Chapter 33: Perseverance

As revealed to God’s Messenger Marshall Vian Summers on May 25, 1993 in Boulder, CO
1993年5月25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

Perseverance is a very important ability, but like all important abilities it must have its right application, and it must be understood within a larger scheme of things—a larger context. Take even the most virtuous ability, set it apart from an important purpose, and it turns into an aberrant form of behavior, a problem to be solved, a liability rather than an asset.

毅力是一种非常重要的能力，但像所有重要的能力一样，它必须有正确的应用，而且必须在一个更大的计划——更大的背景下理解它。即使是最有德行的能力，如果把它与重要的目的分开，它就会变成一种反常的行为形式，成为需要解决的问题，成为一种负担而不是一种资产。

The Greater Community Way of Knowledge takes many years to learn. This requires perseverance. It requires that you stay with it and practice it as it is given. It requires that you continue to move through the stages of development both internally and externally so that a Greater Community perspective may be fostered within you. This represents a greater viewpoint of life and a greater recognition of your abilities and application in the world around you. But if you alter the curriculum, you will not learn. If you do not stay with it, you will not learn.

大社区的内识方式需要多年的时间来学习。这需要坚持不懈的努力。它要求你坚持下去，照着它的要求去实践。它要求你继续在内部和外部的发展阶段中前进，以便在你内在培养出大社区的观点。这代表了更大的人生观，以及对你的能力和在你周围世界的应用的更大认可。但是，如果你改变了课程，你将无法学习。如果你不坚持下去，你也不会学到。

It is very important in The Way of Knowledge that you carry on and finish what you have started. If you go too far and then quit, it becomes very difficult. It is like following a small footbridge across a great chasm in the earth. If you are going to start, then be determined to reach the other side. Don’t go halfway or three-quarters of the way and say, “I think I have had enough!” You must keep going. This requires perseverance.

在内识之路中，非常重要的一点是，你要坚持下去，完成你已经开始的事情。如果你走得太远，然后放弃，就会变得非常困难。这就像沿着一座小桥走过地球上的巨大鸿沟。如果你要开始，那么要下决心到达另一边。不要走到一半或四分之三的路程就说：”我想我已经受够了！” 你必须继续前进。这需要毅力。

You will reach several thresholds where you will want to quit. You will have some discouraging moments. You will have some empty moments. You will have moments when you won’t know why you are doing this at all. You will have moments when you feel an overwhelmingly personal need to live a normal life, to have simple things and to not take on such difficult and seemingly inexplicable quests. You will have moments when you think that something else looks much more exciting and appealing, and you might think that it will get you to your desired goal much faster. So, you give up being an advancing student here to become a beginner somewhere else. You will have times when you think it is not worth it. You will have times when you think you cannot do it. You will have times when you will doubt that it will take you where you really want to go.

你会达到几个门槛，你会想放弃。你会有一些灰心的时刻。你会有一些空虚的时刻。你会有一些时刻，你不知道你为什么要这样做。你会有这样的时刻，你会感到有一种压倒性的个人需要，要过正常的生活，要有简单的东西，不要承担如此困难和似乎无法解释的任务。你会有这样的时刻，你认为别的事情看起来更刺激、更吸引人，你可能认为它能让你更快地达到你想要的目标。因此，你放弃了在这里做一个进步的学生，而在别的地方做一个初学者。你会有认为这不值得的时候。你会有认为自己做不到的时候。你会有怀疑它是否能带你到你真正想去的地方的时候。

All of these experiences can be expected. You are not merely learning new information here. You are not merely adding more ideas and insights to your collection of ideas and insights. You are not merely adding new interesting experiences to your collection of interesting experiences. You are undertaking a great transition—a transition from a limited perspective to a greater perspective, from a life dominated by your personal mind to a life that is fused and joined with Knowledge. You are taking a great journey from being imprisoned in your individuality to using it to express a Greater Reality.

所有这些经历都是可以预期的。你在这里不仅仅是学习新的信息。你不仅仅是在你的想法和见解的集合中增加更多的想法和见解。你不仅仅是在你的有趣经历的集合中增加新的有趣经历。你正在进行一个伟大的转变——从有限的视角到更大的视角的转变，从被你的个人心智支配的生命到与内识融合和结合的生命。你正在进行一个伟大的旅程，从被囚禁在你的个体性中到用它来表达一个更大的现实。

This is the greatest journey. Travel around the world again and again and you will not take such a great journey as this. It is a journey that deepens you and expands your perception. It is a journey that changes your priorities and values simply because it is natural for them to change. It is a journey that takes you beyond who you thought you were and what you thought you were here for. As you pass through the thresholds, you will pass through times of uncertainty and confusion and through times of reorientation and reintegration.

这是最伟大的旅程。一次又一次地环游世界，你不会走这样的伟大旅程。这是一个深化你的旅程，扩大你的感知。这是一个改变你的优先事项和价值观的旅程，仅仅是因为它们的改变是自然的。这是一个带你超越你认为你是谁和你认为你在这里是为了什么的旅程。当你通过门槛时，你将经过不确定和混乱的时期，经过重新定位和重新整合的时期。

To continue, you must persevere. You persevere when you feel like it and when you don’t feel like it, when you are happy and when you are sad, when you are encouraged and when you are discouraged, when you are certain and when you are uncertain. Others will quit along the way because they cannot differentiate themselves from their ideas and their feelings. Yet, you persist because Knowledge keeps you going. Here you are strong with Knowledge and Knowledge is strong in you. Others may fall away because they need to go somewhere else. They are just passing through. But if this is meant for you, you must persevere. How do you know if it is meant for you? Because you know to persevere. You give yourself to this. You do not give yourself up to this. You give yourself to this. There is a very great difference.

为了继续，你必须坚持下去。在你觉得喜欢和不喜欢的时候，在你高兴和悲伤的时候，在你受到鼓励和灰心的时候，在你确定和不确定的时候，你要坚持下去。其他人会在途中放弃，因为他们无法将自己与他们的想法和感觉区分开来。然而，你坚持了下来，因为内识使你继续前进。在这里，你有强大的内识，内识在你身上也很强大。其他人可能会掉队，因为他们需要去别的地方。他们只是路过。但是如果这是为你准备的，你必须坚持下去。你怎么知道它是否是为你准备的？因为你知道要坚持下去。你把自己交给这个。你不会为这个而放弃自己。你把自己交给这个。这有一个非常大的区别。

Why is perseverance so difficult? Because human beings have not yet developed enough mental strength. Unless they are confronted by adverse conditions, most people seek what is easy and comfortable by and large. Only certain individuals rise above this and push beyond the boundaries of human behavior.

为什么持之以恒如此困难？因为人类还没有发展出足够的心理力量。除非他们面临不利的条件，否则大多数人基本上都在寻求容易和舒适的东西。只有某些人超越了这一点，突破了人类行为的界限。

No one is forcing you to do this preparation and to take this journey. You are not doing it for survival. Something greater is moving you. This is important and you must stay with it.

没有人强迫你做这个准备，走这个旅程。你这样做不是为了生存。有更伟大的东西在推动你。这很重要，你必须坚持下去。

Perseverance is not trusted because people have given themselves to things of little or no value. They have committed themselves to relationships that could never work—relationships with people, relationships with activities, relationships with places and relationships with causes. And so, to protect themselves from being fooled once again or from making an unwanted declaration, they make their involvement very conditional. They say, “Well, I will stay with this as long as it feels right to me,” or “I will stay with this as long as I have the time,” or “I will stay with this until I find a relationship.” This is not perseverance. You must make the journey.

坚韧不拔的精神不被信任，因为人们已经把自己交给了没有什么价值的东西。他们把自己交给了永远不可能成功的关系——与人的关系、与活动的关系、与地方的关系和与事业的关系。因此，为了保护自己不被再次愚弄或不做不想要的声明，他们使自己的参与非常有条件。他们说：”好吧，只要我觉得合适，我就会一直呆在这里，”或者”只要我有时间，我就会一直呆在这里，”或者”我会一直呆在这里，直到我找到一个关系。”这不是毅力。你必须完成这个旅程。

Do not think that if the journey is meant for you, it will be easy and you will not have times of great conflict. Do not think that if this is meant for you, you will be able to pass through the thresholds without great effort and determination. Do not think that if this is meant for you, you will not have times of great misgiving and doubt. How will you know if this is right for you? Because you will know, and as Knowledge becomes stronger in you, you will be able to proceed where others have departed.

不要以为如果这个旅程是为你准备的，它就会很容易，你就不会有巨大冲突的时候。不要以为如果这是为你准备的，你将能够不费吹灰之力和决心就能通过门槛。不要以为如果这是为你准备的，你就不会有巨大的疑虑和怀疑的时候。你将如何知道这是否适合你？因为你会知道，当内识在你身上变得更强大时，你将能够在别人已经离开的地方继续前进。

There is a popular notion in this day and age that you are always right where you need to be, always doing the thing you need to be doing. This is ridiculous. What an unfortunate thing to think. This robs you of your responsibility and blinds you to the fact that you can make grave and serious errors and miss life-renewing opportunities. People think such things when they do not want to work and apply themselves.

在这个时代，有一种流行的观念，即你总是在你需要的地方，总是在做你需要做的事情。这是很荒谬的。这是一个多么不幸的想法。这剥夺了你的责任，使你看不到一个事实，即你可能会犯严重的错误，错过更新生命的机会。当人们不想工作和应用自己时，就会有这样的想法。

You need to know and to learn the difference between what is right and what is not right. There is a difference. Do not take your life for granted. You are the captain of your ship while you are sailing these waters. You need to take responsibility, become effective and learn to become a leader of your mind and emotions rather than their victim or captive. You cannot tell where you are sailing, and you do not know what is in the cargo of your ship, but you must be the captain on deck, negotiating the changing circumstances of your life and the pleasures and tribulations that present themselves on your voyage.

你需要知道并学习什么是正确的和什么是不正确的之间的区别。这是有区别的。不要认为你的生命是理所当然的。当你在这些水域中航行时，你是你的船长。你需要承担责任，变得有效，学会成为你心灵和情感的领导者，而不是他们的受害者或俘虏。你无法知道你在哪里航行，你也不知道你船上的货物是什么，但你必须成为甲板上的船长，与你生活中不断变化的环境以及你航行中出现的快乐和磨难进行谈判。

Do not think that you are always in the right place doing the right thing. If that were the case, your world would be very different from what it is today. You can miss great opportunities. They will not come again. Do not pacify yourself and think, “Well, I didn’t get it this time around. I’ll get it the next time around.” There may not be another time around. Don’t be casual about things that will determine your life. And do not think that Knowledge is guiding you yet. Do not think that Knowledge is determining everything you do, for you are not a master and you are not masterful. Do not take for granted things that require serious decisions and self-determination. Do not give yourself that escape or you will disable yourself from becoming potent and effective in life, and you will not realize your responsibilities.

不要以为你总是在正确的地方做正确的事。如果是这样的话，你们的世界将与今天的情况大不相同。你可能会错过伟大的机会。它们不会再来了。不要安抚自己，认为”好吧，这次我没有得到它。下一次我会得到它。可能没有下一次了。不要对将决定你的生命的事情感到随意。也不要认为内识还在指导你。不要认为内识在决定你的一切，因为你不是一个主人，你也不是大师。不要认为那些需要认真决定和自我决定的事情是理所当然的。不要给自己这种逃避的机会，否则你会使自己丧失能力，无法在生活中变得有力和有效，你也不会实现你的责任。

All around you people are making serious mistakes. Sometimes they have been making the same mistake for a very long time. This is wasteful. Humanity is wasting its great possibilities and its inherent skills. It needs to learn cooperation and to become inner directed and responsible. This opportunity is being wasted. Face this. It is real. Do not make excuses for yourself or for others. Those who make a difference in the world and who find out the important things have exerted themselves, not for pleasure, comfort or self-satisfaction, but for something else. They persevered where others gave up. They stayed with one thing when others went shopping elsewhere. They progressed while others became a beginner at something else. They focused their lives while others became confused.

你周围的人都在犯严重的错误。有时他们已经犯了很长时间的同样的错误。这就是浪费。人类正在浪费其巨大的可能性和其固有的技能。它需要学习合作，成为内在的指导和责任。这个机会正在被浪费掉。面对这一点。它是真实的。不要为自己或他人找借口。那些在世界中有所作为的人，那些发现重要事情的人，不是为了快乐、舒适或自我满足而努力，而是为了其他事情。他们在别人放弃的地方坚持不懈。当其他人去其他地方购物时，他们坚持做一件事。他们进步了，而其他人却成了其他事情的初学者。他们专注于自己的生活，而其他人则变得迷茫。

It is true that you have tried to give yourself to things that were never meant for you. This is necessary to learn. It is true that you have tried to commit yourself to people and to situations that did not work out. This is true. It may happen again, but you must find out.

诚然，你曾试图把自己交给那些本不属于你的关系。这是学习的需要。你确实曾试图把自己投入到那些没有成功的人和情况中。这也是事实。它可能会再次发生，但你必须找出原因。

Do not give yourself the license to think that you do not need others, that you do not need divine assistance and that you do not need education, growth and development. If you become lazy here, life will pass you by, and you will live with a sense of dissatisfaction that nothing will be able to relieve. That is why we are making a very serious statement here. We want you to be serious in hearing it and in responding to it.

不要给自己许可，认为你不需要其他人，你不需要上帝的帮助，你不需要教育、成长和发展。如果你在这里变得懒惰，生命将与你擦肩而过，你将生活在一种任何事情都无法缓解的不满感中。这就是为什么我们在这里做一个非常严肃的声明。我们希望你认真地听，并对它作出回应。

Life is not casual. Life has great intention and intensity. Life is vital. It is committed. It is totally involved. It is not holding back and watching from a distance. Look at the plants and the animals in your world. Are they not totally committed to their situation? Are they not vulnerable? Are they not completely involved? Are they spending their lives thinking, “I’m not sure I should be doing this. I’m not sure I want to do this. I don’t know what I want. What do I want?” They are not lost in these conversations. They are out in the world living in the process called life.

生命不是随意的。生命有很大的意图和强度。生命是至关重要的。它是投入的。它是完全参与的。它不是在袖手旁观，从远处观看。看看你世界中的植物和动物。他们不是完全致力于他们的处境吗？它们不脆弱吗？他们没有完全参与吗？他们是否在生活中想：”我不确定我是否应该这样做。我不确定我想做这个。我不知道我想要什么。我想要什么？”他们并没有在这些对话中迷失。他们在外面的世界里生活在被称为生命的过程中。

Life is calling for you to re-establish your relationship with it. Knowledge will take you to life because this is part of the purpose of Knowledge. But Knowledge is not only here to re-engage you with life, it is here to give something to life, something that life cannot give you. You are here to give what you brought from your Ancient Home. It is a set of specific tasks to be carried out with certain people for specific purposes. Do not think you are going to become a spiritual teacher or emancipator or initiator. This is extremely rare. No. True meaning comes from engaging in things that are very specific and often quite mundane. The difference is in the intensity with which you are engaged. That is the difference.

生命正在呼唤你重新建立你与它的关系。内识将带你进入生命，因为这是内识的目的之一。但是，内识在这里不仅是为了让你重新与生命接触，它在这里是为了给生命一些东西，一些生命不能给你的东西。你在这里是为了给予你从你的古老家园带来的工作。它是一套特定的任务，要与某些人一起为特定的目的进行。不要以为你会成为精神导师或解放者或启动者。这是极罕见的。真实的意义来自于从事非常具体的、往往是相当平凡的事情。区别在于你所从事的强度。这就是区别。

Finding and fulfilling your greater purpose will require perseverance most assuredly. It is easy to quit, and there are always good reasons for quitting. It is always a relief to give up, at least for a short time. Nobody likes to work too hard, but what is too hard? Does it not take more effort and energy to maintain confusion and ambivalence than it does to dedicate yourself to something? The cost of ambivalence is dreadful. It leads to mental and physical illness. It leads to an inability to be in relationship and to communicate effectively. It stifles people’s certainty, creativity and ability. And, yet, it is chosen again and again because it seems comfortable and familiar.

寻找和实现你更伟大的目的，肯定需要坚持不懈的努力。放弃是很容易的，而且放弃总是有很好的理由。放弃总是一种解脱，至少在短时间内是这样。没有人喜欢工作太辛苦，但什么是太辛苦？保持困惑和矛盾心理难道不比献身于某件事情要花费更多的努力和精力吗？矛盾心理的代价是可怕的。它导致了心理和身体的疾病。它导致无法与人交往和有效沟通。它扼杀了人们的确定性、创造性和能力。然而，人们却一次又一次地选择它，因为它看起来很舒服，很熟悉。

If you want to learn The Greater Community Way of Knowledge, you must persevere. Don’t just go a little way and say, “Well, this is far enough.” Don’t just go a little way and say, “Well, I just wanted to try it out.” You will not learn The Way of Knowledge if you just try it out. You will not even know what it is. Sometimes people study The Way of Knowledge a little and they think, “Well, this is about intuition. I know all about intuition.” This is not about intuition. That is like saying because you can hum a little tune, you are a master musician. That is like saying because you can draw a little face with a pencil, you are a great artist. Experiencing intuition is minute compared to living The Way of Knowledge.

如果你想学习大社区内识之路，你必须坚持下去。不要只走了一段路就说：”好吧，这已经够远了。”不要只是走了一段路就说，”好吧，我只是想试试。”如果你只是试一试，你将无法学习内识之路。你甚至会不知道它是什么。有时人们稍微研究了一下内识之路，他们认为，”嗯，这是关于直觉的。我知道所有关于直觉的事情。”这不是关于直觉的。这就像说因为你能哼出一个小调，你就是一个音乐大师。这就像说因为你能用铅笔画一张小脸，你就是一个伟大的艺术家。与生命中的内识之路相比，经历直觉是微小的。

Perseverance requires an open mind and a willingness to live without fixed beliefs because as you go through the thresholds of learning, you will go beyond your former ideas and assumptions. You will pass through periods where you are very confused, where you are not quite sure who you are or what you are doing. You thought you knew, but somehow what you used to think doesn’t seem to fit anymore. It all seems too limited and small. Now you are entering into new territory, and you are not sure what it means. You are not even sure if it is all right to do that.

坚韧不拔的精神需要一个开放的心态，愿意在没有固定信仰的情况下生活，因为当你通过学习的门槛时，你将超越你以前的想法和假设。你会经过一些你非常困惑的时期，你不太清楚你是谁，你在做什么。你以为你知道，但不知何故，你以前的想法似乎不再适合了。这一切似乎都太有限、太小了。现在你正在进入新的领域，而你不确定这意味着什么。你甚至不确定这样做是否合适。

To go from a fixed human viewpoint to a Greater Community perspective represents a tremendous expansion. It requires more effort, more consistency and more determination than meeting even the normal range of challenges. But people want great things. They want magnificent relationships, they want totally satisfying careers, they want Spiritual Wisdom and they want great inner certainty. We say it is very good to want those things, but what are you willing to give for them? You cannot bargain here. You don’t get the sale price. You don’t get Wisdom at one-half off. You don’t buy one and get one free. You have to give what is needed to give, however much that is. Knowledge and Wisdom do not come cheap. Though there is no price tag, they require a great and consistent self-application. You cannot go to a seminar and walk out a man or woman of Knowledge.

从一个固定的人类观点到一个大社区的观点，代表了一个极大的扩展。它甚至比迎接正常范围的挑战需要更多的努力、更多的一致性和更多的决心。但人们想要伟大的东西。他们想要宏伟的关系，他们想要完全满意的职业，他们想要精神的智慧，他们想要巨大的内在确定性。我们说想要这些东西是非常好的，但你愿意为它们付出什么？你不能在这里讨价还价。你不能得到销售价格。你不能以半价获得智慧。你不能买一送一。你必须付出需要付出的东西，不管那是多少。内识和智慧并不便宜。虽然没有价格标签，但它们需要巨大和持续的自我应用。你不可能去参加一个研讨会，然后走出去成为一个拥有内识的男人或女人。

You must give yourself to something. Knowledge will help you choose. Don’t give yourself to something to prove anything to yourself. Remember, you are not doing this for self-importance. If there is nothing to give yourself to at this moment, then do not give yourself to anything at this moment. But prepare to give yourself. If you go through life and do not give yourself, you will be like a package unopened. You will be like a plant that never bloomed. You never gave your seed, your gift, your fragrance or your beauty to the world.

你必须把自己给予给某些东西。内识会帮助你选择。不要为了向自己证明什么而把自己交给什么东西。记住，你这样做不是为了自我价值的实现。如果此刻没有什么可以给予自己的，那么此刻就不要把自己给予任何东西。但要准备好给予自己。如果你在生命中不给予自己，你将像一个未打开的包裹。你将像一株从未开花的植物。你从来没有把你的种子、你的礼物、你的芬芳或你的美丽给世界。

You have come to the world to give. But first you must learn about the world, and then you must learn about your gift. You have spent your childhood and your adolescence learning to become a functional human being. Many people do not accomplish this, you know. But if you become a functional human being, then you can begin the next great education in life, which is learning about purpose, meaning and direction. If your purpose, meaning and direction are destined to take you beyond human perspective and human limitations, then you must learn a Greater Community Way of Knowledge.

你来到这个世界是为了给予。但首先你必须了解这个世界，然后你必须了解你的礼物。你已经花了你的童年和青春期来学习成为一个实用的人。你知道，许多人没有做到这一点。但是，如果你成为一个有能力的人，那么你就可以开始生命中下一个伟大的教育，也就是学习目的、意义和方向。如果你的目的、意义和方向注定要带你超越人类的视角和人类的限制，那么你必须学习大社区的内识之路。

The Way of Knowledge has been given. Steps to Knowledge has been given. You need to follow it, not blindly or foolishly, but wisely with awareness and discernment. If you stop climbing, you don’t get up the mountain. There are no elevators or helicopters to take you to the top. Angels do not descend on the mountain to lift you up. You have to make the journey. The journey is everything. The journey is where your gifts are given. The journey is where your gifts are discovered. The journey is where you become stronger and wiser, more forgiving and more compassionate. You came to the world to make this journey. If you do not make it, you have wasted your trip, a fact that you will have to reflect upon when you leave here.

内识之路已经给出。通往内识的步骤已经给出。你需要遵循它，不是盲目的或愚蠢的，而是明智的意识和辨别力。如果你停止攀登，你就上不了山。没有电梯或直升飞机带你来到山顶。天使不会下山来把你带到山上。你必须走完这段旅程。旅程就是一切。旅程是你的礼物被赋予的地方。旅程是你的礼物被发现的地方。旅程是你变得更强大、更明智、更宽容、更有同情心的地方。你来到这个世界就是为了进行这个旅程。如果你没有做到，你就浪费了你的旅程，当你离开这里时，你将不得不反思这一事实。

I want you to find a life of fulfillment and satisfaction. I want real happiness to blossom in your life. This is not something that is just given to you. You have to achieve it. You have to make a place for it. You have to build a foundation for it, or it will remain a great ideal, always seemingly beyond your reach.

我希望你能找到一个有成就感和满足感的生命。我希望真正的幸福能在你的生命中绽放。这不是随便给你的东西。你必须实现它。你必须为它创造一个地方。你必须为它建立一个基础，否则它将仍然是一个伟大的理想，似乎总是你无法达到的。

As you move up the mountain of life, you see more and know more. You begin to understand the lay of the land. You understand the difficulties behind you. You see where they took you, and you understand their value and their relevance to your journey. You do not know what is up ahead, but as you proceed, you learn more about how to climb the mountain of life. If you give up or quit, you stay where you are. Is that okay? Well, you have to answer that question for yourself. I cannot answer it for you.

当你在生命的山峰上移动时，你看到更多，知道更多。你开始理解土地的布局。你理解你身后的困难。你看到它们把你带到了哪里，你明白它们的价值和它们与你的旅程的关系。你不知道前面是什么，但随着你的前进，你会学到更多关于如何攀登生命之山的知识。如果你放弃或退出，你就留在原地。这样做可以吗？嗯，你必须为自己回答这个问题。我不能替你回答。

When you persevere in an endeavor that represents an attempt at establishing your self-importance—an attempt to be, do or have something that is not meant for you—you can become very attached. You can protect and maintain this attachment with great intensity and devotion. But this is not a commitment because when you commit yourself to something that is not destined for success, you are only pretending at commitment. For example, if you commit yourself in relationship to another person, but they are not committed to you, it is an easy commitment to make on your part. You do not have to give anything up. You do not have to burn any bridges in your life. You are giving yourself to something that will not work, so what has been given? This is easy. But to give yourself to something that will flourish and grow, that is important. To give yourself to something that has a real foundation, a real value and a real possibility for success, this will change you. This will take you forward in life. This will show you how to climb the mountain of life. This is not so easy.

当你坚持不懈地努力，代表着试图建立你的自我重要性——试图成为、做或拥有不属于你的东西——你会变得非常执着。你可以以极大的强度和虔诚来保护和维持这种依恋。但这不是一个承诺，因为当你把自己投入到注定不会成功的事情上时，你只是在假装承诺。例如，如果你在与另一个人的关系中承诺自己，但他对你没有承诺，这对你来说是一个容易的承诺。你不需要放弃任何东西。你不必在你的生命中烧毁任何桥梁。你正在为一些不会成功的事情奉献自己，那么付出了什么？这很容易。但是，把自己交给将蓬勃发展和成长的内识，这很重要。把自己交给具有真正基础、真正价值和真正可能成功的东西，这将改变你。这将带领你在生命中前进。这将告诉你如何攀登生命之山。这并不那么容易。

There are times when you must give things up, things that were once meaningful but have exhausted their value. Do not persevere with them any longer. This is not inconsistent with what I have said. Relationships and involvements exist at all stages in learning The Way of Knowledge. Some relationships will stay with you the whole way; most will not. Do not persevere when the direction has changed. In climbing the mountain of life, the trail zigzags, the terrain changes. Some parts are steep, some are not, though they all go up. Do not get stuck in one way of thinking. Do not get stuck with one person and one situation because these will change, and you must learn to change with them.

有些时候，你必须放弃一些东西，那些曾经有意义但已耗尽其价值的东西。不要再坚持它们了。这与我所说的并非不一致。在学习内识之路的各个阶段，都存在着关系和参与。有些关系会一直伴随着你，大多数则不会。当方向改变时，不要坚持下去。在攀登生命之山的过程中，山路是曲折的，地形是变化的。有些地方很陡峭，有些地方不陡峭，尽管它们都在上升。不要拘泥于一种思维方式。不要拘泥于一个人和一种情况，因为这些会改变，你必须学会与他们一起改变。

Along the way, however, you will meet people who are destined to take the great journey with you—all the way. Persevere here. But take caution because they may not be able to proceed. Should this be the case, you will have to go on without them, no matter how difficult or how devastating this may seem.

然而，在这一路上，你会遇到那些注定要和你一起走伟大旅程的人——一路走来。在这里坚持下去。但要小心，因为他们可能无法继续前进。如果是这种情况，你将不得不在没有他们的情况下继续前进，无论这看起来多么困难或多么具有破坏性。

Some things will require great determination, but only for a short time. Other things will require great determination on an ongoing basis. Knowledge is your guide, but for Knowledge to be your guide, you must become strong with Knowledge. You must become open to Knowledge and able to follow it and to discern its movement and direction. These are not simple things. You cannot simply assume that you have the ability. You must earn the ability. You can imagine that you can do what a great artist or athlete can do, but in reality you haven’t developed the skill. It is the same with this. You can imagine you are living a life of Knowledge. You can imagine that you are doing exactly the right thing, but this is imagination.

有些事情需要极大的决心，但只是在短时间内。其他事情将需要持续的巨大决心。内识是你的指南，但要使内识成为你的指南，你必须成为内识的强者。你必须对内识开放，能够跟随它，辨别它的运动和方向。这些都不是简单的事情。你不能简单地认为你有这种能力。你必须赢得这种能力。你可以想象你能做一个伟大的艺术家或运动员能做的事，但实际上你还没有发展出这种技能。这一点也是一样的。你可以想象你正过着内识的生命。你可以想象你正在做完全正确的事情，但这是想象。

If your eyes are open, if your mind is open, if your heart is open, then you will find your way. You will make some mistakes. That is guaranteed. But you will not persist in your mistakes, and you will not repeat them endlessly. They will serve to make you stronger, more discerning, more capable and more compassionate towards others. Do not quit if you make mistakes. Making mistakes is part of making the journey. But do not persist in your mistakes or defend your mistakes. Do not say they were perfect for you because in fact you may have suffered greatly for them. Accept them. Benefit from them. But do not glorify them or justify them.

如果你的眼睛是开放的，如果你的心智是开放的，如果你的心是开放的，那么你会找到你的路。你会犯一些错误。这是保证的。但你不会坚持你的错误，你也不会无休止地重复它们。它们将使你更强大，更有辨别力，更有能力，对他人更有同情心。如果你犯了错误，不要放弃。犯错是旅程的一部分。但不要坚持你的错误或为你的错误辩护。不要说它们对你来说是完美的，因为事实上你可能已经为它们承受了巨大的痛苦。接受它们。从它们中受益。但不要美化它们或为它们辩解。

We have created a very great goal for students of Knowledge. We have presented a great preparation and curriculum for learning. We have presented a new tradition of learning and spirituality. We have presented everything you need. Life will give you the relationships and opportunities, but you are the one who must come to work. And your work will not be short lived. It will be ongoing, and it will be good work. It will be the kind of work that brings into being all aspects of you. It is the kind of work that heals the wounds and binds the parts of you that have broken away. It is the kind of work that restores you and renews you and strengthens you. It is the kind of work for which you must persevere.

我们为内识的学生创造了一个非常伟大的目标。我们已经提出了一个伟大的学习准备和课程。我们提出了一个新的学习和精神性的传统。我们已经提出了你所需要的一切。生命会给你关系和机会，但你是必须来工作的人。而你的工作不会是短暂的。它将是持续的，而且将是好的工作。它将是那种使你的所有方面都得以实现的工作。它是那种治愈伤口的工作，并将你已经分裂的部分结合起来。它是那种恢复你、更新你和加强你的工作。这是一种你必须坚持不懈的工作。

You show up for Knowledge. You show up for your practice. You give yourself to this—today, tomorrow and the next day. You do not base your participation on whether you are having high experiences. You base your participation on something deeper and more consistent. You move forward and Knowledge grows stronger. If you turn away, you will have to go back to the beginning somewhere else.

你为内识而出现。你为你的实践而出现。你把自己交给这个——今天、明天和后天。你不把你的参与建立在你是否有高的经历上。你把你的参与建立在更深层次和更一致的内识之上。你向前走，内识就会越来越强。如果你转身离开，你将不得不在其他地方回到起点。

If this preparation is right for you, you will know. At first, your sense of it may be very weak and faltering. But as you proceed, it will grow stronger and stronger. And as your sense of commitment and determination is set free from your personal ambitions and need for self-importance, then your commitment and determination will have a strength that will abide with you and that you can rely upon as a foundation for living and progressing in life. All of this is possible for you if you will persevere. You will reach your destination if you keep going. If you allow the journey to be what it is instead of trying to determine what it must be, then you will not lose your way in life. You will not try to take shortcuts which end up wasting your time and energy by leading you nowhere.

如果这种准备适合你，你会知道。起初，你对它的感觉可能非常薄弱，而且摇摇欲坠。但随着你的进行，它将越来越强。当你的承诺和决心意识从你的个人野心和对自我重要性的需要中解放出来时，那么你的承诺和决心就会有一种力量与你同在，你可以依靠它作为生活和生命进步的基础。如果你愿意坚持下去，这一切对你来说都是可能的。如果你坚持下去，你会到达目的地。如果你允许旅程是这样的，而不是试图确定它必须是什么，那么你就不会在生命中迷失方向。你不会试图走捷径，因为捷径最终会浪费你的时间和能量，使你一无所获。

You take the path. You follow the path. You persevere on the path. And you learn the path. In this, you are able to help others who lag behind you. Here you are able to encourage and inspire those who have fallen by the side of the road. Here you are able to have compassion for those who have given up and are headed back.

你要走这条路。你遵循这条道路。你在这条路上坚持不懈。你学习这条道路。在这一点上，你能够帮助那些落后于你的人。在这里，你能够鼓励和激励那些在路边跌倒的人。在这里，你能够对那些已经放弃并正在往回走的人产生怜悯。

You have come to the world to make a journey. Your journey is your gift, and all along the journey you give those things that are yours to give—things you had never intended to give and things you never knew you had to give. If you persist, others will follow you. They will keep you in their sights, and you will keep them moving forward. There are those who are ahead of you who are persisting, that are keeping you moving forward. When you have relationships like this, then you have a greater accountability in life beyond your own wishes and shifting desires. Here you owe it to others to persevere as much as you owe it to yourself. This is the beginning of real strength and determination. This is the beginning of learning a greater way. It will be your relationships and the needs of the world that will prompt you to undertake a great effort to give yourself more completely than you would ever give yourself for your own purposes alone. We celebrate this great journey because this is a great measure of truth that will measure out happiness and meaning to you.

你来到这个世界是为了进行一次旅行。你的旅程是你的礼物，在整个旅程中，你给予那些属于你的东西——你从未打算给予的东西和你从未知道你要给予的东西。如果你坚持下去，其他人会跟随你。他们会把你留在他们的视线中，而你会让他们继续前进。有那些走在你前面的人在坚持，他们让你继续前进。当你有这样的关系，那么你在生命中就有更大的责任感，超越你自己的愿望和流动的欲望。在这里，你欠别人的是坚持，就像你欠自己的一样。这是真正力量和决心的开始。这是学习更大方式的开始。将是你的关系和世界的需要促使你进行巨大的努力，比你为自己的目的单独付出更完全的自己。我们庆祝这个伟大的旅程，因为这是一个伟大的真理尺度，将衡量出幸福和意义给你。

Think about those things that you stayed with and dedicated yourself to, the places where you did not quit. Think about what you have acquired and developed in terms of your experience and education as a result of this perseverance. A greater education awaits you now. It has been given to you from the Creator. But there is no one forcing you to do it. You are not doing it to get a better job or to make more money. You are doing it for a greater purpose. And as you respond, this greater purpose will become stronger and more evident in you.

想一想那些你坚持和奉献的事情，那些你没有放弃的地方。想想你在经历和教育方面获得和发展了什么，这是这种坚持不懈的结果。现在有更大的教育在等着你。它是造物主给你的。但没有人强迫你去做。你这样做不是为了得到更好的工作，也不是为了赚更多的钱。你是为了一个更伟大的目的而做的。随着你的回应，这个更伟大的目的将在你身上变得更加强大和明显。

You learn The Way of Knowledge because you must, not because it holds some big promise at the end. With a greater motivation that is not contingent upon your ambitions, your feelings, your changing attitudes or the ideas or prevailing beliefs in the world, you will have a strength that the world does not possess. You will have a certainty that the world does not possess. This is evidence of Knowledge. This is the greater seed of truth growing in you now. Its seed has been germinating; it is now spreading forth. If you nurture it, it will grow and become a great tree that provides shade and inspiration for others.

你学习内识之路是因为你必须这样做，而不是因为它在最后有什么大的承诺。有了更大的动力，而不是取决于你的野心、你的感觉、你不断变化的态度或世界上的想法或流行的信念，你将有一种世界不具备的力量。你将拥有世界所不具备的确定性。这就是内识的证据。这是现在在你身上生长的更伟大的真理的种子。它的种子一直在发芽；它现在正向外扩散。如果你培育它，它就会成长，成为一棵大树，为其他人提供荫凉和灵感。