Chapter 26: Conflict

As revealed to God’s Messenger Marshall Vian Summers on May 14, 1993 in Boulder, CO
1993年5月14日，在科罗拉多州博尔德(Boulder, CO)，向上帝的信使马歇尔・维安・萨默斯(Marshall Vian Summers)揭示

It is a grave disappointment to many people that the world is so full of conflict. There is a general hope that when you came to the world it would be as peaceful, as wonderful and as inclusive as your Ancient Home. But what you find instead is conflict, dissension, turmoil, all manner of deception, attack, warfare, competition, alienation, estrangement and a host of other maladies experienced on an individual and collective level.

世界上充满了冲突，这让很多人感到严重失望。人们普遍希望，当你来到这个世界时，它将像你的古老家园一样和平、美好和包容。但你发现的却是冲突、分歧、动荡、各种欺骗、攻击、战争、竞争、疏远、隔阂以及在个人和集体层面经历的一系列其他弊病。

This is the world that you have come to serve. Why do you think it is supposed to be as wonderful as your Ancient Home? It can become more wonderful through your contribution, but as it stands today and as it will stand tomorrow, it is a place full of conflict. It is a place where people believe they are alone and compete with one another for any recognized satisfaction and benefit.

这就是你所服务的世界。为什么你认为它应该像你的古老家园一样美好？通过你的贡献，它可以变得更加美好，但就今天和明天的情况来看，它是一个充满冲突的地方。在这个地方，人们相信他们是孤独的，为了任何公认的满足和利益而相互竞争。

This competition for personal fulfillment occurs in relationships and on cultural and national levels as well. As nations compete to try to outdo each other or to undermine each other, peace is tenuous. Warfare can be expected sooner or later. This is the condition of the world. People are still very much in a tribal state of mind. There is no world community yet, though it is destined that humanity will have to establish one in order to survive in the centuries ahead.

这种对个人成就的竞争发生在关系中，也发生在文化和国家层面。随着国家竞争，试图超越对方或破坏对方，和平是脆弱的。战争迟早会发生。这就是世界的状况。人们在很大程度上仍然处于部落的心智状态。目前还没有一个国际社会，尽管人类注定要建立一个国际社会，以便在未来几个世纪中生存。

So, here you are in the world of conflict. You have your own conflict—your own conflicting ideas, wishes and impulses. You struggle internally to realize and exercise a greater truth despite all of the selfish and fearful motivations which prompt you to do things against your better wishes and greater well-being.

所以，你在这里处于冲突的世界中。你有你自己的冲突——你自己冲突的想法、愿望和冲动。尽管所有的自私和恐惧的动机促使你做违背你更好的愿望和更大的福祉的事情，你还是在内心挣扎着去实现和行使一个更伟大的真理。

This conflict is endemic here. It exists within each individual. It exists at the level of family, community, culture and nation. And it does not stop here, for the physical universe is also a place of conflict, though many civilizations have evolved to a point where they have been able to minimize conflict in order to stabilize their societies.

这种冲突在这里是普遍存在的。它存在于每个人的内心。它存在于家庭、社区、文化和国家层面。而且它并没有停止在这里，因为物理宇宙也是一个冲突的地方，尽管许多文明已经进化到一个地步，他们已经能够最大限度地减少冲突，以稳定其社会。

Do not think that perfection can be achieved on the physical plane, but great improvement can be, and this is the nature and purpose of your arrival here. People are unhappy because they are selfish. They think they are here only for their own personal protection and satisfaction, but that is not why they were sent to the world. Everyone was sent to the world to give something to the world so that the world could be a better place as a result of their participation. Many people never realize this and never find this in their lives, and tragedy occurs as a result. This tragedy exists everywhere.

不要认为在物理层面可以实现完美，但它可以实现巨大的改进，这就是你来到这里的性质和目的。人们不快乐是因为他们是自私的。他们认为他们在这里只是为了自己的个人保护和满足，但这不是他们被派到这个世界的原因。每个人被派到这个世界是为了给这个世界带来一些东西，使这个世界能因他们的参与而变得更好。许多人从未意识到这一点，也从未在他们的生命中发现这一点，结果悲剧就发生了。这种悲剧到处存在。

But what does this mean for you who are responding to this message? What does this mean for you who sense that there is a greater spiritual reality and purpose that is infused in life and that permeates everything you see? What does this mean for you who feel a deeper calling that takes you away from the general activities of people to seek something more mysterious and complete, more engaging and more vital? It means that you have come to serve something and that your service in the world is vital to its improvement and to your ability to find meaning, purpose and value in life.

但是，这对回应这一讯息的你意味着什么？对于感觉到有一个更大的精神现实和目的注入到生命中并渗透到你所看到的一切的你来说，这意味着什么？对于感觉到有更深层的召唤，使你远离一般人的活动，去寻求更神秘、更完整、更有吸引力、更有生命力的内识的你来说，这意味着什么呢？这意味着你是来为某些事情服务的，你在世界中的服务对世界的改善和你在生命中寻找意义、目的和价值的能力至关重要。

In a previous discourse we talked about work. Where is the work applied? It is applied in dealing with conflict primarily. Not everything that you work on is aimed at resolving conflict, for much of your activity is aimed at preserving or maintaining things of value, but even this is to avoid future conflict. For instance, you maintain your health because you do not want the conflict of illness or disability. You maintain your financial stability so that your ability to function in the world does not break down.

在之前的论述中，我们谈到了工作。工作应用在哪里？它主要应用于处理冲突。并非你所做的一切工作都是为了解决冲突，因为你的许多活动都是为了维护或保持有价值的东西，但即使是这样也是为了避免未来的冲突。例如，你保持你的健康，因为你不希望出现疾病或残疾的冲突。你保持你的财务稳定，以便你在这个世界上运作的能力不至于崩溃。

Conflict is ever present. When order breaks down, there is disorder. If disorder continues, there is chaos. With chaos comes disaster. To help maintain order, you must become orderly. To help maintain peace, you must become peaceful. All of these things are cultivated in you as you give to the world to minimize and in certain cases to eliminate conflict. As you do this, conflict within you becomes minimized and is eventually eliminated.

冲突是永远存在的。当秩序被打破时，就会出现混乱。如果无序继续下去，就会出现混乱。混乱带来了灾难。为了帮助维持秩序，你必须变得有秩序。为了帮助维持和平，你必须变得和平。所有这些事情都是在你为世界给予的过程中培养出来的，以减少并在某些情况下消除冲突。当你这样做时，你内心的冲突就会变得最小化，并最终被消除。

However, the resistance to conflict is considerable, and the prescription that I have just mentioned is not easily put into practice because there is more conflict than you can possibly face at any one time. So, where do you dedicate your energy? How do you approach conflict? How do you work towards resolution? What is the resolution? And how do you maintain the resolution in such a way that conflict can be minimized in the future? How do you deal with conflict that is beyond your control, such as natural calamities, cultural wars or great strife? How do you face this, and what is your responsibility here?

然而，冲突的阻力是相当大的，我刚才提到的处方不容易付诸实践，因为冲突多到你在任何时候都不可能面对。那么，你把能量放在哪里？你如何对待冲突？你如何努力去解决？决议是什么？以及你如何保持这种解决方式，以使冲突在未来能够被最小化？你如何处理你无法控制的冲突，如自然灾害、文化战争或巨大的纷争？你如何面对，你在这里的责任是什么？

All of these questions are important. The response to them exists within a secret intelligence that lives within you, which we call Knowledge. Knowledge knows how to respond to situations in the moment, so you do not have to have definitions and guidelines for yourself regarding everything in the world. But Knowledge requires your participation and activity. In order for you to experience Knowledge, the Greater Mind within you, to follow its expression and to apply its Wisdom, you must become responsive to it and not try to use it, limit it or manipulate it for your own personal gains. You bring your conflict to Knowledge by learning to establish your relationship with Knowledge, but Knowledge itself is not in conflict.

所有这些问题都很重要。对它们的回应存在于住在你体内的秘密智能中，我们称之为内识。内识知道如何应对当下的情况，所以你不必对世界上的一切为自己制定定义和准则。但是内识需要你的参与和活动。为了让你经历到内识，即你体内的更大心智，跟随它的表达，应用它的智慧，你必须对它做出回应，而不是试图利用它、限制它或操纵它来获得个人利益。你通过学习建立你与内识的关系，把你的冲突带到了内识，但内识本身并不冲突。

At the beginning in the reclamation of Knowledge, students always want to use Knowledge to get more of what they want. Part of what they want is to avoid conflict. Yet much of the conflict that they are trying to avoid represents things that they must learn to face. Some of the conflict they want to face they do not need to face, so it all becomes very confusing. If you have conflicting motives and you come into proximity to Knowledge, which is wholehearted, single minded and has one purpose and direction, how can you interact with it? Well, what happens is that Knowledge remains silent until you are ready. Even if you seek it honestly, Knowledge will wait until you become aware of some of your conflicts and irregularities. That will provide an opening for Knowledge to emerge within you. If you try to simply take Knowledge and say, “Well, I’m going to get more of everything for myself and everyone else with Knowledge,” Knowledge will remain silent, and you will not be able to use it.

在开垦内识的初期，学生总是想利用内识来获得更多他们想要的东西。他们想要的一部分是避免冲突。然而，他们试图避免的大部分冲突代表了他们必须学会面对的事情。有些他们想要面对的冲突他们并不需要面对，所以这一切变得非常混乱。如果你有冲突的动机，而你接近内识，它是全心全意的，一心一意的，有一个目的和方向，你怎么能与它互动？好吧，发生的情况是，内识保持沉默，直到你准备好。即使你诚实地寻求它，内识也会等待，直到你意识到你的一些冲突和违规行为。这将为内识在你内在出现提供一个开口。如果你试图简单地接受内识，并说：”好吧，我要用内识为自己和其他人获得更多的东西”，内识将保持沉默，你将无法使用它。

You see, Knowledge is more intelligent than you are. It is more complete. That is not to say it is different from you, for it represents the essential part of you and your life here. But the personal part of you, which is deeply conflicted, must be brought into focus. You must become aware of it and must make certain corrections in it in order for you to gain access to Knowledge.

你看，内识比你更聪明。它更完整。这并不是说它与你不同，因为它代表你和你在这里的生命的关键部分。但是，你的个人部分，也就是深受冲突的部分，必须被带入焦点。你必须意识到它，必须对它进行某些修正，以便你能获得内识。

Now, many people think that they must correct conflict within themselves before they can do anything to resolve conflict in the world, but this is not correct. Other people think that conflict within themselves is not important and that they only need to deal with conflict in the world. This too is not correct. The truth is that you must work in both arenas, and here your work in resolving conflict will require a great amount of time, energy and attention.

现在，许多人认为他们必须先纠正自己内心的冲突，然后才能做任何事来解决世界上的冲突，但这是不正确的。另一些人认为，自己内部的冲突并不重要，他们只需要处理世界上的冲突。这也是不正确的。事实是，你必须在这两个领域工作，在这里你解决冲突的工作需要大量的时间、能量和注意力。

The Way of Knowledge is very complete. It does not give you the freedom to escape or to avoid things which are essential for you to resolve. At the beginning, many students become very frustrated with their preparation in Steps to Knowledge because they are trying to do something with it. They want the results now. Here they want the curriculum and the preparation to become as conflicted and as driven as they are. But in truth, the preparation is silent and certain. It will wait until you become more silent and certain. You must learn to go at its pace. It does not go at your pace.

内识之路是非常完整的。它不给你逃避的自由，也不给你回避的自由，这些都是你必须要解决的问题。在开始时，许多学生对他们在内识之路中的准备工作感到非常沮丧，因为他们试图用内识来做一些事情。他们现在想得到结果。在这里，他们希望课程和准备工作变得和他们一样有冲突，一样有动力。但事实上，准备工作是沉默的、确定的。它将等待，直到你变得更加沉默和确定。你必须学会按照它的步伐前进。它不会按照你的步伐前进。

Knowledge will continue to be latent within you until you begin to understand its nature and adjust yourself to it. It is here to lead you and to guide you, to prepare you and to enable you to do all the things you are meant to do in the world. How can it follow you in this case? Must you not learn to follow it? It is the leader. But even to follow it, you must learn what it is, and you must learn what your responsibilities are and how they can be applied, where they need to be applied, and so forth. You cannot relegate your own responsibilities to Knowledge, for Knowledge will require you to claim them and to apply them in a manner that is far more complete than anything you have ever done before. Here you become stronger with Knowledge and not weaker. You become a leader and not simply a follower.

内识将继续潜伏在你体内，直到你开始理解它的性质并调整自己适应它。它在这里引领你，指导你，为你做准备，使你能够做你在这个世界上要做的所有事情。在这种情况下，它怎么能跟随你呢？你难道不能学会跟随它吗？它是领导者。但即使是跟随它，你也必须学习它是什么，你必须学习你的责任是什么，以及如何应用它们，在哪里需要应用，等等。你不能把自己的责任推给内识，因为内识将要求你要求它们，并以一种比你以前所做的任何事情都要完整的方式来应用它们。在这里，你因内识而变得更强大，而不是更弱小。你会成为一个领导者，而不仅仅是一个追随者。

Knowledge is here in the world to resolve conflict. It knows what to do. You live in a world of conflict, and this influences and affects you greatly. Without Knowledge, there would be no escape. There would be no other possibility.

内识在这个世界上是用来解决冲突的。它知道该怎么做。你生活在一个充满冲突的世界里，这对你影响很大。没有内识，就无法逃脱。就没有其他的可能性了。

People respond to conflict in different ways. Some people try to resolve conflict, but they do so without Knowledge, so their actions are fearful, erratic and often unproductive. Many people try to avoid conflict altogether and try to live in a peaceful, spiritual state of mind, but conflict is bombarding them at all times. Some people think that if they just change their thoughts, there would be no more conflict. “I will just not see the conflict. I will turn the conflict into something good. I shall make everything good, and then I will not have to feel the pain and the responsibility which is mine to feel.” Some people retreat from life altogether. Many people retreat from themselves altogether and replace self-awareness with a host of other preoccupations.

人们以不同的方式应对冲突。有些人试图解决冲突，但他们在没有内识的情况下这样做，所以他们的行动是恐惧的、不稳定的，而且往往是没有结果的。许多人试图完全避免冲突，并试图生活在和平的精神心智状态中，但冲突随时都在轰炸着他们。有些人认为，如果他们只是改变自己的想法，就不会有冲突了。”我就不看冲突了。我将把冲突变成好的东西。我将使一切变得美好，然后我将不必感受到痛苦和责任，这是我应该感受到的。”有些人完全从生活中退缩。许多人完全从自己身上退却，用一系列其他的心事来取代自我意识。

Your society, with all of its pleasures and wonderful reprieves, offers a myriad of escapes from conflict. If you look about, you can see how varied and how intense this escape is. If you look at yourself, you will see your own forms of escape.

你们的社会，以其所有的快乐和美妙的慰藉，提供了无数逃避冲突的方法。如果你环顾四周，你可以看到这种逃避的方式是多么多样，多么强烈。如果你看一下你自己，你会看到你自己的逃避形式。

You were sent here to work, to give and to help resolve conflict. You were not sent to the world to work on yourself. You were sent to the world to work on the world and to work in the world. You work on yourself as you go along. The only work you need to do on yourself is to make adjustments along the way so that you can participate in life and maintain an open mind, freedom from judgment and adherence to Knowledge in yourself and in others. That will provide all of the personal growth you can ever imagine. In fact, that challenge exceeds what most people are even capable of at this moment. You will feel meaningful as you do something meaningful. You will feel valuable as you do something valuable. Do not deny this. It is natural. You have come to work. You are at work. You have come to help things out here. You have come from a better place, and you will return to a better place. But while you are here, this is a place to work. The world is like a hospital. There is a great deal of sickness and difficulty here. It is not a beach or a holiday resort. It is not a vacation land. It is the place where work needs to be done.

你被派到这里来工作，给予和帮助解决冲突。你不是被派到这个世界来为自己工作的。你被派到这个世界来为这个世界工作，并在这个世界上工作。你在前进的过程中对自己进行工作。你需要对自己做的唯一工作是沿途进行调整，以便你能参与到生命中，并保持开放的心态，不做判断，坚持对自己和他人的内识。这将提供你所能想象的所有个人成长。事实上，这种挑战甚至超过了大多数人此刻的能力。当你做有意义的事情时，你会感到有意义。当你做有价值的事情时，你会感到有价值。不要否认这一点。这是很自然的。你已经来工作了。你是在工作。你是来帮助这个世界的。你从一个更好的地方来，你将回到一个更好的地方。但当你在这里时，这里是一个工作的地方。这个世界就像一所医院。这里有大量的疾病和困难。它不是一个海滩或度假胜地。它不是一个度假地。它是需要做工作的地方。

So, finding your work is essential. You cannot define your work in terms of what you want. You must define it within the context of the world. You will never find your work based only on what you want. You need to give something the world needs, and you must listen to the world to find out what that need is. People who only give what they want to give are still lost in what they want and cannot go beyond their shifting desires. They will remain in their personal hell as life goes on around them.

因此，找到你的工作是至关重要的。你不能用你想要的东西来定义你的工作。你必须在这个世界的背景下定义它。你永远不会只根据你想要什么来找到你的工作。你需要提供世界需要的东西，你必须倾听世界的声音，以找出这种需要是什么。只给自己想给东西的人，仍然迷失在自己想要的东西中，不能超越自己转移的欲望。当周围的生活继续进行时，他们将停留在他们个人的地狱里。

You have Knowledge. It is living within you. You cannot use it for selfish purposes, but you can open yourself to its grace and its power. Then gradually, step by step, it will help you overcome and control the conflict within yourself and will lead you into activities which serve others in vital ways, in ways that are in keeping with your nature and your design. Steps to Knowledge will teach you about your nature and your design if you stay with it and if you follow it faithfully. This takes you beyond conflict to see a greater possibility in life. This takes you beyond your wishes to the realm of what you know. This frees you from the endless conflict and internal debate about what you want and don’t want in life, and it engages you in your work completely.

你有内识。它活在你的内心。你不能为自私的目的使用它，但你可以向它的恩典和力量开放自己。然后逐渐地，一步一步地，它将帮助你克服和控制自己内心的冲突，并将引导你进入以重要方式服务他人的活动，以符合你本性和设计的方式。如果你坚持下去，如果你忠实地遵循它，《内识的阶梯》将教会你关于你的本性和你的设计。这将使你超越冲突，看到生命中更大的可能性。这将带你超越你的愿望，进入你所知道的境界。这使你从无休止的冲突和关于你在生命中想要什么和不想要什么的内部辩论中解脱出来，并使你完全投入到你的工作中。

Why complain that the world is in conflict when this very conflict gives meaning and purpose to your life? Why complain that things are not better? Be aware that things are not better, but see what you can do about it. Idleness and boredom are a sign that people are not valuing their lives or responding to their environment. Please understand, you are not in the world for self-realization. You are in the world to help the world and to help your race. Self-realization is a by-product of giving something of meaning to the world.

当这种冲突给你的生命带来意义和目的时，为什么要抱怨世界处于冲突之中？为什么要抱怨世界没有好转？要意识到世界没有好转，但要看看你能做些什么。闲散和无聊是人们不重视自己的生命或对环境作出反应的一个标志。请理解，你在这个世界上不是为了自我实现。你在这个世界上是为了帮助世界，帮助你的种族。自我实现是为世界提供一些有意义的东西的副产品。

If you study the lives of people who have made important contributions, you will see that they have many important things in common. Even though they suffered personal conflicts, difficulties and tribulation in the world to a certain extent, they were freed from much of the grave and debilitating anxieties which afflict most people.

如果你研究那些做出重要贡献的人的生活，你会发现他们有许多重要的共同点。即使他们在一定程度上遭受了个人的冲突、困难和世界上的磨难，但他们摆脱了困扰大多数人的许多严重和衰弱的焦虑。

Now, your contribution to the world does not need to be grand or magnificent. In fact, except in very rare cases, it will go unheralded. You work quietly behind the scenes, doing something good for the world so that you can leave a legacy behind. To do this, you must be very patient and be very tolerant of the world. You must accept its conflict, not as an irreversible condition, but as a present reality. To begin to resolve conflict, the first step is awareness and acceptance. Until this occurs, there is nowhere to go. There is nothing to improve. Many people are not even at this starting point. They have great difficulty accepting the conflict within their own lives and their immediate circumstances. Tell the truth about this. Do not embellish it. Do not diminish it. Simply tell the truth about it. If things are not right, they are not right. If things do not work, they do not work. If people are not productive, they are not productive. If people do not get along, they do not get along. If you are not at peace, you are not at peace. That has to be your starting point.

现在，你对世界的贡献不需要是宏大或壮丽的。事实上，除了在非常罕见的情况下，它将不被宣扬。你在幕后默默地工作，为世界做一些好事，这样你就能留下一笔遗产。要做到这一点，你必须非常有耐心，对这个世界非常宽容。你必须接受它的冲突，不是作为一个不可逆转的条件，而是作为一个当前的现实。要开始解决冲突，第一步是意识和接受。在这一点发生之前，无处可去。没有什么可以改善。许多人甚至不在这个起点上。他们很难接受自己生活中的冲突和自己眼前的环境。对此说出真相。不要美化它，也不要贬低它。只是简单地说出真相。如果事情不对劲，那就是不对劲。如果事情行不通，那就是行不通。如果人们没有生产力，那就是没有生产力。如果人们不能和睦相处，那就是不能和睦相处。如果你不安宁，你就是不安宁。这必须是你的出发点。

In order for you to find your work, there must be a need. The world provides a sufficient set of compelling needs. There must be a genuine and compelling need to do greater work. It must be a need that transcends your personal wishes and anxieties, for these are not strong enough to generate devoted action, nor are they wholehearted. The person who is doing something only for himself or herself will be changeable and inconsistent. Dedication will not be possible. Certainty will not be possible. Knowledge will not be possible.

为了让你找到你的工作，必须有一个需求。这个世界提供了足够多的令人信服的需求。必须有一个真正的、令人信服的需求来做更大的工作。它必须是一种超越你个人愿望和焦虑的需求，因为这些愿望和焦虑不足以产生专门的行动，也不是全心全意的。只为自己做事的人将是多变的、不一致的。奉献将是不可能的。确定性将是不可能的。内识是不可能的。

It is accurate to say that humanity has advanced through the efforts of a very small percentage of the population. This percentage must grow for humanity to be able to meet the great and global challenges that face humanity—problems that have been created here and problems in the Greater Community as well. Even the Greater Community is a place of conflict. There is no escaping conflict. You are here to work on conflict. Conflict provides the need and the impetus to work. Now, if you are paying attention to what I am telling you, you will begin to wonder how people can sit around asking themselves, “What is my purpose in life? I don’t know what to do. What do I really want to do with my life?” Can you begin to see the problem here? The problem is that people are not responsive to the inner need or to the outer need. They feel a loss and they are wondering about it, but they are not responding to the very things that can lead them to a path of resolution.

准确地说，人类是通过极小部分人的努力而取得进步的。这个百分比必须增加，以便人类能够应对人类面临的巨大挑战和全球性的挑战——在这里产生的问题和大社区的问题。即使是大社区也是一个充满冲突的地方。冲突是无法逃避的。你在这里是为了解决冲突。冲突提供了工作的需要和推动力。现在，如果你注意听我说的话，你会开始想，人们怎么能坐在那里问自己：”我的人生目标是什么？我不知道要做什么。我这一生真正想做的是什么？”你能开始看到这里的问题吗？问题是人们没有对内在需求或外在需求作出回应。他们感觉到了损失，他们在想这个问题，但他们没有对能够引导他们走向解决之道的事情做出反应。

To end separation in your own thinking, you must rejoin life in meaningful activities. To have real relationships with others, you must join them in meaningful activities. You must do something good for the world—together. That will do something good for you and for your relationships.

为了结束你自己思维中的分离，你必须在有意义的活动中重新加入生活。要与他人建立真正的关系，你必须与他们一起参与有意义的活动。你必须为世界做一些有益的事情——共同行动。这将对你自己和你的关系产生积极的影响。

Now, the question arises, “Well, there is so much conflict and so many problems, where do I apply myself?” It is important here not to seek the ultimate answer but to get involved. Find something that you can do in your local community to help people and to help restore nature, something you can give yourself to. Here you are beginning to participate rather than sitting on the sidelines of life wondering and pondering while the world calls to you and you do not answer. It says, “We need your help! We need your help!” You have to find that calling and find where it is coming from and where to apply yourself.

现在，问题出现了，”嗯，有这么多的冲突和这么多的问题，我应该在哪里应用自己？”这里重要的不是寻求最终的答案，而是参与其中。找到一些你在当地社区可以做的事情，帮助人们，帮助恢复自然，一些你可以给予自己的事情。在这里，你开始参与，而不是坐在生命的边上疑惑和思索，而世界在呼唤你，你却不回应。它说：”我们需要你的帮助!我们需要你的帮助！”你必须找到这种召唤，并找到它的来源和应用自己的地方。

Do not wait until conflict in the world becomes so great that everyone is reduced to desperation. Yes, this will engender action, but it may be too late. Why wait until your financial condition is so deteriorated that it takes all of your time and energy to repair it? You do not need to wait that long. You can respond now. You can respond to your needs and others’ needs now. Your primary needs in life are to have sufficient resources and time available in order to give yourself in service to the world. For that, you may need a little money or a lot of money, depending on what your role is. For that you may need a little time or a lot of time, depending on your role. Your role will evolve as you participate. It cannot simply be known by you at the outset.

不要等到世界上的冲突变得如此之大，以至于每个人都陷入了绝望之中。是的，这将产生行动，但可能为时已晚。为什么要等到你的财务状况如此恶化，以至于需要你所有的时间和精力来修复它？你不需要等那么久。你现在就可以做出反应。你现在就可以对自己和他人的需要作出回应。你在生命中的主要需求是拥有足够的资源和时间，以便为世界服务而给予自己。为此，你可能需要一点钱或很多钱，取决于你的角色是什么。为此，你可能需要一点时间或大量的时间，这取决于你的角色。你的角色将随着你的参与而发展。它不可能在一开始就被你知道。

Donate part of your time now, beyond your job and relationships, to do something important in the world. You will feel drawn to certain things. Follow that. As you stay with your Steps to Knowledge preparation, your sense of purpose, the thing that is driving you forward, will become stronger and stronger. And as it becomes stronger, you will be able to perceive it, feel it and interpret it more correctly. Escape the dilemma of trying to have, do and be what you want. There is no hope there. People are lost when they devote themselves to that. You are not here for you. You have been sent to the world by your Spiritual Family to serve the world in specific ways with specific people. To find those ways, you must start giving now. This will lead you through a series of involvements, each focused on contribution. Through this, you will find that involvement which is most significant for you and where your talents, nature and design can be most fully employed in service to the world.

现在捐出你的部分时间，在你的工作和关系之外，在这个世界上做一些重要的事情。你会感到被某些事情所吸引。遵循这一点。当你坚持准备内识的步骤时，你的目的感，也就是推动你前进的东西，会变得越来越强。随着它变得更强，你将能够感知它，感受它，并更正确地解释它。摆脱试图拥有、做和成为你想要的东西的窘境。那里没有希望。当人们投身于此时，他们就会迷失。你在这里不是为了你自己。你已经被你的精神家庭派到这个世界上，以特定的方式与特定的人一起服务这个世界。为了找到这些方式，你必须现在就开始给予。这将引导你通过一系列的参与，每一个都专注于贡献。通过这一点，你将找到对你最有意义的参与，以及你的才能、天性和设计可以最充分地用于服务世界的地方。

Now, being in service to the world does not mean that you are doing something for everyone. Maybe you will be helping an older person who lives next door. Maybe you are participating in enhancing the beauty of your community or in assisting people who are having difficulty. This is all serving the world. Do not be grandiose. Do not think you have to do something that affects everyone. Do something that affects one person, two people, or three, or five or ten or fifty or a hundred. Certain people are designed to help one person. Certain people are designed to help ten people. Certain people are designed to help ten thousand people. This is all serving the world.

现在，为世界服务并不意味着你在为每个人做什么。也许你会帮助住在隔壁的一位老人。也许你正在参与提升你的社区的美感或协助有困难的人。这都是在为世界服务。不要好高骛远。不要认为你必须做一些影响到所有人的事情。做一些影响到一个人、两个人、三个人、五个人、十个人、五十个人或一百个人的事情。某些人是为了帮助一个人。某些人被设计来帮助十个人。某些人被设计来帮助一万个人。这都是为世界服务的。

The world will be good or bad depending on how much is given here. The future will be good or bad depending on what people give today. Your life is good now to the extent that others have given in the past. Your children and their children will benefit from what you give today. You will go home to a wonderful life when you leave this world, with your job done or undone. And you will feel good or not good about your participation here based on what you were able to contribute, for what else can you take with you beyond this world?

世界将是好的或坏的，取决于在这里给予的多少。未来将是好的或坏的，取决于人们今天的给予。你现在的生活是好的，取决于他人在过去的给予的程度。你的孩子和他们的孩子将从你今天的给予中受益。当你离开这个世界时，你会回家过着美好的生活，你的工作已经完成或未完成。而你会根据你能够贡献的东西，对你在这里的参与感到满意或不满意，因为你还能带着什么离开这个世界？

Giving brings you out of isolation. It provides a means of escape from many of your own personal dilemmas. This is not to say that you must work all the time, for you will need time for retreat and re-evaluation. But work will constitute most of your activity. The more this work can be of service, the more value and meaning it can give to others. As Knowledge becomes stronger in you, you will find those specific engagements that are needed. But first you must start somewhere. In learning a musical instrument, you do not simply walk out onto the concert stage and tell yourself, “Yes, I have arrived!” You have to go through many stages of development. You start out having great difficulty in learning. If you quit, you do not proceed. If you proceed, you advance. As you advance, you become more proficient and more well defined in your activity.

给予使你摆脱了孤立状态。它提供了一种逃离你自己许多个人困境的手段。这并不是说你必须一直工作，因为你将需要时间撤退和重新评估。但工作将构成你大部分的活动。这项工作越是能提供服务，就越能给他人带来价值和意义。随着内识在你身上变得更加强大，你会找到那些需要的具体工作。但首先你必须从某个地方开始。在学习乐器的过程中，你不是简单地走到音乐会的舞台上，告诉自己，”是的，我已经到了！”你必须经历许多发展阶段。你一开始在学习上有很大的困难。如果你放弃，你就不能继续。如果你继续，你就会进步。随着你的进步，你在活动中变得更加熟练，更加明确。

The value of conflict is that it calls to you to do something. The value of conflict within yourself is that it tells you that you must do something. The value of doing something is that you realize your value. Value must be earned in the world. This is true. Meaning must be earned. When you go home to your Spiritual Family, you will have all of the value and meaning you could possibly want, but while you are here you are on assignment to work and to bond with others in work. Therefore, work is the nature of fulfillment in the world. By work we do not simply mean going to a job every day, for there are things you must work on in your own life, as we have mentioned before, to resolve conflict and minimize the effects of conflict. They will make the world more free of conflict.

冲突的价值在于它呼唤你去做一些事情。自己内部冲突的价值在于它告诉你，你必须做一些事情。做事的价值在于你实现了自己的价值。价值必须在这个世界上赢得。这是真的。意义必须被赢得。当你回到你的精神家庭时，你将拥有你可能想要的所有价值和意义，但当你在这里时，你的任务是工作，在工作中与他人结合。因此，工作是在这个世界上实现的本质。我们所说的工作并不是简单地指每天去工作，因为有些事情你必须在自己的生活中努力，正如我们之前提到的，解决冲突并尽量减少冲突的影响。它们将使世界更加没有冲突。

Perhaps you think that your contribution could not possibly make a difference, but I assure you that it will make a difference because all that you give will continue to be given by those who receive your gift, and your gifts will continue to resonate through minds everywhere in the mental environment. Who are you to say where the limits of this exist? Every time Knowledge is strengthened in one person, it is strengthened in everyone. Every time a great act is done selflessly, it strengthens the possibility of good for everyone—even for those people who have no idea what has occurred.

也许你认为你的贡献不可能带来改变，但我向你保证，它将带来改变，因为你所给予的一切将继续由那些接受你的礼物的人给予，而你的礼物将继续通过心理环境中的各个地方的心灵产生共鸣。你有什么资格说这的极限存在于哪里？每当内识在一个人身上得到加强，它就会在所有人身上得到加强。每当一个伟大的行为被无私地完成时，它都会加强对每个人有利的可能性——即使对那些不知道发生了什么的人。

In the mental environment, there are great forces of influence. There are forces of confirmation and there are forces of dissonance. If you contribute to the forces of confirmation, they become stronger. Here you affect the mental environment, both in your immediate circumstances and throughout the world. This is how important this is, and this is why we emphasize the reality of conflict and the importance of contribution. We emphasize this because this is the means for resolution, fulfillment and value in the world. This confirms the world and this confirms you. And this takes away all justification for error, failure or neglect.

在心理环境中，存在着巨大的影响力量。有确认的力量，也有不协调的力量。如果你对确认的力量有所贡献，它们就会变得更加强大。在这里，你影响了心理环境，无论是在你眼前的环境还是在整个世界。这就是它的重要性，这就是为什么我们强调冲突的现实和贡献的重要性。我们强调这一点是因为这是解决、满足和在世界中的价值的手段。这证实了世界，这证实了你。而这也消除了所有错误、失败或忽视的理由。

By doing something bigger in the world, you become bigger. By doing less in the world, you become less. If you minimize conflict in the world and in yourself, conflict is minimized. If you avoid conflict in yourself and in the world, conflict grows. This can be easily seen, but it is a great challenge to apply. This will require courage, perseverance, rededication and the presence of Knowledge to prompt you onward.

通过在世界上做更大的事情，你会变得更伟大。通过在世界上做较少的事情，你会变得较小。如果你在世界上和自身内部减少冲突，冲突就会减少。如果你在自身和世界上回避冲突，冲突就会增长。这一点很容易看出，但应用起来是一个巨大的挑战。这需要勇气、毅力、重新投入，以及内识的存在来推动你前进。