Tag Archives: readability

How Shall I Prepare To Serve A Troubled World?

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Sha'ar Neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria. How shall I prepare to serve a troubled world?It seems to help to write Amazon reviews of the various texts of the New Message from God. It also seems to help to share those reviews here, with a little graphic embellishment. For example, here is my review of The Great Waves of Change. Between then and now, I completed the first time through the 365 steps of Steps to Knowledge. But I didn’t write a review right away. I wasn’t trying not to, it was just one of those things I didn’t get around to doing until now. Here is my Amazon review of Steps to Knowledge, with some additional commentary [in brackets].

How shall I prepare to serve a troubled world? This might help. A lot

I was one of the first students of Steps to Knowledge, receiving a copy shortly after it was received in May-June of 1989. Having studied A Course in Miracles (ACIM) in 1987, it was easy for me to think “Oh, this is like that” as Steps to Knowledge has 365 Steps, just as the Workbook for Students in ACIM has 365 lessons. Steps to Knowledge is therefore a book one practices, following the practice instructions, as opposed to a book one only reads.

[I have written a number of posts comparing and contrasting Steps to Knowledge with A Course in Miracles.]

Crystal Cave, Chihuahua, Mexico. How shall I prepare to serve a troubled world?

What is this “Knowledge” toward which we are taking steps? It is described as the great mystery of your life (Step 10). It is described as your true self, a self that is not apart from life. It is described as the love of God (Step 24).

[Step 10 “What is Knowledge?” offers a description, but Knowledge is observed from some angle in every step of Steps to Knowledge. While Step 24, “I am worthy of God’s love” doesn’t explicitly describe Knowledge as being the love of God, I am inferring that from Step 10 and the text of Step 24.]

What is the price of admission? How shall I prepare to serve a troubled world?

What kind of attitude does a person need to successfully study Steps to Knowledge? A beginner’s mind, and a hunger to fulfill the purpose for which you came to the world. The language is relatively prosaic, and the readability level is roughly that of a high school freshman.

[On further review, a couple of other things are also required. Steps to Knowledge requires a student to be able to receive assistance from sources they hadn’t previously considered. Steps to Knowledge teaches that it takes a certain self-esteem to approach the great mystery of one’s life. I wrote this post on the readability level of Steps to Knowledge using various metrics.]

Red wine grapes on the vine. How shall I prepare to serve a troubled world?

What kind of effect will practicing Steps to Knowledge have on a person? It will not necessarily make you rich or famous, but it might take the cravings for wealth and fame out of you. It will not get you the sexual encounter of your dreams, but it will prepare you to find the people you came into the world to find and bless. It will not necessarily put you into a position of influence, but it will definitely make you stronger, more focused, less ambivalent on the inside. Chances are good that Steps to Knowledge will suck a lot of the poison of judgment, blame and self-condemnation out of your soul. Chances are good that Steps to Knowledge will assist you in putting the events of your life in an empowering context. Chances are good that Steps to Knowledge will provide resources for serving a troubled world, while maintaining your own well-being.

[How shall I prepare to serve a troubled world? I’d like to think I’m doing so right now.]

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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 Can Handle Not Understanding Something

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If I read something and I just don’t understand it, it means either I need more background material, or the writer didn’t put enough of an emphasis on being understood.  I am pleased to report that this is not one of my issues in my study of Steps to Knowledge.  I am further pleased to report that this most likely will not be an issue for most people studying Steps to Knowledge.  I know this because I have taken steps 1 through 23, and submitted them to various online readability metrics.

The Gunning fog index is based on the length of sentences, and the percentage of complex words in a given text.  The resulting statistic is the number of years of formal education considered necessary to understand a text on the first reading.  The Gunning fog index of steps 1 through 23 is 10.66, meaning a sophomore in high school would have a fighting chance of understanding it on his first reading.

The Coleman-Liau Index is based on the lengths of words and sentences.  The resulting statistic is the US grade level thought necessary to understand the text.  The Coleman-Liau Index of steps 1 through 23 is 9.31, meaning a freshman in high school might be able to understand it.

The Flesch-Kincaid grade level is based on the lengths of words as measured in syllables, and the lengths of sentences. It is the formula used by the US Department of Defense to measure the readability of technical manuals.  The Flesch-Kincaid grade level for steps 1 through 23 is 9.10.  In addition, there is a metric called Flesch reading ease, where comic strips are between 90 and 100, and complex legal documents are between 0 and 10.  The Flesch reading ease for steps 1 through 23 is 56.69, which is consistent with the 9.10 grade level.

On the one hand, Steps to Knowledge isn’t all that difficult to understand.  On the other hand, Steps to Knowledge provides a succinct, clearly worded and reasonably friendly challenge to my everyday interpretation of the world.  It does a certain degree of violence to the self I consider myself to be when left to my own devices.  It brings an indictment that that self is a false, imagined self which is apart from life.

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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.