not include plans for practices that will result in those things happening to be non-well-formed and disempowering.

How shall I develop myself? At this point, I can imagine someone thinking “So what is your 2015 NYR, Mr. Smartybritches?” It is to complete the study of Steps to Knowledge for the second time. Steps to Knowledge is the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God. It has 365 steps to follow. I took about 4 years to do Steps to Knowledge the first time. I started again in April of 2014. I am currently on Step 85, “I find happiness in small things today.”. I was on Step 321, “The world is awaiting my contribution”. I therefore did 128 steps in 2014. I envision, resolve and plan to do more in the coming year.

How shall I develop myself? I have a plan to reach the goal. If I work my plan, I will end up closer to my goal than I will if I do nothing. Who knows, it might even take me all the way.

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The Deeper Meaning Of Your Life

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Douglas

This is a season of holy days for many people of the world. Marshall Vian Summers gave a blessing for this season on Christmas Day. The audio is available above. I am giving a text version below, without comment.

The deeper meaning of your life

May the blessing of the holy days, be with you. A time to reflect on the deeper meaning of your life, beyond the appearance of things in day to day activities.

This is a day to remember the great messengers who have come, who have all come from the Angelic Assembly to bring a new vision, purpose and meaning to the world, each adding a part of God’s greater plan for this world and for the human family.

Let your mind soar to this height, to consider these things, to take you beyond the pain and the restraints of this day, your concerns for tomorrow, and your anxiety about the future.

To be in this moment, to experience the great presence that is always available to each of us, if we can open and receive.

Let the holy days be truly holy in remembrance, and in this deeper practice, this moment of prayer and deep relationship that connects us to our source, and to the greater purpose that has brought each of your here, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be lived, and waiting to be fulfilled.

May this day bless you, and all the days when this can be remembered, and all the times that you recall that you have this sacred power and association with you, in you, deep beneath the surface of the mind.

Give this gift to yourself, for you are most worthy.

Allow your mind to be free of condemnation of others, and of the grievances and aggravations of the world, and each day will be a holy day, when you can do this, and give yourself to this, for this is why you are here. And this honors those who sent you, who watch over you even now.

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Sir, We Would Like To See Jesus

Posted on December 25, 2014 by Douglas

Most of the people in my world are in agreement with the Old Testament prohibition against image-making and image-worshipping (Exodus 20:4-5). One doesn’t have to be particularly clever to notice that using an image to portray God makes God much smaller than God really is. One doesn’t have to be clever to notice that making God smaller than God really is, is telling a lie.

Sir, we would like to see Jesus

As I ponder the Christmas season, I recall the Greeks in attendance at the Passover festival in John 12. They told Philip, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” It is unclear whether these Greeks were “Jews of the dispersion,” Jews living in Greece, or “proselytes of the gate,” Greeks who wished to participate in Jewish worship. At this point, it doesn’t matter to me. What I admire is their proactive attitude in their desire to meet Jesus. I admire their unwillingness to settle for someone else’s belief or testimony. I consider their attitude worthy of emulation.

The New Message from God has some significant issues with historical Christianity, and one of the big ones is the nature of Jesus. The revelation The Meaning of Christmas teaches:

“Though Jesus has been idealized, though his life has been made to be unique and un-matched by any other life, though he has been placed on a pedestal above and beyond every other person, in truth, his life represents the emergence of Knowledge within the individual.”

To idealize someone is to portray them as perfect or better than in reality. In my mind, to idealize someone is an untruth, just as image-making and image-worshipping is an untruth.

I realize that this is challenging to the beliefs and worldviews of many people. However, I’m not asking anyone to accept anything that isn’t confirmed in their own experience. Therefore, it is my hope, it is my wish, it is my prayer, that everyone who names the name of Jesus pray this prayer:

“Dear God, I would like to see Jesus. I would like to see Jesus as he is. I am unwilling to let anyone else’s belief or testimony overrule my own experience. I declare my willingness to do my part for this to happen. Amen.”

It is my hope, it is my wish, it is my prayer that you will follow the noble example of the Greeks who said “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”

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An Antidote For Envy

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Douglas

The New Message from God is certainly not the first spiritual movement to recognize that there are attitudes which enable damaging actions. The Old Testament book of Proverbs considered “a proud look,” “a heart that devises wicked plans” and “a person sowing discord among brothers” to be precursors, as it were, of hurtful errors. Pope Gregory in 590 declared that lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, wrath, envy and pride were seven deadly sins, attitudes which, left uncorrected, would result in lying, thievery, adultery and murder.

An antidote for envy

I consider it important for any spiritual teaching to have an answer for the enabling attitudes, the precursors of errors. I am pleased to report that the New Message from God has an antidote for envy, one of the deadly sins. This antidote appears in Step 244 of Steps to Knowledge “I am honored when others are strong.” I consider the word “strong” to mean “successful in a good endeavor.”

Whenever I have accomplished anything, there was at least one person, possibly many people, involved in the accomplishment. So one doesn’t have to be a great scholar of spirituality to recognize that there are others who are honored when I am strong. But where is the “others” line to be drawn? At the people who directly contributed? The people who prayed for me? The people who gave their good wishes and encouragement? I consider Step 244 to draw the “others” line to include everyone. I consider Step 244 to mean “I am honored when anyone else is strong.”

I am fully aware that there are people reading this and wondering, “Why should I be honored when someone else, someone to whom I made no contribution, is strong?” The answer is that your life is more than your individual life. When someone is strong, when anyone is strong, it means that giving took place. It means that a group effort succeeded. It means that human identification with individuality was weakened. It means that identification with relationships and participation was strengthened. We’re all in this together. Therefore be honored when someone is strong. Be honored when anyone is strong. Receive an antidote for envy

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Streaming And Creeping In The Gathering Darkness

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Douglas

American poet William Stafford (1914-1993) wrote a poem about a gathering of the gone or endangered species of the earth.

Roll Call

Red Wolf came, and Passenger Pigeon,
the Dodo Bird, all the gone or endangered
came and crowded around in a circle,
the Bison, the Irish Elk, they waited
silent, the Great White Bear, fluid and strong,
sliding from the sea, streaming and creeping
in the gathering darkness, nose down,
bowing to earth its tapered head,
where the Black-footed Ferret, paws folded,
stood in the center surveying the multitude
and spoke for us all: “Dearly beloved,” it said.

The IUCN Red List reports the red wolf as critically endangered. It was extinct in the wild, but recently reintroduced in the United States.

They say there were once as many as 3 billion passenger pigeons. Audubon Magazine reports that the passenger pigeon was hunted into extinction by 1914.

The scientists say the dodo became extinct around 1690. The animals that Europeans brought to the dodo’s habitat had a taste for dodo eggs.

The bison came close to extinction in the 19th century, but is now merely “near threatened.”

The Irish Elk vanished around 7,700 years ago.

The polar bear is currently listed as vulnerable, as the future size and quality of its habitat is uncertain.

The black-footed ferret is listed as endangered, making a comeback from being extinct in the wild.

The music is a portion of the Irish tune “Limerick’s Lamentation,” performed by Patrick Berry.

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A Reckless, Adolescent, Destructive Race

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Douglas

I have read of science fiction being described as an inoculation against the shock of the future. There is something in the American television series Star Trek: The Next Generation which resonates with a teaching of the New Message from God.

In the first episode of the series, “Encounter at Farpoint,” the officers of the starship Enterprise are confronted by a much more powerful being known as Q. The officers are transported to a courtroom of mid-21st-century Earth, considered to be a time of Earth’s barbaric past. Q, playing the judge, says to Captain Picard, “You will now answer to the charge of being a grievously savage race!”

A reckless, adolescent, destructive race

It is as if the New Message from God has a three-count indictment against humanity. This indictment is given in many places and in many ways, but a succinct version is given in the revelation “God’s Ancient Covenant with Humanity.”

“This is part of growing up—ceasing to be a reckless race, an adolescent race, a destructive race. You would end war when you realized that you have to preserve the world and protect yourself against intervention from the Greater Community. It would change entirely your understanding of your situation and what would motivate you to do what is really correct and productive.”

I consider this teaching to use the words “reckless,” “adolescent” and “destructive” in their common, everyday contexts. I consider the word “adolescent” to mean “considering one’s self as impervious to the consequences of one’s choices.” Or “desiring both freedom of action, and protection from the results of those actions.” Or “believing one’s experience encompasses the whole of life.” Perhaps it could be more succinctly said as “Adolescents think they are bulletproof, they think they know everything, and they want it all now.”

I take a certain comfort in the use of the word “adolescent” in the indictment, as there is a implication that humanity is developing and maturing. But will we mature fast enough? Or will the word “Stupid” be our epitaph? I recall this quote from Robert Heinlein in the science fiction classic “Time Enough for Love”

Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can’t help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime: the sentence is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.

You will now answer to the charge of being a reckless, adolescent, destructive race! How do you plead?

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Почему? Да потому, чтобы показать вам ваше будущее

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Alisa

Почему? Да потому, чтобы показать вам ваше будущее.

Маршал Виан Саммрес часто пишет о вхождении человечества в Великое Сообщество разумной жизни. Среди книг, содержащих материалы, раскрыты ему, есть такие так «Духовность Великого Сообщества», «Большие волны перемен», и «Жизнь во Вселенной» – все пока только на английском языке.

Когда Дуглас писал о вышеупомянутых книгах в своей записи, он сравнивал тот сектор космоса, о которым идет речь, с Национа́льной футбо́льной ли́гой (НФЛ).

Он пишет: “В НФЛ, в то время как повреждение других игроков запрещено, команды стремятся определить и эксплуатировать слабые места их противников. В этом секторе космоса, в то время как прямая война запрещена (и более того, помешает бизнесу), расы с развитыми способностями на межпланетное путешествие идут на многое (соревнование, шпионаж, соблазнение, убеждение, умственная манипуляция), чтобы завоевать другие миры через торговые отношения. Когда я прочитал это, я вспомнил Пола Андерсона и его творчество, написанное в жанре фантастической литературы.

Эта книга (“Жизнь во Вселенной”) бросает вызов тем, кто ценит достижения в технологии. Создается впечатление, что человечество сталкивается с выбором между двумя вариантами будущего. В первом варианте, продвигающаяся технология не только создаст проблему сокращающихся ресурсов, но сделает нас более подобными машине и менее человеческими. В другом варианте, человечество становится одним из более редких свободных миров и сможет войти в космос, полностью сохраняя свой суверенитет и самостоятельность.” А для этого требуются выдающиеся силы и устремления большой части человечества.

Почему? Да потому, чтобы показать вам ваше будущее.

А есть ещё и «Союзники человечества» и их отчеты. Маршал объясняет возникновения этого материала в своем Послании в начале этой книги.

За последние 25 лет я был погружён в религиозную практику. Результатом этого явилось получение мной обширных материалов о природе человеческой духовности и судьбе человечества в рамках более широкой панорамы разумной жизни во Вселенной. Этот материал, содержащийся в учении o Пути Знания Великого Сообщества, включает в себя теологическую концепцию, которая объясняет жизнь и присутствие Бога в “Великом Сообществе”, обширном протяжении пространства и времени, которое известнo нам под названием “Вселенная”.

В Обращении к читателям говорится:

Отчёты Союзников Человечества предоставляются для того чтобы приготовить человечество к абсолютно новой реальности которая по бóльшей части скрыта и не признана в современном мире. Отчёты Союзников открывают новую перспективу, которая даст людям возможность справиться с самой большой проблемой и реализовать возможность, которая никогда ранее не была представлена нам как космической расе.

“Первый отчет” с заголовком «Внеземное Присутствие в Современном Мире» открывается со словами:

Это большая честь для нас иметь возможность представить эту информацию всем, кому посчастливилось услышать это послание. Мы являемся Союзниками Человечества. Эта передача послания стала возможной благодаря присутствию Невидимых Наставников, духовных советников, отвечающих за развитие разумной жизни, как в вашем мире так и во всём Великом Сообществе Миров.

Услышав эту информацию, вам может быть будет трудно её принять поначалу, но тем не менее это жизненно важно для всех, кто хотел бы внести свой вклад в этот мир.

Почему? Да потому, чтобы показать вам ваше будущее.

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Consider That In Your Calculations

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Douglas

In the financial world, the phrase “priced in” is frequently used as a transitive verb. Here is an example:

A client of mine who has also been bearish [expecting stock prices to decline] kept asking me if all of the bad news was already priced in as the market recovered somewhat over the past few weeks.

In this example, “priced in” means “included in the price,” or “taken into consideration when setting the price of something.”

Consider that in your calculations

Steps to Knowledge could be thought of as the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God. It consists of 365 steps, each building on the previous steps. I am engaging with Steps to Knowledge for the second time. I recently studied Step 70, which is a review of Steps 50 through 69. As I reviewed my practice of Step 60, “I will not judge the world today,” I read these words:

“Without your judgments, Knowledge can indicate what you must do and what you must understand. Knowledge represents a greater judgment, but it is a judgment that is very different from your own, for it is not born of fear. It does not possess anger. It is always meant to serve and to nourish. It is just, in that it gives true recognition to every person’s current state without belittling their meaning or their destiny.”

As I read these words, I saw something in my mind’s eye. I saw Knowledge, the great mystery of my life, my True Self, the love of God, “pricing in” things beyond my perception when it prompts me to do something. It is as if Knowledge were pricing in a person’s current state of development when encouraging me to engage with someone. It is as if Knowledge were pricing in the lessons a person was learning, the relationships a person was reclaiming, when restraining me from engaging with a particular person.

There is a similar idea in the New Message revelation “God’s Ancient Covenant with Humanity”

Here [engagement with the deeper conscience in the individual] you cannot make absolute beliefs because Knowledge may ask one person to do one thing and tell another person not to do that. You cannot say, “My belief is the Will of God.” Because the Will of God is manifesting itself in countless ways, working through individuals from the inside out, how can you predict what is absolutely correct for everyone? You cannot. It is dishonest. It is foolish. And it ends up being destructive to the lives of people.

The Knowledge I am questing for isn’t a static rule, but a dynamic intelligence. Consider that in your calculations.

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What Species Will You Sing?

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Douglas

In February of 2014, I shared a beautiful dream I had. My beautiful dream is for every plant and animal species on earth to have at least one human spokesperson, at least one human advocate, at least one human singer of that species. When I shared that dream, I had no idea whether this dream was possible or not. Between that time and now, I have encountered some numbers regarding this dream.

What species will you sing?

Question: How long has humanity been identifying species?
Answer: While the idea has been around for a long time, most people draw the dividing line with the publication of Systema Naturae by Carl Linnaeus (pictured above) in 1735. His system of kingdoms, orders, genera and species is used to this day, with some minor additions. This system has been in use for the past 280 years.

Question: How many species have been identified?
Answer: A. D. Chapman reported in 2009 that there are 1,900,000 identified species on earth. Some people claim that some of the species are duplicates. The State of Observed Species Report says 19,000 species were discovered in 2011. These numbers are for eukaryote species, organisms more complex than bacteria.

Question: How many species are there on earth?
Answer: The most current estimate is 8,700,000, plus or minus 1,300,000. The researchers made this estimate by observing the patterns of species within a genus, genera in a family, and so forth. If this estimate is true, then humanity has a long way to go in merely identifying the full complement of life on earth.

Let’s suppose the number of species is 10,000,000. The earth’s population is 7,137,000,000. That works out to 713 people for each and every species on earth. Some of these species already have advocates, like ducks and pheasants. Many of them do not. A. D. Chapman said about 10% of the 60,000 vertebrate species were threatened. Perhaps it would be a good thing to focus on those 6,000 species. There are over a million people in the world for each one of those species. If you’re thinking about advocating for one of those species, this might be a good time to start advocating. Which species will you sing?

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Mystery of Ascension

A great mystery / Is my true self that I bring / From my ancient home

Monthly Archives: December 2014

An Antidote For Discouragement

An antidote for discouragement

How Shall I Develop Myself?

How shall I develop myself?

The Deeper Meaning Of Your Life

The deeper meaning of your life

Sir, We Would Like To See Jesus

Sir, we would like to see Jesus

An Antidote For Envy

An antidote for envy

Streaming And Creeping In The Gathering Darkness

Roll Call

A Reckless, Adolescent, Destructive Race

A reckless, adolescent, destructive race

Почему? Да потому, чтобы показать вам ваше будущее

Почему? Да потому, чтобы показать вам ваше будущее.

Consider That In Your Calculations

Consider that in your calculations

What Species Will You Sing?

What species will you sing?