Tag Archives: translation

For Something Impossible We’re Doing Rather Well

Posted on by
1
For something impossible we're doing rather well
Attendees of the 2018 Encampment of the New Message from God

From time to time, I write about the progress of the New Message from God in the world. But I feel an inclination to write about this in a larger context. What are the efforts and accomplishments of the Worldwide Community of the New Message from God over its entire history?

For something impossible we’re doing rather well

In 1981, Marshall Summers was 32 years old, and living an ordinary life. He lived in the San Francisco area, and worked as a teacher for the blind. He had an experience that shook him to the core of his being. Even he doesn’t talk about it very much. He left his home and his work, and wandered in the wilderness of the American southwest for nine months. He then had another experience where he was told to record what he would later receive. In 1983, he would start to receive what would later be known as the New Message from God. I therefore consider 1983 to be the beginning of this enterprise.

Curation, translation, publication, dissemination

What has the Worldwide Community of the New Message from God done so far? Marshall Vian Summers has experienced some 800 instances of receiving revelations from the presence that called him to record. Roughly 400 of those instances are either in published books or available online. Marshall considers it his responsibility to organize the remaining teachings into volumes, books and chapters. This is what I mean by “curation.” Of the 400 that remain, the Society for the New Message from God started releasing one every two weeks in February of 2022. At that rate, the remaining 400 would be made public in roughly 16 years.

The books and online revelations of the New Message from God are currently being translated into the languages of the world by dedicated volunteers. The New Message from God is currently being translated into 35 different languages. It is in various stages in these different languages. Once entire books are translated, they are published. Books are available in 18 different languages. The development of print-on-demand technology has greatly facilitated the publication of books.

How many people know there is a New Message from God? I don’t know, but I do know we have many dedicated advocates. There is an online community site for students of the New Message from God. There are roughly 2,000 active users on this site. That may not seem like very many. But I consider it in the context of doublings over time. This works out to roughly 11 doublings over 39 years. Another 11 doublings over the next 39 years would work out to 4 million students of the New Message from God. Bringing a new revelation into the world may seem impossible. But I say for something impossible we’re doing rather well.

* * *

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.

Then Falter Not O Book Fulfill Your Destiny

Posted on by
Reply
Then falter not O book fulfill your destiny

The Worldwide Community of the New Message from God is observing the 2022 Steps Vigil. This is a commemoration of the 20-day period (May 26 – June 14) when Marshall Vian Summers received the book Steps to Knowledge. Marshall received this book in Albany, New York in 1989. We are therefore celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the entrance of Steps to Knowledge into the world. Steps to Knowledge is the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God. I have written a review here.

Then falter not O book fulfill your destiny

Steps to Knowledge is part of a much larger body of material. Marshall Vian Summers received this material over a period from 1982 to the present. The New Message from God presents itself as the latest in a series of divine revelations to humanity. This series includes the teachings of Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed. When these revelations appeared, it was not immediately clear they should be translated into the languages of the world. But people of many faiths have observed that people learn the teachings of a religion best in their own heart language. Bible translator John Wycliffe (c. 1320-1384) wrote, “it helpeth Christian men to study the Gospel in that tongue in which they know best Christ’s sentence.” Translating Steps to Knowledge into other languages is comparable to translating a small portion of the Tripitaka, or a book of the Bible, or a Surah of the Qur’an.

In how many languages is Steps to Knowledge available?

I wrote in 2018 about the progress of translation of Steps to Knowledge into the languages of the world. I mentioned that there was a complete version of Steps to Knowledge in 11 languages, spoken by roughly 2.4 billion people. Significant progress has been made since then, There are now complete versions of Steps to Knowledge in 15 languages other than English:

  • Bahasa (Indonesian) – Langkah-langkah Menuju Pengetahuan
  • Bengali – জ্ঞানের প্রতি পদক্ষেপ
  • Bulgarian – Stŭpki kŭm Znanieto
  • Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) – 内识进阶
  • Dutch – Stappen Naar Kennis
  • French – Les Pas vers La Connaissance
  • German – Schritte zur Kenntnis
  • Greek – Ta Vímata tis Gnósis
  • Italian – Passi Verso La Conoscenza
  • Korean – 앎으로 가는 계단
  • Persian – گام به گام تا بصیرت و دانش
  • Polish – Kroki do Wiedzy
  • Russian – Шаги к Знанию
  • Spanish – Pasos al Conocimiento
  • Vietnamese – Những Bước Đi đến Tri Thức

The number of people who speak these languages as their heart language is roughly 3.1 billion, slightly less than 40% of the world’s population. In addition, there are 10 languages where a partial translation exists: Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Croatian, Danish, Hebrew, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak and Swedish. These are the heart languages of an additional 530 million people.

Who did these translations?

It should be noted that professional translators did not create these translations. Student practitioners created these translations. People who practiced Steps to Knowledge in English, who spoke another language as their heart language. “Native speakers” of Steps to Knowledge created these translations. I have heard the testimonies of a number of these translators. Some of the translators encountered the New Message and thought to themselves, “This must be shared.” Some of the translators shared “I trusted my deepest inclinations,” as they described their path into translation. Russian translator Alisa shared some of her translation experience here. I consider this translation to be an enormous accomplishment, a great display of dedication and devotion.

Is this translation technically difficult?

Some people might be wondering “Is the full experience being conveyed in translation?” I believe it is. The evidence I suggest is the readability level of Steps to Knowledge. A high school freshman has a reasonable chance of understanding its content. I find Steps to Knowledge remarkably free of esoteric language.

How is Steps to Knowledge progressing into the world?

The number of people who have a complete copy of Steps to Knowledge in their heart language has been doubling every 10 years or so, over the past 33 years. if this trend continues, Steps to Knowledge will be available in the major languages of the world in 20 years or so.

Then falter not O book, fulfill your destiny

American poet Walt Whitman (1819-1892) wrote a poem “In Cabin’d Ships At Sea” in 1871. He envisioned books of his poems being read by mariners in the future. In this poem he wrote “Then falter not O book, fulfill your destiny. I speak this same blessing over Steps to Knowledge. This book has been given with gratitude and high expectation. I rejoice and give thanks for the efforts many have made to move it forward into the world.

* * *

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 Am A Small Part Of A Great Work

Posted on by
1
I am a small part of a great work
The Worldwide Community of the New Message from God, walking with the Messenger at the 2018 Encampment, Colorado, USA

I do not consider myself to be very important in the greater scheme of things. And yet, something in my world that has demonstrated remarkable vitality. That is the Worldwide Community of the New Message from God.

I am a small part of a great work

In the face of a difficult year, this community has made great efforts and great accomplishments. One of the goals is publication of the entire New Message from God during the lifetime of Marshall Vian Summers. The New Message from God published three books in 2020: The Pure Religion, Preparing for the Greater Community, and The Worldwide Community of the New Message from God.

Each in his own tongue

I am a small part of a great work. At the 2020 Summit, I discovered that some French-speaking students proposed translating the New Message from God many years ago. These students were trusting their deepest inclinations. This has become a much larger enterprise since then, with translation in some stage in 34 different languages. The translator community translated roughly twice as many revelations in 2020, than in 2019.

Making noises in greater amounts

I am a small part of a great work. There are many students of the New Message from God who are tireless advocates on many different social media platforms. I believe their work has borne fruit. The Society for the New Message from God reported that 106,000 people engaged with the New Message from God on their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages in 2020. Furthermore, 413,000 people visited the New Message web site in 2020. I take great encouragement in these statistics. At present, I can only dream of the glorious day when the New Message has 106,000 students with the devotion our community currently demonstrates.

I am a small part of a great work. I have not spoken of the leadership efforts of Marshall Vian Summers and his associates here. But when I think of them, I recall this passage from the Tao Te Ching:

When the Master governs, the people
are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.

If you don’t trust the people,
you make them untrustworthy.

The Master doesn’t talk, he acts.
When his work is done,
the people say, “Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!” (Tao Te Ching 17, Mitchell)

One day, our community will say something like that.



* * *

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 Work Is Progressing, The People Are Working

Posted on by
3
The work is progressing, the people are working
Paving 28th Street in Manhattan, 1930

I am here to report that a work is progressing in the world. There are people making inspired and determined efforts to support it. What is this work? It is the work of organizing, publishing and translating the New Message from God. Who are the people? Marshall Vian Summers, his associates, and a worldwide community of responders.

The work is progressing, the people are working

The work is progressing, the people are working

Marshall Vian Summers is doing his part. He is organizing the revelations he has received from 1982 to the present. Many of these are chapters in one of the books of the New Message. Some of these are available online only. Many of these have never been available. Marshall is remedying that. In 2019, 15 different revelations have been made available to the public:

How to Regard the Messenger – Received March 2015
Protecting the Message and the Messenger – Received November 2014
Heaven and Hell – Received January 2008
Enduring Love – Received March 2011
Money – Received April 1992
Kindness – Received May 1993
Conflict – Received May 1993
Sex and Sexuality – Received February 2008
Pleasure – Received March 1992
Environments – Received May 1993
Inspiration – Received May 1993
New Message on Fulfillment – Received August 2007
The Reality of Your Spiritual Family – Received April 2008
The First Commitment – Received September 2008
The Deeper Current of Your Life – Received April 2008

Publication requires perspiration

The work is progressing, the people are working. In 2015, I wrote about how the New Message from God would be organized by volumes, books, chapters and verses. In 2019, the Society for the New Message from God released 2 new books: The Journey to a New Life and The Power of Knowledge. While Marshall has the final say on the projects, other people did a lot of the work of creating the books. I know this because the books mention some of these people. I know this because I know the people involved in publishing and shipping copies.

Let people hear in their heart language

Progress of translation of Steps to Knowledge, the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God

The work is progressing, the people are working. The New Message from God is a large body of material. It is larger than the Pali Canon of Buddhism, the Bible of Christianity, and the Qur’an of Islam. It is a remarkable accomplishment that it is making its way into the languages of the world so quickly. Marshall hasn’t done any of this translation. His associates, known as the Society for the New Message from God, haven’t done any of this translation. Students of the New Message from around the world have done this translation. I wrote about some of these translators in 2014. I believe that when Marshall started to receive revelations in 1982, it was not clear to him that this was something that needed to be translated into the languages of the world.

It used to be impossible, now it’s merely difficult

The work is progressing, the people are working. Hudson Taylor (1832 – 1905), founder of the China Inland Mission, is reported to have said: “I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” I can recall a time when the idea of the New Message from God being published in the languages of the world was impossible to contemplate. Now I can see that we have a great deal of work to do, but it’s work we are happily doing. I may not be around to see when the work is done, but I can clearly see in my mind’s eye the day when that work is done.

* * *

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.

Let This Teaching Find Its Place Among My People

Posted on by
Reply

Seedlings in various stages of growth. Let this teaching find its place among my people.

Steps to Knowledge, the book of spiritual practice of the New Message from God, entered the world during a 20-day period in 1989. The New Message community has been celebrating that event in a series of webcasts called the Steps Vigil. Steps to Knowledge is 29 years old, as it were. During the Steps Vigil, we listened to portions of Steps to Knowledge in other languages.

Let this teaching find its place among my people

Steps to Knowledge is part of a much larger body of material. Marshall Vian Summers received this material over a period from 1982 to the present. The New Message from God presents itself as the latest in a series of divine revelations to humanity. This series includes the teachings of Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed. When these revelations appeared, it was not immediately clear they should be translated into the languages of the world. But people of many faiths have observed that people learn the teachings of a religion best in their own heart language. Bible translator John Wycliffe (c. 1320-1384) wrote, “it helpeth Christian men to study the Gospel in that tongue in which they know best Christ’s sentence.” Translating Steps to Knowledge into other languages is comparable to translating a small portion of the Tripitaka, or a book of the Bible, or a Surah of the Qur’an.

Let this teaching find its place among my people. There are books that are written in a given year, in a given language. People translate relatively few of them into other languages. Therefore, I take great encouragement that people have fully translated Steps to Knowledge from English into 11 different languages, including…

Furthermore, translation is in progress in 10 other languages.

It should be noted that professional translators did not create these translations. Student practitioners created these translations. People who practiced Steps to Knowledge in English, who spoke another language as their primary language. “Native speakers” of Steps to Knowledge created these translations. I have heard the testimonies of a number of these translators. Some of the translators encountered the New Message and thought to themselves, “This must be shared.” Some of the translators shared “I trusted my deepest inclinations,” as they described their path into translation. Alisa shared some of her translation experience here.

Let this teaching find its place among my people. When Steps to Knowledge was received in 1989, it was only available in the heart language of roughly 300 million people.

It is now available in the heart language of roughly 2.4 billion people. That works out to about three doublings over 29 years, or about one doubling every ten years. If we continue on the current trajectory, Steps to Knowledge should be available to most of the people of the world in their heart language in about 30 years.

Translation of Steps to Knowledge, 1989-2018 Let this teaching find its place among my people.

I hope and believe that one day, there will be a translation of Steps to Knowledge in each of the 6,909 languages of the world. I realize that may seem ambitious, but look how far we’ve come in 29 years. Let this teaching find its place among my people.

* * *

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.

My Sentence Was A Thousand Years Of Joy

Posted on by
Reply

Robert Bly. My sentence was a thousand years of joy.I remember purchasing the Robert Bly poetry book “My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy” in the summer of 2005. Robert Bly had me at the title of the book. The exclamation point of the book is the poem “Stealing Sugar from the Castle.” The title of that poem would later become the title of the book of Robert Bly’s poetic life of 63 years.

My sentence was a thousand years of joy

Robert Bly has not only written many poems over his long career, but he has translated poems from a number of different cultures and languages. “Stealing sugar from the castle” is his image for his efforts at poetic translation. I share this poem as a valentine to those who are translating the New Message from God from its original language of English, to the languages of the world.

We are poor students who stay after school to study joy.
We are like those birds in the India mountains.
I am a widow whose child is her only joy.

The only thing I hold in my ant-like head
Is the builder’s plan of the castle of sugar.
just to steal one grain of sugar is a joy!

Like a bird, we fly out of darkness into the hall,
Which is lit with singing, then fly out again.
Being shut out of the warm hall is also a joy.

I am a laggard, a loafer, and an idiot. But I love
To read about those who caught one glimpse
Of the Face, and died twenty years later in joy.

I don’t mind your saying I will die soon.
Even in the sound of the word soon, I hear
The word you which begins every sentence of joy.

“You’re a thief!” the judge said. “Let’s see
Your hands!” I showed my callused hands in court.
My sentence was a thousand years of joy.

 

Normally I would recite this poem, but I have something even better, Robert Bly’s recitation of his poem, accompanied by music and video provided by filmmaker DJ Kadagian.

The translators currently do their work in relative obscurity. But I believe that one day, they too will say, like Robert Bly, “My sentence was a thousand years of joy.”

* * *

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.

In His Own Tongue

Posted on by
Reply

John Wycliffe In his own tongueWhile John Wycliffe (c. 1330-1384) is by no means the first man to translate the Bible into his first language, he is famous for being the first man to translate the Bible into English. He is reported to have said, “Englishmen learn Christ’s law best in English. Moses heard God’s law in his own tongue; so did Christ’s apostles.” While this truth took a while to catch on, I am persuaded that having the Bible in the heart language of many Christians is a great advance for the worldwide Christian community.

In his own tongue

I share this to share with you that on Day 4 of the Encampment of the New Message from God, it was our great blessing to meet the individuals who are translating the New Message from God from English into the languages of the world.

As far as I know, all the translators are volunteers. Just as I had met some 2014 Encampment attendees at the 2012 Encampment, I met some of the translators at the 2012 Encampment. I had online relationships with some of the translators. I met some of the translators for the first time at the 2014 Encampment.

What languages are being translated? Swedish, Farsi, Hungarian, Spanish, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Chinese, Danish, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Arabic so far. How much has been translated? It varies from language to language, but there is a version of the New Message from God website in each of those languages.

What are the challenges? Well, the New Message is rather big, nine thousand pages. It uses words in unusual contexts from time to time. Sometimes the translators aren’t the most technically skilled. One translator declared “Even if I type one finger at a time, I will translate!” Another translator shared “I need to be a dedicated student [in order to be a effective translator].”

Why are they doing this? Some of the translators encountered the New Message and thought to themselves, “This must be shared.” Some of the translators shared “I trusted my deepest inclinations,” (as instructed by Step 72 “I will trust my deepest inclinations today” of Steps to Knowledge) as they described their path into translation.

Will the New Message from God catch on in the world? I don’t know. But if it does, it may well be because of the magnanimity and effort and heart of the translators we met on that day. If it does, it may well be because a speaker of a language other than English encountered the New Message in his own tongue.

* * *

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.