Hearing One Voice

"If you will listen with an open mind... then you will hear the mighty Voice of Truth, quiet in Power, strong in stillness, and completely certain in Its messages. Listen, and hear your Father speak to you through His appointed Voice, which silences the thunder of the meaningless, and shows the way to Peace to those who cannot see... Be not afraid today to circumvent the voices of the world... Hear one Voice today." -- A Course in Miracles

I'm late posting today. It's my birthday, and I self-indulgently slept in and had a glorious morning of allowing myself to be loved and pampered. The rest of the day promises to be a continuation of this hedonism. And what, you may well ask, does this have to do with listening to God's Voice?

So often I have had judgmental thoughts that only certain actions and certain ways of being are 'spiritual.' But as ACIM reminds me, it is never about externals. It is all within the realm of mind, and Truth can only be revealed here. It is our thoughts that have to be corrected. Externals are truly irrelevant. In truth there is no world as we imagine it. Not one thought we hold about the world or that the world holds about us is true. Not one relationship is true as we imagine it. Only the still, small Voice in the midst of things guides us truly though the maze of our own imaginings. Only the Voice guides us in deciding so that only awakening is served. To listen to any other voice, the voice of any imagined self, is to suffer. And as God is One, His Voice speaks of Oneness and Joy without limits. It guides us to awaken to Who We Are, as Love ItSelf. Whatever It reveals, wherever It leads, It is always a blessing and always Loving.

So when I hear the Voice say, "Go back to sleep," I listen. When I hear the Voice say, "Sit back down and read this," I listen. When I hear the Voice say, "Take time and enjoy yourself," I listen. When I hear that I am His Very Self, I listen with Joy and tears of gratitude. No story of my little ego-self holds the slightest interest in comparison with this feeling of Home and Wholeness.

So on this, my supposed birth day, I am more aware than ever of my only need... to listen and hear only One Voice. Today and every day this Voice is Loving me, as me. My true Self.

"Truth is the actual life of man; but mankind objects to making this teaching practical." -- Mary Baker Eddy