Step Two Hundred and Thirty-Eight

Step 238. Review

We shall begin your two-week review with this invocation:

“I am sent into the world to serve my spiritual family which serves this world and all worlds in the physical universe. I am part of a Greater Force for good, and I am a beginning student of Knowledge. I am grateful for the gift that has been given, which I am now beginning to comprehend. In complete faithfulness and devotion, I will continue my practice today so that I may appreciate the value of my own life.”

Following this invocation begin your long review. Begin with the first lesson of the two-week period, review the instructions and your practice, and then proceed on day by day. When you have completed your Review, once again repeat the invocation for today and then spend several minutes in silence. In this period of stillness begin to feel the power of what you are undertaking. The power of Knowledge and the grace that it bestows upon the world is what you will be learning to receive and to express in the days and weeks to come.

Practice 238: One long practice period.

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.

January 5, 2014 Round One: This has been an important review for me in terms of coming to a deeper understanding of what Knowledge is and how it works in the world. 

When reading back over each step in this review, I picked out the sentence(s) that summed up the gist for me. What has come into bolder relief is that Knowledge is universal and ever present, always there for each person who desires to reclaim it. And as more and more people reclaim it, the stronger it becomes in the world, each person doing his or her part to manifest Knowledge. This occurs naturally and does not have to be orchestrated artificially, the power of Knowledge emerges and arises of its own accord as people around the world tap into it.

I feel as though I have reached a new plateau in my understanding of Knowledge and what is required of me. I arm myself with this new awareness and understanding as I continue my practice this year.

"The meaning and purpose of your life will simply arise and be expressed today and tomorrow and in the days to come, for Knowledge is that simple and fundamental."

April 1, 2015 Round Two: I don’t have much to add this second time. It is interesting that the sentences in each Step that caught my attention the first time still resonate with me the second time. In nearly every Step, I picked out the same sentences this time too. Not always, but mostly.

Today I am still steeped in the aftermath of our trip to the country and speculating about what will emerge further. The thing is that I am not doing this alone, it is a joint effort with my husband, so I am dependent on him to a certain extent. For one, he is the one who moves the wheels to get us there. I cannot make specific plans, pick specific dates, it is still unclear, so I just have to go with the flow, ever confident that Knowledge will take me where I need to go.

Step 225: I will be serious and lighthearted all at once. 

“You must be very serious with yourself as you are learning now to become a vehicle for Knowledge, and you may be very happy and lighthearted that Knowledge is with you.” 

Step 226: I am with Knowledge. I will not be afraid.

“The value of today’s idea must be recognized in light of the fact that your mind is engaged with fear habitually to such a great extent that it seems to make the reclamation of Knowledge and the application of Knowledge very difficult for you.” 

Step 227: I will not think that I know today.

“In time, you will realize the distinction between the true and the false and will not be deceived by the pretense the false can make in its imitation of the true.” 

Step 228: I will not be poor today. 

“Real purpose is the great force behind ideas that are for true service, as it is the great force behind all forms of action and behavior that are for true service.”

Step 229: I will not blame another for my pain. 

“Therefore, all pain must be recognized as the result of your own decision. It must be recognized as the result of your own interpretation. You may feel that you have been wronged by another or by the world. This feeling is actually present in your mind, so it need not be denied, but you must look beyond it to its source and to the mechanism for its emergence.”

Step 230: My suffering is born of confusion.

“When you realize that you are confused, then you can claim the means to regain your certainty. If you do not accept that you are confused, you will impose substitutes for certainty upon yourself and the world and thus remove yourself from the possibility of receiving your certainty.”

Step 231: I have a calling in this world.

“You have a calling in this world because you were sent here to do something. It is for this reason that your mind is the way it is and that you have a specific nature that is distinct from others. As your calling emerges, you will realize why you think and act the way you do, and all of this will be brought into true balance and harmony.”

Step 232: My calling in life requires the development of others. 

“Because your purpose in life involves your engagement with others, it is not a singular pursuit. It is not an individual fulfillment. In reality, there is no individual who is completely separate from other individuals because individuality has meaning only in terms of expressing that which binds and joins all life.”

Step 233: I am part of a greater force for good in the world. 

“This is the greatest possibility for any idea—that it can be a doorway to Knowledge.”

Step 234: Knowledge serves humanity in all ways. 

“Knowledge demonstrates a greater life and strengthens all of the highest qualities in individuals who are engaged with it. The power of Knowledge within one individual is to activate the power of Knowledge in other individuals and thus stimulate and support the regeneration of life within minds that are living in separate fantasies.”

Step 235: The power of Knowledge is becoming evident to me. 

“Allow yourself to accept that you are only beginning to realize the presence of Knowledge in your life and in all life. This is determined by your capacity for Knowledge, which, along with your desire for Knowledge, you are now cultivating.”

Step 236: With Knowledge I will know what to do.

“With Knowledge you will know what to do, and your certainty will be so strong that it will be difficult for you to doubt it or to argue against it. Here you must be prepared to act and act boldly.”

Step 237: I am only beginning to comprehend the meaning of my life. 

“The meaning and purpose of your life will simply arise and be expressed today and tomorrow and in the days to come, for Knowledge is that simple and fundamental.”

March 3, 2019 Round Three: I am beginning this review at 7.23. It is a clear, cold, sunny morning at around minus 20 Celsius. The sun is rising.

I have been immersed in my practice over the past two weeks. I really do feel as though Steps are becoming more and more fundamentally integrated within me. I have a strong conviction that I am on the right path, going where Knowledge is leading me and has been leading me for most of my life. I see it clearly now and recognize that I am in the right place, with the right people, doing the right thing. I have no more doubts that we will build our house and the money will be there. It is all falling into place and I have released myself from all anguish and worry. Of course, as I write these words, I feel some caution, for the best-laid plans always have a way of falling down in mid-flight, but I feel we are past the point of no return. We have been working for this for so long and I can’t see how it will all fall through now. The building has begun and there is no stopping us now. So I place my faith in Knowledge and trust it will continue to guide me in all ways.

I read all the Steps again for this two-week period and my experience and practice for that day. I picked out sentences in each step that spoke to me. They are not all the same as the last times.

Step 225. Today I will be serious and lighthearted all at once.

A mind that is serious in its outward direction and lighthearted in its internal delight will be a mind that is fully integrated. This will be a mind where Heaven and Earth touch.

Step 226. Knowledge is with me. I will not be afraid.

New habits of thinking and behavior can be instilled and strengthened.

Step 227. I will not think that I know today.

But thinking you know is thinking without Knowledge, which is always mindless and engenders confusion and self-doubt.

Step 228. I will not be poor today.

It begins to balance and harmonize the mind that is its vehicle, and it begins to give specifically to certain individuals in specific ways.

Step 229. I will not blame another for my pain.

Pain is always a decision that you make in response to any stimuli in your environment.

Step 230. My suffering is born of confusion.

When you realize that you are confused, then you can claim the means to regain your certainty.

Step 231. I have a calling in this world.

It will emerge from your Knowledge once Knowledge is allowed to emerge within your mind.

Step 232. My calling in life requires the development of others.

Because your purpose in life involves your engagement with others, it is not a singular pursuit. My translation relationship with Amina.

 Step 233. I am part of a Greater Force for good in the world.

This is the greatest possibility for any idea—that it can be a doorway to Knowledge.

 Step 234. Knowledge serves humanity in all ways.

Within the world you cannot see the overall potency of this, but you can experience it within your own life and see it demonstrated within the context of the relationships with which you are now engaged.

Step 235. The power of Knowledge is becoming evident to me.

Here you are building your capacity as well as your desire, for each day you must practice because of the desire for Knowledge, and each practice develops your capability to experience Knowledge.

Step 236. With Knowledge I will know what to do.

Your certainty will be so strong that it will be difficult for you to doubt it or to argue against it. Here you must be prepared to act and act boldly.

Step 237. I am only beginning to comprehend the meaning of my life.

The meaning and purpose of your life will simply arise and be expressed today and tomorrow and in the days to come, for Knowledge is that simple and fundamental.

I read the invocation again and sat for a few minutes in stillness. I felt expansion in my head and walked through the doorway to Knowledge. I finished at 9.08 with a break for breakfast, since Sasha got up much earlier than usual at 8.15. 

I may be repeating myself, but these past two weeks have been a time of comprehension and greater clarity about the meaning of my life and my purpose here. I see how all is flowing and happening at the right time, there is an intrinsic pattern and order to my life. So all confusion and self-doubt, fear and anxiety have no place in my life. I am at peace and in harmony with myself, with Sasha and with the world around me.