Step One Hundred and Forty-Eight


Step 148. My Practice Is My Gift To God.
Your practice is your gift to God, for God wills that you receive Knowledge so that you may give it to the world. Thus, you are honored as the recipient and as the vehicle for Knowledge, God is honored as the source of Knowledge, and all who receive it will be honored as well. This is your gift now—to undertake the true preparation that you are involved in currently.

Therefore, treat each practice period today as a form of giving. Upon the hour, give yourself in each circumstance in which you find yourself. In your two deep meditation practices, give yourself completely. Do not come begging for ideas or information, but come to receive and come to give. As you give yourself, you will receive and in this you will learn the ancient law that to give is to receive. This must be born completely in your experience so that you may fully comprehend its meaning and its application in the world.

Your practice is your gift to God. Your practice is your gift to yourself. Come to your practice today to give, for in your giving you will realize the depth of your own resources.

Practice 148:
 
Two 30-minute practice periods. Hourly practice.

Here you will find the entire book free for download http://stepstoknowledge.com/

Here you will find pointers for getting started if this is your first encounter with this practice: Taking the Steps to Knowledge.

May 29, 2013 Round One: Another NM responder wrote in response to this step, "intent counts for a lot" and also pointed to Marshall’s words that "simply showing up is a huge part of practicing/meditating." I found this comforting. And went on to share that meditation does not come easy to me either in that I find it hard to go into deep meditation for any length of time. I am able to still my mind and go to a place I call my Inner Sanctuary for short amounts of time and this seems to be sufficient for me to feel my connection with Knowledge and for Steps to do their work.

The key for me is consistency, doing it every day, having the motivation to keep going on, to keep practicing, spending some time every day doing the next step, entering stillness for as long as I can, focusing my mind on Knowledge, for when I don't there is definitely something missing in my life. I am reaching the point where I can't NOT practice.


December 20, 2014 Round Two: This still rings true for me today. I am getting better at doing the 30-minute meditation practices, but still it does not come easy. Thirty minutes is still a long time for me to focus my mind, bring it into stillness, and clear it of its chattering thoughts.

However, consistency remains the name of the game. I am still called to practice my Step every day, I am motivated to continue, I am motivated to keep on keeping on, for I must. I cannot NOT practice, as I mentioned the first time I did this Step. My daily practice is an inherent part of my current life, becoming ever more deeply integrated into my being. Sometimes I still feel my connection with Knowledge is weak, sometimes I doubt that I am hearing what Knowledge is telling me, sometimes I think I am missing the cues, but I always come back to some inner “knowing” that transcends all understanding and feels innately true. Like a candle flame that may gutter occasionally in the breeze, still it does not go out, it remains burning within me.

P.S. May 27, 2018 I am revisiting this Step again as the Steps Vigil is underway. This day Volodya will be reentering my life in a bigger way than before, in an intrusive way, but I wish to take it in my stride and be giving and gracious. I wish to give to this situation in a way that I will realize the depth of my own resources.

November 26, 2018 Round Three: To give is to receive. I come to my practice today to give. Thus I am honored, Knowledge is honored and God is honored as its Source. As I give, I will realize the depth of my own resources. Indeed, I have a deep well of resources and strength, the more I give of this, the more I receive. Interesting that I should mention Volodya in my journal at the beginning of his more intrusive appearance in our lives. It has been very hard to deal with. He is an intrusion and he upsets our balance, our inner harmony. But at the moment he has gone and I have no idea when he will be back. I am only thankful for each day we have to ourselves and as we move closer to having a place of our own. Meditation - 4.40 - 5.00. I seem to surface right on the dot of 20 minutes. I am better able to sink below the surface mind and enter that ethereal space where no thoughts can intrude. It is expansive and luminous there, full of bright energy. All is well with the family. Julia came to mind and the expansion became even more intense and warm. Later I saw that an email had come in not long after that at 5.39. Seems she must have been writing it at the time I felt her. I like the space in our relationship. We have set a tentative date for December 15/16 to skype.

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