The Listening Attitudeby Anonymous

(Inspired by the Teachings of Joel S. Goldsmith)Art by C. W.

Chapter 1Learning to Listen

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The mystical life is lead by an insurmountable faith in God,where the Spirit of God is the only refuge in which answersand solutions are sought. The mystic, having discovered hisconsciousness to be the architect of his affairs, has learnedto seek nowhere else for evidence of his state of being, forwhere else but in his own mind can the Presence of God befound? With persistence that is forged in having the rightkind of attitude of faith, the listening attitude, the mysticbrings himself into a state of constant communion with hisCreator, trusting that no other voice may comfort his soul.

How may this kind of unshakable faith be found when weare so focused on other voices than the confident Presenceof God that permeates our being? No voice but the Voice ofGod may fill us up with Truth, and unless we are listeningcarefully for it in the silent depths of our soul, we will notbe privy to the answers that we wish to receive. The earnestspiritual seeker must avail himself of God's help throughmaking a firm decision to listen carefully for that silent, stillVoice within that is always present.

The Spirit of God fills up all space, being ever-present, andto become consistently aware of this Presence is the practice

of the Infinite Way. We may learn the secrets ofconsciousness, the secrets of healing and of workingmiracles, only through abiding in that secret place in ourheart, which is invisible to the chaos of the world. Gowithin and shut the door. Let the sights and sounds of theworld be muted from your attention. As we let the Kingdomof God become alive for us through meditation upon thePresence, the mysteries of Heaven are revealed to us inshining glory.

It is sure that if we practice feeling the Spirit of God inevery activity, we are filled with the peace that surpassethall worldly knowledge. The student of life may gain nothingof great value without the peace of God. There are notreasures found in the world other than what is firstfashioned in consciousness, and unless we let our attentionbe steered by a steady faith in our Invisible Supply, novisible manifestation will be of much value to our growth.

A receptive attitude is one in which the mind has been madeaware of this Presence, this Spirit which pervades all space,through ardent practice of mindful awareness of it. This isthe true meaning of repentance, which is to give all ofyourself to God. The mind must be made open to receive.This is accomplished through careful observation of ourthoughts, attitudes and deeds. No stone must be leftunturned if we are to clear the mind for the Presence of Godto fill it up.

The mystic has learned to train his mind to obey the activityof God, which gives him his powerful healing ability. Thismeans that the intuitive faculty, which may be seen as theactivity of God, is allowed to work more fully inconsciousness, and this may only occur through a right useof the mind. A right attitude must be fashioned. We must betransparent if we are to allow God's Light to fully pourthrough us. This means that we must be willing to hidenothing from ourselves.

Unconscious fear is our “worst enemy,” as it erodes ourfaith in our God-given powers. The voices of fear may bemany, but the Silence of God is singular. We may only hearTruth when we are unwilling to tell lies. This is a majorbreakthrough in our personal development, for when wemake a firm refusal to compromise with the Truth, we areno longer listening-in to the unrealistic demands of the ego.We give up false imaginings in favor of undreamt-of Love.

We learn to listen! Is there anything worth listening to otherthan a Voice that speaks of how beloved we are? It is saidthat the pen is mightier than the sword, and yet the Word ofGod is mightier than the pen. This Word is unspeakable bythe lips, but it may certainly be heard with the inner ear. It isnot a Word that is found on any page, and yet it may be feltthrough exposing ourselves to any scripture that speaks toour heart. Let us be open to the Truth, which is the Presenceand Spirit of God, through being better listeners andspeakers of words which uplift human consciousness.

Chapter 2Moved by the Spirit

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Our practice is not only to become receptive to hearing theWord, which no doubt uplifts our spirits, but also to becomea vessel in which its Presence is carried forth in everythingthat we do. Speaking words of spiritual faith is of no useunless our actions match what we say, and even then, theseactions must be of a Godly intent if they are to move usforward on the Infinite Way. This is why it is vitallyimportant that we aim for the highest Truth of our being, forin doing so we develop spiritual consciousness and servethe right Master.

Most of us have been trained to be overly concerned withthe world so much that we have forgotten that it wasintended to be our Garden, not our prison. Even our societalunderstandings of love and happiness are tainted bymaterialistic impressions. A familiar example of this is theobsessive drive to find a partner in order to make oneselffeel more whole, which would be healthy if the motivationarose from a sense of Presence, for God's Presence is one ofwholeness of Spirit.

A new attitude is needed in order to find freedom from thehandcuffs of ignoring God, for once a right attitude of faithin our wholeness is established, our hands are freed, and weare then able to help free others through our demonstrationof faith. Until then, no amount of wishing and hoping, evenno amount of action, will serve to provide us with a lastingexperience of love, peace and stability, until we positionourselves to be moved by the Spirit alone. The Presence,God's “Hidden Hand,” invisibly moves us and guides uswith more power and efficiency as we allow the work of ourown hands to freely serve our brethren in joy.

God gave us a mind so that we could learn to be receptive toIts counsel. There is no higher purpose for the mind thanbeing a joyous servant of the Most High. The mystical lifedepends upon our total investment in it; a half-heartedapproach to life yields no deep mystical experience. Thisapplies to any relationship, whether we speak of a worldlymarriage or union with the Almighty, for mysticalexperience is possible in any circumstance in life, providedthat we are open to receive God's blessing, which meansthat we invite Truth into our hearts.

The invitation to God must be sent forth in our prayers ofdeep feeling. The mystic, after all, is possessed of God. Helives and breathes God, and nowhere he looks is God notfound. We must become sensitive to God in this way if weare to reap the infinite reward of God-consciousness. Aspiritual philosophy about God is not enough to become

filled and possessed with God-consciousness. The feeling ofGod must grow within us through ardent practice ofnoticing It and feeling Its Presence. This is being moved bythe Spirit.

A true hunger for the Infinite is all that is needed for thewould-be mystic. He must become so full of desire for Godthat all lesser desires are seen as unimportant to him, whichdoesn't mean to forsake them, but actually to see that allworldly desires are fulfilled in perfect timing, in accordancewith God's will as it moves through him. He must realizethat there are no desires separate from the desire for God,for the desire for God is really what all our wanting isabout. The Infinite Presence of God contains all fulfillment!

Do we want peace? God is peace! Do we want joy? God isjoy! Do we desire love? God is love! Do we want a sense ofpurpose? God is our only purpose! There is not one thingdesired that doesn't have God at the center of it. However,being all-present, it is only necessary that we learn torecognize what we already have, which is what we alreadyare, and this is the Eternal God. It is only the fear of givingup the little that we ask for which must be exchanged for agreater faith in our Godly inheritance.

Faith-in-action naturally arises from being a passionateservant of God-consciousness, which includes rightthinking, feeling and behaving. True faith is expressing apassionate attitude for God, and nothing else. A mystic is

passionate about God and has a listening attitude, areceptive mind, himself being a receptacle for God'sPresence. God is always speaking Truth in us, but are wereaching within for our cups to be filled, or are we lookingto the world for hand-outs?

Until we learn to give every activity over to the Presence,adding passion and aliveness to everything we do, the Spiritcannot move us into the consciousness of the mystic. Wemust learn to turn directly to the Presence for peace, joy andguidance, and the Presence will in turn be able to direct usmore fully. “You are my only desire, that my mind is filledwith a pure awareness of Your Presence. I seek to serve Youmore fully in all that I think, say and do. Amen.”

Chapter 3Thanking God Unceasingly

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The highest practice is one of being thankful! Thankfulnessis the right attitude for spiritual consciousness, for without agrateful heart we cannot discover the Presence of God,which is all-pervading. Thankfulness is meditation upon thegoodness of life, for in focusing upon the goodness of lifewe keep our hearts open to God. Otherwise, if appreciationis not present in the heart, we are dead, a ghost that seeks to

feed upon the living.

It is only when we lack thankfulness that we seek to attachto others and to things, holding onto them for dear life, infear of the very God that only wants to free us from theseattachments. Lacking appreciation is what makes us seekidols such as money, sex, status and other people in whichto make us feel more whole. Yet, being thankful for whatwe believe we possess (for our only true “possession” is ourGod-beingness), our mental and material attainments whichusually seem so real to us, is a necessary attitude whichinevitably leads to a deeper appreciation for the InfinitePresence in which all things have their source and being.

We must become acutely aware that God is our Infinite,Invisible Supply, that there is nothing and no one else tosupply us with the Kingdom within. Our storehouse iscomplete. To believe in any way that it isn't fully stocked isto delude ourselves with thoughts of lack. Let us accept noworldly appearance of starvation as immutable fact. Let usfeed the hungry and assure them that more is on the way.Let us remind them of the magnetic power of theirappreciation to bring them closer to their Infinite Supply.

The mystic thanks God unceasingly, not with thoughts,words and actions, but through feeling. Thoughts, wordsand actions are simply the vehicles by which the feeling ofPresence is conveyed. We do not concern ourselves with themediums in which the Presence moves, unless we wish to

turn our attention away from the infinite fullness of God,but we learn to concern ourselves only with being in fullappreciation of God. The full appreciation of God is the fullappreciation of I AM.

A sure way to raise our level of thankfulness is to meditateon the Presence more often, even during the midst ofactivity. If the Presence of God is what we really are,beyond the appearance of flesh and bone, and It surely is,then being thankful for the Presence is really God-in-usbeing grateful for Itself. God is totally selfish! The onlyway to grow in spiritual consciousness, therefore, is throughan expanding sense of appreciation which includes allaspects of life, in which we inevitably realize that it is amatter of self-appreciation, and then the day arrives when itis absolutely impressed upon the heart an unwaveringfeeling and knowing that the Infinite Itself is pure love andappreciation.

Giving ourselves totally to God, God's totality is given tous, which means that we are giving ourselves the greatestgift of all: the permanent awareness of God's permanence.We should hold back no kind thought towards ourselves nortowards others, if we wish to attain the spiritual consistencyof the mystic. The mystic is a master of being thankful forhis existence. He has learned a wise consistency. Throughpracticing the Presence, he gives himself the gift of lovinghimself fully, and all who let themselves be inspired by hisdemonstration feel his love meeting them as well.

“Thank You, God, for the Love and the Life that I AM!”This prayer is a vehicle for working miracles in our lives,for the true miracle is God's Love and Life, and when weaffirm God's Truth through a profound feeling ofthankfulness, God's blessing must flow through us in equalmeasure to our faith. The feeling of being thankful is whatis most important. Thanking God unceasingly throughholding in our hearts an attitude of receptivity andsensitivity to the Voice, Presence and Spirit of God isessential.

No greater prayer may be given than an affirmation of ourimmutable Truth, that God is our only reality. Here is thetest that the mystic has applied in practicing the Truth: Canthe true Master, God, be dissolved, or is it the ego that maybe dissolved within God? For the mystic the answer is veryclear: Let us put the ego in its rightful place, which ismelted in the heart of God. The mystical life is thus a rite ofpurification, demonstrating that the Presence of God is purelove.

Chapter 4Hear But One Voice!

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God's Voice speaks to us through the feeling of love. This isvery simple, and it is in keeping this in mind and in heartthat we learn to trust no other voice, for there really is noother voice. Any voice that doesn't carry the vibration oflove is not a true voice but an echo of confusion. Thefeeling of love is unmistakable when we become so awareof its Presence that no other feeling is desired. This is thestage where we attain the steady consciousness of themystic.

What else may speak the Truth other than God? Does anangel have a voice outside of God? Did Jesus have a voiceoutside of God? Do we have a voice other than God's? No.God's Word is singular. The sound that emerges from anymouth is not the Truth, no matter how delightful it mayseem as it hits the ear. Words are many, but Truth, God'sWord, is singular. We must become so restless with thevoices of the world before we finally decide to have earsonly for God.

To listen to more than one voice is insanity. The cacophonyof the world is a result of us showing a much greater interestin talking than in listening to God's Voice within us. Wehave placed most of our faith in appeasing the wrongvoices, the wrong gods, the gods of duality and materialism.This must be observed and corrected if we are to cutthrough the noisy fog of confusion that we have created, toreach the Truth. The return to sanity requires a turning ofthe cheek to face God.

The ego meets its end in Silence. That is why it fears it somuch! And what is ego but a choice to see division in God,where no such division exists? Let us return toacknowledging the Presence, which is undivided, wheneverany thought of division seeks to draw our attention fromwholeness. We have this term, “undivided attention,” so asto remind us how to step out of idolizing the ego, for ittakes an undivided attention in order to enter the undividedKingdom of God.

A divided attention is beset by listening to many voices, itsown and those of others, believing them to be real. Anundivided attention is a right attitude of demonstrating,“Let thine eye be single,” believing no worldly norotherworldly voice to be the Most High, except for that ofGod. God's Voice is love. Therefore, let us seek no furtherthan right where we are to discover this inner Voice, not asan auditory phenomenon but as a direct experience of God'sTruth, which is Infinite Love.

The Voice, the Truth and the Spirit of God are all God. ThePresence and the Power of God are God. The mystic seesand experiences all as God, not as parts or components ofGod, but as the feeling of God's Presence that permeates allspace. He contemplates God during each activity,experiencing all activity as a continuous activity of God. Hehas ears only for the Infinite, and the Infinite, which alwaysspeaks love into the mystic's open heart, is all that the

mystic hears, which to him is heard and felt as a joyous,celestial song that flows from within him out into the world.

Through the grace of God's activity, according to ourreadiness, one by one the voices of the ego, the voices of theworld, which are just thoughts, fade into the silentbackground of the Presence, leaving only the Voice of Godto be heard. When our attention is singular, the many areperceived as One. Consistent mindfulness of the DivinePresence gives us the powerful ability to hear Truth at alltimes. This is true communion with God.

Chapter 5The Mystical Attitude

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There is a happy way of living in which we are finishedwith hiding from God, for it is understood that the Presenceof God is everywhere, and so there is really nowhere tohide. This way of living, this understanding, is an attitude ofmystical awareness. Developing this attitude to the pointwhere we no longer wish to see any division in life takesmuch devoted practice, and is something which we must beabsolutely certain we want if we are to be an advancedstudent of the Infinite Way.

A lukewarm attitude begets mediocre results. The commonman may be content with mediocrity, while the mystic isone who settles for nothing less than what God haspromised him, which is the glory of enjoying the Kingdomof Heaven while on Earth. We must therefore be uncommonif we are to rise above the common thinking of the world,and mustn't mistake this for arrogance, for the mysticalattitude sees no one as above nor below another.

Until we wake up and see how we have been cheatingourselves out of the ceaseless joy of God-consciousnessthrough a false allegiance to man-made laws and doctrines,the Presence of God will not be experienced continuously. Itis not that the God Experience may actually be stopped, butrather that we have learned habits of thinking which preventus from noticing and appreciating the Truth that is ever-present and constant. The way out of this sleep state is topractice remembering the Presence.

The mystic gives his allegiance to God only! God does notexpect us to awaken in one fell swoop, in one flick of a lightswitch, for we must “turn the light on” many times beforewe realize that we are the Light of God. Awakening occursthrough realizing what never was, never is. And divisionnever was. We are learning to trust beyond what our sensesshow us, while listening and looking to God. Although themystic is commanded by Spiritual Law rather than physicallaws, he doesn't repel his human experience, givingappropriate attention to physical conditions as inspired from

within.

The mystical attitude is an attitude of gratitude that worksmiracles. Spiritual consciousness shows us that we are amiracle, that life is a miracle, and that the true miracle oflife is to give love. It is foolish to spend a great amount ofour time in looking for miracles in the world, for the outerworld is not where they really are, it is not where theyoriginate. The common man lives in the world, while theworld lives in the mystic. What this means is that, unlikemost people, the mystic clearly understands that the world isa feeling, not an actual globe that he walks upon, and thatthis feeling lives inside his awareness. Moreover, for himthe real world is the Presence of God.

Being a better listener to God's Voice, a faithful hearer ofthe Word, is required to master the mystical attitude. Wecan, right now, begin to deepen our experience of thismoment through sensitizing our awareness to hear and feelGod's Truth beyond the thoughts, words, sights and soundsthat we perceive. God's Truth is our Truth as well, and thisTruth never changes. The question is, are we truly open toaccept this Truth as ours?

God's Word is truly unspeakable, even though a millionvoices may claim to speak the Truth. If just one of thesevoices were to honestly reveal that God's Truth isunspeakable, and point us towards a deeper understandingof ourselves, even such a voice would be giving us its

version of the Truth. What we need to realize is that Truth,which is actually God, has no versions of Itself! In realizingthis, what this means is that we are careful not to idolize anyform of teaching, while at the same time we are verythankful for its demonstration.

You see, the mystic is one who has even dropped theadvanced attitude that says, “This is MY truth.” This doesnot conflict with his respect for personal truths, yet it is notreally the person that he respects, but rather it is the I AM,the Infinite Presence. “God is no respecter of persons” maybe contemplated on and used as a powerful affirmation ofthe Truth, just as the mystic contemplates and meditates onhis God-nature, although he doesn't mistake the affirmationfor the unspeakable Truth.

What the student of mysticism is actually learning is how toperceive beyond the affirmations, beyond the teachers andteachings, beyond the dogmas and scriptures, into the veryHeart of God, and this is a matter of direct experience. Letus not be confused over forms, for Spirit is our true concern.The mystic peacefully gazes upon things with his eyes, buthis spiritual awareness doesn't worship or idolize the forms.Spirit meets Spirit. There is no room in the mystic's mindfor duality and division, because he is immersed in Spirit, inGod's Presence.

Chapter 6Meditation

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Listening to God's Voice within is an art. Hearing God is anexperience of enjoying God. If we are not hearing thecelestial song within us, feeling its infinite joy, then we arenot listening deep enough to the Word of Truth that lives inus. This would only mean that we have some surrenderingto do, some more surrendering of ego, until there is nodegree of deafness left in us, and the bright, clear Voice ofthe Infinite is all that we hear.

We each have an inner ear, a mystical ear that is not limitedto the range of sounds and vibrations that the bodily ears aresubjected to, and this inner ear is receptive only to God'sTruth. This inner ear is our openness of mind and heart. Tohear God's Truth does not mean that we must turn off thefunction of bodily hearing, of course. The mystic still hearsworldly voices, but at the same time he is really hearing theVoice of God behind the words, for he is not attuned to theshell of outer appearance, but rather to the Core Truth andGodly Reality of what his bodily senses report.

Meditation is an experience of letting God reveal love in ourawareness, and during this experience it is necessary for usto be open to forgiving everything in our awareness thatdoesn't appear to us to be loving, if we are to have a true

mystical experience. We need to be easier on ourselves. Weare not meditating in order to “get” peace, but rather we arereally meditating in order that we may observe moreconsciousness, more of the Presence, and during thisprocess peace is revealed as already present within us. Moreof that which we fear is highlighted during this process, andGod wants us to realize that fear is but a denial of theInfinite Presence.

“God, I am willing to face and to release my resistancetowards You, trusting that You are with me as darkness isbrought to the Light. Amen.” This is an example of the kindof meditative prayer, the mystical attitude, that is needed forawakening to the Presence. Although enjoying the Presenceis our only real purpose, let us not be foolish as tounconsciously seek joy for the purpose of avoiding facingthe “presence” of fear. Although our practice is really toface God, understand that before turning our full attentiontowards God and remaining in this spiritual consciousness,we must face our own devils and release them along theway as we turn the cheek to face our Creator.

This is our mystical journey of consciousness, andmeditation is a right attitude of self-love that wakes us upfrom the sleep state of common thinking that clouds ourawareness of the Presence. A clear mind is very muchpossible. This is not a mind without thoughts, but rather it isa mind that enjoys its God-given clarity even when thoughtsare present in it. The mystic sees that it is not actually his

thoughts that are present, but rather that the Presence ispresent; his thoughts are simply witnesses of the Presence.

Meditation involves the spiritualization of thought, meaningthat our thinking, our attention, our attitude about ourselves,is surrendered, purified and transformed. Rising in feeling,we remember what is truly important: the Presence of Godthat is all-pervasive. Meditation is all about rememberingour God-beingness. Meditation is about letting the mind behealed of its beliefs in limitation. Believing in unlimitedlove, for example, is not a belief that may cause harm.

Let it be understood that the only way to find clarity is tostop hiding it from awareness. And being that mental andemotional clarity are aspects of the Presence, which isinfinitely present, we do not have to strive for clear-mindedness, we only need to let go of holding ourselves“away” from it. We must learn to see with inner vision, withthe inner eye. Meditating on the “third eye,” visualizing itradiating God's Love and Light, helps us awaken to Truth.

Developing a thankful attitude is enough to stir the mindfrom its slumber, and the greater the feeling of joy, thefaster and easier it is to attain the meditative consciousnessof the mystic. We must not feel put off by the idea of“attainment” if we are to realize this joyous state ofconsciousness, for it cannot be realized while holding ontoany hang-ups, and it is a fact of metaphysics that ourconsciousness expands as we surrender fear, and in this case

expansion and attainment are really the same thing. This isbut an acceptance of what we already are as God-consciousness, the Presence of God.