Step One Hundred and Thirteen

Step 113. I Will Not Be Persuaded By Others.

Any mind that is more resolved than yours can persuade you and cast an influence upon you. There is nothing very mysterious about this. It is simply the result of one mind being more concentrated or focused than another. Minds have relative degrees of influence upon one another, depending upon their concentration and depending upon the kind of influence they exert. Let Knowledge persuade you, for that is the greatness that you carry. Let not the opinions or will of others persuade you. Let only their Knowledge influence you, for only this can influence your Knowledge. This will be quite different from feeling dominated, manipulated or persuaded by others.

Therefore, keep to yourself. Follow Knowledge. If another stimulates your Knowledge, then give that individual your attention so that you may learn of the true powers of persuasion. Yet, let not the persuasions of this world—its grievances, its cherished ideals, its morality, its demands or its compromises—influence you, for you are following Knowledge, and you need not follow the persuasions of the world.

Remind yourself of today’s idea upon the hour and practice stillness deeply in your two meditation practices today. Allow only Knowledge to persuade you, for this is all that you need to follow in the world.

Practice 113: 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.

April 10, 2013 Round One: This is an important Step for me since I tend to allow myself to be influenced by what other people say and by other people’s opinions, and consequently doubt myself. I want to be able to distinguish between the influence Knowledge is having on me and the influence exerted on me from worldly sources and be able to distinguish between what is true and what is false. My experience has been, however, that even though I may be initially misguided by the persuasions of the world, when I address Knowledge and allow it to manifest within me, I am inevitably led back to the true path.

November 13, 2014 Round Two: I have made definite progress since the last time I did this Step. I am definitely less persuaded by others. I feel more grounded with a deeper sense of myself and my own truth. I am better at recognizing Knowledge in others and allowing only this to influence me. I cannot say this happens all the time, but in general and on the whole I am beginning to distinguish between the true and the false. I am recognizing what comes from Knowledge and not allowing the opinions or will of others to influence me and persuade me to think or act in a way that goes against my grain.

I entered deeply into stillness today and it felt very potent.

October 22, 2018 Round Three: There are still areas I am weak in. I continue to allow Sasha to influence and persuade me with his negativity. I allow him to pull me in. It happens all the time, before I can reel back to the real. I don’t feel I am persuaded by other people who are not as close to me, but whom I respect and trust. Others have an opinion about my situation in the village, thinking we will have to go back to Moscow at some point. I do not feel this is true and am not allowing myself to be persuaded by their opinion. I have a deeper sense of the situation and what Knowledge is telling me. Knowledge is silent about Moscow. Knowledge is strong about staying here. I will keep a clear vision and always be guided by Knowledge.

I read a lot more of “Keepers of the Garden” yesterday. Fascinating. I am a star person, from another planet, here to assist humanity at this time. The guy who regressed to past lives on other planets talked about energy beings who live in complete harmony and peace with each other. They are at a much higher level of spiritual development. This is maybe why I do not understand human greed, violence, power-mongering, hatred, jealousy and why people cannot respect each other and share. Is it because I have experienced a different way of being, I know it is possible to live in harmony and have no conflict or violence? Humanity is in a poor state. If I can do my part to raise its vibration, I must surely try.