Take From This World, But Then Give Back To It.

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Douglas

On many occasions, the New Message from God teaches that humanity needs to restore a plundered and degraded world.

“You must take care of the Earth. It has been given to you to sustain you. A beautiful world, a gem in the universe of barren planets and inhospitable places. Humanity knows not of the wealth of this world in contrast to the Greater Community of life that surrounds you and of which you have always been a part.

Take from this world, but give back to it. Clear its forests, but then replant them. If you must pollute its streams and waters, you must cleanse them and purify them. If you err by clouding the skies, then you must clear the skies.

For if the Earth fails you as a home, if it fails to sustain you because of the great abuse you have put upon it, then God will not save you.

If your soils become toxic and you cannot grow food and your people are in travail, God will not save you. For you have destroyed your home out of greed, out of arrogance, out of ignorance. You have destroyed the fertile lands and the pure air and the clean running waters of this world. You will not find these things in the universe around you. For they exist only in rare places far, far away.

If you will not honor God’s great gift of this world, a place for the separated to live where they will have an opportunity to discover through the power and presence of Knowledge within them their sacred and primary relationship with the Lord. If you will not honor this environment, this sacred ground, and God will not save you. You must restore the world to have a future here.

Heed this warning then, it is the warning of dire consequences, but it is also a gift of love, a gift of honest recognition, a gift of honest relationship that you have with the source of your life.

Honor this world and there will be a promise of a greater life and a new way forward for each one of you, and for all of you together.”

Take from this world, but then give back to it.

Therefore, I should be happy for the observance of Earth Day, which has been observed in various forms over the past 45 years. But I am not. I would feel a lot better if certain things happened. I don’t know if they will, but I pray that they do.

Take from this world, but then give back to it. I pray that the scientists whose predictions proved to be wildly inaccurate, would address why this is the case. It is almost as if some sinister force sought to undermine the credibility of the scientific enterprise.

Take from this world, but then give back to it. I pray that the people who profess to be serious about the environment act as if they are serious about the environment. It is almost as if some sinister force sought to make people believe that concern for the environment is just another plaything for the elites.

Take from this world, but then give back to it. I pray that people will realize the connection between the freedom of a society, the damage it does to the environment, and the speed with which it restores that damage. I am of the opinion that freer nations do less damage to the environment than nations that are less free. I am of the opinion that freer nations repair the damage they have caused to the environment faster than nations that are less free. And yet, these ideas go relatively unconsidered in public discourse. It is almost as if some sinister force sought to make people turn over responsibility for the environment to some unseen and distant face.

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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.

Мечта сбывается

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Alisa

Мечта сбывается

For English version click here.

Сколько я себя помню, меня всегда тянуло на природу, и не только, чтобы отдыхать какое-то время в лоно прекрасных видов, а чтобы жить там постоянно и летом и зимой.

Однажды описала свою мечту следующим образом: «Визуально представляю тот край, где хочу жить в своем домике. Душистая тонкая весна, изумруднее лето, золотая осень, и белая дымчатая зима. Где туман витает над рекой, и таинственные извилистые тропинки ведут в лес. Дом весь дышит запахом дерева, пчельного воска, сушеных цветов. Утренние лучи солнца играют на стене, а вечером бархатный свет заката. Печка топится и дает тепло, в ней чугунной горшок с рассыпчатой кашей. На чердаке много подушек и пуховое одеяло фиолетового цвета. И музыка, от которой душа поет».

В далеком 1981 г., я впервые приехала в Россию как студентка. Занималась в Институте русского языка имени Пушкина в Москве. В это время мы с нашей группой студентов ездили на экскурсию во Владимир и Суздаль (это было в начале марта во время праздников Женского Дня). По пути туда, я сидела в автобусе рядом с руководителем группы и завела с ним разговор. Меня очень заинтересовал один вопрос, и хотела знать его мнение: знает ли он или, может быть, слышал о людях с Запада, которые добровольно переехали жить на постоянном основании в России? Он ответил, что да, слышал, есть такие, но они обычно «disappear into the woodwork»; то есть «сливаются с общим фоном», «растворяются в пространстве», «исчезают с вида». Что-то во мне загорелось, я представила себе, что я именно такой человек, я найду себе какую-нибудь деревянную избу тут, и тихо там буду жить, не выделяясь. Вот впервые тогда нарисовала себе в голове такую картинку.

Мечта сбывается. Дальше судьба так распорядилась, что я действительно переехала жить в России. Но, увы, с домом на природе ничего не вышло. Мечтала да мечтала, а годы шли, дети родились, работа разворачивалась, а копить достаточно денег на дом не получилось. Я уже смирилась с тем, что мечта остается мечтой навсегда, а если сбудется, то только в том случае, если кто-нибудь преподнесет мне этот дом на блюдечке.

В тот день, когда я осознано подумала об этом, так и случилось.

Мечта сбывается. По счастливому стечению обстоятельств, мне предлагали возможность жить в доме в деревне. Дом принадлежит одному хорошему мужчине, но после смерти своей жены, он не может там жить один. Продать он не хочет, а хочет, чтобы кто-то там жил. Дом хороший, деревянный, с большим огородом, со всеми удобствами (даже Интернет!), в экологически чистом поселке, рядом с речкой и лесом, вдали от обезумевшей толпы. И находиться это местечко недалеко от Владимира. Так что спустя 34 года после моего первого осознания о том, что я хочу жить на природе, а именно в России, я ежу второй раз в сторону Владимира, к осуществлению моей мечты.

Мечта сбывается. Почему я пишу обо всём этом здесь? Да потому, что для меня эта история является закономерным плодом моего прохождения по «Шагам к Знанию» . Для меня это является свидетельством и подтверждением того, что я слежу за Знанием, что я начинаю восстановить Знание внутри себя. На той недели, я занималась во второй раз Шагом 253. Всё, в чем я действительно нуждаюсь, будет предоставлено мне.

Здорово, не правда ли?

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I Am On A Freedom Journey

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Alisa

I am on a freedom journey

The March/April session of the Free School of the New Message from God is called “The Journey to a New Life” and offers a number of opportunities to explore this avenue of spiritual growth.

One of the revelations we are asked to read and listen to during this session is called “The Freedom Journey.” It opens with the following words:

“Spirituality is fundamentally a quest for freedom—freedom from certain things and freedom for certain things.”

If I am on a freedom journey, I first need to be clear about what I want to be free from and what I want to be free for. At the last Campfire Chat, Marshall Vian Summers said some words that made a deep impression on me.

He said, “Freedom is not free. It must be earned, sustained and protected against both its inner and outer adversaries. Knowledge is free but you must gain the freedom to experience it, accept it and follow it in all kinds of situations.”

In this context, I wish to be free from past restraints, such as taking on too much work, keeping an eye on my children, being influenced by what other people are doing or not doing. And I wish to be free for pursuing a life in the bosom of nature, for expanding my inner journey, for learning to be self-sufficient, for providing food for myself and others under my own steam, and for many other things I may not be fully aware of at the moment but am ready to embrace.

I am on a freedom journey, and it is taking me out of city living to a place far from the madding crowd in the Russian countryside. This is not an escape for me, or some other form of seclusion or isolation, it is the fulfillment of a deep yearning I have felt for well over thirty years now.

While mapping my freedom journey and examining my life to date, I became aware that what began as an echo of recognition during my student days has slowly grown and evolved to bring me to the place I stand today, a place that promises the fulfillment of my dream.

“To really know where you are, you must know where you have been and how you got to where you are,” go more words from Marshall that speak to me loud and clear.

I am on a freedom journey, and I am open to where it will take me. I am willing to learn new skills, to work, to adjust, to be flexible, to roll with the punches, and to take what comes.

The following passages from “The Freedom Journey” particularly move me:

“You must have the freedom to open your mind. You must have the freedom to take the Steps to Knowledge and to allow Knowledge to protect you and to guide you towards a greater life. You must have the freedom to be honest with yourself and free from those influences, relationships and circumstances that deny this freedom or make it more difficult to attain.

“You must have the freedom to be with yourself completely—facing your limitations, your obstacles, your regrets, your mistakes, your strengths, your weaknesses—everything! You must be free from the fear and avoidance—the habitual avoidance—that has denied you access to your deeper nature all these years.

“You must have the freedom to be with others and practice a greater neutrality with people so that you may hear them, see them, know them and be able to respond to them at a deeper level, and also to be able to know how to be with them, how to participate, when to participate, when not to participate, what to say, what not to say, what to do, what not to do.”

As I have been contemplating these issues over the past few weeks, one of my recent steps in my Steps to Knowledge practice was Step 253. “All Things I Truly Need Will Be Provided For Me.” Since the opportunity to live in the country has basically been handed to me on a platter, I take particular delight and comfort in this step.

I am on a freedom journey, and only time will tell where this freedom journey will take me. I wish to be ready to meet every consequence and fulfill every necessity.

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Many New Planets Swim Into Our Ken

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Douglas

The poet John Keats had an experience of wonder when he read a translation of Homer by George Chapman. He cried out,

“Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;”

Many new planets swim into our ken

I mention this to share two items of space exploration news. The first item is the sixth anniversary of the launch of the Kepler space telescope. Many times scientists conduct experiments expecting to find certain things. Many times they fail to find what they had hoped for. But the Kepler mission has found what was looking for in abundance.

Many new planets swim into our ken. How many? Kepler has found 1,019 exoplanets, planets outside our solar system. By “found” I mean “found possibilities of exoplanets which were later confirmed by independent observation.” The above image shows an artist conception of 5 of those exoplanets who share the same star. In addition to this, Kepler has found possibilities of an additional 3,100 “candidates” which will either be confirmed or discarded in the future. The mission scientists believe that 90% of the candidates will be confirmed as exoplanets, although I don’t know how they know this.

Many new planets swim into our ken. Where does this figure of 1,019 exoplanets fit into the larger picture of exoplanet exploration? At this point, NASA reports a total of 1,827 confirmed planets. The first exoplanet was discovered in 1992. In other words, Kepler has discovered more planets in the past six years than all the efforts from 1992 to 2009. And that’s not counting the candidates. Even though crucial components of Kepler failed in May of 2013, I consider the Kepler mission to be a smashing, groundbreaking success.

Many new planets swim into our ken. How many of them are habitable? These scientists say “62, or around 3%, so far.” On the other hand, astronomer Charlie Lineweaver posited that the average number of habitable planets per star is 2, plus or minus 1. Since there are somewhere between 100 billion and 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, that’s quite a few habitable planets.

Many new planets swim into our ken. What does it all mean? I say it means that Giordano Bruno might have been on to something in the 1500’s when he envisioned intelligent life on then-unknown exoplanets. I also say it means that the New Message from God teaching about a greater community of intelligent life to be a little more plausible than it was before these news items appeared.

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Space Beyond Any Astronomer’s Dreams

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Douglas

I was rummaging through an old poetry book at a used book sale when I came across this poem by American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892). “When I Heard The Learn’d Astronomer” was written in 1865, and appeared in the 1881 edition of Leaves of Grass.

Space beyond any astronomer’s dreams

There is a step in Steps to Knowledge with which this poem vibrates very sympathetically. Step 326 of 365 steps is “The Greater Community is something I can feel but cannot understand.”

Space beyond any astronomer’s dreams. There are 9 steps in Steps to Knowledge where the phrase “Greater Community” is mentioned in the step itself. The first step is Step 187, “I am a citizen of the Greater Community of Worlds.”. The last step is Step 326. Part of the preparation of Steps to Knowledge is how an individual can prepare for humanity’s emergence into a greater community of intelligent life.

Space beyond any astronomer’s dreams. But for right now, I need poetry to even be able to think about things too great for me to bear. Who knows, maybe Walt Whitman felt a little bit of what I’m feeling now. I don’t believe Whitman bore any ill will toward the learn’d astronomer, merely that his configuration of inner lenses and mirrors had a different focus.

When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

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Mystery of Ascension

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

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Take From This World, But Then Give Back To It.

Take from this world, but then give back to it.

Мечта сбывается

Мечта сбывается

I Am On A Freedom Journey

I am on a freedom journey

Many New Planets Swim Into Our Ken

Many new planets swim into our ken

Space Beyond Any Astronomer’s Dreams

Space beyond any astronomer’s dreams