Tag Archives: Step 287

“Do No Harm, Will No Harm”

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MVS28Jan2015 Do no harm, will no harmLast week, the worldwide community of the New Message from God kept the Messenger’s Vigil, a seven-night series of online gatherings ending on the birthday of Marshall Vian Summers.

Do no harm, will no harm

From Christmas Day of 2014 to January 28 of 2015, the Summers family (Marshall, his wife Patricia, his son Reed) had been traveling in the Middle East and South Asia, spending time in Turkey (Istanbul), Egypt (Cairo and Alexandria) and Pakistan (Karachi and Lahore).

Marshall Vian Summers made some remarks at the end of the final webcast of the 2015 Messenger’s Vigil. It is too long to quote in its entirety, but there was something he said that struck me like thunder. It starts at roughly 1:06:15 in the video.

“The New Message says, ‘Do no harm and will no harm. Do no harm; will no harm.’ That’s a practice! Wherever you go, seeing the condition of people and the forces that are affecting their life, I had to practice this continuously everywhere I went: be neutral, see, listen, take this in, listen to these people, consider the forces that are governing their minds and their circumstances; these are not free nations [referring to Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan]. So how you are regarded in The Revelation, the value given to your life, and the meaning of your destiny, is something for you to adopt.”

Do no harm, will no harm. The Latin phrase “Primum, non nocere“ or “First, do no harm” is derived from the medical writings of Hippocrates in the 5th Century BC. But it is now being extended from physicians to everyone. Perhaps one day the Latin phrase “Non nocere, non volere malum” will be as well known as “Primum, non nocere”

“Do no harm, will no harm” could be considered as an alternate formulation of “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Many people have wondered throughout the years whether this is a command or an observation of human behavior. There are, alas, some people who are cruel to others because they hate themselves. “Do no harm, will no harm” forbids self-hatred.

Do no harm, will no harm. The Wiccans have a precept “An’ it harm none, do what ye will,” or “As long as you aren’t harming anyone, do as you wish.” But becoming a person who not only does no harm, but wills no harm takes some practice. Marshall mentioned that this is practice to do anytime, anywhere.

Do no harm, will no harm. Step 287 of Steps to Knowledge teaches, “With Knowledge I cannot be at war.” As I pondered Marshall’s words further I thought “With Knowledge I cannot do harm. With Knowledge I cannot will harm.”

Do no harm, will no harm. I am going about my daily routine in pretty much the same way as I did before I heard these words. But in my mind, I am broadcasting in all languages, on all frequencies, “Do no harm, will no harm.”

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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.

Even A Victory Is A Funeral

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david-absalom Even a victory is a funeralThe Old Testament story of David mourning the death of his rebellious son Absalom is the only instance I know of a victorious sovereign mourning the death of the opposing leader after a battle (2 Samuel 18).

Even a victory is a funeral

I share this because I recalled it when I recently read this passage from the Tao Teh Ching. I consider it part of my preparation to become fluent in the religions of the world. I read this book with the working hypothesis that what Lao Tzu called the Tao (“the way” or “the path”) is what people like me call Knowledge. I am therefore sharing this passage with the word “Knowledge” replacing the word “Tao.” There are many translations available. This one is by John C. H. Wu.

Fine weapons of war augur evil.
Even things seem to hate them.
Therefore, a man of Knowledge does not set his heart upon them.
In ordinary life, a gentleman regards the left side as the place of honor.
In war, the right side is the place of honor.

As weapons are instruments of evil,
They are not properly a gentleman’s instruments;
Only on necessity will he resort to them.
For peace and quiet are dearest to his heart,
And to him even a victory is no cause for rejoicing.

To rejoice over a victory is to rejoice over the slaughter of men!
Hence a man who rejoices over the slaughter of men cannot expect to thrive in the world of men.
On happy occasions the left side is preferred:
On sad occasions the right side.
In the army, the Lieutenant Commander stands on the left,
While the Commander-In-Chief stands on the right.
This means that war is treated on a par with a funeral service.
Because many people have been killed, it is only right that survivors should mourn for them.
Hence, even a victory is a funeral.

I consider this passage (Chapter 31) to resonate with Step 287 of Steps to Knowledge, “With Knowledge I cannot be at war.”

King David cried out “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33, New International Version) For David, this victory was indeed a funeral. I pray that in the next war, the victors will mourn the losers’ casualties, that we might see the truth that even a victory is a funeral.

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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.

The Abomination Of Religious Violence

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The-Abomination-Of-Religious-Violence The abomination of religious violenceImmediately after uttering the phrase “the correction of hell and damnation,” Marshall Vian Summers uttered a phrase containing a word I have never heard him use in the past 4 years. The phrase was

…the abomination of religious violence…

The word “abomination” was a new word for me. He might have used the word as a noun, declaring religious violence as an existing abomination. He might have used the word as a verb, expressing his hope that the world’s religions categorically reject violence as an option. Either option would be consistent with his message.

Step 287 of Steps to Knowledge teaches “With Knowledge I cannot be at war.” Here is a paragraph from that step:

“With Knowledge you cannot be at war. You cannot be at war within yourself or with others, for with Knowledge there is only Knowledge and there is confusion in the world. Confusion does not require attack. Therefore, with Knowledge you are not at war, for you have one mind, one purpose, one responsibility, one direction and one meaning. The more your mind becomes uniform, the more your external life will become uniform as well. How can you be at war within yourself when you are following Knowledge? War is born of ambivalence where opposing value systems conflict with each other to gain your recognition. Competing ideas, competing emotions and competing values all wage war on one another, and you are caught in the middle of their great battles.”

If I am at war, then it is a dead giveaway that I am not following Knowledge. If I am at war on the outside, then it is but a reflection of a war taking place on the inside. If God is working to unify the world and unify the universe, then war in God’s name is, well, an abomination. It is a negative image, an opposite misrepresentation of God’s character. Here are some related quotes from other New Message writings.

“You are asked to end your ceaseless conflicts and to never think that you can conduct violence here on Earth in the name of God, for that is an abomination. There are no holy warriors. There is nothing holy about war.” (From the revelation “The Will of Heaven,” received May 17, 2011)

“To declare war on another nation or on another people in the name of God is a violation of God’s Will and purpose for humanity. This is never justified. War is never justified in the name of God—ever, in the history of humanity, now or in the future. Let this be your understanding, for should you make an exception here, you are doing it for your own purposes. You are doing it for reasons that you are not honestly expressing—the desire for power, the desire for revenge, the acquisition and control of resources, the hatred of another people, grievances from the past. These are the reasons you go to war, never to fulfill God’s purpose and destiny, never as an expression of God’s Will for humanity. If such is claimed in religious books, it is because it has been added by people. It is a human invention.” (From the revelation “The Admonition,” received February 1, 2008)

I know some people are reading this and wondering, “Does the New Message teach pacifism then, Douglas?” “How does this New Message teach people and nations to respond when war is waged against them?” I consider these to be reasonable questions, worthy of a detailed answer. I plan to answer those questions at a future date. But for now, I offer the examples of Generous King Hatim Tai and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to show that not being at war does not mean being passive.

I pray for the worldwide condemnation, the abomination of religious violence.

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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.