The Three Stages of Knowledge

But the realm of Knowledge is mysterious, because Knowledge represents the part of you that lives beyond your intellect, your worldly mind, which is so thoroughly conditioned by your past and by the world itself.

So this evening I’d like to talk about the three stages of engaging with Knowledge and what each stage means. And this really is a Wisdom training, because there is a way to engage with Knowledge.

There are three stages here; they’re very important to follow. If you fail to carry out one of the stages, then your experience of Knowledge will not bear fruit and the intended results will not come to pass.

So we begin with the experience of Knowledge itself, which is often a visceral experience beyond definition or a realization of such potency that it reverberates through you deeply and stands in contrast to everything else we would call a realization.

However this is experienced, one of its clues is that it doesn’t leave you. It’s as if something came from the outside into your little world, personal world—and took residence there or came up from underneath and took residence in your experience.

While other kinds of arousing experiences will fade easily, the experience of Knowledge does not fade. You can fade from it; you can try to put it out of your mind, but it’s always going to be there.

How many people I’ve heard tell me over many years, they knew something way back then and they sure should have listened to it and followed it, but alas, they did not and it made all the difference in the outcome for them: the thing they should have done; the thing they should have given up; the opportunity they should have seized; the circumstances they should have left.

What I’m going to tell you tonight can help to prevent that from ever happening. So we begin with the experience itself, which is deeply resonating, often very confusing and is fundamentally not understandable with your intellect, because it comes from beyond your intellect or anyone’s intellect—but it is a real experience.

It’s most important to capture it with a date and a place, because time and place are important here, in the coordination that brings about this kind of experience. Never commit such things to memory, for memory is far too unreliable to be really useful here.

This is a sudden recognition about the truth of your life or the truth of another or the truth of the world—either the local world or the world at large—that does not leave you and that is very different than the way you normally think, very different from your ideas; to which it stands in contrast.   

The first thing to do with this, after you have recorded it, is do not try to bring it to conclusion. This is a sign, not a conclusion. It leads to something else; it itself is not the end, but a part of a bigger process that can happen within you and around you.

Do not share it with other people, particularly those who have no appreciation for such things. Never talk about it casually or you will lose it; it will go out of view for you.

The next stage is being with it, being with this experience. It is a stage of integration.

See, the problem is most people see and know things but they never stay with what they see and they know. Either it’s too disconcerting for them to deal with, too challenging or they just want to resolve it immediately: give it a name, give it a meaning, give it a conclusion, file it away.

People who are very insecure cannot live with questions; they must have answers—but the questions are really what matter the most.

So here, in the second stage, you are going to be living with this question, with this experience, that hopefully you have allowed to exist, without trying to alter it or conclude it in any way.   

During this time of integration you can argue with it; you can challenge it; you can refuse to follow it and as you do these things, it becomes stronger and you realize this is not a normal thing that you are dealing with. This is not just another idea or something that stimulated you in the moment; it is really powerful and it’s about you.

Sometimes these experiences represent a series of experiences that you will need to have, before any action can be taken regarding them. But often, for people who are studying Steps to Knowledge, the gift of this insight is meant to lead to action, though not immediately.

Unless you are in a building on fire and need to escape—in which case, all three of these stages are collapsed—that’s exceptional, but most real-life decisions don’t happen in that way. They are initiated by insight, from a deeper place. For those who can stay with the insight, it will begin to reveal itself to them more clearly, over time.

Which leads to the third stage, which is action and action may not be immediate, even if you have spent time considering this experience you’ve had. You may have to wait before you can act.

In nineteen eighty-two, I knew a great Teaching was coming to me, but it would be another seven years before it happened. So just because you are having a strong feeling about the immanency of something, doesn’t mean it’s about to happen, because Knowledge functions outside of time; it originates from outside of time.  

So the first question here: does this require action at this time? And within you, you will begin to get a sense of whether it does or it does not. If it does not, it’s part of a larger process that involves other people and there’ll be next steps to be given to you; each one of which must go through this process or you’ll lose it.

If this requires action, then you must deal with that emotionally: what it means; what it will require; what it may cost; how you will feel if you do not follow it; how you might feel if you do; how it might change your life and the lives of others.

Unless immediate action is necessary, it is important to take time to consider these things. If action is necessary, you’ll need to create a plan and follow it.

It can be very messy; it does not mean that everything is synchronized and everything is working perfectly and the stars are aligning in your favor; in fact, it could create havoc, trouble and difficulty for you and other people involved in your life. Real change often produces these things.

Depending on the strength of this inclination, you may even question your sanity and go through a lot of doubt and be very unsure, perhaps. But what has arisen in your mind is sure. It does not leave you if you keep it in view.

Here again, people fail to act, though the message has now become clear. I see this in students of The New Message all the time, but I don’t interfere.

It takes courage to know something. It takes courage to live with questions you can’t answer and it takes courage to act upon them. This is where courage is found, by doing difficult things.

There is another element to this that I will mention briefly and that is how true learning takes place. There’s the experience of learning something new; there’s integrating that experience and there’s re-stabilizing your life around it—and again, we’re talking about learning really important things here, not just more information or temporary experiences.   

I’d like to read to you a passage from ‘Working with the Mind’ from Wisdom from the Greater Community Volume Two.

“…There’s a question of balance here. Knowledge provides its balance, because Knowledge provides new information and stimulation and then long periods of stillness.

 

“During these periods of stillness the mind is allowed time to integrate itself. Rethinking is allowed and encouraged. There is stimulation and there is time for adjustment, rethinking and re-association.

“In this way, like taking steps, the mind can grow and progress while maintaining its inner stability…

The real errors here are errors of impatience and inattentiveness. If God gives you a sign you need to stay with it and allow it to reveal itself to you over time. Your higher purpose will only be known at the end of your life, even if you are able to fulfill it.

It’s only by looking back and seeing, ‘Yes, I see all the steps now’.

So trying to grasp a final understanding of these sorts of things is futile and interferes with this whole process of learning and following The Way of Knowledge.

The really important things of your life will not be given to you all at once, but in stages. You must learn to recognize each stage, stay with it and act upon it when it becomes necessary. When this is accomplished, the next stage will be given to you.

Should you fail in any of these stages—these are big stages—then you may not reach your destination. So this is important and you have my encouragement and the Blessings of those who watch over your life, that you may follow this and learn from this, gain patience, strength and Wisdom from it, for these are qualities that you will need to bestow upon others, who will look to you in the future for strength and encouragement.

May the Blessing be with you.

Nasi Novare Coram