Tag Archives: Wisdom from the Greater Community

Mysterious But Eminently Practical

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Mysterious but eminently practical

This is another in a series of posts containing my Amazon reviews of the books of the New Message from God. The books I have reviewed so far are:

The Great Waves of Change (Volume 5, Book 3)
Steps to Knowledge (Volume 3, Book 1)
Life in the Universe (Volume 5, Book 2)
God Has Spoken Again (Volume 1, Book 1)
The One God (Volume 1, Book 2)
The New Messenger (Volume 1, Book 3)

This is a review of the the book Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book One. It is now Volume 6, Book 1 of the New Message from God. I am adding commentary in brackets.

Mysterious but eminently practical

Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book One is the first book to be published of the teachings of Marshall Vian Summers. It is the first book of what would only much later come to be known as the New Message from God. In the late 1980’s, Marshall Summers traveled around the United States, channeling teachings with small groups of curious individuals. The enthusiasm of the response led to the publication of this book in the early 1990’s. It is as if the source of these teachings “wished” to establish a certain credibility, by addressing important aspects of the human experience.

[In the time period that these teachings emerged, one thing they were called is “The Greater Community Way of Knowledge.” The name “New Message from God” did not emerge until the mid 00’s. It is documented where each teaching emerged.]

There are 35 chapters in this book. None of them are particularly long. They don’t have to be read in chapter order to gain the benefit. This book takes something of an oblique approach, in that it speaks of the necessary aspects of some seemingly mysterious things, such as humanity’s emergence into a “Greater Community” of intelligent life. It addresses important subjects, but there is a connection with relatively unknown subjects, most notably the development of “Knowledge” in the individual. All of the chapters in this book were received before the book “Steps to Knowledge” in May-June 1989. These chapters could therefore be thought of as how Knowledge, the deeper spiritual intelligence that God has placed in every individual in every world, could be applied to the human experience. The reader has a good chance of reading things they have never read before. Therefore, it is important to approach this book with an open mind and heart, so that it can reveal its wisdom.

[Here are the chapters in this book

Chapter 1: The Greater Religion
Chapter 2: Relationships and Sexuality
Chapter 3: Greater Community
Chapter 4: Trust
Chapter 5: Marriage
Chapter 6: Health
Chapter 7: Freedom
Chapter 8: Preparing for the Future
Chapter 9: Spiritual Truths
Chapter 10: Service in the World
Chapter 11: Power and Responsibility
Chapter 12: Love
Chapter 13: Spiritual Community
Chapter 14: World Evolution
Chapter 15: Giving I
Chapter 16: Giving II
Chapter 17: Mastery
Chapter 18: Higher Education
Chapter 19: Fulfillment
Chapter 20: Inner Listening
Chapter 21: Enduring Happiness
Chapter 22: Escaping Suffering
Chapter 23: Forgiveness
Chapter 24: Happiness in the World
Chapter 25: Escaping Fear
Chapter 26: Stillness
Chapter 27: Disappointment
Chapter 28: Using Power for Good
Chapter 29: Faith and Fear
Chapter 30: Perception
Chapter 31: Healing
Chapter 32: Achievement
Chapter 33: Provoking Change
Chapter 34: Religion as Education
Chapter 35: Achieving Peace]

One minor technical note is that when the book was first published, it was called “Wisdom from the Greater Community, Volume 1.” In later publications, it will be known as “Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book 1” This is because this book is Book 1 of Volume 6 of the New Message from God, and it was awkward to use the word volume to refer to a book in a volume with multiple books.

[Mysterious but eminently practical. If you wished to investigate the New Message from God to see if it is something for you to follow, this would be an excellent book to read.]

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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’m Not Crossing To Cross Back

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I'm not crossing to cross back

I am pleased to congratulate Jericho Brown for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. There is a particular poem in the book “The Tradition” that gets my attention.

I’m not crossing to cross back

The poem “Crossing” first appeared in the New Criterion.

The water is one thing, and one thing for miles.
The water is one thing, making this bridge
Built over the water another. Walk it
Early, walk it back when the day goes dim, everyone
Rising just to find a way toward rest again.
We work, start on one side of the day
Like a planet’s only sun, our eyes straight
Until the flame sinks. The flame sinks. Thank God
I’m different. I’ve figured and counted. I’m not crossing
To cross back. I’m set
On something vast. It reaches
Long as the sea. I’m more than a conqueror, bigger
Than bravery. I don’t march. I’m the one who leaps.

I don’t consider Jericho Brown a very religious person. But in the line “I’ve figured and counted,” he makes a reference to counting the cost of his mission.

“Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,  saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” (Luke 14:25-30, New International Version)

He adds his name to Romans 8:37, which some people consider as the exclamation point of Romans 8. Maybe the book of Romans,

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I'm not crossing to cross back

I’m not crossing to cross back. But this poem resonates with other vibrations. Millions of Buddhists recite the mantra “Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha.” It is not merely an individual thing, as it could be rendered as “Gone, gone, gone all the way over, everyone gone to the other shore, enlightenment, hail!” I don’t know to say “Amen” in Buddhist, but I believe many Buddhists would sympathetically vibrate with this poem.

But what about me? Where does this poem come to me as a student of the New Message from God? I practice to be strong and competent. But I don’t practice to be a master, as there are no masters living in the world. I hope and work to fulfill the mission I brought into the world. But there is even more. This is from the teaching “Higher Education” in the book “Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book 1.”

“Knowledge is not only your ability to perceive the truth and to resonate with the truth, it also contains the memory of your life beyond this world and your reason for coming here. Everyone has come into the world to contribute and to learn to contribute; everyone has come into the world to learn more about the world. A few who have come into the world will graduate from it. By this, I mean that they will not need to come back here again.”

Is it foolish for me to even aspire to such a thing? Perhaps. But like all others in the world, I am working on learning the lessons of the world. But I read this poem, and happily think “I’m not crossing to cross back.”

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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.

We Could Evolve Instead Of Self-Destruct

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We could evolve instead of self-destruct
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN – MAY 26: Vehicles travel through downtown near Hondori on May 26, 2016 in Hiroshima.

Today, August 10, 2020, is a happy day on the Calendar of the Uniting World. It marks 75 years of humanity going without using a nuclear weapon in warfare.

We could evolve instead of self-destruct

We could evolve instead of self-destruct
Nagasaki today

By “nuclear weapon” I mean either a fission weapon or a fusion weapon. America used fission weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Nations of the world have only tested fusion weapons, also called thermonuclear weapons or hydrogen bombs. No nation has tested a fusion weapon since November 1, 1952 (No, I don’t believe North Korea). My people have refrained from using our most destructive weapon for almost 68 years. We have gone almost three years since the last nuclear test (September 3, 2017 by North Korea). I have written a number of posts about this happy day here, here and here.

What does the New Message from God say about nuclear weapons?

I have neglected to share what the New Message from God teaches regarding nuclear weapons. I am happy for an occasion to remedy this. The first book of New Message teachings is Wisdom from the Greater Community, Book One, published in the early 1990’s. One of the chapters in that book is a revelation titled “World Evolution.” Marshall Vian Summers received this revelation in November of 1987. The next two paragraphs are a quote from that revelation.

“Nuclear arms? I know that what I am about to say will get some of you going, but there will not be nuclear disarmament completely for a long time to come because people need something to hold themselves in check. People have given a greater authority to their creations than to themselves to keep themselves from attacking their neighbors.

So, nuclear arms will be with you for awhile, but they will decrease. It is part of the evolution of your world that humanity keep itself out of major warfare until its societies can unite. The world cannot afford another major war here. There cannot even be a local war anymore. This seems strange, but you see, it is established to allow things to come together. It is not good. It is not bad. It is foolish, but it is what humanity prescribes. There will be nuclear weapons in your life for a long time to come.”

This was spoken 33 years ago, and has proved to be true. I have wondered what is meant by “the evolution of your world.” I think it means “one of the scheduled stops on the world’s journey.” I consider the possibility that the world has figured out that it cannot afford another all-out war. We’re still working on renouncing local wars. We could evolve instead of self-destruct.

Destructive power attracts scrutiny

We could evolve instead of self-destruct. The other mention of nuclear weapons is in Book One of The Allies of Humanity, published in the late 1990’s. I have written a review of this book. The following paragraph is a quote from that book.

“It is necessary for people everywhere to understand that humanity is emerging into a Greater Community of intelligent life. Your world is being “visited” by several alien races and by several different organizations of races. This has been actively going on for some time. There have been visitations throughout human history, but nothing of this magnitude. The advent of nuclear weapons [emphasis mine] and the destruction of your natural world have brought these forces to your shores.”

In our world, any demonstration of strength by a nation draws the scrutiny of other nations. It is now common knowledge that the Soviet Union successfully infiltrated the Manhattan Project. But most people think from a purely human perspective. They haven’t yet considered the possibility of scrutiny and intervention from alien races or collectives.

A lot is said in not too many words

We could evolve instead of self-destruct. I find it remarkable that the New Message from God has said so little about something that concerns so many people. It has given me a frame for efforts at nuclear disarmament. Just because it seems difficult doesn’t make it a less worthy effort. If you are concerned about nuclear weapons, work on world unity.

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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.

Volumes and Books and Chapters and Verses

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Greek-New-Testament Volumes and books and chapters and versesIt is common for the source documents of many religions to be organized into smaller units to facilitate study and reference. The Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form. It has 26 chapters, with each chapter having both a number and a name. Early Christians created chapter divisions for the books of the Bible.  The ones used today were formulated in the 13th Century. The verse divisions used today were created in the 1500’s. Each of the surahs or chapters of the Quran have both names and numbers. The surahs are divided into ayahs or verses.

Volumes and books and chapters and verses

The New Message from God is following in this tradition. A major reorganization of the written works of the New Message from God is currently underway. This is part of the even larger project of compiling a final written version of the New Message from God in the lifetime of Marshall Vian Summers.

God Has Spoken Again is Volume 1, Book 1 (There are a number of other books to be released in the future which will be in Volume 1)
Greater Community Spirituality is Volume 2, Book 1.
Relationships and Higher Purpose is Volume 2, Book 2.
Steps to Knowledge is Volume 3, Book 1
Steps to Knowledge, Continuation Training is Volume 3, Book 2
Living the Way of Knowledge is Volume 3, Book 3
The Great Waves of Change is Volume 4, Book 1
Life in the Universe is Volume 4, Book 2
Wisdom from the Greater Community, Volume 1 is Volume 5, Book 1
Wisdom from the Greater Community, Volume 2 is Volume 5, Book 2
Secrets of Heaven is Volume 6, Book 1

Volumes and books and chapters and verses. One could consider the Bible as existing in two volumes (Old and New Testaments), with Volume 1 having 39 books (Genesis to Malachi) and Volume 2 having 27 books (Matthew to Revelation)

Volumes and books and chapters and verses. The book God Has Spoken Again is the first book to be released in verse form. The verses aren’t currently numbered, but they could be in the future. The existing books will be re-released in verse form in the future. Therefore, the larger vision is that each part of the New Message from God will be identifiable by volume, book, chapter and verse. For example, the portions of the revelation “The Proclamation” on which I have commented are Volume 1, Book 1, Chapter 1, Verses 1-12.

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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 World Needs Knowledge

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When I affirm that the world needs knowledge, I mean the world needs Knowledge as it is referred to in the many revelations of the New Message from God in general and in Steps to Knowledge in particular.

What precisely is meant by this Knowledge may still be puzzling to some. It is hard to define. It is easier to say what it is not, rather than what it is. It is not facts and figures, it is not a body of data to be found in books or on other information carriers, it is not something that can be charted or systemized. For me, it is an inner knowing that transcends all understanding.

I find a very satisfactory definition in one of the New Message books called Greater Community Spirituality. Chapter Four is titled “What is Knowledge?”

What is Knowledge? In the Greater Community, Knowledge is the essence and substance of all religious experience. It transcends the expressions of this experience in terms of theology, devotional ritual and spiritual practices, which vary considerably from one world to another world. However, the essence of spirituality—the motivating factor in religion, the real call of religious experience—is Knowledge. Knowledge represents your bond and your intrinsic relationship with all life. Yet Knowledge has a specific mission for you in this life—a mission which you are encouraged to discover, to accept, to integrate and to fulfill.

In other words, Knowledge is not everything within you; Knowledge is your connection to everything. Knowledge is intelligent; it is here for a purpose. Knowledge is the part of your mind that is spiritual and permanent. It is the part of your mind that knows who you are and why you have come here, who you must reach and what you must accomplish. Knowledge is within you now, but you cannot lay hold to it. It is not there for you to acquire and to use. Rather, you have an opportunity to come back into relationship with Knowledge.

This coming back into relationship with Knowledge is not an intellectual pursuit, it is something that requires practice.

Another extremely enlightening book is Wisdom from the Greater Community. In Vol. 2, Chapter 34: Walking the Way of Knowledge, it says:

Knowledge is like a garden. It will emerge naturally within you as you are capable of receiving it, accepting it and experiencing it. This requires desire and capacity. Progressing in The Way of Knowledge requires desire. This cannot be a casual interest or a fleeting impulse. This must be something that you feel is important.

I feel this is important, which is why I am taking Steps to Knowledge and attempting to internalize what they are teaching me. I see this as part of a greater endeavor to sow the seeds of Knowledge in the world. For the world needs Knowledge.

The world needs Knowledge

In another chapter from Greater Community Spirituality, Chapter 23: How is Knowledge translated in the Greater Community? I read:

This will give you the satisfaction of experiencing and expressing a greater purpose in life, a satisfaction that is unparalleled by any pleasure or any advantage that the world can bestow upon you.

In this context, I recalled something I wrote a while back in reference to my blogging in this space, “I have found my participation in this venture to be one of the most fulfilling and satisfying things I have ever done.”

I reiterate these words today as I practice Step 60 of Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing “I Will Not Judge the World Today.”

Once the world has been recognized, you will realize how much it needs you and how much you will want to give to it. The world does not need blame. It needs service. It needs truth. And above all, it needs Knowledge.

I wish to make my contribution to a world that needs Knowledge.

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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.

When Doubt Clouds The Horizon

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When Doubt Clouds the Horizon

There will always be times when doubt clouds the horizon and I am not a true student.

I have already posted on my practice regarding Step 19. “Today I Wish To See.” I shared in that post my journal entry for that day, November 20, 2013. I have to admit that I was rather lackadaisical about picking an object to look at. I was thrown off course by having to pick an object that has little meaning for me. The objects on my desk and immediately before me all have some special meaning, so I did not know what to choose. I don’t recall actually choosing anything, I only thought about what might go through my head if I did gaze on some object for 15 minutes. Like it’s going to miraculously turn into something else before my eyes if I look at it long enough. Huh?

Step 20. “I Will Not Let Doubt and Confusion Slow My Progress” asks me to practice the same practice that I attempted the previous day. I don’t think I did as asked on this day either, I have no record of the object I picked to gaze at. Nor was I feeling doubt and confusion, since my journal entry is too flippant, implying that I have this “doubt and confusion” thing nailed.

I wrote: Doubt and confusion are natural every now and again, and I have certainly allowed them to slow my progress in the past. The trick is, however, to recognize them as precisely that – doubt and confusion – which come from somewhere else other than Knowledge. When I see this, I have the strength to go on, always certain that Knowledge is leading me precisely where I need to go.

When doubt clouds the horizon

Recently, however, doubt and confusion have been looming large and ominously in my life. This week I did Step 271 and wrote in my journal and on the Free School Forum about how I was doubting my ability to get with Knowledge. Another student responded by pointing me directly back to Step 20. I was blessed with some clarity and made aware of the empowerment that is inherent in Steps to Knowledge.

I did not give myself truly to my practice the day I did Step 20, I was not a true student, but today, as I move forward in my Steps practice, I am brought around once more to what I failed to grasp that day and given the opportunity to contemplate my doubt and confusion again. I find this ultimately encouraging.

The same student also pointed me to a passage from Wisdom from the Greater Community. Volume 2 Chapter 27: Self-Doubt

“While you have a self that you need to doubt and that you need to understand, you also have a Self that you can learn to trust—completely and wholeheartedly. This Greater Self is the source of certainty, guidance, strength, courage and Wisdom. It is what we call Knowledge. It represents the immortal part of yourself—the part of you that came into the world fully intact and fully prepared to carry out a mission in life. You carry it like a secret cargo. It is within you at this moment. You can doubt its existence. You can doubt its value. You can doubt the depth of its Wisdom and the limits of its strength, but until you know it, you will not understand what it can do or what it is for.

You are not in a position to doubt it.”

At this point, I am recalling Marshall Vian Summers’ words “never doubt what you have always known.”

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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.