BEGINNING THE DAY
As human beings we cannot avoid the past, present and future. The only way we can collapse them into the eternal now is when we rise above the human way, the human mind, the human will, the human soul or consciousness, into the Divine, and there become so one with It that It becomes us. It becomes our awareness. And then, of course, there is no more change, no more time, no more space.
It is for that reason that in our class work I ask those who intend to be serious students to start meditating not less than three times a day. To begin with, in the book, The Infinite Way, pages 97-103, you will find an outline-not a formula to be followed-but an outline of some process of thought that should engage us from the moment that we awaken in the morning. I recommend that before anyone steps his foot out of bed, that he lies there awake for one, two, three or five minutes, and begins pondering the idea of the omnipresence of God. Let it be along this line:
"Here where I am, God is. Here in the beginning of this new day, God takes over. Here God becomes the directing influence of my day. I dedicate this day to the work of the Father. I dedicate this day to the life of the Father. And, of course, in this day I hold within myself no condemnation, no criticism, no judgment, no fault finding; but insofar as it lies within my power, I hold forgiveness, understanding, cooperation. I dedicate this day to maintaining the integrity of my own being; and I promise myself that insofar as I am given grace, I will not violate my own integrity, my own higher sense of right."
Then it is time to get out of bed. While we are preparing for the day-making our physical preparations-there is no reason why we should give thought to the problems of the day. "Sufficient unto the hour is the evil of the hour." There is no reason while we are making our physical preparations for the day, that we cannot again contemplate the idea of God, the idea of God being the only Presence and the only Power; that only God can bring something to our attention during the day; that only God will be active in us or in those we contact during the day.
We carry this further: When we leave the house, when we leave any building, when we go through any door, we pause for a second, just to realize that the Christ presence has gone before us to make the crooked places straight. We realize that I has gone before me to prepare a place for me. "In my Father's house are many mansions"-all good ones and I, the divine Presence, the Christ, go before me to make the crooked places straight, to prepare a wonderful place for me. In this way I am making my conscious contact with God throughout the day and night.
With all money that we pay out and with all money that we receive, there is also the same sort of a pause for a second to realize that God is the Source; to realize that we are sharing God's gifts-incoming or outgoing. We are sharing them, because what comes in has to go out, one way or another; what goes out has to come in. It is all part of the oneness of the activity of God.
In addition to this, we have our periods of silent meditation, which takes us a step beyond even this conscious recognition. The purpose of our meditation is this: When we are very still and silent inside, something happens, a feeling comes to us-an awareness of the Presence-a click or release, and when this happens, we know the contact has been made, God is on the field, and all is well.
Joel S. Goldsmith
Originally Published in the Science of Thought Review London, England
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