Today I receive God’s Word in stillness.
1. Let today be a day of quiet and gentle listening. I
²Your Father wills that you hear His Word today.
³He calls to you from the depths of your mind, where He abides.
⁴Listen to Him today.
⁵There will be no peace until His Word is heard around the world—until your mind, in stillness, receives the message the world must hear to usher in the quiet time of peace.
2. This world will change because of you.
²It cannot be saved by any other means, for God’s plan is simply this:
³The Son of God is free to save himself,
and he is given God’s Word to be his Guide,
always in his mind and always by his side,
to lead him safely to his Father’s house by his own will,
as free forever as is God’s.
⁴He is not led by force, but only by Love.
⁵He is not judged, but only sanctified.
3. Today we will listen to His Voice in stillness, with no interference from our petty thoughts, no personal desires, and no judgment upon His holy Word.
²We will not judge ourselves today, for what we are is beyond all judgment.
³We step away from every judgment the world has laid upon the Son of God.
⁴For the world does not know him.
⁵Today we will not listen to the world, but wait in silence for the Word of God.
4. Listen in quiet, holy Son of God, your Father speaks to you!
²His Voice would bring you His holy Word, to spread throughout the world the glad tidings of salvation and the sacred time of peace. II
³Today we gather around the throne of God—the quiet place within your mind where He abides in the eternal holiness He created and will never leave.
5. He has not waited for you to return your mind to Him before He gave His Word to you.
²God has not hidden from you while you strayed a little from His side.
³He holds no illusions you have made about yourself.
⁴He knows His Son and wills that he remain a part of Him, despite his dreams; despite his madness in believing that his will is not his own true Will.
6. Today, God speaks to you.
²His Voice awaits your silence, for His Word cannot be heard until your mind is quiet for a while and senseless longings have been stilled.
³Wait then in stillness for His Word.
⁴Today you will call upon the peace within you to help prepare your most holy mind to hear the Voice of its Creator.
7. Three times today, at times most suited to quiet listening, reserve ten minutes to stop hearing the world and instead choose calmly to listen to the Word of God.
²He speaks to you from nearer than your heart. III
³His Voice is closer than your hand. IV
⁴His Love is all you are, and all that He is.
⁵His Love is the same as you, and you are the same as He.
8. It is your own voice you hear when He speaks to you. V
²It is your own words He utters.
³It is the Word of freedom and of peace, of unity of will and purpose, with no separation or division in the one Mind the Father and the Son share.
⁴Today, listen to your Self in the quiet of your mind, and let It tell you that God has never left His Son, and that you have never left your Self.
9. Simply be still.
²You will need no rule but this to let your practice lift you high above the thinking of the world and free your vision from the body’s eyes.
³Just pause for a moment and listen.
⁴You will hear the Word in which the Will of God’s Son joins with the Will of His Father and becomes one with It, with no illusion standing in between what is forever indivisible and true.
⁵Each hour today, find a moment to remind yourself that you have a special purpose for this day: to receive in stillness the Word of God. VI
I Quiet your thoughts today and listen to the Word of God. Nothing else.
Today is a day of inner rest—a true day of “vacation” for the soul. The practice consists in receiving the Word of God in stillness, with no need to do anything, simply keeping silence within.
But what does a day of stillness really mean? Jesus defines it with great clarity: it is a day in which you issue no judgment, in which you renounce all personal opinion. And, above all, it is a day in which you do not judge yourself.
The key to this Lesson is not to focus so much on whether judgments toward others arise, but to place all your attention on not judging yourself. That is the true essence of the practice.
You will notice that as you maintain inner vigilance—as you prevent judgments about yourself from arising—the tendency to judge others will automatically diminish as well. The external world will cease to be a problem when you stop attacking yourself within.
So simplify the practice: forget about the world and focus solely on not judging yourself. You will see that in doing so, everything else naturally falls into place. It may not be entirely easy, but it is an enormous simplification of inner work.
When the day of this Lesson arrives, remember: do not judge yourself. And if a judgment does appear—as it will—simply let it pass, without dwelling on it or giving it importance.
II Luke 1:19 “The angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you these good tidings.’”
Luke 8:1 “After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him.”
III Deuteronomy 30:14 “But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”
IV Perhaps a reference to the beautiful poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Higher Pantheism, imbued with concepts echoed in this Course:
“The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills and the plains—
Are not these, O Soul, the Vision of Him who reigns?
Is not the Vision He, tho’ He be not that which He seems?
Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?
Earth, these solid stars, this weight of body and limb,
Are they not sign and symbol of thy division from Him?
Dark is the world to thee; thyself art the reason why;
For is He not all but thou, that hast power to feel “I am I”?
Glory about thee, without thee; and thou fulfillest thy doom
Making Him broken gleams, and a stifled splendour and gloom.
Speak to Him thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet—
Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.
God is law, say the wise; O Soul, and let us rejoice,
For if He thunder by law, the thunder is yet His voice.
Law is God, say some; no God at all, says the fool;
For all we have power to see is a straight staff bent in a pool;
And the ear of man cannot hear, and the eye of man cannot see;
But if we could see and hear, this Vision—were it not He?”
V That is the voice of your Self—your true will.
VI Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”