May 23, 2001

• Hearing God

God speaks to each of you in a voice of love, tenderness, compassion, patience. If each of you stops to listen, you can hear God. The voice of God is not just a gentle hint. There is much to that voice that is filled with a loving presence. Everyone can hear God. We emphasize can, for unfortunately, few people do hear. What is the difference between being capable of hearing God and actually hearing that presence? The difference is quiet. God’s voice is not soft, but each of you must achieve the state of quiet to hear the voice, to know the direction, to be assured of the guidance. It is not actually an accident that when you meet to listen to God’s guidance, you are quiet. The guidance is clear, the presence is felt, but it is because you have drawn away from the activities of daily life. You can sometimes feel God’s presence when the world is clamoring for your attention, but you are most open to benefit from that presence when you are really in a state of repose.

Some who hear God hear that loving presence most keenly in the early hours of the day. Others seek moments when the day is finished and they can turn their attention to that spiritual presence. It is not important when you seek God. It is important merely that you are engaged in the seeking, that you commit yourselves to being receptive to guidance.

God does not speak by accident. It is not by coincidence that you hear that presence. It is by your own design that you become more open to the reality of such spiritual power. Sometimes when you are the most fatigued, you are the most vulnerable, you are the most receptive, you are the most ready to be a receptacle to God’s presence.

We have mentioned on other occasions that each of you can become more aware of direct guidance. We have also mentioned that that guidance comes in a variety of forms. There is no form of guidance that is more valid or more important, more meaningful, more compelling than another means. All manner of receiving a heightened awareness of God’s presence is valid, but for each of you, being receptive means seeking quiet. Physical quiet is not enough. You must be quiet within. There are many ways of achieving that inner quiet. It does not mean you have to seek out a trance-like state. It means only that you must put aside whatever is of immediate concern and allow yourselves to be, only to be—not to worry, not to be anxious, not to be planning, not to be thinking of anything else—just being, allowing yourselves the luxury of floating within. Many who are particularly aware of that great spiritual presence find their path through forms of meditation. Those forms may take on specific characteristics that are identified as one philosophy of meditation or another. For some, it is just a matter of quieting down the inward chatter that is a part of everyone’s life. However you wish to achieve this inner quiet, it is important that it be sought after.

When you are in the presence of silence, with no sense of apprehension or frustration or worry, the voice of God is experienced through numerous avenues. When you are truly quiet, the voice may be actually not just a hint, but a firm conviction of what the next step must be, either for your own actions or your own attitudes or your own approaches to whatever it is that concerns you. Some feel the presence as a gentle breeze. The breeze itself is not intense, but the conviction of what that means is strong and immediate. Some individuals experience a kind of vision. They see a path, they see a direction, they even see a spiritual presence as a strong light. There are individuals who sense God’s presence through a strong and overwhelming conviction that all is truly as it should be and that they are on the path that is best for them. Knowing that you are where you should be and that all is right provides a faith in the unseen future. It weakens the sense of anxiety, of worry, but that conviction of rightness becomes very strong, not just a hunch. If you do not sense the powerful presence of God when you are quiet, find another time when you can be without anxiety, even for a few brief moments. You will be amazed at what you hear.

For many, when in a state of inner silence, one becomes extremely sensitive to the sounds of nature, to birds, animals, the wind, rain, and becoming heightened in such sensitivity serves as an affirmation that God is really present. It isn’t just a faint belief. One rises from the experience filled with the conviction of presence.

There are those who hear God as they awake in the morning. How many times have you gone to sleep with specific concerns only to wake up in the morning with a clear sense of what needs to be done? That is God’s voice. If you don’t know what direction to follow, it is not because God is not speaking. It is because you do not allow yourselves to listen. There is no time when God ceases to speak and then resumes such communication as is appropriate. God’s voice is constant, it is always available, it is always present, it is always reaffirming, it is always illuminating, it is always providing comfort, direction. The voice never ceases. You may tire. You may wish to withdraw. But the voice of God is constantly among you.

To live a life inspired by God, you cannot live such a life inspired by a concept. The truly inspired life is lived as the result of experience. If you wish to reflect God outward, you must feel God within. If you wish to act with strength, it is essential that you have nourishment. If you wish to express joy, you must be joyful. If you wish to illuminate the lives of others, your own lives must be illuminated. Lightness does not come from darkness. Light already is present. For you to be Light, you must be in the presence of Light. That is the need for the silence of which we speak. You are silent and you are given Light. Having received the Light, you become the Light. Having received love, you become loving. Having received compassion, you become compassionate. You are, in a sense, what you have received.

You cannot draw from a well that has no water. For the well to be filled, there must be channels available to it. For you to be filled with God in your interactions in the broader community, you must be filled with that grace. It is essential for each one of you to establish opportunities in your lives for the purpose of being filled. That nourishment comes through the quiet which we described. Each one of you has that potential. There is no human being who cannot hear the Voice, see the Light. There are only those who choose not to hear the Voice or see the Light. When you are filled with concerns and wish to be given answers, the only way you will receive those answers is when you lift those concerns away from the soul and reach outward and upward with them to God. By allowing yourself the gift of silence within, you are enabling yourself to receive that for which you pray.

If a swimmer is thrashing in the water in fear of drowning, that person will often be unable to be helped by another. But when the body is relaxed in the water, it floats, and in floating it is in a position to be helped. So it is with your own soul. Your souls, although divine, need nourishment. They receive that nourishment through the act of living within a human form. If the human form is unreceptive through its own commotion, the soul is hindered in receiving its nourishment. When the soul becomes nourished, it strengthens, it grows in its capacity and it provides the foundation for the loving presence of the human form. Your seeking silence, therefore, directly benefits the soul, for you and the soul are then able to hear the voice of God.

Yes, you are all equipped with the blessing of receiving the guidance you seek. But we suggest you actively participate in the process of spiritual receiving. It is a process that is natural. It is a process that all are capable of. It is a process that strengthens, that provides vision, balance, comfort. Each of you can draw from that well. Indeed, we see each of you drawing from the well from time to time, but we wish that you would rely more consistently on the reservoir of strength that is made available to all.

You do not have to proselytize this strength. You do not promote its presence in you. The benefit of that presence is seen by the way you live, by how you react to others, by your compassion, your love, your ability to listen, your ability to reach out to others, your ability to remain focused when others around you seem to falter.

God’s voice is a powerful presence. It is not for the weak or the strong. It is not for the depressed, those who are worried, those who are confident. It is for all groups, all personalities. It is a presence for all seasons. It is for all human beings, whatever their station in life. It is undeniably strong. It is totally recognizable. It is our prayer that you find greater silence within, that you find opportunities for silence externally in your environment. In so doing, we will be blessed by your receptivity and we will be further empowered to reflect God’s loving strength through us unto each of your beloved souls.

We pray for your silence. We pray for your strength. We pray for your commitment to being receptive. We pray for your exercising of your own perceptions, and we pray for your faith in your own abilities to move forward with God fully beside you. You are blessed by your ability to achieve silence. You are blessed by the insights that have brought you to this place. You are blessed by your abilities to reflect God’s presence in your lives. Be thankful for those blessings. They are gifts that you all share and they are gifts that can be exercised throughout your entire lives.

It is a bright sun in the heavens. It is a clear breeze that blows across your foreheads. It is a warm love that surrounds your daily lives. Bask in that eternal presence.

Amen.