Step One Hundred and Ten


Step 110. I Will Be Honest With Myself Today.

Today I will be perfectly honest, recognizing what I actually know and what I only believe or hope for. I will not pretend I know things I do not know. I will not pretend I am richer than I am or poorer than I am. I will try to be exactly where I am today.

Try to be exactly where you are today. Be simple. Be at ease. Observe the world around you. Carry out your worldly tasks. Do not exalt yourself. Do not demean yourself. This day allow everything to function as it actually does, without attempting to govern or manipulate yourself. The only exception to this is to utilize your self-discipline so that you may carry out your practices for this day.

In your two longer practice periods, repeat the affirmation for today and enter into stillness. Here you must exert the power of your mind. Here you are not attempting anything that is deceptive or anything that is unreal. You are allowing your mind to enter into its natural state, into a state of peace.

Practice 110: 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 6, 2013 Round One: I understand that honesty as presented by the New Message and the Steps is different from what I have understood honesty to mean up to this point. In the past, I have associated honesty with “to thine own self be true” and have carried the words of an anonymous poet close to my heart in this respect.

"You may fool the whole world down the pathway of Years. And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears, if you've cheated the Gal in the Glass."

This may be all well and good and perhaps it is an acceptable starting point, however, after reading about Honesty as it is presented in Wisdom from the Greater Community-Volume II-Chapter 9, I see that I must come to a new understanding of honesty and this requires a deeper engagement with Knowledge.

It says in Chapter 9:
"Want what you know. Know what you want. Honesty does not require that you say everything that you feel. It just requires that you not alter or deny the facts of the matter or alter or deny your real experience of things. It will often ask you to withhold your conclusions and to hold back your speech until a greater understanding can be acquired."
So honesty is indeed a state of inner being and calls for discretion and discernment, and perhaps the anonymous quote I am so partial to is not so far from the truth after all.

November 10, 2013 Round Two: I am understanding today that being honest with myself means not thinking I know more than I actually do. However, I will not think that I know less than I do either. I just need to be where I am. I need to be aware that things may not be the way I think they are. I am being honest with myself when I leave room for doubt, confusion, and “not knowing.” I can only know what I know--no more, no less. But what do I know? What do I really know? I don’t know.

A song by Chris Rea came to mind as I practiced today. I am a Chris Rea fan, so I will share the song.



I am being honest with myself when I am skeptical. I am happy not to know, but to allow the mystery to unfold. I am being honest with myself when I realize I have come some of the way, but not all of the way. There is still much to learn and unlearn.
October 19, 2018 Round Three: Today I am asked to be simple and at ease, allow my mind to settle into its natural state, a state of peace with no deception or imagery. I understand that I am to be discerning and discreet, not always speak what I feel if it is inappropriate, but be aware of my experience and feelings on the inside. I am not to convince myself things are different from they really are. I am to see and understand the actual state of things and then speak if necessary. Today I will be quiet again, enjoying my solitude.

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