Customer Reviews

Practicing the Presence: The Inspirational Guide to Regaining Meaning and a Sense of Purpose in Your Life

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I know a lot of sincere people who are very religious and yet they seem to be so unhappy and so unfulfilled. One even "confessed" to me, "Y'know, John, I believe in God, but I often wish that God was right here to help me go through with what I'm going through..."

I was completely shocked but then I remembered what it was like to believe in God and yet feeling like God was not around when I needed God. It wasn't because God wasn't there, it was because I had this belief that God's Life and my Life were two completely different things. It really blew my mind the first time I walked into a metaphysical church and heard this New Thought practitioner say with complete sincerity and yet with complete humility, "There is One Life and that Life is God and that Life is my life now..."

That simple statement brought tears to my eyes. I had been so brainwashed to think and feel and even act as though I was this completely unworthy, undeserving, sinner; that God the Living Spirit wanted nothing at all to do with my life, but all of the sudden I came face to face (or was it soul to soul?)with the beautiful Truth that my life was/is/and will always be the Life of God. It is what animates me, it is what heals me, restores me, renews me, and blesses me in every moment. To get to this point of knowing and feeling that God is Present as Presence, one must learn to sense this Presence, to feel it within every fiber of their being, and the only way we can learn to know that this presence is Present is to get still and when we get still enough to know and feel that this life is all around us and within us, we can be like the Psalmist and say from the depths of our soul, "Be still and know that I am God..."

Our "I AM" is God Itself. Our "I AM" guides us, directs us, leads us out of the wilderness of being alone and afraid and into the green valley of plenty and abundance. This plenty and abundance is already present within us. we do not ask to become rich, we ask God to see the riches that are already within us. we do not ask God to heal us, we ask God to show us how we are already whole and holy beings living in a Whole and Holy universe. Truly, God's Grace is our sufficiency and that everything we could possibly want, need, or desire is already present and we just have to be willing to let it flow through us, as us.

This book makes you realize that our purpose here is be that place/that space of Love, of Peace, of Goodness. We must not allow our vision to become clouded with thoughts of war, hatred, poverty and lack. We must put our attention and our focus on Heaven rather than hell...on God rather than sin...on Peace rather than war. This book will help you to remember that in each and every moment, God is and it is through this simple yet powerful awareness that God is always present where miracles take place. Miracles are supposed to happen. Miracles are our birthright.

If you are new to this way of thinking, welcome! Welcome to Life! Welcome to a new way of thinking, a new way of feeling, a new way of being in the world but not of the world. And if you have been in New Thought for awhile and haven't yet read this book, do your heart, your mind, your soul a true gift and allow yourself to remember why you are really here -- to Live and to abundantly well.

Peace and Blessings...

I love this book. It always calms and centers me. I have
learned so much here. Somewhere about pg. 58 or so, I was
able to overnight double my income/etc....due to the insights
of the author. Not about using God, but about understanding
how it all works. Basic concept was this: paraphrased...
"when I stop sitting at the feet of the Master waiting to be fed, and become the Master, feeding the unillumined, then I am
prospered."
Thy Grace is My Sufficiency. My consciousness is the
substance of my world.
Truth realized is Spiritual consciousness.
If you've found this review, you're probably ready for
Goldsmith...one of the most profound and aware mystics of
our century! Also read: Parenthesis in Eternity and
Thunder of Silence! WOW!

I own this book as a hardcover, purchased in the early 1980's. It has been so well read and used that the binding has come unglued and the white lettering on the black spine is wearing away. What more can I say?

My book is marked up with highlighting which I would apply whenever I'd read something that caused the 'light' to come on. The book is full of Joel's meditations in Italics which, when contemplated on, will guide you into all Truth.

When my elderly dad was laying in a hospital one time (not an Infinite Way student), I took this book and read the meditations to him out loud by his bedside. He told me it gave him such a sense of peace. Is it no wonder? God IS peace and was right there with us, AS us.

I've also been told that Practicing The Presence, by Joel Goldsmith, is required reading for a number of 'metaphysical' courses in the United States and abroad.

If you're thinking of which book to start with, this will be a great beginning!

Gail Gupton, Author: The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment and Seekers of Truth

This is one of two books Joel recommends for students new to The Infinite Way. It is essential that all students are familiar with it and Living the Infinite Way. The principles of truth are so clearly stated, yet there is a depth that nurtures even an experienced student. Your meditation journey should begin here.

If I had to pick 10 books to be stranded on a desert island, this would without question be one of them. It explains & shows one how to access the spiritual dimension anytime, anyplace.

All I can say is I love Joel Goldsmith's work. Whether it is this book or any other of his collection. His words hit your heart and soul at the core. I recommend this book to any one of any faith or no faith at all. It is practical, logical and offers some relief and clarity to our dramatic lives. If you are seeking a greater understanding of the human spirit or just want something inspirational to read. This book is the ticket. I have given it as a presents to so many of my friends, it can really be a gift of love.

Practicing The Presence is definitely one of the most beautiful and inspirational books I think I've ever read. Joel Goldsmith writes as though he is speaking directly to the reader. If one is truly seeking to understand and realize his/her Oneness with God and seeking to define his/her purpose in life, this is the book to read. It's the kind of book that can be used as a life companion.

This is my first review on Amazon, or anywhere else for that matter. I have been interested in spiritual growth for quite some time, beginning with my undergraduate major in Philosophy in the late 60's/early 70's. As I later discovered, I was not so much interested in the subject as in finding my OWN philosophy. Through the years I have spent much time investigating and learning about different belief systems and practices. The most useful to me were those originating in the East, primarily meditation (which I now teach) and yoga. The beauty of those systems is that they provide you with a systematic path towards what some call 'enlightenment,' or Christ consciousness, depending on your orientation. I am NOT talking about having intellectual 'knowledge' about spirituality, I am talking about the DIRECT EXPERIENCE of yourself as an aspect of God and as ONE with the universe.

But this is not to say that knowledge is unimportant, because that is certainly not the case. Knowledge supports and can hasten the spiritual growth that some of us are aiming towards. What Joel Goldsmith does is to present spiritual truth from a VERY high level of consciousness that, IMO, accurately reflects the 'letter of truth' of metaphysics. His interpretations of, among other things, the Bible and Jesus's sayings, can be challenging and a stretch but are spot on. I have found that the contemplation (which is different from meditation) of his writings has done quite a bit to speed up my spiritual growth, and I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any seeker (altho 'seeking' is unnecessary - we already know where the "Kingdom of Heaven" is - it's "within us" - we just need to clear out all that is keeping us from living there full-time). To follow-up on what another reviewer said, if I had to spend some time on a desert island and could only pick one book, THIS would be the one.

One can read this book over and over and gain something new each time.

Joel S. Goldsmith captures the essence of spiritual integrity in this well put together collaboration of his views on spiritual living. A must for the serious Infinite Way student.