Dear Friend,

In this season of peace, there is a war of words. Not words of anger or sounds that are shouted from one hurt person to another, but a conflict caused by a false belief that what we say has power. It is obvious that our words have an effect, but this does not mean they have power. Everyone has experienced harsh words spoken by another and felt tension fill the body. Most people have heard words of encouragement and experienced hope rising from within. Metaphysicians speak of what they want, and sometimes those things come into being. However, this is not the power of which we speak.

We are thinking of the power revealed in the first chapter of Genesis, And God said… When God spoke, a creative process came into being that continues to this day. The Word we are considering is also seen in the first chapter of John’s gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1). This is power, for it comes not from human consciousness, but from Spirit. It is not sound; it is that which is born in Silence. The effects of this power may soothe or shake the world, but always the soul is stirred and better able to love and contribute to humanity.

For too long, the metaphysical community has believed itself powerful because of the words it speaks. We have discovered the effects of the word, so our lives and prayers are filled with many words. Compounding the issue is that our focus is upon our world. We bring to bear our sounds and thoughts in order to more fully experience the blessings of the earth. All of this is part of our rite of passage and, most likely, a necessary step on the inner journey. In addition, common sense and earthly experience teach us it is good to watch our. words and bring our speech into alignment with what we know is true. However, there is more.

Mystical lore reveals that there are a number of ways to water a garden. We can water the plants by hand. This is laborious, but there is growth. Also, we can build irrigation ditches that bring water to the fields. However, the plants are watered best when it. rains. The first two examples illustrate the power of human effort. In the analogy, the third "method" is an activity of Spirit. In the first two methods, we "speak;" when it rains, God "speaks"!

This is the essence of the power of the Word—God speaks. It is also the heart of the Inner Journey way of life. Human beings do not speak the Word. We speak words. However, when a human being listens and awakens to the Presence, this spiritual consciousness is an. avenue or "mouth" for the expression of the power God is.

In preparation for the birth of the Word, we may speak words of truth, but let us not become enamored with them, for they release no true creative energy. The Word is encouraged not by speaking, but by listening. We listen for Silence, not for sounds we hear with the ear or words that make themselves known as thought.

We have said again and again that the experience of the Presence is Silence. An anonymous English mystic called it a cloud of unknowing. In the Silence, the five senses fall asleep and the faculties of thought, feeling, and imagination rest. We are truly still. Then we awaken to our world again. The senses come alive, and we see, hear, and feel a new world, and experience life anew. Thoughts, feelings, and images may move through us. The novice is tempted to believe these are the experience of the Presence. They are not. They are evidence of the Presence, and the way Spirit often rains Its glory upon us and the world.

Let there be no conflict between our words and the Word, for if there is, the creative power remains dormant. Continue to speak loving and encouraging words. Think positively, but, also, hope that Spirit will think Its thoughts through you. Above all this Christmas season, listen…your days of watering the garden are destined to end. Speak the truth as you know it, and then listen. There is thunder in the clouds and light in the heavens. It is going to rain!

In Love We Journey With You,

Jim and Nancy