Session 9: Meditation Without Words or Thoughts

The Recording

Recording 427B, “Christ in Meditation,'” from the 1961 New York Special Class, is the basis for Chapter 11, “Unconditioning the Mind” in The Journey Back to the Father’s House.

To listen to recording 427B at any time, click/tap here. The recording will be available through April 19, 2025.
To purchase recording 427B and/or the transcript from The Infinite Way Office, click/tap here.
To listen to the recording by telephone, call 1-641-715-3900 and enter 993828#.

Optional Study and Practice Suggestions

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Review of the Previous Sessions

This is the final session of our meditation study program, so let’s review the key ideas covered in the previous sessions.

Session 1: The Purpose and Function of Meditation

Joel emphasized that the kingdom of God is within you. To experience that kingdom of God, or the indwelling divine Presence, the mystical I, we must go within, and the way to go within is through meditation. He explained that meditation is the basis of The Infinite Way work, and that we meditate to reunite with our Source. To meditate properly, we must accept that this divine Presence is already within us and shut out the outside world. Joel identified some obstacles to meditation—unforgiveness and erroneous beliefs about God, and suggested ways to handle them.

Session 2: The Goal of Meditation

Joel put the spotlight on the goal of meditation, teaching that there is only one goal for meditation in The Infinite Way: to have an awareness, an experience, a feel of the presence of God. He recommended a posture for meditation and explained and demonstrated contemplative meditation.

Session 3: The Forms of Meditation in The Infinite Way

Joel elaborated on why we meditate and explained the various forms of meditation in The Infinite Way. He described practicing the Presence, also known as ”keeping the mind stayed on God,” “acknowledging the Presence in all our ways,” or “abiding in the Word.” He gave another example of contemplative meditation, explained and illustrated treatment as a form of contemplative meditation, and touched on the higher stages of meditation known as “communion” and “union.”

Session 4: The Forms of Meditation in The Infinite Way, Part 2

Joel reinforced the goal of meditation as having an awareness, an experience, of the presence of God, emphasizing that we should not outline how that will happen. He elaborated further on contemplative meditation, suggesting that we can always begin a contemplative meditation with the word “God.” He spoke about the fruitage of meditation, saying that when you attain the conscious realization of your oneness with God, you also attain your oneness with all forms of good necessary to your experience, because the experience within changes the experience without. Joel also gave more detail about the higher stages of meditation.

Session 5: Releasing ‘The Imprisoned Splendor’ Through Meditation

Joel reiterated that the basic secret of The Infinite Way lies in the practice of meditation. This is because the goal is to experience the presence of God, and when you recognize that the presence of God, the kingdom of God, is already within you, you can stop looking outside for it and let It come forth from within. Noting that meditation is not easy to accomplish, he explained how we can use contemplative meditation to lead us to the state of quietness and inner peace that “opens out a way whence the imprisoned splendor may escape.”

Session 6: Another Approach to Contemplative Meditation: Using Scripture

Joel taught that there are two preparatory steps for meditation: having a sense of humility and accepting that the power of the Christ is already within you. He talked about handling extraneous thoughts in meditation by simply disregarding them. Then he offered a new approach to contemplative meditation based on using quotations from Scripture.

Session 7: Higher States of Consciousness Attained Through the Practice of Meditation

Joel emphasized again that our goal is conscious union with God. He asks and answers the question, “How do we attain that goal?” by reviewing the stages of meditation. He starts with practicing Presence and contemplative meditation. Then, he moves to further explanations of the higher states—conscious communion with God and then union, which is the ultimate experience of oneness.

Session 8: Meditation and Healing

Joel addressed treatment in spiritual healing work as a form of contemplative meditation. He taught that in treatment, the first step is to consciously remember and contemplate every truth that reminds us that Spirit, divine Consciousness, is the only power; that there is no power in effect; that all power is spiritual, and that all law is spiritual. When the mental activity of the contemplation ends, we take the second step in treatment: sitting in silent receptivity, awaiting a sign of the presence of God.

The Current Session

Session 9: Meditation without Words and Thoughts

In this last class of our meditation study program, Joel teaches about practicing meditation with the unconditioned mind. He begins by describing how the mind becomes conditioned and then teaches how to release that conditioning and attain the unconditioned mind. When we meditate with the unconditioned mind, we have no words or thoughts, and we can be perfectly still and receptive, recognizing that all spiritual truth is already within us and will reveal itself if we let it.

Recording 427B

Recording 427B is the basis for Chapter 11, “Unconditioning the Mind,” in The Journey Back to the Father’s House, so that chapter is very close to a transcript of the class. If you do not have that book, we offer the following summary of key points as a quick review.

Key Points from the Recording

The Conditioned and Unconditioned Mind

The mind becomes conditioned from infancy and childhood when beliefs and theories are handed to us that are false and have no truth in them. Only as we begin the unconditioning process do we eventually arrive at the mind that was in Christ Jesus.
To uncondition the mind, we do not try to find all the untruths we know, eliminate them, and substitute something we consider to be truth, because we would be conditioning ourselves with more fiction. There is no way to know intellectually what truth is. Becoming unconditioned is not a mental process.
We approach unconditioning the mind from a spiritual standpoint by simply acknowledging that much of what we know isn’t true. So we ignore it and accept that spiritual truth is already within us. As we learn to go within, be still, and listen, truth reveals itself, and the mind is gradually unconditioned of its false beliefs and misconceptions. Then, instead of our habitual thinking patterns, new ideas, thoughts, and truths can come into expression.

Unconditioning the Mind through Meditation

The ideal of spiritual living is “I live yet not I, Christ liveth my life.” But we cannot have that until an experience takes place in which we realize that we are no longer living by our own power, knowledge, or influence. To have this experience, we must create a vacuum into which the Christ can appear. So do not go into meditation with thoughts or made-up statements of You may be quoting the letter of truth, but that is not the same as receiving truth from within. There is quite a difference between talking about God and experiencing God. There is a difference between just thinking about God and being still enough that God can utter His voice. Go into meditation with a pure mind that is receptive and responsive to the presence of God within you and let the still, small voice come forth.
Do not let your time in the silence go on so long that it reverts to mental activity instead of pure spiritual awareness. For most people, twenty seconds in complete stillness is enough. If you practice many times a day, even for just twenty seconds at a time, eventually you increase the depth of listening, the depth of silence, and the depth of unconditioning. It requires patience and practice to uncondition the mind, because humans have entertained false beliefs for generations, and they are not easily released.

The Unconditioned Mind Has No Desires

Do not take a problem into meditation. Go within only to experience the presence of God. The presence of God is the power of God, and where the presence of God is, there is no other power—no problem, no discordant appearance. When we overcome the belief in two powers, we have “overcome the world” within ourselves.
When you have overcome “this world” and are no longer seeking anything of this world—person, place, circumstance, condition, fame, fortune—the mind is unconditioned. Then it is an abiding place for the Spirit of God, and you are in the realm of the real. You live in “My kingdom,” where you do not live by might or power. You are not trying to hold on to anything material. Your only desire is for the things of God, the thoughts of God, the ways of God, and the will of You have no will of your own. You follow the lead of His will and carry it out.
Early on our spiritual path, we may try to exchange one material condition for another, but often the “good” material condition does not bring inner peace or harmony. Peace and harmony are found in “My kingdom” and “My peace” that are not of this world. You recognize, “Thy grace is my sufficiency in all things,” and whatever is humanly necessary appears, but it comes without your taking thought.
In the unconditioned mind, there is no movement toward attaining, achieving, or demonstrating It rests within itself, not functioning with concepts, beliefs, or theories, but dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, tabernacling within, taking no thought. There is an inner peace and stillness. The world “out here” has dropped away, and you have no concern for it. You are living and moving in God; there is no outside world.

We Have no Life of Our Own

The great mystery is that we have no life of our With the unconditioned mind, the life of God is our life. We are not thinking in terms of time, space, or longevity. We are thinking in terms of eternality. You live but have no feeling of age. You have no sense of physical body, because you have overcome that world. This spirit of God has always been within you, but you bring it into active expression when you want it only for Itself, not for any purpose, just to tabernacle and commune with It. That Presence fulfills your experience.

Spiritual Consciousness Appears Outwardly as Material Form

Jesus was abiding in this consciousness of God’s presence, and everyone who touched the hem of his robe was blessed, not by a conscious direction of his mind, because that would have been a function of conditioning, as if he were going to use God. He wasn’t thinking of blessing them; he had overcome this world. He was living in the continuous contemplation of divine grace, and anybody—saint or sinner—was instantly purified.
The Spirit of God, the grace of God, the Presence within, may appear outwardly in material forms. But the forms are just the appearance, and we are told, “judge not by appearances.” The truth is: I and my Father are one, and all that the Father hath is
Let that mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, but do not let thoughts of “this world” intru Just let “that mind” be in you; do not let thoughts of “this world” be in you, even thoughts of improving this world. Let the mind that was in Christ Jesus be in you and it will function. It will give you what you seek—new melodies, new ideas, new principles, new discoveries, or new inventions. It will provide shelter, a high tower, a hiding place in God. Only take no thought for the things of this world, and Christ will give you light. While you are taking no thought, this presence of God within you will speak, reveal, and empower.

Stay in Meditation Until You Feel the Spirit of God

Scripture says, “Remain in this city until you are empowered from on high.” That is our attitude in meditation: “Abide in this meditation until you are empowered from on high,” that is, until you feel the spirit of God within you. Then, when you go into the world, God’s grace, power, light, wisdom, and love go with you. These are not yours; they are God’s, and you are the instrument through which they flow.
But remember: Do not bring conditioned thinking about this world into your meditation. Leave this world and its problems and desires outside. As Joel said in The Mystical I,[1] “God will reveal His presence in the midst of you, but you must open out a way: you must empty the vessels already full; you must enter into the silence with no concepts.”
Wait until you feel empowered from on high and then go about your You will find that the grace you receive will go before you to make the crooked places straight. It will provide for you, and if necessary, it will even multiply loaves and fishes.

Refrain from Trying to Connect Spirit with “This World”

One barrier to successful meditation is trying to connect Spirit with “this ” Again, remember to leave this world outside when you go into meditation. You are seeking only spiritual illumination, so do not try to connect it with any outer circumstance or condition. Keep your meditation purely at the spiritual level. Stay in the kingdom of God within you, in the oneness of spiritual communion. Let yourself be fed from within. Even though you leave all thoughts of the world outside, in some mysterious way, what takes place within appears outwardly as harmony in your experience and the experience of those who touch you.
When you return to the world with its human problems, they are no longer problems to you. You see them as shadows, coming and going without substance and without power. Because you have experienced that all power is within you, there is no power left to be an external person, circumstance, or event. Your experience in meditation is the light that shows you that material sense is shadow.

Summary of Points for Meditation Practice with the Unconditioned Mind

Go into meditation with a pure mind that is receptive and responsive to the presence of God within you and let the still, small voice come forth. Do not go into meditation with thoughts or made-up statements of truth.
Go within only to experience the presence of God. Do not take a problem into meditation.
Leave this world and its problems and desires outside. Do not bring conditioned thinking about this world into your meditation. Meditate until you feel empowered from on high and then go about the activities of the day.
You are in meditation for spiritual illumination, so do not try to connect Spirit with anything in “this Keep your meditation purely at the spiritual level, with no thought of anything outside your own being.
You might spend quite some time in contemplation, mentally engaged in pondering truth, in order to get to the place of stillness and silent listening, which Joel calls “meditation” itself. But when you reach that state, stay in it only as long as you can maintain pure spiritual awareness. If you begin to revert to mental activity, end the meditation session. Joel says that in the beginning, twenty seconds is about as much time as we can hold that silence.

Contemplative Practice to Uncondition the Mind

One way to follow Joel’s counsel about unconditioning the mind is to have a contemplative meditation along these lines:

“I acknowledge that much of what I know is not true, so I will ignore what I know. The kingdom of God is within me, so all truth is within me. I am listening.”

Or simply,

“God is uttering His voice within me now. I am listening.”

Releasing Conditioned Thoughts

Joel teaches that we do not take the psychological approach to unconditioning the mind, in which we identify our conditioned thoughts, try to eliminate them, and replace them with statements of truth. But as our understanding of the letter of truth grows, our conditioned thoughts become more apparent to us, and it can be helpful to notice when we are indulging a conditioned thought. When we notice that we are responding to a situation with a conditioned thought, we can consciously release that thought and then, summoning the confidence that all truth is within you, ask, “Father, reveal to me the truth of this situation.”

Practice Seeing the World without Labels

Another practice that can support unconditioning the mind is to observe whatever comes to your awareness without labeling it. Labeling is a function of the human mind; spiritual discernment comes from the mystical I of your being. So, for example, when you see a tree, an animal, a house, a piece of fruit, a car, a person, your own physical body, or any other material form, instead of thinking of it in terms of the label you habitually use and the concepts associated with that label, drop the label and the concepts and say within yourself, “Father, reveal to me the truth. Let me see this as it truly, spiritually, is.”