Spirit speaks to each of us. There is not any one of us created by God with whom God does not continuously send and receive communication. It may be in any form, not always in words. It has been said that God always speaks to us in a way that we can personally understand. There is no discrepancy and no difference in who God speaks to, but only in who listens.

Here in these pages, I have often urged you to listen. I too have tried to listen, every day, all through the day. So many times that’s very hard to do, because the world we live in today is always trying to out-shout “the still small voice of God” and drown out voices of kindness or gentleness, lovingness, trust, faith, truth, or seemingly anything that has the nature of Spirit. We have to listen harder when we are in the midst of the world. Sometimes we may even feel unsafe, like the world’s victim or its pawn. That is not the truth, but that is the picture and message that shouts at us from the TV screen and the freeway traffic and perhaps even the work environment where we must make our way.

The truth is quiet. The truth speaks in a small calm voice, even in the raging of the storm. Even in the loudest manifestations of the physical world, we can hear the voice of Spirit and truth, if we ask for guidance and then faithfully listen. The answer may come in words, or it can come in a visual image, a person, an unexpected event, a gift, or an outcome. It can come like a thunderbolt, or a whisper. It can come in an instant, or it may take half a lifetime coming, but the answer comes, if we honestly seek to hear it. When it comes, it can change your life forever. If you listen.

All of us receive Communications from God, Life, The Force, Spirit, intuition, the Universe, the Presence, the Christ Consciousness. (The name we call it is not important - we do not really limit, define, or change God by calling it by a name.) We all are receivers; we don’t need to be somebody special like a minister or a priest or a holy person in order to hear Spirit speaking, any day or any time, and this is the essential truth that lies at the heart of the New Thought faith. Carl Jung said “whether called or uncalled, God is present.”

And yet the world around us on our beautiful little blue and green planet seems to be in a terrible mess today, which we human beings have made it. The question I struggle with year after year is: why? I think it’s because so much of the time, like rebellious children, we just don’t listen. We rush ahead on impulse, acting on our ego’s desires, and then when we get what we thought we wanted, we find that it does not make us happy like we thought it would. And it does not really take us forward to where our soul is asking us to go.

We human beings make mistakes. Sometimes little ones, sometimes terrible ones, often innocent ones because we just didn’t think. I do it. You do it. We all do it, even sometimes when we are trying to go right and do what is right. We are human and this is how we learn. At any time, God can and will reveal the lesson and the truth in every error we make here, forgive the mistake, and set us back upon the path of joy that is always our option to choose.

All along our life’s path, as we learn, we grow. We progress and change. The mortal mind does not like changes, but the soul knows they are essential to the growth of spirit. New doors open to us, and we must choose whether we will walk through. The choice must be made without the benefit of knowing in advance whether this door is a blessing or a mistake. This is when we must listen most earnestly to the Inner Counselor that the Teacher Jesus promised us as one of his last acts on this physical earth.

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.” John 14: 16-17

We go to our personal Inner Counselor by means of directing our thoughts and our hearts inward, and then listening. We do this in meditation, or prayer, or quiet reflection, or yoga, or in a moment of danger, or in the peaceful joy of a bike ride down a canyon road in the crisp cool hour of morning.

No matter how much our lives and circumstances change, the Inner Counselor is always there. Your voice of Spirit is always ready and willing to guide you and teach you, if you are willing to listen. God is not out there; God is in here, in you. Our lives and circumstances change, but the Counselor never leaves you, cannot ever leave you, because it is within you. God has promised His voice to be there for you, because His son asked him to.

The “horsesmouth” essays have come forth out of my listening to my own inner Counselor. I don’t always understand all of it, but I understand that these words and insights have been given to me not for myself alone, but intended to be shared with you. Sometimes I do it with a sense of wholeness and peace, and often with surprise and discovery. Sometimes I do it with uncertainty and a very incomplete understanding of the words my hand has written. But I try to listen honestly and sincerely, and when my deepest heart - not my mind - says yes, I go ahead. Now it’s your turn, to share what you are given, and we would like you to share it here on these pages.

At this time my own life-path is changing, and asking new works from me. The entity known as Darkhorse Press is changing too. While the New Thought Essays will continue, we will no longer be writing an essay every month as we have done since December of 2002. we are calling on you, our readers and subscribers, to become a part of our work here. There are about 2,500 of you a month who visit this site. All of you have the ability and potential to hear Spirit speaking, and many of you listen faithfully already.

When there is a meaningful message, a lesson, or truth that you receive for your life that you feel may be a gift to someone else’s life as well, please consider sharing it here. You need not be a skilled writer. When Spirit speaks, its voice is different from your own, and often very beautiful. Take faith in this. If any editing is needed we will be glad to fix things like spelling and sentence structure.

This is a new path for us, and you are a large part of it. This decision has been thought about and prayed about for more than a year. Of course we are seeking stories and essays that address New Thought principles, as always. If you are unfamiliar or unclear about New Thought, a good start is to read some of the New Thought Alliance web pages, the horsesmouth essay #10 What Is New Thought? or look at some other New Thought websites fsuch as this Unity Church Of Daytona Beach. Other sites and subjects are listed with links, on our Resources page.

Subscriptions to the essays column will continue as before, and we will continue to write essays from time to time, though not every month. To keep a new essay coming each month, we’re calling on you to consider writing here. Some of you are New Thought ministers and we’re hoping that you will fill the gap, especially at the beginning. A by-line will be published below the title on each essay if you wish, or you may publish anonymously. Either way, please include your name and e-mail address when you submit, so that we can correspond with you. Your writing is permanently copyrighted by you, and not by Darkhorse Press. If you use any quoted material be sure to write the source, and credit the writer/speaker of the original quote. Please send your essay or story by e-mail to horsesmouth@darkhorsepress.com.

Thank you for your readership, your spiritual support, and your e-mail comments over the years. This is not an end, but a brave beginning. We are opening our door and inviting you in. We are widening our world, and yours. We’re listening for more voices of Spirit, and hoping that they can be shared here. Thank you for coming here each month.

Namaste