Step 2. Knowledge is with me. Where am I? – Photoquoting

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Douglas

The people in this picture are actually trying to get somewhere. They’re trying to get to the end of the swimming portion of a triathlon. But this picture captured my answer to the question of Step 2 “Knowledge is with me. Where am I?” of Steps to Knowledge. I was thrashing and flailing on the turbulent surface of my mind.

Knowledge is with me. Where am I?

It seems to be a good thing to think about the steps in both words and pictures. It seems to be a good thing to put a post with this picture along with the other posts which mention Step 2.

I am currently on the Step 42 Review, the second time through Steps to Knowledge.

I am currently blogging about Step 95, “How can I possibly fulfill myself?” I seem to be on a bit of a dither. I am confronted with the inadequacy of my words to convey the experience. If I write something about Step 95, and someone reads it, without grasping the significant amount of preparation that has taken place in Steps 1 through 94, have I helped?

I have made photoquotes for Step 1 through Step 16, “Beyond my mind is Knowledge,” without doing the Review steps (Steps 7 and 14). I’m managing to keep the photoquotes page current, more or less. I am experiencing a certain flow of enthusiasm regarding photoquotes.

I have only made posts of photoquotes for the first two steps. This may take a while, but I’d like to believe I’ll get around to it.

Knowledge is with me. Where am I? I am a little of the way up the mountain. I am a student. I am a marginally competent student. I am a student who is increasing in competence. I am someone who is doing the work of reclaiming Knowledge. I am someone who is learning to learn without fear, without ambition. If Knowledge possesses a perfect utilization of my nature, then where do I sign up?

Alisa writes:

This picture shows up on many spiritual websites that address purpose, meaning and direction in life, but I do not know who made it. It resonated with me because when I did Step 2, I saw myself standing at the bottom of a stairway, a stairway leading upwards, with something gleaming and beckoning at the top. Knowledge shines like a beacon and I have the urge to reach it. Where am I? I am at the bottom ready to ascend.

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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.

Knowledge Is With Me – Again

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Douglas

Step 58 of Steps to Knowledge, “Knowledge is with me,” is the first step in Steps to Knowledge to repeat a portion of a Step. In Step 1, “I am without Knowledge now,” we are told,

“You start here in the understanding that you are without Knowledge. That is not to say that Knowledge is not with you. It is simply to say that you are not with Knowledge.”

Step 2, “Knowledge is with me. Where am I?” is the step that Step 58 is partially repeating. We are told Knowledge is in a part of the mind we have not yet learned to access.

In the big Step 49 review, the phrase “Knowledge is with you” is used as a sort of benediction upon the efforts of the student:

“You have come this far. Congratulations! You have passed the first test. Be encouraged now to proceed, for Knowledge is with you.”

Knowledge is with me

And here we are now at Step 58. The previous step was Step 57, “Freedom is with me,” and therefore I get the idea that part of the point of the Step is building a connection between freedom and Knowledge.

Step 58 is the first step since Step 31 “I wish to see a world I have never seen before,” where the only practice is a brief, hourly practice. Another part of the point of Step 58 is to teach the idea that I can practice just about anywhere.

What kind of bridge has been built so far, between where I normally live and where Knowledge abides, in the time between Step 2 and Step 58? I don’t recall having any remarkable experiences of Knowledge during this time. I had a happy feeling of demonstrating to myself a certain degree of seriousness as a student. I had a happy feeling that I was following the directions to the best of my ability.

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Знание Со Мной, но Где же Я?

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Alisa

Знание со мной, но где же я?

Знание полностью с тобой, но оно находится в той части твоего ума, в которую ты пока ещё не проникнул. Знание представляет твою Истинную сущность, Истинный разум и Истинные взаимоотношения во Вселенной. Оно также содержит в себе твоё высшее предназначение и идеальное использование твоей сущности, твоих врожденных способностей и навыков, даже твоих ограничений – всё это дано тебе на благо миру.

Знание с тобой, но где же ты? Сегодня подумай о том, где ты. Если ты не со Знанием, то где? Поэтому, три раза в день по 10 минут, размышляй над тем, где ты находишься, не физически или географически, а где ты находишься с точки зрения осознания себя в мире. Задумайся об этом очень серьёзно. Не позволь своему уму отвлечь тебя от этого размышления. Крайне необходимо задать эти вопросы именно сейчас, в начале твоей подготовки.

Практика 2: три практических занятия по 10 минут каждое

Разъяснительное замечание–перевод Шагов к Знанию на русский язык находится на начальной стадии. Тот перевод, который вы тут читайте, является первой попыткой передавать смысл Шагов на русском языке.

See English Version here.

Исходя с того, что Шаг 1 меня воодушевил словами о том, что несмотря на то, что я без Знания, Знание всё-таки со мной, в Шаге 2 я столкнулась с беспокоящим вопросом—тогда где же я сама?

Я без Знания, с этим я согласна. Тем не менее, я также согласна с тем, что Знание пребывает в той части моего ума, куда я пока ещё не проникнула. Как мне видится, это дает мне некоторое преимущество. Ведь, я не обладаю тем, чего хочу, но я знаю, где его найти. Я не иду туда, не знаю куда, не найду то, не знаю что. У меня есть цель, а когда я её достигну, я обрету себя истинного, свою истинную сущность и свои истинные взаимоотношения во Вселенной. К этому, пожалуй, стоит стремиться.

Знание с мной, но где же я?

Так что, когда этот Шаг рекомендует, чтобы я поразмышляла над тем, где я нахожусь сейчас, я вижу себя мысленным взором, как будто стою внизу у первой ступени лестницы, которая восходит вверх, а там наверху мелькает что-то сияющее и заманчивое.

Я всё ещё без Знания, но я стремлюсь к нему, я хочу добраться до той части моего ума, где это Знание пребывает, ищу пути к обладанию им.

Не слишком ли это чрезмерное требование?

В ответ на мои искания, я услышала от другого человека, практикующего “Шаги”, следующее: «Ты пока ещё на пути. Путь длиною в жизнь. По пути ты научишься, как знать. Потребуются время и усилия. Потребуется прохождение по “Шагам к Знанию”. Потребуются последовательность и упорное стремление».

Ободряясь тем, что я не участвую в гонке, а отправляюсь в дорогу длиною в жизнь, я смело делаю следующий шаг.

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Knowledge Is With Me, But Where Am I?

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Alisa

After feeling encouraged by the words in Step 1 assuring me that although I am not with Knowledge, Knowledge is nevertheless with me, I was confronted in Step 2 with having to consider the unsettling question of well, where are you, then?
I am not with Knowledge, this I can accept. However, I have also accepted that Knowledge resides in the part of my mind to which I have not yet gained access. I see this as giving me a certain advantage. I don’t have what I want, but I know where to find it. I am not on some aimless journey, going whither, I don’t know where, and looking for something, I don’t know what. I have a destination, and when I reach this destination, I will know my true self, my true mind and my true relationships in the universe. This seems to be something worth striving for.

So when asked to think about where I am, I see myself in my mind’s eye as standing at the bottom of a stairway, a stairway leading up a mountain, with something gleaming and beckoning at the top.

I am still without Knowledge, but I am striving to reach it, I am looking for ways to access that place where it resides, looking for ways to understand.

This may seem like a tall order.

However, on the Forum of the Free School of the New Message, I was assured by another student in response to my sharing on Step 2 that “You have a journey to take. It will be for the rest of your life. You will learn along the way how to know. It will take time and effort. It will take Steps to Knowledge. It will take consistency and perseverance.”

Encouraged by the understanding that this is not a race, but a journey of a lifetime, and I will learn along the way, I boldly take the next step.

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I May Need A Cup Of Coffee (Or Two) For This Step

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Douglas

Step 49 of Steps to Knowledge, like the other Steps evenly divisible by 7, is a review. But it is a review of the all of the Steps done so far. Steps 1 through 6 will therefore be reviewed three times, as they were reviewed in Step 7, Step 14, and Step 49. All the other steps will be reviewed twice, as they were reviewed in their own review step, and in Step 49.

This step contains the first instance of the word “Congratulations” in Steps to Knowledge. I don’t consider this a word of idle flattery. I say anyone who has arrived at this point has demonstrated some openness of mind and some resolve.

The current plan is to write a series of posts, sharing what I wrote when I did the Step 49 Review, seven posts at a time, and adding any additional comment if needed.

Step 1 – I am without Knowledge now – “Nothing particularly controversial, although I have no idea what they mean by ‘Ancient Home.’ Maybe the Mormons were right all along. As I have gone along, Knowledge has gotten bigger, greater, wiser.” The Mormons speak of a premortal existence, and their missionaries show a picture of a beautiful parklike place when they speak of it.

Step 2 – Knowledge is with me. Where am I? – “Where am I? ‘Flopping about on the surface of my mind, imagining that’s all there is.’ I want Knowledge to make me non-autistic, but Knowledge seems to have other plans.” I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism, in 2006.

Step 3 – What do I really know? – “I seem to recall thinking there were some things I knew at the time, but now I’m not so sure if I know anything.”

Step 4 – I want what I think I know – “I think I know that the world needs a hero, and that I want to be one.” On further review, maybe heroic ambitions are part of the problem.

Step 5 – I believe what I want to believe – “I recall thinking when I did this step ‘I believe what I want to believe in order to survive, reproduce, have power, have pleasure, and avoid responsibility.’ I am screwed, humanity is screwed, living in a world of delusion.”

Step 6 – I have a true foundation in the world – “Steps bounce back and forth between confessions of the current state of bewilderment, and the alternative good news. Telling me that I haven’t come to the world empty-handed was/is a great consolation, as I have been a problem for the past 30 years.” Ok, ok, that’s definitely overdramatizing things. I’ve had many happy moments, but I’ve also had many issues and disappointments. Some of them might have been because my unknown-at-the-time autistic tendencies, and some of them might have been because of prosaic poor choices.

Step 7 – Review – “Whatever I think Knowledge is, that ain’t it. Furthermore, what I think I know is part of the problem. I feel the way I think, I think the way I believe, and any correspondence between what I believe and what is so is purely coincidental.”

* * *

Be Still And Know

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Douglas

When a student of Steps to Knowledge gets to step 8, she might be thinking “Ok, I get the point. Knowledge is a big deal. They’ve called it a Big Deal by speaking of it in three distinct Uncommonly Capitalized terms in two of the seven steps I’ve taken already (Step 1 and Step 2). They said the point of the first six steps was to hammer home the ideas that Knowledge is something different than what I think or want or believe, and that it is something of which I am in need. Fine. What do I do to get it?”

To me, it’s as if step 8, “I will be still today,” answers that question “Glad you asked, friend, glad you asked!” There are various techniques in the world for stilling the wanderings of the mind, for rescuing the lambkins of one’s thoughts, lost in the wilderness of restlessness. One of them is introduced in this step.

Some people say “Thus-and-such technique of attaining stillness is surely the greatest technique ever devised!” Others say “On the contrary, this alternative technique of stilling one’s mind I am using must surely become the technique used by all mankind!” Kabir says “Don’t get hung up on any particular technique, but instead focus on one’s motivation.”

O, FRIEND! hope for him whilst you live, know whilst you live, understand whilst you live, for in life deliverance abides.
If your bonds be not broken whilst living, what hope of deliverance in death?
It is but an empty dream, that the soul shall have union with Him because it has passed from the body;
If He is found now, He is found then
If not, we do but go to dwell in the City of Death.
If you have union now, you shall have it hereafter.
Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru, have faith in the true Name!
Kabir says “It is the Spirit of the quest which helps; I am the slave of this Spirit of the quest.”

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Thrashing And Flailing On The Turbulent Surface

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Douglas

Step 2 of Steps to Knowledge is “Knowledge is with me. Where am I?”

When I was a child, I had a world globe. I recall the ocean portions of the globe having many small red arrows on them, describing the major ocean currents. Between then and now, our ability to observe ocean currents has advanced significantly, as this video demonstrates.

The movement of the ocean is an analogy for the activity of the mind in the New Message from God. At the surface of the ocean, water is moving about in every direction. An observer at the surface would be hard pressed to prove that the water is following any specific direction. But in the depths of the ocean, the ocean currents are much more consistent, so much so that scientists use the phrase “global conveyor belt” to describe the phenomena.

This step drops more hints as to the nature of Knowledge:

“Knowledge represents your True Self, your True Mind and your true relationships in the universe. It also possesses your greater calling in the world and a perfect utilization of your nature, all of your inherent abilities and skills, even your limitations—all to be given for good in the world.”

I take great comfort in this, as I haven’t done a very good job so far of utilizing my nature, in my opinion. I take great comfort in this, as my limitations have been a hindrance so far in my contributing to the world, in my opinion.

The practice is to spend three 10-minute periods thinking about where I am, not just physically or geographically, but where you are in terms of my awareness of myself in the world. My answer to the question “Knowledge is with me. Where am I?” was “Thrashing and flailing on the surface of my mind.”

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Mystery of Ascension

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

Tag Archives: Step 2

Step 2. Knowledge is with me. Where am I? – Photoquoting

Knowledge is with me. Where am I?

Knowledge Is With Me – Again

Knowledge is with me

Знание Со Мной, но Где же Я?

Знание с мной, но где же я?

Knowledge Is With Me, But Where Am I?

I May Need A Cup Of Coffee (Or Two) For This Step

Be Still And Know

Thrashing And Flailing On The Turbulent Surface