I Dream A Song That Brings To Us This Joy

Posted on January 30, 2020 by Douglas

I have written a number of posts about national anthems and the future world anthem. Sometimes a national anthem is written a good time before the birth/rebirth of a sovereign nation (Israel, India). Sometimes a national anthem is written a good time after the birth of a sovereign nation (United States). But they all have a stirring of the soul of hope for that nation’s best destiny. I now write about a song that seems to stir that stirring.

I dream a song that brings to us this joy

I dream a song that brings to us this joy. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in 1945, as part of the Broadway musical “Carousel.” In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the male lead, falls on his knife and dies after a failed robbery attempt.

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark

Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone

You’ll never walk alone

It is reprised in the final scene to encourage a graduation class of which Louise (Billy and Julie’s daughter) is a member. The now invisible Billy, who has been granted the chance to return to Earth for one day in order to redeem himself, watches the ceremony and is able to silently motivate the unhappy Louise to join in the song. The song is thus the resounding exclamation point of the musical for me.

I dream a song to help me face disaster

I dream a song that brings to us this joy. This song has entered the world’s musical vocabulary, being covered by many artists in every decade since its composition. But there is a particular cover version I wish to consider. The Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers recorded this song in 1963. They changed the meter from 4/4 to 6/8. That seems to be important to make it easier to sway to. It was more than a #1 song in the UK. Gerry Marsden presented the song to Liverpool FC (that’s soccer to my fellow Americans) manager Bill Shankly, and it was sung by the Liverpool fans before the 1965 FA Cup Final. It has since become the Liverpool FC anthem.

I dream a song that sings around the world

“You’ll Never Walk Alone” sung by Borussia Dortmund fans

I dream a song that brings to us this joy. It would be one thing if it was just a Liverpool thing. But it seems to be more than that. Celtic in Glasgow adopted the song in 1966. It has since spread to Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga in 1996, Feyenoord in Rotterdam, and FC Tokyo in Japan.

I dream a song that sings the greatest truth

I dream a song that brings to us this joy. I freely admit that when I first heard this song in a production of Carousel, I didn’t believe it. I considered this song to be a sentimental anesthetic to dull the pain of fundamental futility. A band-aid to put on the cancer of everyone I know going away in the end. But I reconsider when I see how people respond to this song. I reconsider as I study of Steps to Knowledge, the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God.

In Step 45 of Steps to Knowledge, “Alone I can do nothing,” I am told that every accomplishment, every achievement is the product of relationship. Step 53, “My gifts are for others” declares “Alone you can do nothing. Alone you have no meaning. This is because you are not alone.” Step 78, “I can do nothing alone” not only declares this again, but puts an exclamation point at the end. “You can do nothing alone, for you are not alone. A greater truth you will not find.” I have never been alone. I am not alone. I will never be alone.

Should “You’ll Never Walk Alone” be the future anthem of the world? I don’t know. All I know is that people respond to this song, both in times of joy and times of trial. All I know is this brief song contains an essential truth of the human experience. I find that something of a miracle.

* * *

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.

How Shall I Pray For A Student Of Knowledge?

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Douglas

As I studied Steps to Knowledge, the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God, it first seemed like a relatively solitary practice. There were some people I would correspond with, but the steps were mostly speaking to my life story.

How shall I pray for a student of Knowledge?

As I progressed, the importance of my interactions with other students became clearer. Steps spoke of how every accomplishment is a group effort. The mission I came to the world to accomplish requires the development of others. A hope began to emerge for the success of my fellow students.

How shall I pray for a student of Knowledge? Step 121, “Today I am free to give,” and Step 122, “I give without loss today,” encouraged me to give strength of character and strength of faculty of mind. Something like this emerged:

“I give my fellow students contentment with following the Steps as given. I give them building and balancing the four pillars of their lives [relationships, work, health and spirituality]. I give them trust in their deepest inclinations.

I didn’t notice this the first time I studied Steps to Knowledge, but in the second time through, I noticed this paragraph of Step 342, “I am a student of Knowledge today,” as a prayer for students of Knowledge. It seems to work to pray it for one’s self, or to pray it for someone else.

Today you are a student of Knowledge. You are following your preparation step by step. You are learning to be unburdened of your own judgment and anxiety. You are learning to be confirmed by the presence of Knowledge within you and by the presence of love within your life. You are learning to honor yourself and learning to appreciate your world. You are learning to recognize your responsibility and learning to recognize the world’s need for this responsibility to be carried forth. You are learning to be still within and meaningfully engaged without. You are learning to receive. You are learning to give. You are learning to recognize that your life is being redeemed.

How shall I pray for a student of Knowledge? This is my prayer for you.

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He Spoke To Our Strength, Dreamed Of Our Success

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Douglas

The science fiction community is celebrating the contributions and mourning the departure of Jerry Pournelle (1933-2017) on September 8. The most well known obituary in national media I know of is the one written by Glenn Reynolds in USA Today. There are a number of things I wish to share about his life.

He spoke to our strength, dreamed of our success

Jerry Pournelle will be remembered for his collaborations with Larry Niven. Niven is an acclaimed science-fiction writer in his own right. Their partnership started in 1974 with The Mote in God’s Eye, a tale of humanity’s first contact with non-human intelligent life. This fertile partnership would continue until 2012, with many books, collections, and sequels. I consider this an illustration of one of the steps and teachings of Steps to Knowledge, the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God. What’s a group effort? Everything. Everything that matters. Everything that helps someone. Step 45 of Steps to Knowledge declares:

“Alone you can do nothing. Nothing has ever been accomplished alone, even in your world. Nothing has ever been created alone, even in your mind.There is no credit to be received by doing something alone. Everything is a joint effort. Everything is the product of relationship.”

Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven had a fruitful relationship.

He spoke to our strength, dreamed of our success. Niven and Pournelle explored various aspects of humanity’s emergence into a greater community of intelligent life. In the 1985 book Footfall, humanity experiences an alien invasion. I realize that doesn’t seem particularly inventive. But the invasion is an act of desperation by a race whose home world has experienced environmental destruction. The value of this book is the why, as opposed to the what.

He spoke to our strength, dreamed of our success. Maybe there are conflicts out there in Known Space, as Niven called it. How will humanity respond? Larry Niven introduced us to the Kzinti, a warlike species of cat-like aliens in the 1960s. Pournelle and Niven presided over fourteen volumes of the Man-Kzin Wars series as writers and editors.

He spoke to our strength, dreamed of our success. One of the distinctives of the New Message from God is a great deal of teaching and emphasis on humanity’s forthcoming emergence into a greater community of intelligent life. The books Greater Community Spirituality and Life in the Universe are instances of this. The interstellar neighborhood described in these books doesn’t resemble what has been imagined by Pournelle and Niven, but I appreciate the effort made to contemplate the future.

He spoke to our strength, dreamed of our success. The only Niven and Pournelle book I have actually read is Fallen Angels, written in 1991 with Michael Flynn. I took enjoyment in this book because it imagined a world where science and technology have been rejected in favor of crystals and feelings. It imagined a world where combating global warming had succeeded all too well and resulted in an ice age. Finally, it was a valentine to the golden age of science-fiction fandom in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

He spoke to our strength, dreamed of our success. Pournelle and Niven were known as “hard” science fiction writers. That means they not only imagined certain futures, but wrote about how the futures they imagined might actually exist. Fallen Angels is an instance of this, where there is a discussion of global temperature over the past few thousand years. And because of this, there was a certain strength to their optimism. In the future of Niven and Pournelle, humanity has a future. In the future of the New Message from God, humanity has a future if and only if it will prepare for it.

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A New Message From God? Why Is It Here?

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Douglas

This is the second post in a series of posts on the New Message from God revelation “The Proclamation.” This revelation was received by Marshall Vian Summers in July of 2006. The first post in the series is here.

A New Message from God? Why is it here?

What has been declared thus far? Just as God has spoken to humanity on certain occasions, God is speaking to humanity again. God is speaking to humanity again because humanity faces unprecedented challenges. This is the sixth paragraph.

The New Message from God is here to alert, to empower and to prepare the human family—people from all nations and religious traditions, from all tribes, groups and orientations.

[A New Message from God? Why is it here? I believe that the phrase “prepare the human family” means “prepare the human family to respond effectively to the grave and perilous set of challenges mentioned in the previous paragraph.“]

It has come at a time of great need, a time of great consequence. It is preparing people for things that have not even been recognized.

[A New Message from God? Why is it here? In my mind’s ear, I’m hearing the song “Heaven is Ten Zillion Light Years Away” by Stevie Wonder, with the lyric “But if there is a God, we need Him now.”]

It is prophetic in alerting people to the Great Waves of change that are coming to the world and to humanity’s position in the universe, especially regarding your contact with other races.

[A New Message from God? Why is it here? “The Great Waves of change” refer to an ongoing series of global-scale disruptions of what passes for normal life in the not-too-distant future, including disrupted climate, environmental degradation, declining resources, economic turmoil, involuntary human migration, wars of economic desperation, religious wars and intervention from outer space.]

It calls upon the great spiritual presence within each person—the great endowment of Knowledge that has been given to the entire human family, which must now be cultivated, strengthened and brought forth.

[A New Message from God? Why is it here? Knowledge is a key technical term in the New Message from God, and is mentioned in one form or another in almost every revelation. The book Steps to Knowledge describes this phenomenon in great detail. While Knowledge is described in many ways, Step 10 of Steps to Knowledge, “What is Knowledge?” says “Let us say that Knowledge is not the things that are usually associated with it. It is not ideas. It is not a body of information. It is not a system of belief. It is not a process of self evaluation. It is the great mystery of your life. Its outward manifestations are profound intuition, great insight, inexplicable knowing, wise perception in the present and in the future and wise understanding of the past. But despite these great achievements of mind, Knowledge is greater than this. It is your True Self, a Self that is not apart from life.”]

It speaks to the great spiritual need of the individual—the need for purpose, meaning and direction.

[A New Message from God? Why is it here? People are in the world for reasons beyond their preferences and anxieties. They are in the world to meet certain people, to give certain gifts, to accomplish certain tasks.]

It speaks to the great relationships that people can establish with one another, relationships representing their higher purpose in life.

[A New Message from God? Why is it here? Humanity’s great accomplishments have been the result of relationships representing higher purpose in life.]

It speaks to the needs of the world and the needs of the future. In so doing, it brings purpose and recognition, unity and cooperation, wisdom and strength to all who can receive it, who can learn it, who can follow its steps, who can contribute it to others and who can share its wisdom in service to other individuals, to families, to communities, to nations and to the whole world.

[A New Message from God? Why is it here? About a dozen books of the New Message from God have already been published. Some of these books address the subject of individual development, such as Steps to Knowledge and Greater Community Spirituality. Some of these books address potential futures for humanity, such as The Great Waves of Change and Life in the Universe.]

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Работая с ограниченной личностью

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Alisa

Фото Will Parfitt

For English version click here.

Когда я говорю, что работаю с ограниченной личностью, что я имею в виду?

Шаг 45 «Я ничего не добьюсь одна» из «Шагов к Знанию» гласит: «Ты работаешь через отдельного лица, которое представляет тебя лично, но ты больше этого. Принимай ограничения ограниченной личности…»

Когда я занималась этим Шагом 23 декабря 2013 г., я писала в своих записях: «Я осознаю свои ограничения, как отдельное лицо, как индивидуум. Осознавая их, я смирюсь, а в смирении, я могу ощущать величие. Другими словами, я часто ощущаю то смирение, которое приходит, когда я осознаю свои слабости, свои ограничения, и в прошлом такое осознание всегда стало отправной точкой на пути к новому витку развития. И вот с помощью этого Шага, я осознаю, что таким образом, я прихожу к позицию силы и даже могу принимать величие в своей жизни с этого понимания моих ограничений.»

Одна я мало могу добиваться, ведь я работаю с ограниченной личностью. Но на самом деле, я не одна, ибо я являюсь частью большего целого.

Работая с ограниченной личностью

Я также ощущаю свою связь с расширенном миром, когда я занимаюсь творчеством и своей профессиональной работой. Я исчерчиваю силу из глубокого источника внутри себя, который я теперь понимаю как Знание. Так что, действительно, одна, с отдельной позиции, с позиции ограниченной личности я ничего не добьюсь, а только с позиции силы, которая превосходит своих ограничений и исходит от Бога.»

Да, мой вклад в мир исходит не от себя личного, а от более глубокого источника вдохновения и изобилия, который соединяет меня с Коллективном Сознанием Всего.

Я нашла следующий материал, пока писала эту запись. Может то, что тут написано, поможет другим разобраться с теми мыслями, которые я пытаюсь излагать здесь.

Закон Разделения

Так как сознание пожелало обучаться через опыт, была создана эта реальность. А чтобы Сознание могло испытать себя индивидуализированным, поляризованным, последовательным способом было сделано так, чтобы один опыт получался за одно воплощение. Чтобы разделять сознание на малые, отдельные единицы, в концепции третьего измерения был установлен закон разделения.

Читайте дальше.

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Working Through A Limited Self

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Alisa

Photo credit to Will Parfitt

When I say I am working through a limited self, what do I mean? Step 45. “Alone I can do nothing” of Steps to Knowledge says, “You work through the individual that is you personally, but you are greater than this. Accept the limitations of a limited self…”

I have shared on Step 45 before in this space, but I would like to elaborate some more today. When reconsidering this step to write this post I was particularly drawn by the idea of a limited self and the potential it has for doing nothing alone.

When I did Step 45 on December 23, 2013, I wrote in my notes: “I am very aware of this concept of accepting my limitations, recognizing them, which gives me humility, and in humility I am in a position to receive greatness. To put it in a different way, I often feel the humility that comes with recognizing my flaws, my disabilities, and in the past it has always been a new starting point to build up from again. And now this Step is teaching me that I can come to a position of strength and even accept and receive greatness in my life from this understanding of my limitations.”

There is not much I can do alone because I am working through a limited self. But in reality I am not alone, for I am part of a greater whole.

This becomes particularly apparent when I am drawn to other comments by Steps to Knowledge students that express other facets of the same idea.

Douglas brought my attention to one such comment: “God doesn’t get rid of our disabilities. He gives us great things to do,” said by someone (maybe Marshall himself he thinks) at Encampment last year.

And another veteran Steps student, Tom C, wrote in his blog on his Steps practice on Step 45 in reference to sharing his journal entries: “This opens me up, which may be a risk, but we need to know others in order that we together can do things. Thoughts can make us feel alone when no one else seems to share them. That has been my experience.”

This sharing brings the idea that alone I can do nothing closer to home.

I also find it very encouraging when I am pondering a particular idea and I am shown more confirmation of the very same idea. For instance, on the day I wrote this post, I opened Secrets of Heaven to page 192 and read:

You cannot find truth alone, for the truth is you are not alone.

Working through a limited self

My own notes for this step go on to say: “I am also aware that when I engage in creative writing and also in my professional work as a translator I receive inspiration and strength from some deep source within me that I now understand to be Knowledge. So indeed I can do nothing alone, from a separate, individual standpoint, only from a position of strength that transcends my limitations and comes from God.”

Indeed I do feel much of what I am able to contribute in the world comes not from me, from my limited self, but from a deeper well of inspiration and plenty, a source that is connected with the All There Is we call God.

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Some Small But Substantial Successes

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Douglas

Step 84 of Steps to Knowledge is a review of the steps from Step 78, “I can do nothing alone” to Step 83, “I value Knowledge beyond all things.”

Some small but substantial successes

There were some seeds sown during this period. One seed that was sown was the idea that if I am going to advance, I’m going to have to be more accountable as to what I am practicing. This seed was sown in Step 80, “I can only practice.” Another seed that was sown was the idea that if I am going to advance, I’m going to have to have a certain awareness of my craving for social rewards. I’m going to have to develop a certain indifference to social rewards. This seed was sown in Step 81, “I will not deceive myself today.”

There were also some seeds that were sown earlier, but watered during this period. Step 78, “I can do nothing alone” is a watering of the seed sown in Step 45, “Alone I can do nothing.” Step 82, “Today I will not judge another” is a watering of the seed sown in Step 76 “I will not judge another today.”

Steps to Knowledge has mentioned the value of having a beginner’s mind, an attitude of humility, curiosity and enthusiasm toward the study of Steps to Knowledge. One of the good things about a beginner’s mind is not having expectations as to what kind of experience will occur in the study of something. It is as if Step 84 is answering the student’s question, “Is this how it’s supposed to look?”

“Review the practices and the instructions for the preceding week.Review your progress objectively. Realize how great your learning must be. Your steps now are small, but substantive. Small steps lead you all the way. You are not expected to take great leaps, yet each small step will seem like a great leap, for it will give you so much more than you have ever had before.”

Here is the word cloud for Steps 77 through 83:

I have been using the website Wordle for creating these word clouds. I don’t know how Wordle creates these word clouds, but I don’t believe that Wordle makes any effort to put related words next to each other, or unrelated words far away from each other. Shortly after I made this word cloud, I felt an inclination to separate the words from each other, so that other people could arrange the words as they saw fit. Here are the separated words:

And since I am inviting people to do something, it seemed like a good thing to accept my own invitation, and make my own word cloud for Steps 77 through 83:

I believe someone is reading this and thinking “I say, Douglas, you have a lot of time on your hands, don’t you?” Maybe, but I definitely thought about the Steps from which the words came as I rearranged the words. Who knows, maybe one day this will be a standard practice for engaging with the significance of a certain text. I can imagine my grandchildren saying “I have a clouding assignment in Language Arts class.”

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A Greater Truth Than This You Will Not Find

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Douglas

Any student of Steps to Knowledge who has arrived at Step 78, “I can do nothing alone,” recognizes that from time to time, bold, forthright claims are made regarding certain ideas. The first time the claim is made, students sometimes wonder “Do they really mean that?” When the claim is made again a few steps later, students sometimes think, “Hmm…they really did mean that.” And when the claim is made yet again a few steps after that, students sometimes say to themselves, “Ok, ok! I get it! They really mean that!”

A greater truth than this you will not find

In Step 45, “Alone I can do nothing,” we are told that every accomplishment, every achievement is the product of relationship. Do they really mean that? Step 53, “My gifts are for others” declares “Alone you can do nothing. Alone you have no meaning. This is because you are not alone” Hmm…they really did mean that. Step 78, not only declares this again, but puts a sforzando exclamation point at the end. “You can do nothing alone, for you are not alone. A greater truth you will not find.” Ok, ok! I get it! They really mean that!

What do they mean by “great truth?” Back in Step 25, “I am at one with the greatest truth in life,” we were told that there was such a thing as great truth, and that it was the product of great relationship. When the physicists talk about great truth, they mean something that is true always and everywhere, at all velocities and at all energies. How does it feel to say these words?

I have never been alone. I am not alone. I will never be alone.

A greater truth than this you will not find.

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I Will Accept My Studenthood As It Is

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Douglas

“Am I hard enough?
Am I rough enough?
Am I rich enough?
I’m not too blind to see” – The Rolling Stones, “Beast of Burden”

Step 56 of Steps to Knowledge is the first review after the big review of Step 49, where the previous 48 steps are reviewed.

We are now 15% of the way into the program. A number of remarkable things have been said about Knowledge. Some people might be wondering whether any of those remarkable things are supposed to have happened by now. I’m sure some people at this point look back at Step 10, “What is Knowledge?” and ask “Have I had any instances of profound intuition?” Any times of inexplicable knowing? Any new insights about the past?

I will accept my studenthood as it is

In other words, some people are putting their experience in one balance, and their ideal of what they think should happen in the other balance. In other words, they are not accepting their studenthood as it is. Step 54, “I will not live in idealism” and Step 55, “I will accept the world as it is” are about confronting and penetrating one’s idealism. It is not a big surprise that the Step 56 review has some material about not comparing one’s studenthood to a non-existent ideal:

“In today’s review, review the past week of lessons and your involvement with them. Try to understand that though progress may appear to be slow at first, that which is slow and even will progress greatly. Involvement that is consistently applied will give you the straight line to your accomplishment.

In your review, we again remind you to refrain from self-judgment if you have not met your expectations. Merely realize what is required to follow the instructions as they are given and involve yourself with them as fully as possible. Remember that you are learning to learn, and remember that you are learning to reclaim your self-worth and your true abilities.”

At this point, Steps to Knowledge seems to me to be disabusing the student of mental habits which lead to suffering. Mental habits such as believing things not founded in experience (Step 5, “I believe what I want to believe”). Mental habits such as cherishing specialness (Step 13, “I want to be separate to be unique”). Mental habits such as justifying errors (Step 26, “My errors give birth to my knowledge”). Mental habits such as judging others (Step 30, “Today I will observe my world”). Mental habits such as neglecting relationship (Step 45, “Alone I can do nothing”). Mental habits such as maintaining ideals (Step 54, “I will not live in idealism”). Anyone who has reached Step 56, and has followed the instructions, has a fighting chance to be suffering less, other things being equal, than they were when they were on Step 1.

Here is the word cloud for Steps 50 to 55

To recognize Knowledge, practice today. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day…

I will accept my studenthood as it is. It’s what I’ve been told to do, and besides, I suffer less that way.

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You Are Not Alone

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Douglas

Steps to Knowledge has been examining the nature of individuality from a number of different angles. In Step 11, “I am not apart from life,” we learn that our total inclusion in life is true. We are not aware of it, we must reclaim it. In Step 25, “I am at one with the greatest truth in life,” we are told that great truth is the product of great relationship. In Step 45, “Alone I can do nothing,” we are told everything is the product of relationship. Step 53, “My gifts are for others,” hammers the point one more time, only a little harder:

“Alone you can do nothing. Alone you have no meaning. This is because you are not alone.”

In the Steps to Knowledge universe, “alone” is not a proposition with a truth value of false. It is not exactly true to say Steps to Knowledge teaches that you are not alone. It teaches that “alone” is a non-well-formed idea. As if I were to type “susujsdlossw.oAE.lwehjubaFbvl.oSVADFfe!” and demand that you understand, appreciate and celebrate it. (Yes, I was slapping my hands on the keyboard. I’ve been wanting to do that from the very first time I used the phrase “non-well-formed”)

Suppose you were offered two choices for your destiny.

In one scenario, you receive everything you want. You receive whatever you believe will make you happy.

In the other scenario, you intensely participate in life, meet every person you came to meet, give every gift you came to give, fulfill your mission in life, and slide into the grave with every last drop of contribution wrung out of your individuality, and the last words escaping from your lips are “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.” Or “I gave what I came to give.”

That’s why I’m studying Steps to Knowledge.

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Mystery of Ascension

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

Tag Archives: Step 45

I Dream A Song That Brings To Us This Joy

I dream a song that brings to us this joy

I dream a song to help me face disaster

I dream a song that sings around the world

I dream a song that sings the greatest truth

How Shall I Pray For A Student Of Knowledge?

How shall I pray for a student of Knowledge?

He Spoke To Our Strength, Dreamed Of Our Success

He spoke to our strength, dreamed of our success

A New Message From God? Why Is It Here?

A New Message from God? Why is it here?

Работая с ограниченной личностью

Работая с ограниченной личностью

Working Through A Limited Self

Working through a limited self

Some Small But Substantial Successes

Some small but substantial successes

A Greater Truth Than This You Will Not Find

A greater truth than this you will not find

I Will Accept My Studenthood As It Is

I will accept my studenthood as it is

You Are Not Alone