Inner Cities of Refuge

Neville's Inner Vision

Within Joshua’s map, the cities of refuge are not distant towns but three intimate states of consciousness you may inhabit here and now. Kedesh in Galilee represents the first refuge—the attitude of awareness that halts any chase of fear by declaring the I AM as your indwelling shelter. The suburbs are the surrounding thoughts, the edges of attention that you extend until the memory of harm fades. Hammoth-dor and Kartan arise as two companion refuges: mercy that softens judgment and the inner keeping of the commandments written on heart, a discipline that keeps you aligned with truth even when appearances threaten. The law and mercy are not external decrees but inner alignments that your imagination can claim. Providence is the faint, guiding nudge of awareness that returns you to sanctuary when you wander into painful stories. Together these three cities teach that refuge is not a place to reach, but a state to assume. When you dwell in that inner sanctuary, the ‘slayer’—the fear of guilt, threat, or loss—loses its power because you awaken to I AM-adjacent safety and feel it real.