Tag Archives: fear

There Is A Part Of Me That Knows No Fear

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Cosmic brilliance. There is a part of me that knows no fear
Step 41 of Steps to Knowledge, “I am not afraid of the power of God.”

In the 2018 Encampment of the New Message from God, we contemplated an increasingly difficult world. A world of diminishing resources, affected climate, environmental degradation, and extraterrestrial intervention. How shall we respond to such a world? The answer we contemplated was “moving with Knowledge.” Knowledge is described in a number of ways in the New Message from God. It is called the deeper spiritual intelligence that God has placed within each person. It is called a person’s True Self, a Self that is not apart from life. It is called the love of God. It is something we seek to approach and follow.

There is a part of me that knows no fear

Gears morphing into meadow. There is a part of me that knows no fear
Step 51 of Steps to Knowledge, “Let me recognize my fears so that I may see the truth beyond them.”

In the book “Wisdom from the Greater Community, Volume II,” the following is said about Knowledge.

“This question of honesty would seem to be hopelessly complex and difficult if it were not for the presence of Knowledge within you, for Knowledge is always honest, regardless of what it encounters. Knowledge is unafraid of anything. There is nothing in the world that can harm Knowledge. Therefore, the more you are allied with Knowledge, the more fearless you will become, the more secure you will become, the greater the sense of self and identity you will have, and the greater the sense of direction and relationship you will possess. This gives you the foundation upon which to expand your range of honesty and to receive its rewards in new and unexpected ways.”

Crashing ocean wave. There is a part of me that knows no fear
Step 87 of Steps to Knowledge “I will not be afraid of what I know.”

Approaching Knowledge requires effort

There is a part of me that knows no fear. But fear is a part of the human experience. It takes some work to approach this fearless Knowledge. In the 365 steps of the book Steps to Knowledge, there are 11 steps at various intervals that address the subject of fear.

Step 41 – I am not afraid of the power of God.
Step 51 – Let me recognize my fears so that I may see the truth beyond them.
Step 87 – I will not be afraid of what I know.
Step 128 – My Teachers are with me. I need not fear.
Step 151 – I will not use fear to support my judgments.
Step 152 – I will not follow fear within the world.
Step 156 – I will not be concerned about myself today.
Step 162 – I will not be afraid today.
Step 226 – Knowledge is with me. I will not be afraid.
Step 301 – I will not lose myself in anxiety today.
Step 304 – I will not be a student of fear today.

Climbers on Mount Elbrus. There is a part of me that knows no fear
Step 128 of Steps to Knowledge, “My Teachers are with me. I need not fear.”

How shall we respond?

I can imagine people reading this and thinking “Why don’t the students of this teaching become scientists and engineers? They could analyze and mitigate the effects of the changes they believe are coming.” Who knows, such a thing may happen in the future. I believe we are becoming more literate regarding various solutions. But it’s hard to think clearly and productively if one is consumed with fear. There is a part of me that knows no fear. I hope and work to follow that part of me.

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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.

If Fear Is The Diagnosis, What Is The Prescription?

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The Mechanism Of Fear

There seems to be a general consensus that fear disrupts people from acting as effectively as they would otherwise.  There seem to be different remedies for fear in different communities and traditions.

I recall being taught by certain Christian teachers to reject fear out of hand as an evil, ungodly spirit.  But they also spoke of the necessity of preparation, of feeding one’s faith.

I recall A Course in Miracles characterizing fear as but a illusory thought to be rejected.  Lesson 48 in the Workbook for Students is “There is nothing to fear.”

The book Das Energi by Paul Williams said to cultivate a reflex of wiping out fear.

Paul Atreides Is Tested

The Bene Gesserit sisterhood of the Dune books by Frank Herbert had a Litany Against Fear.

Steps to Knowledge teaches that while the experience of fear is real, there is a remedy of recognizing them, recognizing we don’t have to be stuck with them, and recognizing that they are not the complete story:

“In your two practice periods today, evaluate the existence of your fears and remind yourself that your reality is beyond them, but that you must recognize them to understand their damaging presence in your life. Close your eyes and repeat the idea for today; then consider each fear that arises in your mind. Remind yourself that the truth is beyond that specific fear. Allow all fears to arise and be evaluated in this way.”

Furthermore, part of the constraints of the mission we have in life to fulfill is that we live in a world full of people with different levels of susceptibility to fear.  We live in a world full of people different levels of effectiveness at dealing with fear.  We live in a world where some people make more and worse fear-driven errors than others.

“To be without fear, you must understand fear—its mechanism, its influence on people and its result in the world. You must recognize this without deception and without preference. You are a great being working in a limited context, in a limited environment. Understand the limitations of your environment and understand the limitations of your vehicle, and you will no longer hate yourself for being limited.”

The bit about being a great being in a limited context is a recap of Step 46, “I must be small to be great.”  Part of the Steps to Knowledge prescription is having compassion for people with fears.

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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 Have A Vanishing Point In My Heart

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Bloodhound Gang

Maybe you believe, like the Bloodhound Gang, that human beings ain’t nothin’ but mammals.  If you do, I’m really glad you’re here, even if you think this entire blog is non-well-formed gobbledygoop.  My comeback to the idea that human beings ain’t nothin’ but mammals is in the words of King Solomon.  I like these words because they have the poetic quality of describing a complex set of phenomena in just a few words.

He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11, New International Version)

The word which is translated “eternity” means…

“properly concealed, that is, the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), that is, (practically) eternity; frequentative adverbially (especially with the prepositional prefix) always”

To be a human being is to have a mystery inside oneself.  To be a human being is to wonder about always.  To be an animal is to be focused on individual and species survival, and the threats to individual and species survival.

Step 51 of Steps to Knowledge has its own ideas on what human beings are, while confirming the words of Solomon:

“Your life is not born of fear. Your Source is not born of fear. To be able to recognize your fear means that you must realize that you are part of something greater.”

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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.