Tag Archives: freedom

It Is I Who Must Begin

Posted on by
Reply
It is I who must begin

Steps to Knowledge is the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God. One of the 365 steps is “I am honored when others are strong.” It might take a while to realize why that might be so. When someone else is strong, it is never an individual effort. Others, maybe many others, contributed along the way. When someone else is strong, giving, magnanimity and generosity took place.

It is I who must begin

Today I am taking honor in the strength of Vaclav Havel (1936-2011). He was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. He was a critic of the communist regime in then-Czechoslovakia. The regime imprisoned him multiple times in the 1970’s and 1980’s. He played an important role in the “Velvet Revolution” that led to the fall of communism in 1989. He was the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism. As a writer of Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs.

But I take particular joy in this poem, written during the activist protests of 1989.

It is I Who Must Begin

It is I who must begin.
Once I begin, once I try –
here and now,
right where I am,
not excusing myself
by saying things
would be easier elsewhere,
without grand speeches and
ostentatious gestures,
but all the more persistently
–to live in harmony
with the “voice of Being,” as I
understand it within myself
–as soon as I begin that,
I suddenly discover,
to my surprise, that
I am neither the only one,
nor the first,
nor the most important one
to have set out upon that road.

Whether all is really lost
or not depends entirely on
whether or not I am lost.

I recently read the New Message revelation “Building Strength and Resilience.” It is one of the chapters in the book “The Journey to a New Life.” The strength being asked for is the strength Havel realized he needed.

“The strength that We speak of is not the kind of strength to simply mount a great effort for a short period of time, to go run ten miles or to finish a project on time, or to mount a great effort in the moment, even in service to another. The strength that We speak of is the strength to take a long journey, to go through long periods where you are not sure what you are doing, to be able to face your own self-doubt and the doubt you have in the wisdom of your actions. It is the strength to carry a greater responsibility in life over a long period of time.”

It is I that must begin. I too recognize that I must live in harmony with the “voice of Being.” No, I am not the only one, nor the first, nor the most important one on the Way of Knowledge. I have been on this road for a while, only to realize that this journey is a great one. I read this poem and feel that Vaclav Havel is a companion on my journey. It is I who must begin.

* * *

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.

Sleeping Brilliance At The Heart Of Humanity

Posted on by
Reply

sleeping brilliance at the heart of humanity

“This book [Steps to Knowledge] has the power to awaken the sleeping brilliance at the heart of humanity,” said Reed Summers during the final broadcast of the 2015 Steps Vigil.

The Worldwide Community of Steps Students has just finished commemorating the 20-day period in 1989 when Marshall Vian Summers, the Messenger of the New Message from God, received the sacred book Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing. 

I shared on the Opening Broadcast and two more broadcasts during this twenty-day vigil here and here.

On Day 20 of the 2015 Steps Vigil, Final Broadcast, hosted by Patricia and Reed Summers, Reed asked us to re-experience and return to the impact this Vigil had for us.

For me, it has been powerful and reaffirming. I needed to reconfirm the verity of this path for me, and I found this reconfirmation. I emerge from the Vigil renewed in my resolve and determination to continue following the Way of Knowledge and keeping on, for I must. And I have the opportunities this Vigil offered to take forward with me. And these were as follows:

1) The Vigil offered the opportunity to connect with other members of the Worldwide Community and feel the potency of this connection; 2) the Vigil offered the opportunity to enter into stillness with everyone during the joint meditation periods; 3) the Vigil offered the opportunity to re-experience the power of Steps as the titles were read on the days they were received; 4) the Vigil offered the opportunity to see and hear Marshall speak; 5) the Vigil offered the opportunity to see and hear other Steps students and listen to their testimonials.

I feel renewed and refreshed in the aftermath of the Vigil, and I do indeed have a greater sense of what really matters for me in this life.

Sleeping brilliance at the heart of humanity.

Around fifty-seven minutes into the broadcast, Reed spoke some words that deeply moved me. He was talking about how remarkable it is that those now responding have been called, found, struck by the New Message from God which speaks of Knowledge and brings with it the Steps to Knowledge. And when describing the book we have found that lights the way to revealing our purpose, he says, “This book has the power to awaken the sleeping brilliance at the heart of humanity.” How utterly superb! And can more be really said?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yrYMvtpeKA

At the 1.03 mark, a never-before-heard revelation was shared, received by the Messenger on March 8, 2015, called “How to Regard the Messenger.”

And at the 1.55.50 mark, Marshall closed the 2015 Steps Vigil with the following words:

“This makes me very happy. There is enough power and devotion in this room and among those watching to affect great change in the world, even now.

“So my prayer tonight is a prayer about freedom. For the journey is about freedom and about contribution – outer freedom, inner freedom. Outer freedom is so rare in this world and in the universe, and inner freedom is even more rare, and lacking.

“I pray that Heaven’s gift to you will be deeply received and recognized. For it is here for your freedom, not just for your happiness, not just to give you resolution, but to free you to live the life you are destined and meant to live, you who are fortunate enough to have enough outer freedom to consider such things and to take a greater journey in life. It is unavailable to so many people in the world. It is our duty then, those of us who have been given a degree of outer freedom, to claim that freedom in service to those who do not have it, and may never have it. To preserve freedom in this world, Knowledge in this world, the freedom to know, the freedom to express and the freedom to give. This is where happiness resides, and a deep satisfaction. Without this, happiness is an empty promise and a phantom that can betray you.

“I pray this freedom will be honored here, for those of you who are so fortunate to be amongst the first to receive God’s teaching of freedom, and all that it can bestow upon your life and upon others through you. You have been given the map, the plan, the vision, the purpose, the clarification, the coordination and the means to restore yourselves.

“Let us then hold this sacred amidst all of the chaos in the world, amidst the fear and uncertainty within yourselves, the sacred flame. For God has given you a light, a lamp, and with this lamp you can begin to see where you are, in the darkness, you can begin to see your own condition, in the darkness, you can take stock around you that you could not see before, you see your circumstances, which could not be seen before, because the lamp is being brought forth. You cannot extinguish this lamp, it can only be neglected, or denied, or hidden. But once you begin to find it you will know it is there, and you will want it and need it ever so much as you go forward into the difficult times to come.

“This is your freedom, claim it. Do not let any person, place or thing compete with it, do not sacrifice it for love or money, do not deny it for any rationality.

“For it is Heaven’s gift to you. May the presence of those who have sent us and who watch over us be with us now. Nasi Novare Coram.

“With that we conclude the 2015 Steps to Knowledge Vigil. May the blessing be with you.”

* * *

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.

What Is Your Freedom Good For?

Posted on by
Reply

Juneteenth. What is your freedom good for?Today, the descendants of American slaves, and friends of freedom commemorate the landing of Major General Gordon Granger at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over, and that the enslaved were now free. American poet Langston Hughes wrote:

With John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, Negroes died.
John Brown was hung.
Before the Civil War, days were dark,
And nobody knew for sure
When freedom would triumph
“Or if it would,” thought some.
But others knew it had to triumph.
In those dark days of slavery,
Guarding in their hearts the seed of freedom,
The slaves made up a song:
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
That song meant just what it said: Hold On!
Freedom will come!
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
Out of war it came, bloody and terrible!
But it came! Some there were, as always,
Who doubted that the war would end right,
That the slaves would be free,
Or that the union would stand,
But now we know how it all came out.
Out of the darkest days for people and a nation,
We know now how it came out.
There was light when the battle clouds rolled away.
There was a great wooded land,
And men united as a nation.

What is your freedom good for?

But what is freedom for? Jesus taught his disciples, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 25:25-28, New International Version)

The 16th-century German Christian Martin Luther seems to me to echo that vibration in his treatise “On the Freedom of the Christian,” when he writes

“A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.”

I consider Steps to Knowledge to confirm, in its own way, the truth of the words of Jesus, and the truth expressed by Martin Luther. The word “freedom” is first mentioned in Step 52, “I am free to find the source of my Knowledge.” The word “freedom” appears 16 times in three different steps between Step 52 and Step 93. It appears 13 times in Step 94, “My freedom is to find my purpose.” The word “purpose” is one of the major themes of Steps to Knowledge. The word “purpose” appears 29 times in 16 different steps between Step 12 and Step 93. It first appears in a step in Step 71, “I am here to serve a greater purpose.”

I consider Step 94 to be watering the seed sown in Step 52:

“What value can freedom possibly have except to enable you to find your purpose and to fulfill it? Without purpose, freedom is merely the right to be chaotic, the right to live without external restraint. But without external restraint, you will merely act out the harshness of your internal restraint. Is this an improvement? Overall it is not an improvement, though it can lead to opportunities for self-discovery.”

In studying Steps to Knowledge, we are getting free to be our true selves, true selves which are not apart from life. We are getting free to find our purpose. Will we succeed? All I know is that we’re working on it.

What is your freedom good for?

* * *

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.