“The Silence” of Unity

[The following is a concise presentation of the contemplative practice known as “Entering the Silence” taught by the Unity School of Christianity founded by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore.]

How to Enter “The Silence” of Unity
Unity’s prayer method is called “the silence.” We enter the silence to consciously experience our oneness within the one Mind, God. To do so we must change the focus of our minds; we must withdraw our attention from the manifest realm of effects and turn inward where we seek and find the cause of all things, God as Spirit. God’s presence in all its fullness is always available to us, for it is in, around, and through us.

We must, however, turn to God in the silence in order for this Truth to be revealed to us. For this revelation to come about, we need to learn to disengage from our everyday consciousness, which is focused primarily in the realms of sensation, thought, and feeling. By detaching ourselves from these areas of consciousness, we enter the intuitive faculty of our minds and discover there our link with God: “the secret place of the most high.” The secret place of the most high is the place in consciousness where God is directly experienced, where believing becomes knowing, where the concept of the Christ within becomes a personal reality. In the secret place we accomplish our goal in prayer by realizing God as the all-providing Father-Mother presence, All Good.

Within the secret place of the most high we listen for the “still small voice” of God. This voice is not a sound but rather a feeling of inner knowing and peace. All of us must learn to contact this voice of God within ourselves and become accustomed to it. This inner voice comes from the silence within us, and it will teach us exactly what we need to know and do to unfold spiritually. The still small voice will direct and guide us in definite ways once we learn to hear and trust it. To contact the voice of God, we must wait upon the Lord in the silence.

When we are comfortable and relaxed, the process of detaching from a normal state of consciousness can begin. It is therefore important to take the time needed to prepare the environment, body, and consciousness for entering the silence. Once we have disengaged from our everyday consciousness, we turn our full attention to God by meditating and concentrating on words or ideas of Truth. We may dwell upon divine ideas or aspects of God such as love, life, peace, health, or substance. Or, we may simply focus on words of Truth that invoke a realization of God’s love such as “God Is, I Am” or “Peace, be still.” Whatever technique we use, the purpose is the same — to lead us into the secret place, a state of consciousness where we commune with God, to realize our sonship, and to claim the gifts of the kingdom. [Quoted from Unity: 100 Years of Faith and Vision published by Unity Books (1988), pp. 18-19; emphasis supplied.]

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Click on the image above of the Unity logo to download and save a free publication on prayer from Unity in PDF file format, titled “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Prayer (and Asked!).” Please wait while the file is being downloaded for you. You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to download and open the PDF file. Adobe Reader is a free software from Adobe Systems, Inc.

Read FREE Unity Study Materials
The following other learning materials are made available to you for informational, educational or instructional purposes, at no cost:

Unity’s 5-Step Prayer Method
The Silence, by Richard and Mary-Alice Jafolla
A primer for “Meditation” (highly recommended)
Meet It with Faith, by Martha Smock
Silent Unity Prayer Service (November 2008)

Spiritual Support from Silent Unity
Get help and support from Unity by clicking on the provided active links below:

Contact Unity by phone for live prayer assistance.
Submit a prayer request online to Silent Unity.
Listen to the audio recording of a guided meditation.
Read affirmations for particular prayer needs.
Subscribe to Unity’s Daily Word publication or read the daily inspiration there.
Download more booklets for free from Unity.

Practice Meditation Regularly with a Local Group
Find and participate in a local meditation or contemplation group or community that is dedicated to healing and transforming the lives of people through silent prayer, spiritual education and love.

Here are two online groups that we are presently working with and facilitating, with links to their respective websites. They are both open to the public for participation.