Tag Archives: A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

And Who Did You Meet?

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Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred
And it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

One thing that is interesting about this particular review is that it is the first time the word “prayer” is used in Steps to Knowledge:

We shall begin our fourth review period with a special prayer.

“I accept my Knowledge as a gift from God. I accept my Teachers as my elder brothers and sisters. I accept my world as a place where Knowledge can be reclaimed and contributed. I accept my past as a demonstration of life without Knowledge. I accept the miracles of my life as a demonstration of the presence of Knowledge and I give myself now to cultivate that which is of the greatest good within myself to be given to the world.”

Here is the word cloud for the steps under review (steps 22-27):
I’m not happy with the shape of this word cloud, but I’m seeing that experience and error are things by which I must practice being served. The final paragraph of the review talks about the value of the review, not just for me, but for the people I will serve in the future.  Part of my development is being aware of how people learn (or don’t learn) things.

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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.

And What Did You Hear?

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And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

The review in step 21 of Steps to Knowledge is a review of steps 15 through 20. Just as step 19 was about seeing and just seeing, this review is about reviewing and just reviewing, looking at the steps, looking at how I practiced, and looking at what happened when I did what I did.  I am encouraged to resist the temptation of drawing a conclusion, as it is still very early in the game.

If you want the truth about something, you must practice today (and the next day, and the next day, and the next day…).

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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.

Oh, What Did You See?

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“Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin’
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin’
I saw a white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall”

Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

Step 14 of Steps to Knowledge is a review of all the previous lessons.  (Someone wondered, “Including the Step 7 Review?”  Yes.).  A new component which is being introduced is the examination of one’s practice, and the examination of the results of one’s practice.  Did I have a preference or an aversion for a particular practice?  Did I follow the directions as given, or did I fudge and smudge them?  What happened as a result of my practice?  On the one hand, I believe I followed the directions as given when I did these steps.  On the other hand, it didn’t even occur to me to start writing anything down about my experience of a given step until I got to step 22.  I suppose you and I will just have to take my word for it.

Here is a word cloud of the first 13 steps.

I am amused that “KNOWLEDGE” and “assumptions” are on opposite ends of the cloud.  I see this cloud saying “If you want Knowledge, practice today, think today, understand today,” in much the same spirit as Kabir’s poem which opens with the line “O, FRIEND! hope for him whilst you live, know whilst you live, understand whilst you live, for in life deliverance abides.”

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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.

Oh, Where Have You Been?

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“Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I’ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways
I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
I’ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall”

Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

Debriefing and reviewing seem to be an integral part of the learning experience.  I’m recalling the 72-member advance team that Jesus deployed in the 10th chapter of Luke’s gospel.  The debriefing session took place in Luke 10:17-24.  But the point I’m approaching is that Step 7 of Steps to Knowledge is a review of the first six steps, both individually and as a sequence.  I consider this to be the important sentence in this step:

“It is very important at this juncture that you not require that you have any conclusions, but that you ask questions and realize the extent to which you need true Knowledge.”

It did not occur to me to make such a word cloud when I did this Step.  I see it saying, “If you wish to approach Knowledge, you must practice, you must think, you must question your assumptions.”

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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.