Spiritual Discernment

In this captivating book, Joel Goldsmith addresses a difficult problem encountered by many spiritual seekers. "You go from one truth to another and, if you are at all like most persons, you will someday say to yourself, 'Well, I know all the truth that is to be known, but it doesn't seem to do much for me.'" The reason for that, says Goldsmith, is that "so far it has been only an intellectual acceptance of the truth: it has not been the spiritual discernment of it. It has not been an inner conviction; it has not come with spiritual power to make itself alive."

Spiritual Discernment is a gift to any truth student who wants to go beyond intellectual understanding. Here Goldsmith is at his best, guiding the reader in how to develop the spiritual discernment that carries with it spiritual power. "We build the capacity of spiritual discernment," he says, "as we agree that God's universe is wholly good and wholly spiritual. With our eyes we cannot believe this, nor with our ears. Our mind will never convince us of this, because our mind is seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling too much of evil. Therefore, we must be still; we must attain quietness and peace and the ability to live in that attitude so that instead of indulging our likes and dislikes, instead of judging by appearances, we let the spiritual faculty within us discern the nature of that which is appearing to us and being revealed to us."

Spiritual discernment is a capacity that we all have, but which lies buried deep and dormant within us due to the deadening human legacy of centuries of material experience. Spiritual Discernment goes a long way in helping the dedicated seeker liberate his capacity for spiritual discernment and bring it into its fullness. "As the inner faculty of discernment is developed," Goldsmith asserts, "we begin to see spiritually, hear spiritually, and know spiritually, and in proportion as we develop the power of spiritual discernment, is everyone who comes within range of our consciousness blessed."

Note: Spiritual Discernment is the collection of the 1974 Infinite Way Letters.]