Step Two Hundred and Two


Step 202. I Behold The Greater Community Today.
You can behold the greater community, for you are living in the middle of the Greater Community. Because you are on the surface of the world, preoccupied with human endeavors and limited by time and space, does not mean that you cannot behold the grandeur of the Greater Community. You may behold this by looking at the sky above and by looking at the world below. You may realize this by understanding the relationship of humanity to the universe at large and by realizing that humanity is but one more race evolving to develop its intelligence and its Knowledge so that it may find a true involvement as it emerges into the Greater Community. Looking in this way gives you a greater perspective. Looking in this way allows you to understand the nature of change in the world. Looking in this way allows you to have compassion for yourself and for other people, for compassion is born of Knowledge. Knowledge does not deprecate what is occurring but attempts to influence it for the good.

Upon the hour consider the value of today’s idea. Look out into the world and consider yourself a witness to the Greater Community. Think of your world as one of many, many worlds that are in a similar stage of evolution. Do not torment your mind by attempting to give form to that which is beyond the range of your perception. Allow yourself to live in a great and mysterious universe that you are only now beginning to understand.

In your two deeper meditations, allow yourself to apply your mind actively in considering this idea. Try to look at your life from beyond a purely human perspective, for from a purely human perspective you will see only a human life, a human world and a human universe. You do not live in a human universe. You do not live in a human world. You do not live a purely human life. Understand that your humanity here is not denied but is given a greater inclusion in a greater life. Thus, your humanity becomes a source and a means of expression rather than a limitation that you impose upon yourself. Allow your deeper practice periods to become very active. Use your mind constructively. Use your mind objectively. Look at your ideas. Don’t simply be swayed by them. Look at your beliefs. Don’t simply follow or deny them. Learn this objectivity, and you will learn to see with Knowledge, for Knowledge looks on all things mental and physical with equanimity.

Practice 202: 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.

October 12, 2013 Round One: "Knowledge does not deprecate what is occurring but attempts to influence it for the good." 

I hold onto this sentence today for it overrides all else. If everything that goes on in the world were done with this understanding, we might live in a very different world, a world of compassion and noble purpose.

Learning to be objective and not be swayed by ideas and beliefs that may or may not have a true foundation in life is very challenging, but a challenge worth rising to. Seeing without blinkers, hearing without condemnation, speaking without prejudice – these are all things I strive for today.

I accept that the Universe holds many different forms of life and intelligence, that this world is not the only world striving to evolve and find its true involvement as it emerges into the Greater Community. I accept that the universe is great and mysterious and beyond my current level of understanding. I am happy not to fathom it or give it specific form.

February 20, 2016 Round Two: Recognizing that the world is emerging into the Greater Community, that it has reached this important milestone in its evolution, does indeed give a greater perspective and makes it possible to look on the world with compassion.

I had a strange dream last night. I dreamed about the moon. There was a full moon, but it looked so very different. It looked like a new coin, like a brand new silver sixpence, or, as I thought in my dream, a one-ruble coin. It was shiny and new as though it had just come off the press. And then lined up below it were a few more “moons” in a straight row. It was a very brief dream and did not go anywhere else. But I must have woken up right after and remembered it. And in my mind flashed a memory of a similar dream I had a long time ago. Again it had something to do with the night sky and the configuration of planets, with an undercurrent of unease, as though something was amiss. I was unable to hold on to this memory and explore it further. Now as I write this and reconstruct the memory, it seems the moon fell out of the sky in that dream.

Perhaps this is totally out of whack, but it seems pertinent in the context of this Step.
January 25, 2019 Round Three: The Messenger’s Vigil began today. I decided to attend. It began at 5.00.
Again the emphasis in this Step is looking at the world from a greater perspective, looking beyond the limitations of my humanity and seeing things with compassion. Knowledge does not deprecate what is occurring, but attempts to influence it for the good. These words jumped out at me again today. I am to allow myself to live in a great and mysterious universe that I am only now beginning to understand. Let there be questions and uncertainty as today’s Vigil emphasized.

I received more confirmation of my thoughts yesterday. Marshall talked about what may seem like a great truth today, may not seem as true tomorrow. This is my experience and it is so good to know Marshall feels this way too. I am willing to live with the uncertainty and ask questions I don’t expect instant answers to. This is the way of things.

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